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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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May 29th,
2009 - Relatives of Slain Iraqis Confront Killer 1st news article from
the Louisville Courier-Journal |
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Relatives of Slain
Iraqis Confront Killer ‘May God ruin his life,’ mother cries By Andrew Wolfson Louisville Courier-Journal May 29, 2009 It was like a tumultuous
scene from a war-ravaged Iraqi village. Wailing and sobbing on the
witness stand - dressed from head to toe in the traditional black burka and
head scarf - the matriarch of the family murdered by former Pvt. Steven Dale
Green yesterday denounced him as a coward and criminal. Then, as Hajia al-Janabi
left the stand, she lunged toward Green at the defense table, screaming at
him in Arabic, as a half-dozen marshals rushed to restrain her, and a
court-appointed interpreter translated her mournful cries. "I just want to see
him," she yelled. "May God ruin his life. He killed my son." She then collapsed on the
courtroom floor, continuing to excoriate Green, before finally moving to a
bench, comforted by her family. The extraordinary
confrontation came at a victim-impact hearing held this week so that the
al-Janabi family doesn't have to return from Iraq when Green is formally
sentenced Sept. 4 for raping Abeer al-Janabi, 14, and murdering her, as well
as her parents, Kassem and Fakhriya, and her 6-year-old sister, Hadeel, at
their home 20 miles south of Baghdad. Green, who was deployed from
Fort Campbell, was convicted May 9 in federal court in Paducah of rape,
murder, obstruction of justice and other crimes for the March 12, 2006,
atrocity. Three other soldiers were court-martialed and given sentences of
90, 100 and 110 years, although they will all be eligible for parole in 2016. Chief U.S. District Judge
Thomas Russell thanked Abeer's grandmother, aunt, cousin and two younger
brothers for appearing and said he would give their remarks strong consideration. But under the law, Russell
must sentence Green to life in prison without the possibility of release
because the jury that convicted him was unable to agree on the death penalty. Spoke for first time Green, who didn't testify at
his trial, yesterday spoke publicly for the first time, apologizing to the
family. "I am truly sorry for
what I did in Iraq, and I am sorry for the pain my actions, and the actions
of my co-defendants, have caused you and your family," he said, as his
statement was translated into Arabic. "I helped to destroy a
family and end the lives of four of my fellow human beings," he said.
"As inadequate as this apology is, it is all I can give you." Echoing the defense offered
by his lawyers at trial, Green said that when he was in Iraq "something
happened to me that I can only explain by saying that I lost my mind. At some
point while I was in Iraq, I stopped seeing Iraqis as good and bad, as men,
women and children. I started seeing them all as one, and evil, and less than
human." Shifting part of the blame
to the others court-martialed for the crimes, Green said he didn't act alone
and was "following orders" of two senior soldiers. He also told his victims'
family that "despite the evil I have done, I am not evil as a
person." Still, Green said that on Judgment Day, "affliction and
distress will come upon every human being who does evil. I know that I have
done evil, and I fear that the wrath of the Lord will come upon me on that
day." The al-Janabi family
interrupted Green during his remarks and had to be admonished by Russell to
stop. Disputes statement After Green finished reading
his statement, Fakhriya's cousin, Mahdi al-Janabi, who had already addressed
the court, insisted on rebutting Green's claim that he couldn't distinguish
between terrorists and friendly Iraqi civilians. "Did this family ever
shoot at you?" al-Janabi asked. "You knew they posed no threat. You
had full knowledge of what you were doing. "We do not accept your
apology at all," he said. The hearing began quietly,
with short statements from Abeer's brothers, Mohammed, 15, and Ahmed, 13, who
were at school when their parents and sisters were killed. Both responded tersely when
asked what they wanted to say to Green and the court. "Why did he kill my
father?" Ahmed asked. "What did my father do to him?" Mohammed, asked by Justice
Department attorney Brian Skaret if he thought the sentence for Green was
appropriate, said he deserved the death penalty. Abeer's aunt, Amin
al-Janabi, who also wore the traditional black hijab, began by saying she
didn't want to see Green's face. "I am not honored to look at him,"
she said. With her voice growing
louder, she described her brother, Kassem, as a poor man who cared only about
his family. Slamming her hand on the
witness stand - and finally turning to look at Green - she asked: "Why
did this man cross continents and oceans to kill my family? Doesn't he have
any honor in his heart? Doesn't he have parents and brothers and
sisters?" Then, calling Green a
coward, she screamed, "Why did you kill my brother? Why? Why? Talk to
me. Talk. Talk." She broke into tears,
covered her eyes and apologized to the court. "I am sorry," she
said, "but the wounds are eating my heart." Hajia - Kassem's mother -
began her remarks by expressing displeasure that Green's life was spared. "This criminal sitting
in front of me, this bastard, killed my son, my grandchildren," she
said, later calling Green a "stigma on the United States" and
saying, "May God prevent you from seeing the sun for the rest of your
life." Worried about soldiers Mahdi, the cousin, was the
last victim to testify, recalling how Abeer had come to stay with him a few
days before the crimes, because her family was worried about American
soldiers who had been harassing her. But she stayed only one
night before her father brought her home, he said. "I asked him why and
he said, 'Don't worry. There is no problem.' " Mahdi al-Janabi said he
thinks the jury issued an "incorrect decision" because the U.S.
