Free Republic

(AP) A U.S. Army private on Tuesday described the ever-present fear of death gripping his unit, whose members stand accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl and killing her family in Iraq's infamous "Triangle of Death." "You're just walking a death walk," Pfc. Justin Cross told a hearing to determine whether five fellow soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 attack near Mahmoudiya. But prosecutors argued that the threats of war, arduous missions and frequent loss of life were no excuse for rape and murder. "Murder not war. Rape not war. That's what were here talking about today,"...

Article 32 Investigations Purpose of Article 32 InvestigationsProcedures for Article 32 InvestigationsRights of the Accused  Purpose            The Fifth Amendment constitutional right to grand jury indictment is expressly inapplicable to the Armed Forces.  In its absence, Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Section 832 of Title 10, United States Code), requires a thorough and impartial investigation of charges and specifications before they may be referred to a general court-martial (the most serious level of courts-martial).  However, the accused may waive the Article 32 investigation requirement. The purpose of this pretrial investigation is to inquire into the truth...

The media has consistently focused on alleged atrocities by US soldiers since the war in Iraq began, but it recently has gone on a feeding frenzy. Ever since John Murtha announced that “our Marines killed Iraqi civilians in cold blood”, the media has been on a mission to publicize and dramatize any report that comes out of Iraq regarding alleged bad acts by our soldiers. The stories are splashed on the front pages. They make the cover stories in magazines and are usually called “special reports”. Day after day, details are touted as “breaking news” in the media. Anonymous sources...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Four U.S. soldiers were charged with the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and killing her family, bringing to five the number of Americans accused of the four deaths in March, the U.S. military said on Sunday. A fifth soldier was charged on Saturday with dereliction of duty for failing to report the case. Last week a sixth soldier, Steven Green, who has now left the army, was charged with rape and murder in a U.S. civilian court over the killings at Mahmudiya, near Baghdad.

TIKRIT, Iraq - U.S. investigators have asked Iraqi authorities to help them navigate cultural sensitivities to exhume the body of a teenager allegedly raped and murdered with her family by American soldiers, a military official said Saturday. U.S. Maj. Mark Wright said U.S. authorities are aware that Islamic tradition has strict rules governing exhumation and could require religious leaders to become involved in the investigation. "You want to be aware of these cultural issues while at the same time making sure that the accused receives proper justice," Wright, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, told The Associated Press....