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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 22nd, 2006 - Killing by
Guardsman in Iraq Called Appropriate |
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Killing by Guardsman in Iraq
Called Appropriate By Josh White Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, July 22, 2006; A02 An investigating officer in
Baghdad has recommended that commanders drop voluntary manslaughter and
conspiracy charges against a Pennsylvania National Guard soldier after
determining that he followed appropriate rules of engagement when he killed
an Iraqi man in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi in February. Army Lt. Col. John W.
McClory found that Spec. Nathan B. Lynn, 21, of South Williamsport, Pa., did
nothing wrong in shooting Gani Ahmad Zaben in the post-curfew darkness
outside a group of homes on Feb. 15. McClory ruled that Lynn thought the man
was armed with an AK-47 and believed he was a threat. Military officials allege that
Lynn improperly fired on the man and then conspired with other members of his
unit to plant a weapon in a pool of blood near the body to cover up the
crime. But evidence presented at an Article 32 hearing in Baghdad this week -
a hearing similar to a civilian grand jury - convinced McClory that Lynn
followed the rules of engagement, or ROE, when he "lawfully" killed
Zaben in an area that had been the scene of frequent insurgent attacks. He
also concluded that Lynn did not play a role in placing an AK-47 near the
man's body. "Although evidence in
this case indicates that the victim was in fact unarmed, sufficient evidence
was presented that SPC Lynn thought the man was armed, perceived hostile
intent from the movement of the victim in an active area of combat
operations, and acted within the ROE in engaging the target with deadly
force," McClory wrote in his report to commanders on Thursday. Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli,
who commands Multinational Corps-Iraq, is expected to make a final decision
in the case this weekend, and Lynn's military defense attorney said he has
"high expectations" that Chiarelli will follow the recommendation. The military ROE in Iraq are
central to most homicide cases against U.S. troops and are at the heart of a
major investigation into the killings of two dozen civilians in a group of
homes in Haditha. Lawyers representing several Marines in that case - which
has so far yielded no charges - have said they plan to argue that their
clients were following the ROE when they thought they were under attack. Yesterday, the Associated
Press reported that four Army soldiers charged with killing three detainees
they captured in raids near Samarra told investigators their ROE were to kill
"all military-age males." They said commanders authorized the rules
for a special mission and initially cleared them of wrongdoing, according to
the AP. Lynn said that in his case,
he followed the rules when he shot a man he believed was a threat. "This is a war, and we
were stationed in one of the worst places in Iraq," Lynn said in a
telephone interview from Baghdad yesterday. "This fell within the
guidelines of my ROE." Capt. Ben Grimes, who
presented the military's case, told McClory that he thinks a court-martial
should at least hear the case, because there is evidence of a crime. "Danger in and of
itself does not mean soldiers have carte blanche to act in whatever way they
want," Grimes said, according to an audio recording of the proceedings. Lynn said he shot the man as
he and another suspected insurgent moved stealthily toward his position.
Another soldier in Lynn's unit, Sgt. Milton Ortiz Jr., allegedly conspired to
place an AK-47 found near the scene next to the body. The investigating
officer recommended that charges against Ortiz - including the conspiracy
count and unrelated charges of assault and uttering a threat - go forward. Capt. James Culp, Lynn's
military defense attorney in Iraq, said yesterday that he hopes his client
will be able to return to Pennsylvania in the next few days. "It is very rare for an
Article 32 investigating officer to recommend the dismissal of all charges
against an accused," Culp said yesterday. "The charges against
Specialist Lynn were very serious. The investigating officer's well-grounded
recommendation in Specialist Lynn's case demonstrates the Uniform Code of
Military Justice at its best." © 2006 The Washington Post
Company External link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/21/AR2006072101350.html |