GIs Face Murder Charges In Iraq Slay

Queen Elizabeth II, in carriage 2nd right, travels along Parliament Street to Buckingham Palace with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, after having lunch in Westminster Hall, London Tuesday June 5, 2012. Pealing church bells and crowds cheering "God save the queen!" greeted Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday as she arrived for a service at St. Paul's Cathedral on the last of four days of Diamond Jubilee celebrations honoring her 60 years on the throne. (AP Photo/Matthew Lloyd, Pool) / Matthew Lloyd

The U.S. Army said Wednesday that three soldiers had been charged with murder for their alleged role in the killing of four blindfolded and bound Iraqis last year.

Authorities have said the Iraqi men were bound, blindfolded, shot in the head and dumped in a Baghdad canal around April 2007 in retribution for casualties within the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment. The soldiers are currently part of the 172nd Infantry Brigade.

The Army said in a statement released Wednesday that Sgt. John E. Hatley, 40; Sgt. 1st Class Joseph P. Mayo, 27; and Sgt. Michael P. Leahy Jr., 26 - all formerly assigned to 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment - faced charges of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and obstruction of justice. The hometowns of the men were not disclosed, citing privacy.

Additionally, Hatley and Leahy were also charged with one count each of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder for a separate incident that happened near Baghdad in January 2007. Leahy was also charged with being an accessory after the fact, the statement said.

The Army did not provide details of that incident.

The men are still assigned to their current unit and will face an Article 32 hearing, which has not been scheduled, said Lt. Col. Eric Bloom, a public affairs officer with the Joint Multinational Training Command in Grafenwoeher, Germany.

An Article 32 hearing is equivalent to a civilian preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a court-martial.

Two other American soldiers have already been charged in the April incident.

Spc. Belmor Ramos, 23, and Spc. Steven Ribordy, 25 - also of the 172nd Infantry Brigade - were charged with conspiracy to commit premeditated murder last week. Ribordy was also charged with being an accessory after the fact.

Ramos' court-martial is scheduled for Thursday in Vilseck, Germany. A court-martial for Ribordy has not yet been scheduled. Both men waived their right to an Article 32 hearing.

Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham and Sgt. Charles Quigley, are also accused of participating in the murders. Cunningham and Quigley appeared at an Article 32 hearing in August. So far, no decision has yet been made whether they should be charged.

The Army said the allegations facing the men related to "the deaths of several detainees who were captured as part of combat operations last year."

A statement, released in January, said that "preliminary findings indicate the deceased detainees were not persons detained in a detention facility," indicating the men were killed shortly after being captured.

In other developments:

Iraq's parliament has failed to agree on a new U.N. proposal to break the deadlock over a provincial elections law. The U.S.-backed vote has been delayed due to Kurdish objections to power-sharing proposals for oil-rich Kirkuk, which Kurds want to annex into their semiautonomous region. The U.N. suggests going forward in all provinces except the one that includes Kirkuk and creating a committee to study the issue.

Iraq's Finance Ministry on Wednesday said that the country's 2009 budget will stand at a record at $78.88 billion. Ministry spokesman Adnan Abdul-Rahman said the budget was based on an average oil price of $80 a barrel next year. Abdul-Rahman added that $60.26 billion will go to operational expenses, while $18.62 billion will go to investment and improvements in infrastructure. The budget is expected to be the largest ever submitted.

The Bush administration said Tuesday it was imposing economic sanctions against five people accused of supporting violence in Iraq, including an Iranian who allegedly planned one of the most sophisticated attacks against U.S. forces since the war started. The list released by the Treasury Department also included a Syrian television station that allegedly has been airing Iraqi insurgent propaganda videos as the U.S. steps up pressure on Damascus to clamp down on supplies being funneled to the extremists in the neighboring nation.

[sac24077]

we need to get them out now

[sac24077]

We can drop 500 pound bombs, killing women and children ,but god forbid we kill 4 Iraqis.....

