posted July 09, 2006 12:39 PM              

BAGHDAD, Iraq (July 9) - Four more U.S. soldiers have been charged with rape and murder and a fifth with dereliction of duty in the alleged rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman and the killings of her relatives in Mahmoudiya, the military said Sunday.

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The Scene in Mahmoudiya

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The five were accused Saturday following an investigation into allegations that American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division raped the teenager and killed her and three relatives at her home south of Baghdad.

Ex-soldier Steven D. Green was arrested last week in North Carolina and has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and four counts of murder.

The U.S. statement said the five soldiers still on active duty will face an Article 32 investigation, similar to a grand jury hearing in civilian law. The Article 32 proceeding will determine whether there is enough evidence to place them on trial.

One of the soldiers was charged with failing to report the attack but is not believed to have participated in it directly, the statement said.

The names of the four soldiers were not released.

The March 12 attack on the family was among the worst in a series of cases of U.S. troops accused of killing and abusing Iraqi civilians. U.S. officials are concerned that the alleged rape-slaying will strain relations with the new U.S.-backed government and increase calls for changes in the agreement that exempts American soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts.

On Saturday, U.S. investigators asked Iraqi authorities to help them navigate cultural sensitivities to exhume the body of the teenager that was allegedly raped.

U.S. Maj. Mark Wright said U.S. authorities are aware that Islamic tradition has strict rules governing exhumation and could require religious leaders to become involved in the investigation.

"You want to be aware of these cultural issues while at the same time making sure that the accused receives proper justice," Wright, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, told The Associated Press.

Muslim tradition generally frowns on exhumations, considering them desecration of the remains.

However, Ahmed Taha, the uncle of the dead teen, told AP that relatives were eager to cooperate with investigators and would allow them to exhume the body of the alleged rape victim, Abeer Qassim Hamza. Her parents and sister were also slain.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation into the case, which followed a series of allegations that U.S. troops killed and mistreated Iraqi civilians.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in Green's case, Green and at least two others targeted the teenager and her family for a week before the attack, which was not revealed until witnesses came forward in late June.

The soldiers drank alcohol, abandoned their checkpoint, changed clothes to avoid detection and headed to the victims' house, about 200 yards from a U.S. military checkpoint in the so-called "Triangle of Death," a Sunni Arab area south of Baghdad known for its violence, the affidavit said.

The affidavit estimated the rape victim was about 25. But a doctor at the Mahmoudiya hospital gave her age as 14. He refused to be identified for fear of reprisals.

Green is accused of raping the woman and killing her and three relatives _ an adult male and female and a girl estimated to be 5 years old. An official familiar with the investigation said he set fire to the rape victim's body in an apparent cover-up attempt.

Iraqi authorities identified the rape victim as Abeer Qassim Hamza. The other victims were her father, Qassim Hamza; her mother, Fikhriya Taha; and her sister, Hadeel Qassim Hamza.

07-09-06 09:02 EDT

posted July 09, 2006 12:39 PM              

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, seen in March, vowed recently to find "the truth" in the case, which has outraged Iraqis.

posted July 09, 2006 10:13 PM              

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"WHATEVER the soul longs for, WILL be attained by the spirit"

"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation"

posted July 10, 2006 02:45 PM              

They shouldn't get the mercy of a quick and relatively painless death.

posted July 11, 2006 08:38 AM              

Venusian, I do want to add that you cannot judge every American soldier by the actions of a few. I saw that happen after 9/11, when some people judged every Muslim in the same way. People's motives and characters vary among any "group".

There are Americans who care very much when civilians are abused and murdered. Don't allow yourself to believe that all Americans are so callous and cruel. I believe that hate perpetuates more hate; actually, I know it does. After 9/11, it was easy for some people to lump all Muslims together and believe they all thought and felt the same way; that they all had the same character. When you take someone's humanity away; when you only see them from a distance as this horrible enemy, you can lose your compassion; that goes for all sides.

What I am saying is, don't allow yourself be sucked into the cycle of hate. From your posts, I can feel your indignation and anger over events that are taking place that you have no control over. It must feel like a great injustice. Have you ever thought of channeling that passion into getting involved with an agency or program that is doing something to help the citizens of Iraq?

I don't use the words peace and light, etc. very often because I think they are thrown around so much they start to lose their meaning. Unfortunately, I don't have any brilliant ideas on how to achieve peace in the middle east, either. What I do have, however, is a wish for you to experience some inner peace; so I hope you take some time today to think peaceful, positive thoughts.

posted July 11, 2006 10:18 AM              

all this wouldn't had happend if there was no iraq war.

may christ, shiva, allah, mahavir and buddha expose bush and blair sleeping together.

posted July 11, 2006 10:29 AM              

bush is a result of a cancerian who somehow starts behaving like a tough, unshakeable socipio. he behaves like he is a scorpio. maybe he read the wrong section in his astrology book! that crab doesnot have a piece of a scorpio's understanding into human nature and world affairs and wants to 'smoke them out'!

posted July 11, 2006 01:10 PM              

quote:

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maybe he was too stressed with the war.

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Um..evolution..thats a horrible excuse for rape and murder...I get stressed out all the time I dont go on a murdering rampage and rape people...i cant believe you even said that

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"WHATEVER the soul longs for, WILL be attained by the spirit"

"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation"

posted July 11, 2006 01:52 PM            

The Bush reaction to 12 years and 16 UN Security Council Resolution demanding Saddam Hussein live up to the ceasefire agreement he signed in 1991 is exactly the right reaction.

Within that reaction is a warning to dictator regimes who support, fund, train and equip terrorists and send them out to fight a war by proxy they are too cowardly to fight themselves. The warning to terrorists is that we will kill you and that's the right reaction as well.

It's the right reaction which got Bush reelected and Senator flip-flop, the traitor John Heinz Kerry defeated in 2004.

It's the reaction Clinton should have had when acts of war against the United States were committed repeatedly throughout Commander Corruption's treasonous 8 years in office.

Hillary is not going to save the day for terrorists and leftists. Further, the title First Gentleman doesn't fit Commander Corruption.

posted July 11, 2006 02:34 PM              

http://www.linda-goodman.com/ubb/Forum16/HTML/002237.html

posted July 11, 2006 03:26 PM            

quote:

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I think hate directed to the source, the American admin and real terrorists is healthy.

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posted July 12, 2006 12:56 PM            

Hmmm.. well DayDreamer I guess you could interview the bereaved families that lost loved ones to rape and torture room, compliments of Saddam and his sicko kids.

Hating AMERICA because of the actions of a Soldier is like hating ALL Muslims becuase of Osama.

Doesn't seem that healthy to me, but hate seems to be an emotion you enjoy immensely.

VL... once again, showing up late, not making sense- basically you are a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

posted July 12, 2006 01:01 PM            

Of course, all the America haters are quick to assign guilty verdicts before all the facts are in, before investigations are complete and before a court has rendered a decision.

posted July 12, 2006 01:09 PM            

I think it would be ironic to see a gutter snipe troll from NYC trying to make her way in this "Desert". LMAO... how long would you last before someone put this state out of our misery and sent you're aSS back to the gutters of NYC?

posted July 12, 2006 02:57 PM              

They don't live in trailor parks like in your part of the desert.

And what's so hard about being in a desert?

The heat and humidity in New York is way more brutal.

You should bring your trailor to Sedona some day.

posted July 12, 2006 03:05 PM              

If anything I'd just tell him I'm ******* someone. Even though I'm really not. Unlike you. I don't break up with a man then meet another, **** him, and marry him within only a couple of months....and in Vegas? Come on...how lame can you get? Couldn't come up with something better? Getting married in Vegas is so typical.