Some US Troops Aren't Amazing

lululauren · #1 08-03-2006, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBC

Four US soldiers charged with murdering three detainees in Iraq smiled before shooting them, a military court has heard from a fellow soldier.

Private First Class Bradley Mason told the hearing at a US base near the Iraqi city of Tikrit that one of the accused threatened to kill him if he talked.

He also said soldiers had been ordered to "kill all the male insurgents" in the operation on 9 May of this year.

The incident is among a string of murder allegations against US troops.

US investigators are currently looking at the deaths of 24 Iraqis in Haditha last November, and seven US marines and a navy sailor have been charged over the death of a disabled Iraqi man this April in Hamdaniya.

So... again... unless you go to a news source OUTSIDE of this country, you won't really hear about the fact that there are several of our troops who are joy killing and smiling about it. But no, they're from the US... they're amazing...

If this makes you mad at me, fine... but I'm not going to sugarcoat some American troops because of 9/11...

More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5239676.stm

rozalia qual · #2 08-03-2006, 04:41 PM

i met an iraq war vet who served in '04 a couple days ago. he said these things you are reading about--abu gharib, guantanamo, this, etcetera, aren't even the worst of what goes on over there. also, it is not uncommon for them to lie about wrongful deaths, according to him.

xburnblackx · #3 08-03-2006, 05:34 PM

you can't really trust the media.

oh and i think i saw this on national news so it isn't hard to find news about anything other than America.

violet99 · #4 08-03-2006, 07:01 PM

Four or five US soldiers have been charged with raping and murdering a 14-year old Iraqi girl in March. They also murdered her dad, mom, and little sister. I'll post the article if I can find it somewhere... it was on AOL News a few weeks ago.

It makes me sad, because I know that not ALL of our troops are evil murderers/rapists/torturers. But after hearing all of these stories, it sort of becomes instinct to look at them all that way. It makes me sort of pissed when I hear people say "Support Our Troops" and I think of things like this or Abu Ghraib. But at the same time, I know that not all of our troops are like that, and it's unfair to lump them all together in that catagory.

lululauren · #5 08-03-2006, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rozalia qual

i met an iraq war vet who served in '04 a couple days ago. he said these things you are reading about--abu gharib, guantanamo, this, etcetera, aren't even the worst of what goes on over there. also, it is not uncommon for them to lie about wrongful deaths, according to him.

I know and that's really shitty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xburnblackx

you can't really trust the media.

oh and i think i saw this on national news so it isn't hard to find news about anything other than America.

Well alright, sorry - some stuff you can find in American news, but generally I have to go outside of this countries media source to hear anything else about this world.

book bbq · #6 08-03-2006, 07:47 PM

Very few of them are amazing. They are supposed to be the plebs sent to fight and protect something that is better than they could ever contribute to. Let them perish amid the glory of conquest and the anesthesia of war.

Keyofgmaybeb · #7 08-03-2006, 08:06 PM

I hear ya Violet99, that story came out the day before Independence Day, and sickened me beyond belief. The actual allegations are even much worse than that. I haven't heard much of anything about it since that week. A part of me doesn't want to hear anything else about it, as luckily I believe it will be tried accordingly. But, no doubt, it was/is definitely heinous.

But as bad as these stories are, one must remember there are equal, plus, numbers of decent individuals that wouldn't even come close to such behaviour. It's definitely a tragic circumstance, and a gigantic clusterfuk now.

Starshine · #8 08-05-2006, 01:49 PM

If all you do is watch Fox News or whatever, then all you're going to get is the "trendy" or the hot topic of the hour news.
Most sources like those are non-specific and basically cut to the chase in what they think the average audience cares about. On the plus side however you tend to find a lot more coverage on their websites, instead of on the television.

But speaking about "international" news, you probably have no idea what's even mostly going on in the next state nearest to you, let alone around the world, without researching it.

Starshine · #9 08-05-2006, 01:52 PM

BTW, recently on our American news, I did hear a report on gang rape incidents linked to the military and why potential rapists are seeing opportunities in joining the army.

So it's not all sugar coated.

Keyofgmaybeb · #10 08-05-2006, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starshine

BTW, recently on our American news, I did hear a report on gang rape incidents linked to the military and why potential rapists are seeing opportunities in joining the army.

So it's not all sugar coated.

It's also been noted that a network of white supremacists have been joining and working within the military to learn tactics and weaponery. The military should be quite selective of it's enlistment practices, definitely in a positive way I might add.

Echelon · #11 08-06-2006, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lululauren

So... again... unless you go to a news source OUTSIDE of this country, you won't really hear about the fact that there are several of our troops who are joy killing and smiling about it. But no, they're from the US... they're amazing...

