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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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August 27th,
2008 - US Army Continues Iraq Murder Conspiracy Hearing |
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US Army Continues Iraq Murder
Conspiracy Hearing By George Frey Associated Press August 27, 2008 Vilseck, Germany - A
military panel took evidence Wednesday in a hearing aimed at determining
whether two U.S. soldiers should face a court-martial in the deaths of four
Iraqi men last year. Authorities say the men were
blindfolded, shot in the head and dumped in a Baghdad canal in April 2007 in
alleged retribution for casualties within the 172nd Infantry Brigade. Defense lawyers representing
Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham and Sgt. Charles Quigley insisted that their
clients didn't participate in the killings and had little or no knowledge of
them. Instead, they argued that
three other soldiers in the same brigade - 1st Sgt. John Hatley, Sgt. 1st
Class Joseph Mayo and Sgt. Michael Leahy - were responsible. The three face
charges and trial at a later date. In witness testimony Tuesday
and Wednesday, soldiers who were on the patrol said the four Iraqis, probably
Sunnis, were taken into custody following a shootout with insurgents, and
brought to the brigade's Baghdad base. None of the soldiers said
they saw Cunningham or Quigley discussing anything at the time. Some said
they were asked by Hatley and Mayo if it would be all right if the detainees
were executed. "We didn't believe them
and didn't answer," Sgt. Daniel Evoy said in his testimony Tuesday.
"I didn't hear Cunningham give any kind of order. I didn't see him
there." Other witnesses said that
the four men were then taken to a remote area near a canal. The first witness to provide
testimony Wednesday, Pfc. Jonathan Schaffer, said he "was confident it
was Sgt. Mayo directing the convoy." He said that the detainees were led
from their vehicle and later six or seven shots were heard. "I thought 'Oh no,' as
I put two and two together," he said. Schaffer added that both
Cunningham and Quigley were in or near his vehicle at the time. "Quigley
was with us, he looked nervous and shocked." Schaffer and others that
testified said the patrol headed back to base and nobody said a word about it
on the trip. Two other soldiers cases
were also to be heard on Wednesday, but both waived their right to an investigation. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hVY31p1alwez7jxDFXxYQjeEOXRgD92QVSK80 |