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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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May 5th,
2009 - Defense Rests Case in Ex-Soldier’s Trial News article from the Associated
Press |
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Defense Rests Case in Ex-Soldier’s
Trial By Brett Barrouquere Associated Press May 5, 2009 Paducah, Ky. - Defense
attorneys called two soldiers to discuss the hardships faced by troops in
combat before resting their case Tuesday in the trial of a former soldier
charged with the rape and murder of an Iraqi teen and the shotgun deaths of
her family. U.S. District Judge Thomas
B. Russell scheduled closing arguments for Wednesday in the case of former
Pfc. Steven Dale Green, who could face the death penalty if convicted. A civilian jury is hearing
the case in federal court in western Kentucky because Green had been
discharged from the Army before being charged in the case. Other soldiers
charged in the attack were prosecuted in military court. The trial began April 27 for
Green, 24, of Midland, Texas. He has pleaded not guilty to charges related to
the March 12, 2006, attack on 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and her
family. The defense ended its case
after questioning two witnesses Tuesday, playing one videotaped deposition
and a short segment from the television show "60 Minutes" for
jurors. The testimony focused primarily on the conditions soldiers lived and
worked under in an area known as the "Triangle of Death." Jurors saw an hourlong
deposition of former Spc. James Gregory. Gregory, who served in the same
company in the 101st Airborne Division with Green, was unavailable to testify
in person because of his wedding, defense attorney Patrick Bouldin said. Gregory said soldiers worked
constantly, slept little and felt like they were going to be killed rather
than live through their tour of duty. "We were all pretty
much nervous wrecks," Gregory said. "We were just waiting on the
day, when your day was coming." Another former soldier from
the 101st, Christopher Barnes, described for jurors stressful conditions,
where soldiers faced the constant threat of roadside bombs and uncooperative
locals who seemed to know when an attack was planned. "They were all in on
it, every single one of them," Barnes said. "They could have easily
warned us. They didn't want to warn us." Barnes said the inability to
tell civilians from combatants engendered hostility among the soldiers toward
all Iraqis. "Now, you have someone
to hate," Barnes said. But, Assistant U.S. Attorney
Marisa Ford said, not all soldiers acted on their desires to kill civilians. "You didn't rape any
14-year-old Iraqi girls?" Ford asked Barnes. "No," Barnes said. "You didn't kill any
Iraqi civilians, did you?" Ford asked. "No. But there were
times when I felt like I wanted to," Barnes said. Prosecutors have said Green
often talked of wanting to kill Iraqis, but when pressed, would tell people
he wasn't serious. In the weeks before the attack on the family, several
soldiers from Green's unit were killed in combat. One witness Tuesday, former
Pfc. Justin Watt, walked jurors through the daily log books kept by the
military, then jurors watched a segment of an interview Gen. Raymond Odierno
gave the "60 Minutes" show in September 2008. In the interview, Odierno
described the "Triangle of Death" as one of the more dangerous
places in Iraq in 2006 and 2007. The defense, which did not
put on evidence that Green wasn't involved in the crime, called a total of
four witnesses. On Monday, Lt. Col. Karen Marrs, an Army combat stress nurse,
testified about Green's mental health in the months before the attack. The defense has asked jurors
to consider the context surrounding soldiers in Green's company, saying the
Army failed to help the fighters after colleagues and leaders were killed in
enemy attacks. Prosecution witnesses have
included soldiers who said Green killed the parents and sister with a
shotgun. They said Green was the third soldier to rape Abeer before shooting
her to death with an AK-47 rifle. © 2009 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6409019.html Iraq: “It’s
like shootin’ at ghosts, blindfolded.” - Day 7 By Evan Bright Steven Green Trial Blog May 5, 2009 The guilty/not guilty phase
of USA v. Green is complete. The defense finished its case today with three
witnesses: Christopher Barnes, a video deposition of James Gregory, and
Justin Watt. No surprise, Barnes spoke of
the area he shared with the defendant in Iraq. "It was rough, like hell,
constant sweat and no sleep." When attorney Pat Bouldin
asked what the general thought from soldiers was on Iraqis, again, he
paraphrased what had already been said: "they were all in on it ... they
don't want us here anyway." He talked about the average four hours of
sleep soldiers achieved. He spoke of the deaths of superior officers Munger
and McKenzie. He said that the deaths of Casica and Nelson and the effects
they had on the morale of the troops was by far "the worst, the roughest
I've ever seen." He talked about assisting in the search for, and
finding pieces of Britt's body. Marisa Ford crossed Barnes, asking his personal
thoughts on Green pre-war. "He was really innocent, a really big
kid." When questioned about his PTSD, "PTSD ruined my life,"
Barnes grievously stated. Waiting on the sidelines,
James Gregory "took the stand" next. A video deposition that was
filmed on April 25th was shown to the courtroom. Gregory would seem to be the
typical just-out-of-the army dude. A big, burly man, with a deep voice and
the tattoos to boot. You can't forget the Led Zeppelin shirt either. He, like
the rest of the former soldiers, enlisted in the Army and was deployed to
Iraq in September of 2005. The effects of PTSD were extremely obvious in
Gregory; he looked down and spoke somberly but matter-of-factly, as if being
forced to remember something he'd rather forget. He spoke of witnessing Britt
and Lopez, among others, walk over and trip an IED, and of how the IED
appeared to be designed for a vehicle, not dismounted troops. He appeared
upset (as upset as a man like him could be) as he talked about trying to
extract Britt's body from the canal it was thrown into. Bouldin asked him
what it was like to be in a firefight, to which he replied "well i mean,
it's a firefight. You got all this shit flying at you … around you, but you
can't see the source." He would later add that "it ain't like you
see the Germans and know what they look like and where they are ... it's like
shootin' at ghosts, blindfolded." He also talked about seeing the
company FOB (Forward Operating Base) from TCP1. He talked about not having
near enough manpower at the TCPs and his aformentioned PTSD diagnosis. For
the cross, Jim Lesousky simply addended that "You knew your limits while
you were over there didn't you? You knew not to kill innocent civilians or
innocent Iraqis?" "Yes," Gregory replied, before adding "It's
something I think about every day." Next, Justin Watt was called
in. Justin was the RTO (radio operator) for 1st platoon. Chris Cooper ... errr
Darren Wolff, brought in the radio log book which contained all of the events
that occurred (or were logged) between February 25th, 2006 to March 28th,
2006. Prior to trial, Watt also prepared a list of abbreviations for the jury
to use during deliberation. Wolff and Lesousky (P) both went through a page
or two in the log book, having Watt explain various abbreviations and
commands and directions. Lastly, the defense showed a
clip from a September 28th, 2008 airing CBS' 60 Minutes, the main point being
that before "General O" took command, there were upwards of 100
attacks per week in Iraq, whereas now there are around two per week. In the
clip, Barbara Walters asked the incumbent General O if the Triangle of Death
was one of the worst parts in Iraq, he said "the worst." The guilty/not guilty phase
is complete. Chief District Judge Thomas B Russell adjourned shortly before
noon today, admonishing the jurors of their duties, and announcing that court
will reconvene tomorrow, Wednesday, May 6th 2009, to hear closing statements.
Expect a guilty/not guilty verdict by Wednesday's end, Thursday at the
latest. Notes: - The fatigue was visible
today in the courtroom. The judge, lawyers, jurors, even members of the press
(mostly me) were seen yawning at various times. - The Huffington Post sent
Gail Mellor to report on the trial. You may very well find a byline on her
story about this trial … we shall see! External link: http://trialcoverage.blogspot.com/2009/05/iraq-its-like-shootin-at-ghosts.html |