GIs Face Murder Charges In Iraq Slay

Three Accused Of Blindfolding Iraqi Men, Then Executing And Dumping In Baghdad Canal

(CBS/ AP)  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.

© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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by webgammon September 18, 2008 1:27 PM EDT

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

Reply to this comment

by sfcjeff September 18, 2008 11:29 AM EDT

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

Reply to this comment

by brianbwb-2009 September 17, 2008 11:25 PM EDT

"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.

Reply to this comment

by brianbwb-2009 September 17, 2008 11:17 PM EDT

"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.

Reply to this comment

by September 17, 2008 9:49 PM EDT

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.

Reply to this comment

by stn_sage September 17, 2008 8:36 PM EDT

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!

Reply to this comment

by chyenna-2009 September 17, 2008 8:31 PM EDT

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.

Reply to this comment

by chyenna-2009 September 17, 2008 7:41 PM EDT

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

Reply to this comment

by chyenna-2009 September 17, 2008 7:31 PM EDT

Authorities say the Iraqi men were blindfolded, shot in the head and dumped in a Baghdad canal around April 2007 in alleged retribution for casualties within the 172nd Infantry Brigade

If that is true, that is NOT war. Killing an innocent civilian in the heat of battle and blind folding and shooting an unarmed prisioner are two different things. W turned on the "wink wink" to do acts like this when he approved "enhanced interogation techniques".

I must have missed the part stating the unarmed PRISONERS (civilians) were INNOCENT. Did these innocent (LMAO) prisoners have anything to do with the killing of our soldiers? If I watched my commrades (friends) killed, (or is it murder), I would want to do the same as our soldiers. PTSD. Sounds like a good defense to me.

Reply to this comment

by lochlan-2009 September 17, 2008 7:10 PM EDT

The morals of the GOP come shinning through. NONE!!!!

Reply to this comment

by crescentgirl September 17, 2008 7:03 PM EDT

The few, the proud, the murderers. That should be the new slogan for the army.

Reply to this comment

by fightfascism September 17, 2008 5:41 PM EDT

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

Spoken like a true 30''s kraut! Or a 9/11 hijacker ("win at all costs, even innocent civilian lives").

It''s people like you and the economy (say: "privatization") ruining republicommies that have financially and morally bankrupt this once great nation. Move to saudi arabia or china if you want to live in a country like that, you scummy @$$ bootlicker!

Reply to this comment

by rudy654-2009 September 17, 2008 5:39 PM EDT

Just pour pig''''s blood on the bodys.


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

Posted by usmcvn1 at 01:07 PM

And pizz on yours.

Reply to this comment

by rudy654-2009 September 17, 2008 5:38 PM EDT

Can anyone prove to the world without a shadow of a dough that these people that we killed were not extremist?
*********

So guilty until proven innocent, eh? How about this, you are a terrorist extremist, now prove that you aren''t.

Reply to this comment

by republic1776 September 17, 2008 5:24 PM EDT

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

Reply to this comment

by wolf77creek September 17, 2008 5:13 PM EDT

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!!!

Reply to this comment

by usmcvn1 September 17, 2008 4:49 PM EDT

Who seen ''em do it. Is the military taking the word
the "locals" again. Or have they ratted each other out.

Reply to this comment

by gop_will_win September 17, 2008 4:37 PM EDT

This is wrong! Our soldiers should be able to murder anyone they want!

Reply to this comment

by caliguy55 September 17, 2008 4:23 PM EDT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7610405.stm

"No victory in Iraq, says Petraeus"

This should put an end once and for all to the McSame/Palin claim that the surge was a "success". In this Article, Gen. Petraeus states: "that recent security gains were "not irreversible" and that the US still faced a "long struggle". General Petraeus also said "the trends in Afghanistan have not gone in the right direction... and that has to be addressed". Finally, General Petraeus "said he did not know that he would ever use the word "victory": "This is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade... it''s not war with a simple slogan." Well, that military know-it-all, Johnny McSame, has a lot of explaining to do to the American people. If he can''t tell the difference between "victory" and something less, than he is definitely not qualified to be Commander-in-Chief. Obama/Biden 08!!!

Reply to this comment

by usmcvn1 September 17, 2008 4:10 PM EDT

If they were blindfolded & shot in the head, does it still count toward getting the 72 HOs in heaven. LOL

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[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

[chyenna-2009]

Authorities say the Iraqi men were blindfolded, shot in the head and dumped in a Baghdad canal around April 2007 in alleged retribution for casualties within the 172nd Infantry Brigade

If that is true, that is NOT war. Killing an innocent civilian in the heat of battle and blind folding and shooting an unarmed prisioner are two different things. W turned on the "wink wink" to do acts like this when he approved "enhanced interogation techniques".

I must have missed the part stating the unarmed PRISONERS (civilians) were INNOCENT. Did these innocent (LMAO) prisoners have anything to do with the killing of our soldiers? If I watched my commrades (friends) killed, (or is it murder), I would want to do the same as our soldiers. PTSD. Sounds like a good defense to me.

[lochlan-2009]

The morals of the GOP come shinning through. NONE!!!!

[crescentgirl]

The few, the proud, the murderers. That should be the new slogan for the army.

[fightfascism]

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

Spoken like a true 30''s kraut! Or a 9/11 hijacker ("win at all costs, even innocent civilian lives").

It''s people like you and the economy (say: "privatization") ruining republicommies that have financially and morally bankrupt this once great nation. Move to saudi arabia or china if you want to live in a country like that, you scummy @$$ bootlicker!

[rudy654-2009]

Just pour pig''''s blood on the bodys.


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

Posted by usmcvn1 at 01:07 PM

And pizz on yours.

[rudy654-2009]

Can anyone prove to the world without a shadow of a dough that these people that we killed were not extremist?
*********

So guilty until proven innocent, eh? How about this, you are a terrorist extremist, now prove that you aren''t.

[republic1776]

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

[wolf77creek]

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!!!

[usmcvn1]

Who seen ''em do it. Is the military taking the word
the "locals" again. Or have they ratted each other out.

[gop_will_win]

This is wrong! Our soldiers should be able to murder anyone they want!

[caliguy55]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7610405.stm

"No victory in Iraq, says Petraeus"

This should put an end once and for all to the McSame/Palin claim that the surge was a "success". In this Article, Gen. Petraeus states: "that recent security gains were "not irreversible" and that the US still faced a "long struggle". General Petraeus also said "the trends in Afghanistan have not gone in the right direction... and that has to be addressed". Finally, General Petraeus "said he did not know that he would ever use the word "victory": "This is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade... it''s not war with a simple slogan." Well, that military know-it-all, Johnny McSame, has a lot of explaining to do to the American people. If he can''t tell the difference between "victory" and something less, than he is definitely not qualified to be Commander-in-Chief. Obama/Biden 08!!!

[usmcvn1]

If they were blindfolded & shot in the head, does it still count toward getting the 72 HOs in heaven. LOL