|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
|
April 28th,
2009 - Col.: Accused Ex-Soldier Wanted to Shoot Civilians News article from the Associated
Press |
|
Col.: Accused Ex-Soldier Wanted
to Shoot Civilians By Brett Barrouquere Associated Press April 28, 2009 Paducah, Ky. - A former U.S.
Army soldier accused of raping an Iraqi girl and killing her and three other
members of her family told a superior that the rules of combat were unfair
and that he wanted to shoot civilians, one of his commanding officers
testified Tuesday. Steven Dale Green, 23, of
Midland, Texas, has pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen charges,
including sexual assault and four counts of murder, stemming from the March
2006 attack in Iraq's so-called "Triangle of Death." Col. Todd Ebel told jurors
on the second day of the federal trial that he spoke with Green for about 30
minutes in December 2005 about losing soldiers to enemy attacks. During
nearly two hours of sometimes contentious questioning by Green's attorneys,
Ebel said Green appeared during that meeting to be upset over losing four
friends and fellow soldiers. "He said he didn't
think it was fair the enemy could be dressed as civilians," Ebel said.
"He said something to the effect that we ought to be able to shoot
them." Green's frustrations and
anger were normal for a soldier who had witnessed the loss of friends in
combat and the comments did not give him pause, Ebel said. "I had no concern he
was acting different than any other soldiers," Ebel told the jurors. Prosecutors said in opening
statements that Green and three other soldiers attacked the family - father,
mother, and daughters ages 6 and 14 - at their home near Mahmoudiya, Iraq,
about 20 miles south of Baghdad. Assistant U.S. Attorney
Brian Skaret said Green fatally shot the rest of the family with a shotgun
before becoming the third soldier to rape the teenager, Abeer Qassim
al-Janabi. After he shot the girl in
the face several times, Green used kerosene to set fire to her body, Skaret
said. Green is being tried in a
civilian court because he was discharged from the Army before being charged.
Defense attorneys have asked jurors to consider the extraordinary
circumstances confronting soldiers while serving in Iraq. Defense attorney Darren
Wolff asked Ebel, who oversaw the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry, 2nd Brigade
of the 101st Airborne Division, which included Green, if he met with any
other private for about a half-hour to discuss "grief counseling." Ebel said he couldn't
remember a similar such meeting with another private, but that he met with
numerous soldiers of various ranks while in Iraq. "You do not recall
simply because it did not happen," Wolff said. Ebel responded sharply:
"I do not accept your assertion." Lt. Col. Thomas Kunk, who
oversaw Green's unit and others, testified later Tuesday. Kunk said he first heard
from other soldiers that Americans may have been involved in the family's
death in June 2006, three months after the attack. Kunk said he began a
commander's inquiry, interviewing all of the soldiers who were at a traffic
checkpoint when the attack happened. The interviews didn't shed much light on
what went on, Kunk said, so he called in the Army's criminal investigators. "Something just did not
sit right with me," said Kunk, whose testimony was to continue
Wednesday. "I could not allow a rumor like this to persist. I either
needed to prove it or disprove it." In defense opening
statements Monday, attorney Patrick Bouldin painted a picture of young
soldiers in harsh wartime conditions, lacking leadership and receiving little
help from the Army to deal with the loss of their friends. Other soldiers involved in
the attack were prosecuted in military court, including two who pleaded
guilty and acknowledged taking part in the rape. Prosecutors said a third who
was convicted had gone to the family's home knowing what was planned. A
fourth who stayed behind at the checkpoint pleaded guilty to being an
accessory, they said. Green's federal trial is
being held in Paducah because of the western Kentucky city's proximity to
Fort Campbell, where the 101st Airborne is based. His discharge papers show
he received an honorable discharge in May 2006 after being diagnosed with a
personality disorder. © 2009 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6397374.html By Evan Bright Steven Green Trial Blog April 28, 2009 Today began with the
cross-examination of Colonel Todd Ebel. Although Green chose the darker grey
sweater vest, he appeared to be in a lighter mood, at times smiling and
conversing with his lawyers. In fact, the entire court came across as more
courteous, if at times getting semi-quarrelsome. Defense Attorney Darren Wolf
was very cordial in his cross of Col. Ebel. Even when he seemed to reach a
brick wall in questioning Ebel if he’d ever fired his weapon in combat (he
didn’t), he showcased a calm, professional style, asking Ebel not to “dumb
down” what he was saying, but to instead translate his “military speak into
civilian speak” for the jury. Laughs were heard from all parties present in
the courtroom when Ebel was questioned about the structure of the military
ranking system, “Well, I outranked the highest commanding officer over there,
but I’d never tell him what to do.” Wolf spent most of his cross pointing out
faults in the Colonel’s leadership. Ebel agreed that he had sat down for 30
minutes to speak with Defendant Green after the deaths of his commanding
officers Casica and Nelson. A minor breaking point was
reached when Wolf finagled the Colonel into admitting that he could not
recall any other incident where he had sat down with a soldier for any amount
of time after the deaths of said soldier’s superiors. The next witness called
was Colonel Thomas G. Kunk (how ‘bout that for a last name!). Kunk was a
Lieutenant Colonel under Ebel with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and was
Battalion Commander of the 1st Battalion, commanding around 1100 soldiers
during the tour of duty in question (Col. Ebel commanded ~7500 troops). Prosecuting Attorney Marissa
Ford questioned Kunk about his background in the military, as well as
