2 U.S. Troops Charged In Murder Of Iraqis

Soldiers Face Conspiracy To Commit Murder Charges At Courts-Martial In 2007 Executions Case

(CBS/AP)  Two U.S. soldiers have been charged by the military with conspiracy to commit premeditated murder relating to the shooting deaths of four Iraqi prisoners in Baghdad in early 2007 in what was allegedly a retaliation killing.

According to a statement released Thursday by the U.S. Army Joint Multinational Command office in Germany, Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham, 27, and Sgt. Charles Quigley, 28, both formerly of the 1st Batt., 18th Inf. Regiment, will face the charges at a general courts-martial.

The charges were referred to the courts-martial on Nov. 17, 2008, following the conclusion of an Article 32 investigation that began Aug. 28 at the Rose Barracks Courthouse in Vilseck, Germany, according to the statement.

The military said no date had been set for the court-martials hearings.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi al Qaeda in Iraq leader blamed in the 2004 abduction and murder of a U.S. Army reservist and several other attacks over several years has been killed in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Hajji Hammadi, also known as Hammadi Awdah Abd Farhan and Abd-al-Salam Ahmad Abdallah al-Janabi, was killed with another armed insurgent on Nov. 11 in a raid by U.S. forces acting on a tip in Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood, according to a statement.

The abduction of Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, was one of the most high-profile against American forces in Iraq.

The 20-year-old private first class was seized when his fuel convoy was attacked by insurgents in Iraq on April 19, 2004, as the insurgency was gaining strength. Al-Jazeera later aired a videotape in April 2004 showing him wearing camouflage and a floppy desert hat, sitting on a floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.

Cunningham and Quigley are two of seven American soldiers allegedly involved in the incidents which took place in April and May of 2007.

Spc. Steven Ribordy, 25, of Salina, Kansas pleaded guilty early in October to charges of accessory to murder and was sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the killings.

The four Iraqis were bound, blindfolded, shot and dumped in a canal in Baghdad.

Ribourdy was also to receive a bad conduct discharge from the Army as part of his plea deal. He also agreed to testify against other members of his unit.

Ribordy testified that he had helped stand guard as the prisoners were killed by other members of his patrol in early 2007. He said he approached the scene after the shots were fired and saw three bodies lying in a pool of blood, and then the fourth nearer to the canal.

Ribordy told the court he saw three other members of the patrol - Sgt. John E. Hatley, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph P. Mayo, and Sgt. Michael P. Leahy Jr. - at the scene and smelled gunpowder in the air.

"They all seemed calm," he said.

Ribordy testified that he helped move one of the bodies to the edge of the canal, then push it in.

"I wasn't ordered or asked in any way, shape or form to move the body," he told the court. "I wanted to get it done and get out of there - I didn't want anybody getting in trouble."

He told judge Col. Timothy Grammel that he was now sorry for his actions.

All seven soldiers allegedly involved were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq. They are now part of the Germany-based 172nd Infantry Brigade.

In September, another soldier charged with conspiracy to commit murder, Spc. Belmor Ramos, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven months in prison and given a dishonorable discharge. Ramos, 23, testified he had stood guard as the killings were carried out.

Ramos, of Clearfield, Utah, was given the relatively lenient sentence as part of a deal under which he will also testify against others alleged to have been involved in the killings.

Ramos and Ribordy were in the same Humvee during the killings - Ramos manning the machine-gun turret and Ribordy at the wheel, Ribordy testified.

At Ramos' trial and August hearings for Cunningham and Quigley, witnesses said four Iraqi men were bound, blindfolded, shot in the head and dumped in a Baghdad canal - killings prosecutors said were in retribution for casualties in the unit.

During the Article 32 hearings for Cunningham and Quigley, soldiers who were on the patrol said that the four unidentified Iraqis - likely Sunnis - were taken into custody after a shootout with insurgents and taken to the unit's operating base near Baghdad. Later that night, members of the patrol took the four men out to a remote location and killed them, witnesses said.

Hatley, Mayo, and Leahy were all charged with premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and obstruction of justice.

