Four more US soldiers charged (5 total) in Iraq rape/murder case

[memyselfI]

Looks like the investigation is proceeding and unforunately for the US Hearts and Minds efforts it seems to be getting worse. :shake:


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060709/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_rape_investigation_9;_ylt=AurA1XLvypuSoPLXoByKv_BX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three U.S. soldiers have been charged with rape and murder and a fourth with dereliction of duty in the alleged rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman and the killings of her relatives in Mahmoudiya, the military said Sunday.

The four were accused Saturday following an investigation into allegations that American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division raped the teenager and killed her and three relatives at her home south of Baghdad.

Ex-soldier Steven D. Green was arrested last week in North Carolina and has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and four counts of murder.

The U.S. statement said the four soldiers still on active duty will face an Article 32 investigation, similar to a grand jury hearing in civilian law. The Article 32 proceeding will determine whether there is enough evidence to place them on trial.

[Iowanian]

Ironic that someone doesn't have anything to say about documents implicating Iraq-Terrorism connections pre-911...but manages time to bring every single blip of information when a soldier Fugs up.

you suck.

[memyselfI]

Ironic that someone doesn't have anything to say about documents implicating Iraq-Terrorism connections pre-911...but manages time to bring every single blip of information when a soldier Fugs up.

you suck.

You know, if these documents had 'surfaced' a year or two ago they might have made a difference but as of now they are not only suspect but irrelevent. The administration has fugged up this war so badly that video of SH with OBL planning 9/11 would not be taken seriously...

and the WH have only THEMSELVES to blame.

Not only have they fugged up the Iraq war, they apparently came to the realization, four years too late, that OBL was only one fish in a big pond. That is why they have closed down the office looking for him. And not only do they have a mess in Iraq the other two parties in their Axis of Evil are a mess as well.

A Trifecta of Failure. Thanks George. :clap:


:rolleyes:

[stevieray]

The administration has fugged up this war so badly that video of SH with OBL planning 9/11 would not be taken seriously...

:

It's statements like these that indicate that personal agenda and opinion would be more important than the truth.

[mlyonsd]

Ironic that someone doesn't have anything to say about documents implicating Iraq-Terrorism connections pre-911...but manages time to bring every single blip of information when a soldier Fugs up.

you suck.

meme's recurring use of Fred Phelp's tactics in highlighting the negative aspects of our militiary's occupation in Iraq while ignoring the postitive ones are just one reason she has earned the contempt from many on CP.

The fact is that same military she shows disdain for would jump in front of a bullet aimed in her direction even while she's spewing her crap.

That's the one thing people should remember when formulating an opinion of our military.

[mlyonsd]

You know, if these documents had 'surfaced' a year or two ago they might have made a difference but as of now they are not only suspect but irrelevent.

Of course you would think that. The more internal Iraqi documents that are brought into the light of day show you to be more stupid and wrong than even we've been telling you the last couple years.

[memyselfI]

Of course you would think that. The more internal Iraqi documents that are brought into the light of day show you to be more stupid and wrong than even we've been telling you the last couple years.

At this point, the documents don't matter because the Bush administration has taken a problem and made it WORSE because of their actions. Two years ago, before the extent of their incompetence and failure had become apparent, the documents might have convinced the world that the actions to come were just and appropriate. Now, in retrospect the documents simply prove the administration may have had the right intentions but completely fugged up the situation with their handling of the situation.

They basically undercut the importance of the documents themselves...

what an irony indeed.

[Adept Havelock]

I think it's ironic how ironic irony can be. :shrug:

[go bowe]

wtf? over...

[BIG_DADDY]

Ironic that someone doesn't have anything to say about documents implicating Iraq-Terrorism connections pre-911...but manages time to bring every single blip of information when a soldier Fugs up.

you suck.

She hasn't covered one good thing our boys have done since they have been there but has been on any potentially negative information like white on rice.

[Chief Henry]

She hasn't covered one good thing our boys have done since they have been there but has been on any potentially negative information like white on rice.


Thats another reason why she SUCKS.