If this makes you mad at me, fine... but I'm not going to sugarcoat some American troops because of 9/11...

More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5239676.stm

Wait...do I have this straight....they smiled before killing some Iraqi's? Is that it? Or am I mistaken? Thats the big problem???

They're probably smiling becuase they're in the middle of a WAR and killing people is THEIR JOB. That's why THEY are in Iraq and you and me are sitting in front of our computers.

Echelon · #12 08-06-2006, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starshine

BTW, recently on our American news, I did hear a report on gang rape incidents linked to the military and why potential rapists are seeing opportunities in joining the army.

So it's not all sugar coated.

LOL yeah right....guys are joining the army becuase MAYBE they'll get the chance to go to Iraq...and there, they will MAYBE get the chance to rape someone? Nevermind the fact they'll be in a fucking WAR or that there is the possibility of them getting blasted apart, or turned into an amputee. That would alllll be worth it if maybe...maybe he'd get the chance to raid a village and rape someone. YEAH fucking RIGHT. If you would risk your life to rape people, why bother going to war? Just stay home and rape civilians. Sure you MIGHT get arrested, but it's better than getting shot at while you have your cock out.

All american media is such bullshit, be it liberal or conservative.

Keyofgmaybeb · #13 08-06-2006, 11:00 PM

You really are a dumb fuck Echelon. Tell us all this.... with all of that medical intern training do they teach you courses in ethics and that doctors and hospital organizations must treat everyone as an equal, or did you forget that part after a meth binge? You know the good things that medical interns like to consume.

Quote:

Iraqi Testifies at U.S. Troops' Rape-Murder Hearing
By RYAN LENZ, AP

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Aug. 6) - An Iraqi army medic on Sunday told a U.S. military hearing of the horrific scene that confronted him in a tiny home south of Baghdad where he found the naked and burned body of a 14-year-old girl allegedly raped and murdered by American soldiers.

The medic testified on the opening day of a hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 rape-slaying of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killing of her parents and sister in the town of Mahmoudiya.

It is among the worst in a series of cases of alleged killings of civilians and other abuses by U.S. soldiers that have tarnished the American military.

The medic, whose name was withheld for security reasons, testified that he was the first responder to enter the house, arriving between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the day of the killings.

The girl was sprawled naked in the house, her torso and head burned by flames, and she had a single bullet wound under her left eye, he said.

He said he found Abeer's 5-year-old sister, Hadeel, in an adjacent room dead from a bullet wound in the head. The children's father, Qassim, and mother, Fikhriya, suffered similar deaths, he said. The mother's abdomen and chest were riddled with bullets, he added.

"I was feeling very bad," he said. "I was sick for almost two weeks."

He told the hearing that because Mahmoudiya's hospital did not have enough space to store the bodies, they were kept in an air-conditioned ambulance overnight, then buried the following day.

Four soldiers - Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard - have been accused of rape and murder and could face the death penalty if the case is passed for a court-martial. A fifth, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not alleged to have been a direct participant.

A former private, Steven D. Green, was arrested in North Carolina in June on rape and murder charges in the case. Green, who was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder," has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is being held without bond.

The commander of the soldiers' battalion in the 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Lt. Col. Thomas Kunk, testified Sunday that he recalled hearing Green say "all Iraqis are bad people."

"I told him that that wasn't true and that 90 to 95 percent of the Iraqi people are good people, and they want the same thing that we have in the United States," Kunk said.

Sunday's proceeding is referred to as an Article 32 hearing and is the military equivalent of a grand jury session. It is expected to last several days, and parts will be held in secret.

Since the case became public last month, U.S. officials have said they were concerned it could strain relations with Iraq's new government if Iraqis perceive that the soldiers receive lenient treatment.

They have offered assurances that the case will be pursued vigorously and that the soldiers will be punished if convicted.

The case already has increased demands for changes in an agreement that exempts U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts. And Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation.

Kunk said he was told on June 19 about possible American involvement in the alleged murders and rape. He said he questioned Barker and Howard the next day, and both denied any coalition soldiers were involved.

The battalion commander described Baker as "very flippant, very confident, and more than willing to answer the questions I had."

U.S. soldiers' conduct has come under the spotlight over a string of similar cases.

Four soldiers from another regiment in the 101st Airborne have been accused of killing three Iraqi detainees in Samarra three months ago. The Article 32 hearing in that case ended Friday in Tikrit but no decision on a trial was announced.

In another case, the Marine Corps and Navy prosecutors are reviewing evidence to determine whether to recommend criminal charges against Marines accused of killing 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November.

AP-ES-08-06-06 1715EDT

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.

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