Third Soldier Charged With Rape, Murder

(AP)  The Army arraigned a 101st Airborne Division soldier Friday who was charged with raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing three others in her family.

Pfc. Bryan L. Howard is accused of plotting in March to rape and kill the teenager in Mahmoudiya, a village about 20 miles south of Baghdad. Three other soldiers and a former Army private from the division's 502nd Infantry Regiment also face charges related to the attack.

Howard deferred entering a plea or scheduling a court-martial during the proceedings at Fort Campbell. Both his attorney, Cpt. Ryan Rosauer, and his father Lynn Howard in the audience, declined to speak to reporters.

Two other soldiers accused of rape and murder with him in the attack — Sgt. Paul E. Cortez and Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman — could be given the death sentence if they are convicted, a military judge ruled earlier this month. Both will be arraigned soon, the military said.

Former Army private Steve Green also faces rape and murder charges but is being tried in federal court.

In a separate hearing Friday, Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard was arraigned on charges he and three others in the division's 187th Infantry Regiment killed three Iraqi detainees during a raid of a suspected al Qaeda stronghold near Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

He deferred entering a plea.

Defense attorneys also filed a motion Friday to release Girouard from pretrial confinement, where he has been since his unit came home in September. Lt. Col. Richard Anderson, the military judge, did not rule on the motion.

Four of nine soldiers from the division accused of wartime atrocities have been arraigned and await courts-martial.

[jdharman]

the posts on this item are simply sick. hundreds of thousands of american soldiers have deployed to Iraq over the past few years...and there have been ISOLATED instances of this sort of behavior. Bush has NEVER said anything derogatory about the iraqis. What planet or alternate universe do you cretins inhabit?

[adian1-2009]

Can you imagine the uproar if these rape a murders had taken place in this country? But it just happens that the girl raped and killed and the other victims were Iraqis, so, nothing of so much importance. Our President, Mr. Burton, I mean, Cheney, Mrs. Rice, etc., have been feeding the American people with an ill picture of the Iraqi people. And, more, these suckers expect America not only to be emulated, but respected and even loved. What a shameless bunch of self-servers!!! Let us hope that from November 7 on, we will see some light at the end of the tunnel we have been packed in by these charlatans.

[bluestardad]

What do we Leave Behind In Iraq if we leave now?
The answer to this question is that we leave no more dead or maimed American Soldiers, family members, contractors, nor journalists. We take with us our two Billion TAX Dollars a week back to America and put it to use in America. Leaving the forty plus billion tax dollars still unaccounted for behind in Iraq to be used as those who took them see fit. We leave the Iraqi people who are currently fighting each other to fight. There will be no more need for (IED) Improvised Explosive Devises because we would have removed all our lightly armored Hummers and equipment. Halliburton will have to renegotiate their contract with the Iraqi leaders. So you see we can disengage from Iraq without any %u201CImmediate Threat%u201D of harm to the American People and without the fear of them coming after us with a mushroom cloud, yellow cake, or chemical weapons. It is a %u201CSlam Dunk%u201D that there are currently people at the Rand Corporation, Harvard Business School, Ohio State University, Virginia Military Institute, at most American High Schools or other businesses, that if ask, can come up with a operational plan to disengage from Iraq and bringing our troops and equipment home safely to America.

[jn122736]

You'er right grumpas, and remember these soldiers are being re-deployed over and over. They know it is only a matter of time until they are killed or permantly maimed. I don't condone rape or murder but these definately are extenuating circumstances.

[grumpas]

What does everyone expect? Bush has sent everyone in the military the same sick message these are non-human people! They aren't worthy of being treated with any dignity and respect! After all they don't live like we do ( I have heard this phrase numerous times from Republican's)! So therefore they don't deserve any respect! It's all right to murder, rape and torture them! I am surprised any of them are even being tried with der Furher at the helm! If he could get away with it, I imagine he wouldn't! Remember the torture went on for quite some time before it ever came to light! Then it was like pulling teeth to even get them to acknowledge it and stop! Now the law of the land is torture! With his congressional lap dogs and senator's we have sunk into the pit of barbarism! So, what next? There is nothing this bunch of holligan's does that surprises me anymore!

[cacee13601]

and these are the people who are suppose to be protecting us??? that sickens me that anyone let alone the military can do something like that