|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
|
April 29th,
2009 - Ex-Sgt.: Soldier Acknowledged Role in Iraq Crime News article from the Associated Press |
|
Ex-Sgt.: Soldier Acknowledged
Role in Iraq Crime By Brett Barrouquere Associated Press April 29, 2009 Paducah, Ky. - A former U.S.
Army sergeant said an ex-soldier charged with killing a family in Iraq and
raping a teenage girl had twice acknowledged committing the attack in the
days after the bodies were discovered. Anthony Yribe, who was in
the same unit of the 101st Airborne Division with Steven Dale Green, told
jurors Wednesday that Green admitted to the crimes in two separate
interviews, one hours after the attack March 12, 2006, and again the next
day. Yribe said he met Green and
another soldier at a traffic checkpoint after seeing the bodies. "Green said something
to the effect of, 'I did that,'" Yribe said during testimony on the
third day of Green's trial in U.S. District Court. During an interview the next
day, Yribe again questioned Green about details of the crime. Yribe said
Green accurately described how many bodies there were and where they were in
the house. But Green refused to implicate any other soldiers. "He said he did it
alone," said Yribe, of Belleview, Idaho. Yribe testified he was
charged with dereliction of duty and making a false official statement for
not telling military investigators about his conversation with Green. He said
that as part of a deal with prosecutors, the charges were dismissed and he
accepted an other-than-honorable discharge from the Army in 2008. Green, 23, of Midland,
Texas, has pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen charges against him,
including sexual assault and four counts of murder. Prosecutors have said Green
was the triggerman among a group of soldiers who attacked the family near
Mahmoudiya, Iraq, about 20 miles outside Baghdad. They said he shot
14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi's parents and 6-year-old sister, then was
the third to rape the teen before shooting her in the face several times. Green faces a possible death
sentence if convicted in federal court, where he is being tried because he
had been discharged from the Army before charges were brought. Defense attorneys have asked
jurors to consider the "context" of war surrounding Green, painting
a picture of young soldiers in harsh wartime conditions, lacking leadership
and receiving little help from the Army to deal with the loss of friends. Other soldiers involved in
the attack were prosecuted in military court. Two of those pleaded guilty at
court-martial, and a third was convicted. A fourth who stayed behind at a
checkpoint while the others went to the family's home pleaded guilty to being
an accessory. Also Wednesday, jurors saw
photos taken by Yribe hours after the attack. The photos showed a mother,
father and small girl lying in pools of blood with shotgun wounds. Other
photos showed badly charred and barely recognizable human remains. As the photos were shown,
Green sat at the defense table, rubbing his eyes, staring at Yribe and
looking around the room. Yribe recounted the two
interviews with Green, saying he initially didn't believe his fellow soldier
committed the acts. "I asked him if he was
serious or if this was just him talking," Yribe said. "He said he
was serious, that he did it alone." Yribe said he didn't tell
his superior officers about Green's comments. Defense attorney Scott
Wendelsdorf asked: "Did you feel a sense of allegiance to Pfc. Green
because of your service in the Army?" "A little bit,"
Yribe responded. A superior officer, Lt. Col.
Thomas Kunk, initiated a criminal investigation in June, after hearing rumors
about American involvment in the slayings. Yribe said he lied to Army
criminal investigators. "At that point, why
were you lying?" Wendelsdorf asked. "The gravity of the
situation and my involvement in it came into play," Yribe said. Wendelsdorf pressed Yribe:
"You got yourself in too deep and you got scared?" "Yes," Yribe
answered. Earlier Wednesday, Kunk
testified that he met with Green after his unit had suffered the deaths of
several soldiers. Green had apparently told others that he wanted to kill
Iraqi civilians, Kunk said. "I specifically
remember asking Steven Green, 'Do you think all Iraqis are bad?' He said,
'No, not all Iraqis are bad, sir,'" Kunk said. "After engaging him
and looking him in the eye, I felt comfortable about that." Kunk said he explained that
only a "small percentage" of Iraqis were bad. After the two men
exchanged a "firm handshake," Kunk sent Green back to his unit. In May 2006, Green was
discharged from the Army after being diagnosed with a personality disorder. The federal trial is being
held in western Kentucky because the 101st Airborne Division is based at Fort
Campbell, Ky. © 2009 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6399782.html US soldier confessed to
rape, murder of Iraqi girl From Agence France Presse April 29, 2009 Paducah, Kentucky - US Army
Sergeant Anthony Yribe had just returned from investigating the gruesome
murder of an Iraqi family when another US soldier met him with a staggering
confession, a jury was told Wednesday. "He said something to
the effect of, 'I did that,'" Yribe testified during Steven Dale Green's
trial in a federal courthouse in Kentucky. Green is accused of leading
a gang of US soldiers that raped and later killed a 14-year-old Iraqi girl in
March 2006 in the town of Mamudiyah, south of Baghdad. The soldiers also
allegedly killing the girl's father, mother and six-year-old sister. Green faces the death
penalty if found guilty. Yribe, who was discharged
from the army after failing to report the crime, said he did not initially
believe Green's confession. But Green insisted on taking
the blame and provided details such as where each victim had been found
inside the home, and said that the girl had been raped and her body burned. The next day Yribe said he
continued questioning Green about his alleged involvement in the crimes. "I wanted to know if he
was serious or if it was just him talking. He said he was serious. He said he
had done it alone," Yribe said. "I said, "You're
dead to me, man," Yribe testified. "I said that he needed to get
out of the army and that if he didn't do it, that I was going to help
him." Green was later discharged
from the army due to a "personality disorder." Asked why he didn't share
evidence that might have led others to uncover Green's involvement, Yribe
testified, "He's one of my brothers. I'm not going to tell on him. I'm
half way protecting him and I half way didn't believe him ... I don't know if
I was just being naïve or what." Copyright © 2009 AFP. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j_436-w5tF5kA3YcFpufkpGwWWsQ |