media shows only "the bad side of Arabs" and because "America
is still living under the shock of Sept. 11." Turning to Green, al-Janabi
said: "Abeer will chase you in your nightmares. You will see the face of
this innocent girl in your dark cell for the rest of your life. May God damn
you." Green said he had planned on
reading from a prepared statement, but decided to answer some of the family's
questions first. He said he didn't choose to go to their country - he was
sent there. "I didn't decide to take a vacation to Iraq," he said. Unshaven and dressed in a
gray-and-white striped prison uniform, Green said he became overwhelmed by a
war in which insurgents looked the same as civilians. "I didn't know who
was a terrorist or who wasn't," he said. "I had never been
somewhere where cars blow up, where streets blow up." Speaking directly to the
survivors, he said, "I know you wish I was dead, and I do not hold that
against you." He said that while he didn't
know their names when he killed them, Abeer, Hadeel, Kassem and Fakhriya,
each of whom he mentioned by name, are never far from his mind now. "I see now that I was
wrong," Green said. "I see that Iraqis are human beings, despite
the differences of language and race, and that it is wrong to kill Iraqis,
just like it is wrong to kill white people, or anybody else." Attorneys in the case said
the hearing provided a needed opportunity for the al-Janabi family to speak
out to the world about the harm done to them. "You can't expect it
will bring them closure, but you hope it would help bring them some kind of
comfort," Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford said. One of Green's lawyers,
Darren Wolff, noted that Green didn't have to speak, but wanted to apologize.
"It was one step for closure for him, but he will have a lot to contend
with for the rest of his life." External link: http://tinyurl.com/metc25 From Louisville Courier-Journal May 29, 2009 The following is the
complete statement Steven D. Green read from today in Court. Mr. Green
deviated from his written statement at times so the official court record
will reflect those deviations: What I am about to say is
completely my own. No one told me what to say. No one wrote this for me. Not
my lawyers, not the government, not anybody. My feelings of remorse are
directed solely towards the victims, and towards the family of the victims,
who I do not deny are victims themselves. I am truly sorry for what I
did in Iraq and I am sorry for the pain my actions, and the actions of my
co-defendants, have caused you and your family. I imagine it is a pain that I
cannot fully comprehend or appreciate. I helped to destroy a family and end
the lives of four of my fellow human beings, and I wish that I could take it
back, but I cannot. And, as inadequate as this apology is, it is all I can
give you. I know you wish I was dead,
and I do not hold that against you. If I was in your place, I am convinced
beyond any doubt that I would feel the same way. And, if I thought it would
change anything, or if it would bring these people back to life, I would do
everything I could to make them execute me. I also know that you think I am
evil, and I understand that as well, and even though I do not think that you
want to hear this, I have to tell you that despite the evil that I have done,
I am not an evil person. Before I was in the Army, I
never thought I would kill anyone, and even after I was in the Army, but
before I went to Iraq, I never thought I would intentionally kill a civilian.
When I was in Iraq, something happened to me that I can only explain by
saying that I lost my mind. At some point while I was in Iraq, I stopped
seeing Iraqi's as good and bad, as men, women, and children. I started seeing
them all as one, and evil, and less than human. When that happened, any
natural, learned, or religious morality, that normally would have stopped
this, was gone. But I see now that I was
wrong, and that Iraqi's are human beings, and that despite differences of
race, religion, culture, and language, they are still human. And that at
their core, they have the same feelings, emotions, and needs as Americans. It
was wrong to kill Iraqi's, just like it was wrong to kill Americans, just
like it is wrong to kill anyone, and I am very sorry. Most of all I am sorry for
the deceased, but aside from them, I am the most sorry for the boys whose
family are gone. I know what we did left a hole in their lives, and scars on
their minds, and that there is no making up for that. I only hope for them
that they can somehow, and I don't know how, move forward, and have a good
future despite the nightmare in their past that I helped create. They have my
apologies and my prayers, as meaningless as they must seem. The Government is not going
to execute me, as I am sure you wish they would, but there is really no
chance that I will step foot outside of prison for as long as I live. I know
that if I live one more year or fifty more years that they will be years that
Fahkriya, Kassem, Abeer, and Hadeel won't have not matter where I am. And
even though I did not learn their names until long after their deaths, they
are never far from my mind. But in the end, whether in one year or fifty, I
will die, and when I die I will be in God's hands. In the Kingdom of God
where there will be justice, and whatever I deserve, I will get. On the day
of judgment, God will repay everyone according to his works, and affliction
and distress will come upon every human being who does evil. I know that I
have done evil, and I fear that the wrath of the Lord will come upon me on
that day. But, I hope that you and your family at least can find some comfort
in God's justice. I see now that war is
intrinsically evil, because killing is intrinsically evil. And, I am sorry I
ever had anything to do with either. External link: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090529/NEWS01/90528034 |