[memyselfI]

Per Military.com, two of those charged are Sgts. :hmmm:

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,104835,00.html

Names of Accused Soldiers Released
Associated Press | July 10, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two sergeants are among five American soldiers facing charges in the alleged rape-murder of an Iraqi teenager and the killing of three of her family members, the U.S. military said Monday in identifying the suspects.

The charges were unveiled on Sunday after an investigation into allegations that American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division raped and killed the teenager, then shot to death her father, mother and sister at their home in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad. But the suspects were not identified until Monday.

Four soldiers - Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard - were accused of rape and murder and several other charges. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

A fifth, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, was charged for his failure to report the attack but is not alleged to have been a direct participant, the military said. The others face more serious charges as participants.

The five will face an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, to determine if they should stand trial.

They are charged with conspiring with ex-soldier Steven D. Green, who was arrested last month in North Carolina. Green has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and four counts of murder and is being held without bond.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell declined to comment further on details about the attack, citing the ongoing investigation.

"But they obviously had enough information in the initial investigation to go ahead and charge those four soldiers all with alleged rape, rape, obstruction of justice, housebreaking, arson and the other offenses," he told reporters in Baghdad.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in Green's case, he and at least two others targeted the teenager and her family for a week before the attack, which was not revealed until witnesses came forward in late June.

The soldiers drank alcohol, abandoned their checkpoint, changed clothes to avoid detection and headed to the victims' house, about 200 meters (yards) from a U.S. military checkpoint in the so-called "Triangle of Death," a Sunni Arab area south of Baghdad known for its violence, the affidavit said.

The affidavit estimated the rape victim was about 25. But a doctor at the Mahmoudiya hospital gave her age as 14. He refused to be identified for fear of reprisals.

Green is accused of raping the woman and killing her and three relatives - an adult male and female and a girl estimated to be 5 years old. An official familiar with the investigation said he set fire to the rape victim's body in an apparent cover-up attempt.

Iraqi authorities identified the rape victim as Abeer Qassim Hamza. The other victims were her father, Qassim Hamza; her mother, Fikhriya Taha; and her sister, Hadeel Qassim Hamza.

The March 12 attack on the family was among the worst in a series of cases of U.S. troops accused of killing and abusing Iraqi civilians.

U.S. officials are concerned the alleged rape-slaying will strain relations with the new U.S.-backed government and increase calls for changes in an agreement that exempts American soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation into the case, which followed a series of claims that U.S. troops killed and mistreated Iraqi civilians.

[Mr. Kotter]

Ironic that someone doesn't have anything to say about documents implicating Iraq-Terrorism connections pre-911...but manages time to bring every single blip of information when a soldier Fugs up....
Indeed, amazing....isn't it? :shake:

[Pitt Gorilla]

I guess I would argue that this stinks regardless of who posted it. Changing the subject doesn't change the nature of what happened. Clearly, this is a small faction and I'm confident the military will see that justice is done.

[Iowanian]

So you agree that Dense, goes out of her way
to post about only a very, very small percentage of events involving our troops.....ZERO of those are anything good.

[memyselfI]

So you agree that Dense, goes out of her way
to post about only a very, very small percentage of events involving our troops.....ZERO of those are anything good.

Sorry, we haven't seen much good news coming from Iraq lately, have we? And stop your damn :deevee: as these stories are being reported and discussed on MILITARY.com. I've posted the links. The military is arguing amongst ITSELF about this. It's not like they are are even unified anymore.

[go bowe]

So you agree that Dense, goes out of her way
to post about only a very, very small percentage of events involving our troops.....ZERO of those are anything good.well, that depends on the definition of "good", doesn't it? :shrug:



ok,ok, i'm just pulling your chain...

i tend to agree with your assessment of her posting habits...

[Mr. Kotter]

Sorry, we haven't seen much good news coming from Iraq lately, have we? And stop your damn :deevee: as these stories are being reported and discussed on MILITARY.com. I've posted the links. The military is arguing amongst ITSELF about this. It's not like they are are even unified anymore.

At a minimum, you don't make ANY effort at presenting any balance though, you'd have to agree? No? :)

[memyselfI]

At a minimum, you don't make ANY effort at presenting any balance though, you'd have to agree? No? :)

I am against the war. The war is going very badly. I predicted much of this quagmire almost four years ago...

far be it for me to be the one posting positive news to 'balance' a trainwreck I saw coming. Sorry. :rolleyes: On occasion when I see something that I think is worthy of posting and sheds a good light on the situation then I post it. Unfortunately, I don't see much out there.

People like yourself who are bothered by the stream of bad news should stop :deevee: about people like me and start posting good stuff. That would really be a more effective and productive counter than wasting your time attacking me.

[stevieray]

I am against the war. The war is going very badly. I predicted much of this quagmire almost four years ago...

far be it for me to be the one posting positive news to 'balance' a trainwreck I saw coming. Sorry. :rolleyes:

trainwreck...? So are you saying that the Generals that are executing this war are doing a bad job?

[Mr. Kotter]

I am against the war. The war is going very badly. I predicted much of this quagmire almost four years ago...

far be it for me to be the one posting positive news to 'balance' a trainwreck I saw coming. Sorry. :rolleyes:ah-HA! PBJ

So you ADMIT to employing propagandizing technique #6, "Card Stacking"....to further your radical pinko communist agenda to overthrow the "capitalist-defense industry pigs" that are pulling the strings behind the Neo-Con conspiracy to takeover the world????

Huh? Huh? Huh? Come on......we have our "ways" of making you talk....:hmmm:

[memyselfI]

ah-HA! PBJ

So you ADMIT to employing propagandizing technique #6, "Card Stacking"....to further your radical pinko communist agenda to overthrow the "capitalist-defense industry pigs" that are pulling the strings behind the Neo-Con conspiracy to takeover the world????

Huh? Huh? Huh? Come on......we have our "ways" of making you talk....:hmmm:

Well, if I thought the policy was working and was actually doing some good then I could probably find stories out there that indicated that fact. But one simply needs to look at North Korea and Iran to see what the failure in Iraq has led to.

[stevieray]

Well, if I thought the policy was working and was actually doing some good then I could probably find stories out there that indicated that fact. But one simply needs to look at North Korea and Iran to see what the failure in Iraq has led to.

Failure? I guess if you tell yourself that enough, you'll believe it.

[Iowanian]

Good grief. teh "policy" doesn't have jack shit to do with the "events" you keep choosing to post about, while overlooking the Positive.

I didn't see you post that 15 taliban were killed in Afganistan 2 days ago, and 40 yesterday, with 1 wounded US soldier.

Go to the basement and pound on a mortar with a hammer or something.

[CRONUS]

Failure? I guess if you tell yourself that enough, you'll believe it.Surely you don't call this abortion of an occupation anything but a failure. We won the war when we overthrew Saddam after that everything has been one massive clusterf*ck. It is not our militarys fault they have been put in an untenable and unwinnable position.

[CRONUS]

Good grief. teh "policy" doesn't have jack shit to do with the "events" you keep choosing to post about, while overlooking the Positive.

I didn't see you post that 15 taliban were killed in Afganistan 2 days ago, and 40 yesterday, with 1 wounded US soldier.

Go to the basement and pound on a mortar with a hammer or something.

We are doing fine in Afghanistan and going about that effort the right way.

[go bowe]

We are doing fine in Afghanistan and going about that effort the right way.i dunno about that...

seems like we could better employ some of our forces in afghanistan, hunting for osama...

for example, the 10th mountain division...

are there mountains in baghdad?

i think there are mountains where osama is hiding...

mountain division, mountains...

just makes sense somehow...

[stevieray]

Surely you don't call this abortion of an occupation anything but a failure. We won the war when we overthrew Saddam after that everything has been one massive clusterf*ck. It is not our militarys fault they have been put in an untenable and unwinnable position.

You are entitled to your opinion, of which I disagree.

It's easy to claim failure, when motives lie elsewhere.

I think you are spinning the dramatic rhetoric to validate said motives.

[CRONUS]

i dunno about that...

seems like we could better employ some of our forces in afghanistan, hunting for osama...

for example, the 10th mountain division...

are there mountains in baghdad?

i think there are mountains where osama is hiding...

mountain division, mountains...

just makes sense somehow...

I agree with you on that but that is just more of the clusterf*ck in Iraq. I am quite sure we could be doing a better job in Afghanistan if not for our misguided occupation of Iraq.

