Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Media: The Associated Press
Byline: By VIJAY JOSHI
Date: 22 August 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq_Iraq has launched its own probe into the alleged rape and
murder of a 14-year-old girl by American soldiers even though they face a
possible U.S. court-martial, an official said Tuesday.
The U.S. military, meanwhile, reported the capture of over 100 known or
suspected al-Qaida terrorists and sectarian death squad leaders, as five
people were killed Tuesday in the violence sweeping the country.
The investigation into the rape-slaying started Thursday and was expected to
take one week, said chief prosecutor Adnan Mahmoud of the criminal court in
Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad, where the March 12 assault took
place.
Mahmoud is part of the investigation panel along with Mahmoudiya's mayor,
police chief and the head of the town's doctor.
He said the panel interviewed witnesses and inspected the house where Abeer
Qassim al-Janabi, 14, was raped, shot dead and set on fire, allegedly by a
group of U.S. soldiers who had observed her for days. Also killed in the
house were her 5-year-old sister and parents.
The gruesome murders have bolstered Iraqi allegations of misconduct by
American soldiers, including illegal killings, beatings and inhuman
treatment.
U.S. authorities arrested five soldiers and a former private in connection
with the case. The active-duty soldiers faced a military hearing earlier
this month to determine if they should be court-martialed. A decision is
pending.
"We will do our best to try and get those soldiers to stand trail in an
Iraqi court. If not we will try them in absentia," said Mahmoud.
He said the investigation was ordered by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who
has made it clear he wants the soldiers tried in an Iraqi court.
The United States is not expected to allow that but has assured al-Maliki
that the case will be pursued vigorously under the American justice system
and that the soldiers will be punished if convicted.
Still, the case has increased demands for changes in an agreement that
exempts U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts.
Mahmoud said the immunity does not apply in this case.
"The accused U.S. soldiers were not involved in military action when they
committed the crime, so they should not enjoy immunity given to U.S.
soldiers," he said.
"We are trying to keep this case under the spotlight as long as possible so
that it is not forgotten and the criminals are able to get away," he said.
The soldiers accused of rape and murder _ Spc. James P. Barker, Sgt. Paul E.
Cortez, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard _ could face the
death penalty if they are convicted by a court-martial. Another soldier,
Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not
alleged to have been a direct participant.
Former Pfc. Steven D. Green was discharged from the Army for a "personality
disorder" after the incident and was arrested in North Carolina in June on
rape and murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is
being held without bond.
The rape slaying has increased calls for the withdrawal of American forces
at a time U.S. commanders are trying to stamp out a Sunni Arab insurgency
grinding on three years after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
The insurgents hope to restore the power that the Sunni Muslims wielded in
this Shiite-majority country during Saddam's rule. The U.S. military says
al-Qaida members, both Iraqi and foreigners, have joined the insurgency.
On Tuesday, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell told
reporters that "well over 100 known and suspected al-Qaida terrorists and
terrorist associates" were arrested during several raids in the past week.
"All these captures have severely disrupted and disorganized the capability
of al-Qaida in Iraq," Caldwell said.
Among those arrested was a Saudi Arabian al-Qaida member, who was preparing
Iraqi men for suicide operations, a U.S. statement said.
Also arrested, in Saddam's hometown Tikrit, was an alleged terrorist
directly linked to the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
The attack triggered a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks by Shiites and Sunnis,
taking on the shape of a sectarian war that many fear could lead to a civil
war and Iraq's breakup.
For ordinary Iraqis, the precarious security situation has been made worse
by the harsh living conditions -- long power cuts and the worst fuel
shortage in three years because of the crumbling refineries and attacks on
oil pipelines by insurgents.
On Tuesday, about 550 employees of the Iraqi Pipes and Lines Company in the
southern cities of Basra and Nasiriyah went on strike to demand higher pay.
The company runs tankers and pipelines, transporting oil and gas from the
Shuaiba refinery in Basra to electricity stations, factories and companies
in southern Iraq.
Also Tuesday, former electricity minister Ayham al-Samarie was arrested on
corruption charges after he surrendered to a court, Judge Radhi al-Radhi,
chief of the Public Integrity Commission, said.
Al-Samarie, a dual Iraq-U.S. citizen and Sunni Arab political figure, was a
member of the transitional government set up after the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion.
