Posted on 07/10/2006 5:54:36 PM PDT by Alouette
THE Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda has put on the internet a video showing the mutilated bodies of two US soldiers kidnapped in June and executed to "avenge" an Iraqi woman raped near Mahmudiyah south of Baghdad.
"Here is a film on the remains of the bodies of the two American soldiers kidnapped near Yussufiyah (south of Baghdad). We are showing it to avenge our sister who was raped by a soldier belonging to the same division as these two soldiers," said a preamble by the Mujahedeen Al-Shura Council, an al-Qaeda dominated alliance of armed Sunni groups in Iraq.
When guerillas learned of the rape, "they repressed their sighs to avoid news of the affair spreading but they swore to avenge their sister", the council said on its usual website.
"Praise God, they captured two soldiers from the same division as this vile crusader. Here are the remains ... to rejoice the hearts of the faithful," the statement said.
The nearly five-minute film shows the horribly mutilated bodies of the two soldiers, who had had their throats cut.
(Excerpt) Read more at couriermail.news.com.au ...
But the ACLU and the DemocRats still complain about the treatment of our enemy at Guantanamo Bay!
The 64 Million dollar question!
Obviously we have forgotten how to fight or what war is about.
There is one way to win the war and we don't seem to have the courage to do it.
U.S. slams 'dead soldiers' video
7/11/06 BAGHDAD, Iraq
A statement by the U.S.-led coalition on Tuesday attacked "the release of the video in the strongest of terms; it demonstrates the barbaric and brutal nature of the terrorists and their complete disregard for human life."
"Coalition Forces remain resolute in our in commitment to catch the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice."
The video, posted Monday, also came with a statement that linked the killings of the soldiers with the alleged rape of an Iraqi female in March.
CNN cannot independently authenticate the video, which does not show the actual killings of the soldiers.
"This video is issued and presented as a revenge for our sister who was dishonored by one of the soldiers of the same brigade that these two soldiers belonged to," reads the statement posted along with the video.
Five soldiers and one former soldier from the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division have been charged in connection with the killings in Mahmoudiya of an Iraqi family and the alleged rape of one member of that family, who was also killed.
The two soldiers who were kidnapped and killed in Yusufiya were also members of that regiment. The U.S. military has said that there is no evidence linking the two incidents, however.
The video begins with a printed statement -- "The Media Committee of the Shura Mujahedeen Council in Iraq presents the two bodies of the two Americans who were kidnapped near Yusufiya" -- followed by a still photograph of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, with bin Laden's voice in a statement released earlier this year.
After an Arabic song that encourages revenge, the video shifts to graphic images of the dead soldiers, one of whom has been beheaded.
The voice of Abu Musab al Zarqawi -- the al Qaeda in Iraq leader killed June 7 in a U.S. air strike -- speaks over the video, also from an earlier statement. A photograph of Zarqawi appears in one corner, and the logo of his group appears in another corner.
The two soldiers, Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, were kidnapped June 16 in an attack on a checkpoint in Yusufiya, south of Baghdad. A tip from an Iraqi civilian led searchers to their bodies three days later.
A third soldier, Spc. David J. Babineau, was killed in the attack.
Former Pfc. Steven D. Green -- who was honorably discharged from the Army for having a "personality disorder" -- and four other soldiers have been charged with murder and rape in the Mahmoudiya incident.
Another soldier has been charged for failing to report the incident but is not alleged to have participated. All five are charged with conspiring with Green to commit the crimes.
The U.S. military released their names Monday.
Green, 21, has been charged in a U.S. civilian court. He pleaded not guilty last week in a federal court in Kentucky. The other five have been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The identification card and death certificate of the alleged rape victim indicated she was 14 years old at the time. A Justice Department affidavit in the case against Green says investigators estimated her age at about 25, while the U.S. military said she was 20.
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5135240&nav=1TjD
U.S. slams 'dead soldiers' video
7/11/06 BAGHDAD, Iraq
A statement by the U.S.-led coalition on Tuesday attacked "the release of the video in the strongest of terms; it demonstrates the barbaric and brutal nature of the terrorists and their complete disregard for human life."
"Coalition Forces remain resolute in our in commitment to catch the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice."