[obviously] his service in Iraq. Kunk explained how he played a major
organizational roll in the training of the Iraqi Army back in 2006, and how
he used various platoons to help train the Iraqi soldiers. He discussed the
tasks of his battalion, with Ford extruding details about Bravo Company’s
specific mission. According to Kunk, Bravo company’s mission was to A)
disrupt enemy missions, B) bring security and stability to the Mahmuhdiya
region, and C) to train the Iraqi security. More specifically, he spoke
of the platoons stationed at J. C. Bridge, and their respective goal of
preventing any force from traversing the bridge, east or west. He spoke of
his unsettling feelings upon his arrival at the bridge, saying that “8 men at
the western end of the bridge… that did not sit well with me.” Furthermore,
Kunk spoke of rebuilding the Iraqi infrastructure: protecting a water
treatment facility while living there, and how his soldiers began working on
infiltrating or engaging lands where U.S. soldiers previously hadn’t been
able to go by way of earning the Iraqi people’s trust. “Some would say you
gotta win people’s hearts or minds, well, I think that to win people’s hearts
and minds, you first have to earn their trust and their confidence.” Though proceedings appeared
to be more formal and in motion today, and even though both sides of the
trial were quite courteous and helpful to each other, when objections were
called, things appeared to get heated, with both sides exhibiting more
rambunctious hand motions and snippy whispers, appearing to have mini-tantrums
in trying to get what they wanted from Judge Russell. Next, he was questioned
on the deaths of Specialist Lopez and Lieutenant Britt; they had completed a
search for, and found, 15 IEDs when they spotted yet another IED which
exploded when they traversed a canal to inspect the bomb. Kunk said he
questioned those soldiers who knew the superior officers to insure their
health and mental stability. He testified that the deaths “didn’t just hurt
the 8 soldiers in the squad, or the 30 in the platoon, or the ~130 in the
company, it hurts us ALL.” When asked if he spoke with then Pfc. Green about
the deaths, Kunk evasively replied, “It’s possible.” [Defendant] Green perked
up at his answer. The Colonel attempted to showcase his… for lack of a better
word, manliness, at times seeming exaggerated or, in all honesty, even forged
(that’s just my take). After being injured on/around March 8th by an IED
while traveling in an M1151. Kunk refused a medivac to
the nearest hospital, saying, “If you go out by medivac, sometimes you don’t
come back…I wasn’t leaving my men… not to be cavalier.” A major point of
interest in the trial, Kunk brought in controversial new testimony regarding
the hearsay surrounding the March 12 slayings: the Colonel asked lesser
officers that reported to the scene if any rumors were circulating about who
committed the crimes. Kunk testified that officers only told him “the
insurgents…some kind of sectarian violence.” Again with the fabrication, the witness
stated, “something about that just diiiidn’t sound right to me.” This caused
several murmurs in the crowd, specifically within the press section. Kunk has
never mentioned any of this in any of his previous testimonies regarding the
Mahmudiya killings. Kunk continued, speaking of his recommendation for the
discharge of Green, and of his notification regarding the killings and that
they “might have been committed by U.S. soldiers.” After being informed, Kunk
called his superiors until all proper parties had been informed, “I either
had to prove it or disprove it.” Even on cross, Kunk was all encompassing in
his tales of wartime. He told of Bravo Company’s attempts to get schools back
in order, to get medical services up and running, and running water, “things
we take for granted here in the U.S.,” Kunk added. Darren Wolf returned once
again for cross. A big issue was made of how “engaged” Kunk and his
respective peons were, and what they thought of each soldier’s ability to
“choose to do the harder right than the easier wrong.” When asked what he meant by
this, Kunk gave an explanation to the amount of “choosing the harder right by
retaliating against true enemies, as opposed to the easier wrong by killing
innocent Iraqis.” The next topic was Captain John Goodwin. Kunk stated, “It
was reported to me that Cap’n Goodwin had a ‘thousand yard stare’ and looked
lethargic.” Darren Wolf pinned Kunk down in forcing him to admit that when
Kunk asked Goodwin to list where his soldiers were located, Goodwin was unable
to do so, thus making Goodwin “not an engaged leader” as was previously
stated. In response to this, Kunk stated that he recommended a 3-day leave of
absence for Goodwin because, “If you can’t do the small things right… when
it’s tough, you won’t be able to do the complicated things.” The last point military
lawyer and defense attorney Darren Wolf made regarded the TCPs. Wolf was once
again extremely professional in his actions and questioning. He was quick in
bringing the differences between TCP 1 and TCP 2 to light (note: Kunk had
stayed overnight in TCP1, and Def. Green was located at TCP2). Whereas TCP1
had at least 10 Iraqis and 8 U.S. soldiers on hand at all times, TCP2, the
check point where Green and his fellow convicts were stationed, had a mere six
U.S. soldiers. While TCP1 had sandbag barriers surrounding the checkpoint,
working electricity, and a bathroom, TCP2 had none of these. Kunk, his
egotistical side showing, proudly proclaimed “Sometimes I slept in the litter
because I gave the cots in the TCP to my soldiers.”(Note: a litter is a
stretcher used for bodies) In the end Kunk admitted, “We were asking an awful
lot of our men… war is stress.” Other notes of today’s
trial: -The Press Section was asked
twice today to be quiet during the objections while both prosecution/defense
were at Judge Russell’s desk. - Brian L. Howard’s
attorney, name withheld, present in court every day thus far, was escorted
out of the courtroom after being found using a cell phone. External link: http://trialcoverage.blogspot.com/2009/04/war-is-stress.html |