Leahy's Article 32 proceedings, to determine if there is enough evidence for him to be sent before a court-martial, was to have taken place on Nov. 12, but no dates for the other two soldiers' hearings had been set.

Hatley and Leahy were also charged with one count each of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder in a separate killing near Baghdad in January 2007.

Leahy was also charged with being an accessory after the fact in that incident, a September statement from the Army said, without providing more details.

[kansas1946]

It is unfortunate because of a defective president and his disasterous vendetta against Iraq that these young American soldiers were thrown into an impossible situation, without the necessary support and equipment to do their job. Same situation in Viet Nam, same result.

[hermitdave]

These stories are pure silly stuff. Doesn''t the reporter know that the Iraq crusade was a illegal criminal attack on a innocent country?

[mc_outa_here]

cen82784 at 03:18 PM : Nov 20, 2008 wrote:

"All of you chicken livered yellow belly cowards keep blameing Bush If you would go back in time and read what a bunch of liberal Demrats said about taking out Saddame Husayne before Bush did something about it maybe you would change your attude towards BUSH"

Maybe you should have spent more time in school.

[displeased]

If you would go back in time and read what a bunch of liberal Demrats said about taking out Saddame Husayne before Bush did something about it maybe you would change your attude towards BUSH
Posted by cen82784

I''m pretty sure libs wanted Bin Laden instead of Saddam.

[johnpatrick9]

War is indeed hell and all the moreso is a war that is built on a lie and ladeled up front with prejudice and religious propoganda.....young men driven mad by the ******* situation they have been put in by a ******* president: bush-the-worthless.

[stevex47]

"None of this would never had occurred if George W. Bush Jr, liar and warmonger didn''''t set in a motion a conspiracy to lie to the world to get a war."

Exactly and absolutley.

If someone invades this country, we''d try to kill them also. No difference.

[cen82784]

I forgot to mention earlier that Billy & Hilly were two of those liberal Demrats who said Saddame should be taken out and also I say kodoos to FJB9

[stevador39]

George Bush is the real criminal in the Iraqi war. Bush is a warmonger. He has called the U.S. Constitution "HOT AIR." He is the one who should be tried for all the crimes in Iraq during the war. These soldiers only acted under orders.

[cen82784]

All of you chicken livered yellow belly cowards keep blameing Bush If you would go back in time and read what a bunch of liberal Demrats said about taking out Saddame Husayne before Bush did something about it maybe you would change your attude towards BUSH

[credibility2]

This isn''t a new phenomenon and certainly isn''t just limited to the Iraqi War and Bush. Try studying history and actually reading books and learning about things like this in all wars and from all sides and not just the US.

[lemonskink]

None of this would never had occurred if George W. Bush Jr, liar and warmonger didn''t set in a motion a conspiracy to lie to the world to get a war.

[renonv5]

kill thier family members here in usa lets see how they will like and feel it *** yhudeh ***.
Posted by guy_hero

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

It sounds like you need to be escorted OUT of the USA

[libsh8theusa]

Funny how some of the losers here post cr@p about US military members.. yet they say nothing about what the cockroaches do when they capture/behead AMERICANS..
It lets you know who''s side they are on.. and it isn''t AMERICAN side..

[libsh8theusa]

guy_hero ~ ewe need to be shot in the face..

[agidoi]

why doesnt america get rid of the iraqs like they did the native american indians

[gop_will_win]

Don''''''''t worry about George Bush''''''''s legacy. His well deserved legacy will be to spend eternity in Hell.


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

Posted by omnibus66
=======================
President Bush will go to heaven. He has plenty of money.

[omnibus66]

Assess the situation as it currently exists in Iraq and then use use those conditions as a definition of victory. Then we can bring the troops home and everyone will be happy.

Everyone, that is, except the family and friends of those killed, maimed, or mentally screwed up by participating in this obscene waste of humanity and resources.

Don''''t worry about George Bush''''s legacy. His well deserved legacy will be to spend eternity in Hell.

[ustaxpayer]

And the military can''t figure how to get enough enlistments, that kind of publicity just shows how poorly this whole operation is being run.

[babooph]

Th3e sick idiots who sent these young men into the hell hole are the ones who should be charged !