US soldiers smiled before killings in Iraq-witness

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEO238429.htm

US soldiers smiled before killings in Iraq-witness

TIKRIT, Iraq, Aug 2 (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers charged with murdering three detainees in Iraq smiled before carrying out the shootings and threatened to kill another soldier if he informed on them, a military court heard on Wednesday.

Prosecution witness Private First Class Bradley Mason said one of those charged, Staff Sergeant Raymond Girouard, told him if he were arrested he would try to get out of it on medical grounds because he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"They just smiled," said Mason.

"I told him (Girouard) that I am not down with it. It's murder."

...

Mason described the raid as a competition for kills.

"I know he (Steele) said 'good job' after we killed one of them, that's another terrorist down," he said.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. This "war" is nothing more than killing for the sake of killing. There is

no ground to take or hold, no strategy for redeployment or withdrawal, no "enemy" which could unconditionally surrender.

The only "accomplishment" the troops can point to are their "kills".

:cry: :mad: MKJ

[saigon68]

29. Smiling is an American War gesture to dehumanize your Enemy

LOOK AT SABRINA IS SHE HAVING A BAD TIME ?


HELL NO SHE LOVES DEATH

THE GUYS WHO KILLED THIS GUY ARE STILL AT LARGE

THEY LOVED KILLING AND THEY ARE YOUR TROOPS

[Evergreen Emerald]

2. "that's another terrorist down."

They bought the load-of-bull from the administration. They actually believe that Iraqis are terrorists. And, they have to buy into the lie, to dehumanize the citizens of Iraq, otherwise, how could they justify killing them?

[saigon68]

7. If they are Brown they are Down

More Criminal troop talk

[IndianaGreen]

3. Nothing like Freepers in uniform

We can see in SSgt Girouard the same attitudes and racism one finds on Free Republic.

[Julius Civitatus]

4. What? Another massacre? How many already?

This is horrible beyond belief... and remember, these sweethearts are bringing their newly acquired habits home, after their tour of duty.

Sleep well.

[uppityperson]

10. more than we think, war is hell

good comment on the returnees. Take your kids, teach them how to be mindless cogs in the system, put them in such chaos, let them go, return them home. These poor kids. Support the troops.

[MrPrax]

5. But...

We know, because the Press tells us, that the various death squads operating there are strictly sectarian and arab. Only they massacre.

Nothing to see here...just the price of war.

[Amonester]

6. Cold-blood Murdered Because They Didn't Welcome Them With

Flowers.

That must be the PNAC crackpots' rationale...

[SOS]

8. "a competition for kills"

Bush better send Karen Hughes to Baghdad to explain this one.

[donkeyotay]

9. Making the world more peaceful. Restoring dignity and honor

bringing the world democracy and putting freedom on the march.

Heckuva job.

[maddezmom]

11. kick

[Barrett808]

12. Officers Allegedly Pushed 'Kill Counts'

Officers Allegedly Pushed 'Kill Counts'
Los Angeles Times
By Borzou Daragahi and Julian E. Barnes
August 03, 2006

