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Rape-Slay Case Defense: War Stress

A U.S. Army private Tuesday described the ever-present fear of death gripping his unit, whose members stand accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl and killing her family in Iraq's infamous "triangle of death."

"You're just walking a death walk," Pfc. Justin Cross told a hearing to determine whether five fellow soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 attack near Mahmoudiya.

Spc. James P. Barker, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard are accused of raping and murdering the girl and killing her parents and 5-year-old sister. Another soldier, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not alleged to have participated.

Testimony during the Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury, has painted a picture of a demoralized unit, drained emotionally after the deaths of comrades and exhausted after the frequent attacks in the mostly Sunni Arab area, a stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq and other religious extremists.

"It drives you nuts. You feel like every step you might get blown up," Cross told the hearing on Tuesday. "You just hit a point where you're like, 'If I die today, I die.""

Cross said the unit was "full of despair," and he feared dying at his post before he could go home.

"I couldn't sleep mainly for fear we would be attacked," Cross said. He said the deaths of two soldiers at a checkpoint "pretty much crushed the platoon."

To cope with the stress, soldiers turned to whiskey — a violation of U.S. regulations in Iraq — and painkillers to ease their fears — never knowing whether the day would be their last.

Much of the testimony has centered on former soldier Steven Green, who was discharged due to an undisclosed personality disorder.

Green was arrested in June shortly after the command learned that U.S. soldiers may have been involved in the attack. He has pleaded not guilty to rape and murder charges and is being held in the United States.

On Tuesday, Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Fenlason, the accused soldiers' platoon sergeant, said he was sent to the unit to restore discipline after several soldiers, including Green, began suffering emotionally after losing several comrades. "I recall a conversation with him (Green) regarding his lack of concern or caring for Iraqi life versus American soldiers' life," he said.

Another witness, Sgt. Daniel Carrick, told the hearing that harsh conditions affected everyone but especially Green.

"Green had hatred for a lot of people in general," Carrick said.

But it was the testimony of Cross that was the most riveting. His comments starkly contrasted with the image of a professional military force, highly trained and committed to the mission regardless of the dangers.

Premeditated murder carries the death penalty under U.S. military law and the testimony could be an attempt to convince the command to seek a lesser penalty if a court martial is ordered.

In Washington, lawyer Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said combat stress as a defense was a long shot "unless it rose to the level of an insanity defense or negated some element of the crime."

"It might influence whether it's sent to trial as a capital case," he told The Associated Press. "That may be what the defense considers the main event here ... They may be hoping to have the nature of the charges modified, have the case go to trial as something other than premeditated murder."

The Mahmoudiya area, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, gained the nickname "triangle of death" because of the large number of Iraqi Shiites who were waylaid and murdered along the roads between Baghdad and Shiite areas of the south.

Some of the Sunni clans in the Mahmoudiya area are related to those in the insurgent strongholds of Anbar province, which includes Ramadi and Fallujah.

On Monday, Army criminal investigator Benjamin Bierce testified about a sworn statement by Barker in which he told of drinking whiskey before the assault. Bierce said Barker confessed that he, Cortez and Green took turns raping Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and that Green shot the girl as well as her relatives.

On Tuesday, Pfc. Justin Watt said that he didn't believe Green "could have done this all by himself." His comments were made during questioning by Yribe's lawyers.

Lawyers for the other four submitted a written request for a new hearing, accusing Yribe's counsel of deliberately asking incriminating questions. A decision is pending.

Sgt. Anthony Hernandez, a soldier in the same unit, testified Tuesday on behalf of Yribe, recalling that he was recommended for a Silver Star for bravery during an attack on a convoy.

Hernandez said Yribe always put his life on the line.

The rape and murders have bolstered allegations of misconduct by soldiers including illegal killings, beatings and inhuman treatment. The allegations have increased the mistrust and resentment among Iraqis of the American military and increased calls for their withdrawal.

The case has already increased demands for changes in an agreement that exempts U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation into the Mahmoudiya allegations.

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