The video, posted Monday, also came with a statement that linked the killings of the soldiers with the alleged rape of an Iraqi female in March.
CNN cannot independently authenticate the video, which does not show the actual killings of the soldiers.
"This video is issued and presented as a revenge for our sister who was dishonored by one of the soldiers of the same brigade that these two soldiers belonged to," reads the statement posted along with the video.
Five soldiers and one former soldier from the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division have been charged in connection with the killings in Mahmoudiya of an Iraqi family and the alleged rape of one member of that family, who was also killed.
The two soldiers who were kidnapped and killed in Yusufiya were also members of that regiment. The U.S. military has said that there is no evidence linking the two incidents, however.
The video begins with a printed statement -- "The Media Committee of the Shura Mujahedeen Council in Iraq presents the two bodies of the two Americans who were kidnapped near Yusufiya" -- followed by a still photograph of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, with bin Laden's voice in a statement released earlier this year.
After an Arabic song that encourages revenge, the video shifts to graphic images of the dead soldiers, one of whom has been beheaded.
The voice of Abu Musab al Zarqawi -- the al Qaeda in Iraq leader killed June 7 in a U.S. air strike -- speaks over the video, also from an earlier statement. A photograph of Zarqawi appears in one corner, and the logo of his group appears in another corner.
The two soldiers, Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, were kidnapped June 16 in an attack on a checkpoint in Yusufiya, south of Baghdad. A tip from an Iraqi civilian led searchers to their bodies three days later.
A third soldier, Spc. David J. Babineau, was killed in the attack.
Former Pfc. Steven D. Green -- who was honorably discharged from the Army for having a "personality disorder" -- and four other soldiers have been charged with murder and rape in the Mahmoudiya incident.
Another soldier has been charged for failing to report the incident but is not alleged to have participated. All five are charged with conspiring with Green to commit the crimes.
The U.S. military released their names Monday.
Green, 21, has been charged in a U.S. civilian court. He pleaded not guilty last week in a federal court in Kentucky. The other five have been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The identification card and death certificate of the alleged rape victim indicated she was 14 years old at the time. A Justice Department affidavit in the case against Green says investigators estimated her age at about 25, while the U.S. military said she was 20.
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5135240&nav=1TjD
Ethiopians acted differently (during Italian invasion of Ethiopia). They castrated thousands of Italian soldiers and sent them home free.
That's total BS. As a retired vet I get so sick of folks dumping on our military. The military carries out the missions given to them by their civilian leadership. I served under some of these GQ Generals as you call them and they are fine war-fighters. You don't have a hidden cadre of fat balding wannabees waiting in the wings to assume their rightful position. It takes decades to grow a general. Our military is capable of killing every thing that breathes in that country. The reason we don't is because that is not the mission dictated by the president.
"Watching one beheading on the Michael Savage website was enough for me for a lifetime"
Me too, jhw. I watched that video. It explains what we are up against. It does not change my resolve, though. It just shows that they must be stopped.
"This maybe their bodies, but dead not alive. This maybe proof at the time of the attack, these two soldiers were killed. The bodies were taken then mutilated...otherwise, we'd have video's of the alive soldiers being mutilated...which we don't."
I have a different thought about this--the early reports said that the soldiers were alive while being tortured. The beasts would have wanted the soldiers to beg for their lives so they could use that as recruiting propoganda.
I don't believe our brave soldiers gave them the satisfaction and that is why you only see what is left after the savage butchery by these animals. I wouldn't think anything less of these brave men if they begged for mercy, but I have a strong feeling they cussed the butchers to the very end and that's what made them do so much overkill.
I do not want to see a picture of these two heroes after their earthly bodies have been torn apart. I have enough anger and outrage and sadness over this atrosity to last a lifetime without the pictures fueling those feelings further. There are many Americans, however, that need to look at the pictures so they can quit worrying about the terrorists rights and start dealing with the fact we are fighting an amoral enemy with no humanity and they very much want to kill as many of us as possible. I actually heard a man on c-span this morning worried because the poor terrorists at gitmo have waited so many years to get their "rights" looked after!
