Posted on 09/03/2006 4:20:13 PM PDT by npg
An Army investigator has recommended the death penalty for four soldiers accused of murder during a raid in Iraq.
Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. made the recommendation in report obtained Saturday by The Associated Press.
Daniel found several aggravating factors that warrant a sentence of death in the case of four soldiers accused of killing three men during the May raid in the Salahuddin province.
Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Pfc. Corey R. Clagett, and Spc. Juston R. Graber, all of the Fort Campbell, Ky.- based 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, were accused in the deaths.
The soldiers have claimed they were ordered to "kill all military-age males" during a raid on an island on a canal in the province. According to statements from some of the soldiers, they were told that the target was an al-Qaida training camp.
Hunsaker told investigators that he and Clagett were attacked by the three men and shot them in self-defense. Clagett said he was hit in the face and Hunsaker claimed he was stabbed during the attack.
"I had felt this action necessary for they had tried to use deadly force on me and my comrade," Hunsaker wrote in a statement.
Shame on US if this happens !!!
Do you really think they were ordered to "kill all military-age males"?
A similar post was made earlier, and a number of people commented that the soldiers should be put to death (without first having been convicted). I want to know why the title is "Army Recommends Death for Accused GIs" when it was just one investigator? Is the Army just this one investigator?
The headline writer at the Star-Tribune chose to use a different word for "recommends".
"Execution urged if soldiers convicted".
Absolutely insane!
If a higher up ordered it the higher up may not admit it.
We shouldn't be prosecuting our own like this for acts committed in a war.
War is war and you have to know that you can defend yourself in a war and carry out attacks without having your own country turn on you.
We let pedophiles and other garbage off with a slap on the wrist, and let illegal aliens flood into our country, but if you're actually serving the USA, we'll come down on you with both feet.
A cover up? Shouldn't the Commander-in-Chief step in?
Sandy Berger
it is despicable that the DOD would use these men to put on a show just to reassure the Muslim world.
I'm tired of this crap.
It will eventually have to be all military-age Muslims, or we Infidels are finished.
"Do you really think they were ordered to "kill all military-age males"?"
I could believe this order being given if the CoC felt they had dead to rights intel that a structure contained terrorists/insurgents. This could be collateral damage from the terrorists not wearing uniforms and the coalition tolerating it.
Have any illegal combatants been punished for not wearing uniforms and failing to seperate themselves from civilians? I've heard of none.
If thats a yes, don't you think our President should back them up?
There is no murder in a war zone.
I'm W-A-Y B-E-Y-O-N-D tired of this crap, n. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
It's just a recommendation (or urge if you prefer), not a sentence. The jihadists and anti war loonies have to be appeased somehow!
Don't worry, I don't think these soldiers will be sentenced to anything like that or harshly. If it were up to me, I'd exonerate the soldiers completely.
To go from "we support the troops but not the war" to kill the troops with 1 investigator--when muslims say repent or die?
You go to war, and you may die. You kill the wrong muzzie and you die. They say you repent or die.
When is someone going to get the stones to lay it out like it really is?
To the anti-war crowd, let's be clear: just because you don't want to fight doesn't mean they won't kill you. Grow up and grow a pair.
Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr.A name that will live in infamy.
The ultimate result of this fiasco will probably be a quiet disappearance of the case for a plea to some lesser included and essentially minor UCMJ violation. The chain of command for these GIs is not comprised of stupid or uninformed senior officers. While they need to make a loud statement to the force that violations of either the ROE or Law of Land Warfare won't be tolerated, they're not going to create a major event for the media or Congress or that puts the president in a box.
I would guess (hope) that they are found NOT guilty, but why put them thru this?
the net result of this whole thing is that are military becomes gun shy in the same vain that our police forces have, and our enemies (foreign and domestic) become emboldened.
All this crap does is weaken a nation.
" "Execution urged if soldiers convicted".
Who is doing the " urging ? "
Probably a " We support the troops " Democrat.
well gee! No wonder recruitment is slow! Who the hell wants to sign up to go to war and then be tried for murder when they do? This PC bullcrap is gonna ruin a whole bunch of americas finest!
They're claiming they were ordered to kill combat age males, then they also claim that they killed them because they were being attacked. So which one is it? Innocent men usually only have one story. If they really did murder innocent people then they should get death.
SCREW the hyper-bureacratic, ultra-P.C., corporate, "new" U.S. Military, man....!
Disturbing recommendation.
The glory of the First Amendment is diminished when one knows this story is distributed worldwide over the Internet to people who ironically are doomed never to experience American respect of free speech and religion as a personal choice.
I'm thinking they were attacked by combat-aged males whom they were told to kill.
very well said
yep!!!
Yup! Could make our patriotic young not want anything to do with our military. I'm reminded of the movie Enemy at the Gates where Russian troops were shot by their own if they didn't charge with a handful of bullets to use in a fallen comrades gun. An extreme example but the legs were cut out from under them in each case.
It's not going to stop, and will probably only get worse. Why would someone want to sign up for military service today when it is obvious that they will have their own government calling for their prosecution/death if there is even a hint or accusation of wrongdoing. Which is why I am slowly coming to the conclusion that we will not win this war. I'm not exactly saying that we will lose, only that in the end we will accept some sort of "truce" that will for all intents and purposes accomplish nothing. This after years of fighting and thousands of soldiers lost. In short what I am saying is that I think that this war has officially become, much to the left's delight, another Vietnam. I am sickened by the spineless actions of ALL of our leaders who said at the outset that they would not allow this to happen.
Just watched "Breaker Morant" for about the fiftieth time - "just a sideshow of the war".....
They were on a RAID, which tell me that intel said there were terrorists in that particular area. The enemy does not wear uniforms and it is well known that alot of locals are sympathetic to them, which makes them collaborators. It makes total sense that they were attacked as well, these terrorists aren't going down without a fight. What should we tell our soldiers, go door to door and ask if your a terrorist? As it stands right now, the military is asking our family members to go into a country, fight an enemy that totally blends with the population, and try not to hurt anybody. It's stupid, I think they are more concerned about winning the hearts and minds, and if our guys get killed in the process, its a tragedy and part of war. Their guys get killed and its murder. Are they soldiers or social workers? Its a freaking war, how many of our soldiers have to die because of holding back those precious seconds trying to figure out if its a civilian or a terrorist? How do we know if those two soldiers who were killed and tortured didn't react immediately, not wanting to hurt a "civilian"?
In a word, yes. To expand, however, if after they are given the benefit of every doubt they are found to have murdered true non-combatants, they must face punishment.
That is going to be just about unprovable, however. They faced an enemy for whom death is a high aspiration, and helped the enemy achieve his goal. Sounds like a win-win to me!
Excellent movie.
I'm just going by what they said after the raid. I know it's not easy to make split second decisions, I just find it troubling that they can't get their story straight. Believe it or not there's plenty of bad apples in the military, that's why we've got Leavenworth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.