< HOME  Sunday, September 03, 2006

Army official recommends death penalty for GIs

This is serious sh*t. There's a war within a war going on in Iraq.
The U.S. military has not executed a soldier since the 1960 hanging of a soldier convicted [for] rape and attempted murder.
* * *
[Yet now, an] Army investigator has recommended that four soldiers accused of murder in a raid in Iraq should face the death penalty if convicted, according to a report obtained Saturday by The Associated Press.

Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. concluded that the slayings were premeditated and warranted the death sentence based on evidence he heard at an August hearing. The case will now be forwarded to Army officials, who will decide whether Daniel’s recommendation should be followed.

The soldiers, all from the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 101st Airborne Division’s 187th Infantry Regiment, are accused of killing three Iraqi men taken from a house May 9 on a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
If he's recommending death for these killings, what about the men who slayed civilians in Haditha, or the ones who raped and killed that girl and her family and burned their remains?
Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Pfc. Corey R. Clagett and Spc. Juston R. Graber have claimed they were ordered to “kill all military age males” during the raid on the island. According to statements from some of the soldiers, they were told the target was an al-Qaida training camp.
This much I believe, without a doubt. It's standard operating procedure in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. The plan is to rid the Middle East of its Arab population.
Hunsaker told investigators that he and Clagett were attacked by the three men, who were being handcuffed, and shot them in self-defense. Clagett said he was hit in the face, and Hunsaker claimed he was stabbed during the attack.

Prosecutors argue the soldiers conspired to kill the men and then altered the scene to fit their story. They contend Girouard stabbed Hunsaker as part of the killing plot.

Clagett, Girouard and Hunsaker also are accused of threatening to kill another soldier who witnessed the slayings. Girouard, the most senior soldier charged, faces several additional charges, including sexual harassment and carrying a personal weapon on duty.

Paul Bergrin, Clagett’s civilian attorney, said he was surprised that Daniel recommended the case be taken to trial at all.

“I’m extremely disappointed and disheartened,” Bergrin said Saturday. “They are being used as pawns in the war on terror. They followed the rules of engagement. They were confronted with violence by a known al-Qaida training camp member.”
He's not merely surprised that Daniel recommended the death penalty. He's shocked that he tried the case to begin with. Those are extremely divergent views. They can't both be right. One of them is way out of line - at least regarding the culpability of these three men.

I suspect, however, that this prosecution will not go further up the chain of command. Nevertheless, the stark contrast of opinions vis-a-vis the prosecution of these soldiers is evidence that a power struggle is taking place in the military.

I would not be surprised one iota if there was a military coup in America tomorrow. I just hope that the good guys come out on top.

3 Comments:

At Sunday, September 03, 2006, Blogger Shahid said...

Nothing will happen dramatically in your beleaguered, fascist country. Take a look around you, Jefferson is turning in his grave, your press tries people before a real trial and they end up killing themselves, you're building internment camps, your President steals elections in the traditions of those very despots he attempts to present himself as the antithesis of, your country goes to war on innocent people on lies that most of you bought.

There is still segregation and racism. There is widespread illiteracy and poverty. There are ghettoes, there is corruption, scandal, theft and murder at a corporate and government level.

Compare and contrast the response of your disgraced authorities in he wake of Katrina to Lebanon's response to Israel's mass slaughter and destruction. Your country is an evil, despised, hated sham. A festering pool of filth and depravity and corruption. Less then half of you are against Bush, and most of those who are against him still believe in the moral superiority of America.

Stop worrying about what might happen. It's happened already.

 
At Sunday, September 03, 2006, Blogger Citisucks said...

Shahid great comment. Could not have been said better! I live in the states and I totally agree with you. Even those who (claim that they) disagree with Bu$h are often very despicable. They talk about wanting change, but they spend lots of money supporting the corporate terrorists who are Bu$h's best friend. When you try to point this out to these SUV liberals they curse at you and call you names. They can't even go with out their cheap plastic crap and SUV's in order to allow innocent children to live. Daily Kos is full of these selfish sick twisted assholes who call themselves liberals.

 
At Monday, January 09, 2012, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Super blog and nice to read. I really liked your blog and would like to know more about the topic. Thank you for the post.
viagra blog onlne

 

Post a Comment

<< Home