I certainly don't have all the answers or even most of them, but I am sure of one thing: We don't have 8 years to pussy foot around with a democratic administration playing with internists or spending their time looking through republican FBI files and passing on secrets to China in order to get campaign contributions. We either have to get determined as a nation to fight these barbarians with everything we've got or buy our family plots at the cemetary because we'll be dead.
Did it appear that they were alive or were they already dead and being mutilated?
Correct once more.
Yes, that makes sense!!!
Already dead, but it is clear they were beheaded.
Soldiers made statements.....doesn't look good at all....hope it is not true.
<< I stopped reading here. >>
That's a darned shame.
For you.
But I'll nonetheless thank God for you.
Guess He's chosen you to be His example of the ignorant.
To show we informed and other Real Americans what not to do.
Blessings - Brian
Defense wants to silence everyone, including the president
Tuesday, July 11, 2006; Posted: 2:16 p.m. EDT (18:16 GMT) "This case has received prominent and often sensational coverage in virtually all print, electronic and Internet news media in the world," said the motion filed Tuesday in federal court in Louisville, Kentucky.
Public defenders Scott Wendelsdorf and Patrick Bouldin filed the papers on behalf of former Pfc. Steven D. Green.
The court papers cited a Thursday interview of Bush on CNN's "Larry King Live," in which the president referred to the alleged incident as a "despicable crime" and offered an opinion that Green was "staining the image, the honorable image of the United States military."
In addition, the motion said Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying the alleged incident was "totally unacceptable."
"Clearly, the publicity and public passions surrounding this case present the 'clear and imminent danger to the fair administration of justice,' " the motion said.
It requested that the gag order cover Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as well as their employees. It also would apply to participants in the trial, attorneys, members of civilian or military law enforcement, and investigators...More
We, as a nation, are commiting suicide. You realize that, don't you?
The media is killing us. We need strict guidelines... we are at a point similar to the early 1930s
MATTHEWS: Thank you, David Shuster. Former marine lieutenant Ilario Pantano says firsthand the system of U.S. military justice—he saw it, he was charged with murdering two Iraqis in 2004 and was finally acquitted in May of last year. He tells of his ordeal in his new book “Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy.” Good evening, sir. Lieutenant, let me ask you, are you still in the military?
ILARIO PANTANO, FORMER MARINE LIEUTENANT: I‘m not. I resigned my commission a year ago.
MATTHEWS: Why?
PANTANO: Well actually a couple of byproducts of the investigation, one of them was that my family received death threats and I think that‘s probably the most important aspect to consider, that there are long-reaching consequences with these investigations.
MATTHEWS: What kind of people came after your family?
PANTANO: There was a Web site that came out of Pakistan that showed an image of me beheaded and said that I deserved it. It was a jihadi image. The FBI is working an investigation on that. We even received information that a cell in the United States had accumulated information on my mother, my wife and I.
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about, what do you think of military justice?
PANTANO: I think it can be draconian when you‘re in the cross-hairs, but I‘ve got to tell you that our adversarial system is exactly what any parent or law-abiding folk would like.
We have prosecutors and investigators that are very vigorous in how they do their job and I‘ll remind your audience that they have a separate chain of command than the rest of the military.
Prosecutors and investigators will get promoted if they‘re successful in the investigations and prosecutions of their case. They take them very seriously. I would even argue sometimes overzealously, as we see with some of the very heinous allegations that are made, often at an attempt to kind of maximum bob the penalties.
MATTHEWS: How about a defense attorney, does he get rewarded with a promotion for getting someone off?
PANTANO: I would argue. yes, you exactly hit upon the core of our system. It‘s adversarial nature is exactly what works. This is the check and balance, if you will, that makes our system effective, but the only issue though with the defense attorney is that in the military, defense attorneys can‘t actually make a statement until when the hearing is actually underway, so what happens in the case for example of Hamandiyah is you‘ve go the military puts out a set of charges that are very aggressive and the military defense cannot respond to that, that‘s why often you see civilian counsel get brought in, as I chose to do in my case.
MATTHEWS: Most people, me included, when somebody gets arrested for a crime, we assume they‘re probably guilty. We don‘t assume they‘re guilty I guess, technically, because we‘re all innocent until proven guilty, but there‘s a supposition out there that most of the people who face a judge or face a jury have done something wrong. Do you hold that belief having been through the system now as a defendant?