Byline: By VIJAY JOSHI
Date: 22 August 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq_Iraq has launched its own probe into the alleged rape and
murder of a 14-year-old girl by American soldiers even though they face a
possible U.S. court-martial, an official said Tuesday.
The U.S. military, meanwhile, reported the capture of over 100 known or
suspected al-Qaida terrorists and sectarian death squad leaders, as five
people were killed Tuesday in the violence sweeping the country.
The investigation into the rape-slaying started Thursday and was expected to
take one week, said chief prosecutor Adnan Mahmoud of the criminal court in
Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad, where the March 12 assault took
place.
Mahmoud is part of the investigation panel along with Mahmoudiya's mayor,
police chief and the head of the town's doctor.
He said the panel interviewed witnesses and inspected the house where Abeer
Qassim al-Janabi, 14, was raped, shot dead and set on fire, allegedly by a
group of U.S. soldiers who had observed her for days. Also killed in the
house were her 5-year-old sister and parents.
The gruesome murders have bolstered Iraqi allegations of misconduct by
American soldiers, including illegal killings, beatings and inhuman
treatment.
U.S. authorities arrested five soldiers and a former private in connection
with the case. The active-duty soldiers faced a military hearing earlier
this month to determine if they should be court-martialed. A decision is
pending.
"We will do our best to try and get those soldiers to stand trail in an
Iraqi court. If not we will try them in absentia," said Mahmoud.
He said the investigation was ordered by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who
has made it clear he wants the soldiers tried in an Iraqi court.
The United States is not expected to allow that but has assured al-Maliki
that the case will be pursued vigorously under the American justice system
and that the soldiers will be punished if convicted.
Still, the case has increased demands for changes in an agreement that
exempts U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts.
Mahmoud said the immunity does not apply in this case.
"The accused U.S. soldiers were not involved in military action when they
committed the crime, so they should not enjoy immunity given to U.S.
soldiers," he said.
"We are trying to keep this case under the spotlight as long as possible so
that it is not forgotten and the criminals are able to get away," he said.
The soldiers accused of rape and murder _ Spc. James P. Barker, Sgt. Paul E.
Cortez, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard _ could face the
death penalty if they are convicted by a court-martial. Another soldier,
Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not
alleged to have been a direct participant.
Former Pfc. Steven D. Green was discharged from the Army for a "personality
disorder" after the incident and was arrested in North Carolina in June on
rape and murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is
being held without bond.
The rape slaying has increased calls for the withdrawal of American forces
at a time U.S. commanders are trying to stamp out a Sunni Arab insurgency
grinding on three years after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
The insurgents hope to restore the power that the Sunni Muslims wielded in
this Shiite-majority country during Saddam's rule. The U.S. military says
al-Qaida members, both Iraqi and foreigners, have joined the insurgency.
On Tuesday, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell told
reporters that "well over 100 known and suspected al-Qaida terrorists and
terrorist associates" were arrested during several raids in the past week.
"All these captures have severely disrupted and disorganized the capability
of al-Qaida in Iraq," Caldwell said.
Among those arrested was a Saudi Arabian al-Qaida member, who was preparing
Iraqi men for suicide operations, a U.S. statement said.
Also arrested, in Saddam's hometown Tikrit, was an alleged terrorist
directly linked to the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
The attack triggered a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks by Shiites and Sunnis,
taking on the shape of a sectarian war that many fear could lead to a civil
war and Iraq's breakup.
For ordinary Iraqis, the precarious security situation has been made worse
by the harsh living conditions -- long power cuts and the worst fuel
shortage in three years because of the crumbling refineries and attacks on
oil pipelines by insurgents.
On Tuesday, about 550 employees of the Iraqi Pipes and Lines Company in the
southern cities of Basra and Nasiriyah went on strike to demand higher pay.
The company runs tankers and pipelines, transporting oil and gas from the
Shuaiba refinery in Basra to electricity stations, factories and companies
in southern Iraq.
Also Tuesday, former electricity minister Ayham al-Samarie was arrested on
corruption charges after he surrendered to a court, Judge Radhi al-Radhi,
chief of the Public Integrity Commission, said.
Al-Samarie, a dual Iraq-U.S. citizen and Sunni Arab political figure, was a
member of the transitional government set up after the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion.