TokyoNiGHTS

CNN.com - Five soldiers charged in Iraq rape-murder case - Jul 9, 2006

Notes not mentioned in that article is that the girl was 14 at the time and after he raped and killed her he tried to burn her body to cover up what he did. I think that if he's found guilty in the US they should ship him into Iraq and let them handle his sentencing. It took place there and he did it to them so they should have some hand in this trial (and that goes to the others also).

Lexis

I think officially the military are saying her age was 25. It was a morgue/hospital worker that is saying 14.

Its just so horrible.

TokyoNiGHTS

Her birth certificate (or identity card, i'm not sure what the exact name is) was recently uncovered and reveals she was born in 91 and she would've been 14 at the time of the rape.

Hell on Heels

To be blunt, I'm so pissed off and disgusted about this. From what I've heard, the guy that was arrested here in the states was the one who killed the girls family and raped and killed the young girl. All the while four armed american SOLDIERS just let him do this. It doesn't sound right. Why would they go there and just watch? If that is what they did, I find them even more disgusting and inhuman than the rapist and murderer. I hope they all get the death penalty. They deserve nothing less and a whole lot more.

I think of that poor girls last moments and I'm heartbroken.

As for how this presents the US military...talk about a major black eye to say the very least. As if everyone didn't already hate the US for being in Iraq. I'm for the war but now I wonder what else our soldiers have been doing over there, who else they've raped and murdered and have gotten away with. I hate to think that way but how can you not?

xextremex

How awful. These soldiers have a job to do. Many train their entire life for the army. And to take advantage of the position, killing innocent people, and raping young women.... disgraceful. They should be punished equally with murderers. Because that's what they are. Even if they are soldiers.

TheAngel

This really is horrible. I feel very sorry for the rest of the men and women that are in Iraq, and throughout the world, trying to do their jobs. They lose respect because of the actions of a few punk kids that never should have made it into the field to begin with.
I think boot camp needs to become much tougher in the military. You have a huge number of people getting deployed that are simply not mature enough to handle the war and they're breaking under the strain of being over there. These men are sick, and deserve to be tried as civilians in front of a civilian jury, or handed back over to Iraq so they can do with them as they will.

chicah

It is just horrible. But unfortunately, this happens during most wars. In African countries the guerilla forces often raid villages, taking the young boys as soldiers and the young girls as sex slaves.
During the second world war it happened on both sides.
It's just terrible. Rape is not allowed no matter what. I really hope they get the punishment they deserve, I don't want them executed though (I'm anti-death penalty, but please don't start a debate on that in this thread, it's not what it's about). It didn't really help on the view upon the war against Iraq either...
Just the thought that a normal American man can turn into such a monster, and that his buddies can just stand there watching, makes me sick.

Lexis

Wasn't there an issue recently about how boot camp was being made easier? Things like telling the military leaders not to yell so much, relaxing diet rules etc?

It is scary what war can do to people.

TheAngel

Yeah, drill sergeants can't touch anyone, they have relaxed physical fitness standards, they spend less time out in the field, if it gets too hot then they don't work out...they're going to Iraq, what do they expect, 75 degree days? They're sending men and women into the field that are not ready for war, that are not ready to fight. I have three years until I end up at basic, after college, and I hope something's done to increase the effectiveness of boot camp or this kind of thing might happen more often because of all the loose cannons in the field.

Lexis

Its shocking. You are totally right - if your sending these people to Iraq, its pretty darn stupid to train them with the expectation that if it gets to hot, they get to go inside!

TheAngel, what branch of the military are you joining?

chicah

Well, other countries don't use as strict military methods as the US, but still nothing like this happens. This is only one soldier we're talking about. This time I'm not so sure that the entire blame is on the system (most of the time at least most of the blame is on the system). I think it's more the fact that some of the soldiers don't think of the people in the countries they're fighting in as human beings. Wasn't that something around the Abu Ghraib case, that they had been kind of brainwashed to think that the prisoners were a bit like animals, that they weren't worth as much as them? This attitude is very, very wrong, and when people actually say stuff like this, I wonder where the world is heading.