[webgammon]

These should be getting a medal, not a court-martial.

[sfcjeff]

crescentgirl---
you wrote....
"The few, the proud, the murderers. That should be the new slogan for the army."

Coming from an 18 year Army veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan that has defended your freedom to make that comment... I just want to make things a little more vividly clear for you...first of all, if you don''t like the way the Army''s performing in Iraq or Afghanistan, then get off your soapbox and volunteer to serve like the rest of us did, secondly, don''t categorically judge all of us based on the actions of a few and finally, "the few, the proud...." belongs to the Marines NOT the Army

[brianbwb-2009]

"Without details of the incident, it''s impossible to assess the actions of these soldiers!" Posted by stn_sage

There is no need for details, or assessments. Bottom line is the US soldiers shouldn''t even be there in the first place. The pro war posters here are deluded in their thinking that we are at "war", or that a lie can be "won". Bush lied us into this mess, and there is nothing that will justify and legitimize our actions there, and there is no victory, as a lie can never be vindicated.

Anything that happens to US soldiers is the fault of Bush, not the Iraqis, and any crimes committed by US soldiers is a shared crime between the people who pull the triggers, and the people who give the orders, as was established in Nuremburg.

[brianbwb-2009]

"It''''s only murder when we do it. They get to cut our heads off, drag our soldiers through the streets and hang them off telephone lines. What''''s wrong with you? Don''''t you understand the rules of war?" Posted by proisrael

You are absolutely correct, but not for the reasons you think.

If US soldiers were not over there committing atrocities against those people for no valid reason, they wouldn''t be available to be captured, decapitated, and hung from poles. I dare say that if the situation were reversed, and Iraqi soldiers were in your neighborhood doing to you and yours what we are now doing to them, you would probably be one of the main proponents of decapitation, burning, and hanging the invaders.

Iraqis are defending themselves from an invasion, occupation, and genocide campaign from a country they never attacked, this does give them the right to use whatever tactics available to resist the aggressor.

We, on the other hand, decided, on the basis of lies, to commit mass murder on those people, this is the part you conveniently forget. In this case, we are the "bad guys," and no amount of hypocritical flag-waving will change the truth of it. Rules of war? You must be either kidding or deluded, this is no war, it is a one-sided aggression for profit by a small clique of war profiteers in the attacking country.

The Iraqis are closer to following the "rules of war" than Bush is.

URSODUMB at 06:40 PM : Sep 17, 2008 wrote:

"those soldiers are supposed to kill people. at the end of ww2 500 thousands german soldiers died AFTER the war ended. kill them all i say, let god sort them out."

You are an idiot.

I hope you are never allowed to breed.

[stn_sage]

Without details of the incident, it''s impossible to assess the actions of these soldiers!

SO, in general, I''d say the overall incident suggests why we should not be there!

Either our troops are overworked and reacting in aberrant ways OR the war for them has reached a point where they simply do NOT care what they do anymore!

In any case, it''s time to bring them HOME!

[chyenna-2009]

They are trained to kill.
They are under combat related stress
It''''s War.
No rules to War if you want to win!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by republic1776 at 02:24 PM
_________________________________________________
Those soldiers should be given a medal of honor, a long leave with extra pay!!! What needs to be done in this Bush War is to bomb all of these people off the face of the earth, end of terrorist, end of billons of dollars of our money being spent, end of future terrorist from all these countries then maybe we could use the lands for a better purpose. Just think they would all be glorified in their heaven!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by wolf77creek at 02:13 PM

I AGREE!!!!!!!! And if I''m wrong, GOD will let me know when I ask him for guidance regarding my beliefs for this hellish, freakin war. Go ahead you non-believers, wastes your time blasting me for believing in God, b/c I could care less about your bablings.

[chyenna-2009]

its war how can this be murder. get our Soldiers out of there now.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by armydog2 at 09:53 AM

I''m with u armydog2