[jjjayb]

You know, if these documents had 'surfaced' a year or two ago they might have made a difference but as of now they are not only suspect but irrelevent. The administration has fugged up this war so badly that video of SH with OBL planning 9/11 would not be taken seriously...

and the WH have only THEMSELVES to blame.

Not only have they fugged up the Iraq war, they apparently came to the realization, four years too late, that OBL was only one fish in a big pond. That is why they have closed down the office looking for him. And not only do they have a mess in Iraq the other two parties in their Axis of Evil are a mess as well.

A Trifecta of Failure. Thanks George. :clap:


:rolleyes:

I love when people say this war is a failure. Tell me, what does it take to make it a success then? Let's put this into perspective. We went into another country and completely dismantled their military and removed their leader. This wasn't a small island nation either. It had one of the largest militaries in the world. As a matter of fact, most of you that are screaming that it's a failure are the same ones that were saying it couldn't be done. Look at the pre-war estimates by your buddies at cnn and Cbs. They kept preaching about losing 50k lives by the time we reached Bagdad. etc. etc.

Well, here we are now. Military dismantled. Sadam out. New democratic government in. Less than 5k American lives lost. Sure losing 5k lives sucks. But it's still mind-boggling that we could do what we have with only 5k lives lost. We lost 1,000 men in one day of fighting in ONE BATTLE of WW2.

Sure there are still issues. It happens. Nothing great ever happens over-night. Do you think this country was created over-night?
It will take more time and more bloodshed to get this new democracy on its feet.

Why are you in such a hurry to pull the troops out? Afraid of being proven even more wrong?

You and all of your leftist comrades can go jump off a cliff now. Losers. :rolleyes:

[Radar Chief]

I am against the war. The war is going very badly. I predicted much of this quagmire almost four years ago...

Actually no, you bitch, cried, and generally did your best to try and pester as many as you possibly could, which is your typical M.O.
That you can now point back to some of your prior bitch’n and claim “see, told’ja” points more to the frequency of bitch’n than any foresight. ROFL

People like yourself who are bothered by the stream of bad news should stop :deevee: about people like me and start posting good stuff. That would really be a more effective and productive counter than wasting your time attacking me.

Well, maybe “people like yourself” should stop :deevee: when others point out your hypocrisy and work towards posts that’d dispel the notion of you be’n a hypocrite. :shrug: That’d be more productive than waste’n your time “attack’n the messenger”. :thumb:

[Radar Chief]

You know, if these documents had 'surfaced' a year or two ago they might have made a difference but as of now they are not only suspect but irrelevent.

Now that’s just a blatant lie and I’m sure you know it. The timing doesn’t matter, you’d still be here try’n your hardest to downplay the significance of this information if it were dropped 3-4 years ago.

But the funniest part of your post is this tirade you go on try’n to spin the blame of the “insignificance” of these documents from your willful ignorance to the Debil’s “incompetence”.

The administration has fugged up this war so badly that video of SH with OBL planning 9/11 would not be taken seriously...

and the WH have only THEMSELVES to blame.

Not only have they fugged up the Iraq war, they apparently came to the realization, four years too late, that OBL was only one fish in a big pond. That is why they have closed down the office looking for him. And not only do they have a mess in Iraq the other two parties in their Axis of Evil are a mess as well.

A Trifecta of Failure. Thanks George. :clap:


:rolleyes:

Sometimes you kill me, Denise. :LOL:

[jspchief]

I don't see how you can try and paint this incident as an indication of how the entire war effort is going. It's not like this is some example of poor policy or strategy.

It's an abberration. A tiny fraction of a very large occupying force committed a criminal act. To try and claim it reflects on how the war itself is a failure is complete BS. It's like claiming the New York Police department is a failure based on a couple crooked cops.

[Radar Chief]

I guess I would argue that this stinks regardless of who posted it. Changing the subject doesn't change the nature of what happened. Clearly, this is a small faction and I'm confident the military will see that justice is done.

There ya go. Agreed. :clap:

[memyselfI]

I love when people say this war is a failure. Tell me, what does it take to make it a success then? Let's put this into perspective.