BAGHDAD - Military prosecutors and investigators probing the killing of three Iraqi detainees by U.S. troops in May believe the unit's commanders created an atmosphere of excessive violence by encouraging 'kill counts' and possibly issuing an illegal order to shoot Iraqi men. At a military hearing Wednesday on the killing of the detainees near Samarra, witnesses painted a picture of a brigade that operated under loose rules allowing wanton killing and tolerating violent, anti-Arab racism. Some military officials believe that the shooting of the three detainees and the killing of 24 civilians in November in Haditha reveal failures in the military chain of command, in one case to establish proper rules of engagement and in the other to vigorously investigate incidents after the fact. 'The bigger thing here is the failure of the chain of command,' said a Defense Department official familiar with the investigations. As allegations of U.S. troop misconduct in Iraq have mounted, the military's defenders have maintained that most were isolated incidents and that officers and investigators working within the military justice system had succeeded in ferreting out the truth. The military's primary report on the Haditha incident, completed this year, does not explicitly accuse the Marine command in Iraq of a cover-up. But the investigation cites several instances of information being ignored or evidence being destroyed, including log entries from the day the killings took place. The Defense official, who has reviewed the report, spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been released. Initial findings of investigators looking into the Samarra incident may be even more troubling. Military officials are investigating Army Col. Michael Steele, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade, whose soldiers are accused of killing the three Iraqi detainees. Investigators are trying to determine whether Steele issued an illegal order to 'kill all military aged males' and encouraged unrestrained killing by his troops. On Wednesday, a military court heard testimony from a witness who suggested that a culture of racism and unrestrained violence pervaded the unit.
The account of Pfc. Bradley Mason and other witnesses bolstered the findings of investigators who say the brigade's commanders led soldiers to believe it was permissible to kill Iraqi men. Military prosecutors allege that four U.S. soldiers killed three unarmed Iraqi detainees during the May 9 raid. If convicted on charges of premeditated murder, Pfc. Corey R. Claggett, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard and Spc. Juston R. Graber could face the death penalty.

Wednesday's hearing was held at the 101st Airborne headquarters near Tikrit, Iraq, and is a preliminary investigation, equivalent to a civilian grand jury. The hearing is scheduled to continue today.

Mason said that just before 'Operation Iron Triangle' began on an island in Tharthar Lake near Samarra, Steele and other officers ordered them to 'engage and kill all military age men.' The Defense official familiar with the investigation said that even if Steele did not issue a verbal order, many in the brigade believed that was what the commander wanted.

(more)

http://www.topix.net/content/trb/3055214747098605268332459337733817177648

[ShortnFiery]

13. A.K.A. Vietnam War's term "Body Counts" ...

Everything OLD is NEW again! :P

[redqueen]

14. jesus wept

we're supposed to be doing what over there? something about stability? peace? democracy? what was it?

[unhappycamper]

15. This sure seems familiar. . . .

IIRC, the number was announced daily at the Five O'Clock Follies.

[Minstrel Boy]

16. But if the US were to pull out prematurely,

all hell would break lose! :crazy:

[meganmonkey]

19. If this isn't hell already

then I don't want to see what is :(

[Critters2]

23. ROFLMAO!!! eom

[Mandate My Ass]

17. But those dead Iraqis had free elections and a constitution

The horrors never cease.

[kurth]

18. Order to "kill all military aged males" is a grave war crime

Col. Steele would have been eligible for a death sentence in Nuremberg.

[MrCoffee]

20. Welcome back, Lt. Calley!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_massacre

Doomed to repeat...doomed to repeat...doomed to repeat

[democrank]

21. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld should be behind bars.

Their arrogance and total disregard for life helped create the climate for this kind of behavior. Anything goes. I`m fed up with this whole miserable mess.

[gratuitous]

22. Vietnam v2.0 continues at internet speeds

Is this what passes for honor, duty and integrity in today's military? Is this what we want our young people signing up for? Have we wandered so far from our ideals under the influence of this corrupt administration's fear tactics that we don't even recognize what we're doing anymore?

[Bretttido]

24. Remember the days when people would LAUGH and say that's ridiculous

if you compared Iraq to Vietnam. Oh how stupid they must be feeling about now...

[saigon68]

27. Iraq-Nam is like its namesake

Except that REAL PSYCHOTICS ARE RUNNING IT

Johnson at least had the courage to resign and try to start ending it

The Chimp is aiming for WW III

[arcane1]

25. "evidence being destroyed" but it's NOT a cover-up???

:wtf:

[The Stranger]

26. Is someone going to start another "Support the Troops" thread-rally?

[newspeak]

28. have a friend who was in Vietnam--

he stopped saluting the flag after being there. Said it was horrific, that the soldiers would stack bodies (burned) like cords of wood--men, women, children--all were counted for body counts. It was so obscene, kill counting, as if it made a difference.