PANTANO: Well listen, as a father of two and a husband ...
MATTHEWS: Do you hold the belief that most people charged are probably guilty? Do you hold that belief now?
PANTANO: I hold the belief that I want my prosecutors and my investigators to be as aggressive as possible. As a father and as a husband, I would want, if anything were to happen to my family, I would want them to go out, overturn cars, get to the bottom, conduct whatever searches they had to do to find the perpetrators. I think that the challenge comes when you‘re on the other side of that and especially in combat, where a lot of these guys don‘t have combat experience and they‘re going out, investigators and prosecutors and even some high level commanders that haven‘t left the green zone are going out to make determinations about what‘s appropriate on the battlefield and sadly we want the line to be a very rigid, moral one.
Unfortunately, that line moves as the intensity of combat builds. We still have to comport ourselves ethically, and General Trainor made an excellent point, it is about the training, absolutely, but we have to also remember that combat is fluid and we need to be receptive to that.
MATTHEWS: When is rape justified?
PANTANO: Never. In fact, I‘ll tell you again, most of the professional military married, fathers, children, I‘ll tell you something else, Chris. Within the rules of engagement, if you see a criminal act going on, a rape or a murder, not only are you obligated to stop it, but you can use deadly force to stop it. Now wait, I want to be very careful. These are allegations that have been made against these servicemen.
Terrible allegations were made against me that didn‘t bear out to be true. Having said that as a unit leader, as a platoon commander, as a marine officer, if I saw my own men committing crimes of that nature, I would stop them using whatever force is required and I think that 95 percent of your military that‘s out there behaving very honorably would do the same.
MATTHEWS: I‘m going to go back to my first question. Maybe it‘s unfair, do you look upon these cases when you read the paper, like I do, and everyone else does watching, you pick up the paper and it says today, I think four men charged with this rape and murder case, horrible case, a beautiful young Iraqi woman, mid-teen or sub-teen, raped, then she‘s killed, these are facts, they‘re dead, and the family is killed, apparently, well, allegedly—
MATTHEWS: Do you make the judgment when you see that, do you say this happened, do you say this is a mirage, what do you say?
PANTANO: Well, I know for a fact that not only are Iraqi autopsies suspect, and this was something that was actually a fact in my case, they were very suspicious. An autopsy. For example the death certificates and all of these filings, we‘re finding issues with that in this Haditha investigation. And listen, any crime against a female, against a child, a sexual crime, this is criminal behavior. This isn‘t battlefield behavior. It doesn‘t have place and no one, no professional soldier, and I consider myself a professional, my brothers in arms are professionals, would advocate that, and again, I say if these guys are guilty, believe me, the punishment is going to be severe.
Nobody will tolerate that kind of behavior. There‘s never a time and never a place. Having said that, not only do you have people in Iraq that incentivised to tar and feather the people, you have people back here that are incentivised to tar and feather the effort. Listen, your own correspondent used the word atrocities a dozen times in that intro. How about these are crimes and we‘re going to investigate them and they‘re all alleged crimes. To date, none have been proven. Yes, you have dead Iraqis. Sadly, you have 50 dead Iraqis blindfolded every day.
MATTHEWS: I read the report beforehand, but let me tell you this, there are dead people. Are you saying they may not be dead?
PANTANO: I think there‘s no question that there are dead people. There are going to be plenty of them before this war is over. That‘s just a reality of combat, but I would also say that we have to be very careful in rushing to judgment against our troops. The reason being, we ask them to apply judgment and give the benefit of the doubt to an Iraqi. We have to do the same for them.
MATTHEWS: Do you want some advice?
PANTANO: Please.
MATTHEWS: Go to law school. I mean it. Anyway, Lieutenant Pantano who knows where he‘s coming from.
Setting an example of charity and courage, you are.
Thank you for showing the respect these brave men deserve.
<< Setting an example of charity and courage, you are. >>
I most certainly so pray and so trust. Please, Dear Lord.
[And thank you for having me go back and read what I first posted and to which you took offense. For "we" read "our craven politicians lack," and/or "our government lacks." (Although notwithstanding "we" likely have the government "we" deserve)]
Blessings - Brian
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