Your 'perspective' was a fine fairy tale and quite an enjoyable read but let's look at some facts, shall we?

I'll grant you that the US did achieve a great victory in Iraq. They won the invasion. Without a doubt they were able to overthrow a decimated army and depose a dictator they once helped stay in power. So, you are right, they did achieve a nice victory in their invasion of Iraq and the disposal of SH...

unfortunately the story doesn't end after act 1. The fact of the matter is they have lost every measure of a war since then. The occupation has been a complete disaster. My signature features a quote from the Secretary of Defense where he states that this war would last days, weeks, doubtfully six months. HIS WORDS. HIS VIEW of the situation to come.

The PM recently called for immunity for coalition troops to be halted. He's on our side and he's fed up. Areas that the US originally had secured after the invasion have fallen into insurgency hands. Many of our coalition partners have departed or have announced plans to do so. All out civil war is on the brink. The last three months have been some of the most deadly for US soldiers in Iraq since the war began. The costs of this war are astronomical and growing. The US has outsourced much of it's responsiblity to civilian hired hands who are falling through the cracks and are not under US or Iraqi law and committing crimes and violence against the Iraqi people while US soldiers are there trying to 'win hearts and minds.' I could go on about the turmoil in Iraq but there is something worse than what is happening on the ground there...

And that is the impotence the WH has shown in Iraq and how that has emboldened NK and Iran. And don't look now but the situation in Afghanistan is destabilizing quickly and I've heard reports that the fighting now is as fierce and widespread as it was when the US first landed. We have no way out of two of these countries and no way to address the two others.

That is a quick encapsulation of the reality that is Iraq. Again, I'll grant you that the US had a great victory in the invasion...it's the occupation that has made this war a complete disaster.

[jjjayb]

Your 'perspective' was a fine fairy tale and quite an enjoyable read but let's look at some facts, shall we?

I'll grant you that the US did achieve a great victory in Iraq. They won the invasion. Without a doubt they were able to overthrow a decimated army and depose a dictator they once helped stay in power. So, you are right, they did achieve a nice victory in their invasion of Iraq and the disposal of SH...

unfortunately the story doesn't end after act 1. The fact of the matter is they have lost every measure of a war since then. The occupation has been a complete disaster. My signature features a quote from the Secretary of Defense where he states that this war would last days, weeks, doubtfully six months. HIS WORDS. HIS VIEW of the situation to come.

The PM recently called for immunity for coalition troops to be halted. He's on our side and he's fed up. Areas that the US originally had secured after the invasion have fallen into insurgency hands. Many of our coalition partners have departed or have announced plans to do so. All out civil war is on the brink. The last three months have been some of the most deadly for US soldiers in Iraq since the war began. The costs of this war are astronomical and growing. The US has outsourced much of it's responsiblity to civilian hired hands who are falling through the cracks and are not under US or Iraqi law and committing crimes and violence against the Iraqi people while US soldiers are there trying to 'win hearts and minds.' I could go on about the turmoil in Iraq but there is something worse than what is happening on the ground there...

And that is the impotence the WH has shown in Iraq and how that has emboldened NK and Iran. And don't look now but the situation in Afghanistan is destabilizing quickly and I've heard reports that the fighting now is as fierce and widespread as it was when the US first landed. We have no way out of two of these countries and no way to address the two others.

That is a quick encapsulation of the reality that is Iraq. Again, I'll grant you that the US had a great victory in the invasion...it's the occupation that has made this war a complete disaster.


And what part of my "perspective" was a fairy tale? The only fairy tale I hear is you re-writing history. Now all of a sudden the Iraqi army was a decimated army? You weren't saying that before the invasion were you? Of course not. Typical meme history revisioning.

So what exactly makes our occupation a complete disaster in your eyes? What would it take for it to be a success? Do you really expect a democracy to be set up and running smoothly over-night? Not in the most perfect of scenarios.

I'm sure I already know the real answer to those questions anyway. The only thing that would make this not a disaster in your eyes is if anyone but Bush were responsible for making this happen.

[Duck Dog]

The Islamaslut being raped and murdered by a rogue service member would be as equally poetic as Fred Phelps dying of aids in prison.