Army Discharges 3 in Beating Scandal

[muchacho]

So much for the persons of the year.

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Kuwait City - The U.S. Army has discharged three soldiers for beating and harassing Iraqi prisoners of war in southern Iraq, a U.S. military spokesman said yesterday.

Meanwhile, four American soldiers were wounded Sunday, the military said yesterday. One was shot by insurgents in Tikrit, and three others were injured by a roadside bomb northwest of Baghdad.

Amid the continuing attacks and instability, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in London that British forces would likely remain in Iraq for years to come. He was reluctant to give an "exact time scale," saying, "I can't say whether it is going to be 2006, 2007."

U.S. administrators in Iraq have set a timetable to transfer power to Iraqis by the end of June but say foreign troops will stay on after the handover.

The discharged American soldiers have been sent back to the United States, said Lt. Col. Vic Harris, a military spokesman in Kuwait.

The three, all from Pennsylvania, were scheduled to face courts-martial this month but opted instead to submit to a nonjudicial hearing, in which their conduct was judged by a commander without a jury, Harris said.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woiraq063613174jan06,0,4992345.story?coll=ny-worldnews-print

[DarkPhenyx]

1. Smart move on the soldiers part.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's a general discharge which automatically upgrades to honorable in a year or so. Long after everyone has forgotten about this.