As America celebrates the birth of this country, tens of thousands of U.S. troops are still fighting for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. But in North Carolina Monday, former Army Private Steven Green, who served in Iraq, was charged with murder and rape in an attack on an Iraqi teenager and her family that may have involved up to five U.S. troops.
Marine General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith on Tuesday about the allegations and the ongoing fighting in Iraq.
Before answering questions about the Steven Green case, Gen. Case took time to thank the U.S. troops serving on this Independence Day.
"We have over 200,000 troops in the Gulf region right now and they are serving with great honor and dignity. We have 2.4 million Americans in active guard and reserve," Gen. Pace says. "Their families who wait for them to come home and serve in this country as well, as anyone who ever has worn a uniform. So on behalf of all of us to all of those who are serving today, I want to say thanks, especially to the 110 soldiers who General George Casey had the privilege of giving the oath as new citizens today in Baghdad, what a great tribute to them."
Regarding the Green case, Gen. Pace says, "We are going to get to the bottom of these allegations. Anything that comes to light in that regard … if the investigation leads us to enough information, we put it into the courts and let the court system take care of it."
"It is unfortunate when some folks are accused of doing those kinds of things but it just reinforced to the 99.9 percent of the American fighting men and women who are serving with honor, serving with dignity and serving this country as well as you could expect them to that they are the ones serving properly and for those who stray, if they have, we will investigate and take proper action," Gen. Case says.
Asked how he accounts for this case, in light of other cases, including the Haditha investigation, and why these types of things are seeming to happen now, Gen. Case says, "Harry, don't know. We'll get to the bottom of that. That's why we do the investigations. In fact, this latest one, if I'm correct, came about because it was a post-deployment interview. We make available to families, to soldiers and Marines counseling after they've left the battlefield to ensure that their mental health is as good as their physical health. I understand it was during one of these counseling sessions that this latest accusation came out.
"So, again, we've had over a million -- over a million serve in the Gulf and it is unacceptable that anybody would do anything that these folks are accused of, but if they have, they will be dealt with and the vast majority of the American servicemen and women should be proud of how they are serving this nation," Gen. Case adds.
"Attacks against U.S. Troops have actually begun to escalate again in the last two months in Iraq, Civilian deaths almost unabated there. Do you see some light on the horizon?" Smith asks.
"Harry, I think what we have is the enemy wants to dislodge the new government. They want to make Iraq ungovernable and together with Iraqi counterparts we're not going to let them make it ungovernable. We're going to make it governable," Gen. Pace says.
General Comments On Iraq Murder Case
By Daniel Schorn
/ CBS
As America celebrates the birth of this country, tens of thousands of U.S. troops are still fighting for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. But in North Carolina Monday, former Army Private Steven Green, who served in Iraq, was charged with murder and rape in an attack on an Iraqi teenager and her family that may have involved up to five U.S. troops.
Marine General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith on Tuesday about the allegations and the ongoing fighting in Iraq.
Before answering questions about the Steven Green case, Gen. Case took time to thank the U.S. troops serving on this Independence Day.
"We have over 200,000 troops in the Gulf region right now and they are serving with great honor and dignity. We have 2.4 million Americans in active guard and reserve," Gen. Pace says. "Their families who wait for them to come home and serve in this country as well, as anyone who ever has worn a uniform. So on behalf of all of us to all of those who are serving today, I want to say thanks, especially to the 110 soldiers who General George Casey had the privilege of giving the oath as new citizens today in Baghdad, what a great tribute to them."
Regarding the Green case, Gen. Pace says, "We are going to get to the bottom of these allegations. Anything that comes to light in that regard … if the investigation leads us to enough information, we put it into the courts and let the court system take care of it."
"It is unfortunate when some folks are accused of doing those kinds of things but it just reinforced to the 99.9 percent of the American fighting men and women who are serving with honor, serving with dignity and serving this country as well as you could expect them to that they are the ones serving properly and for those who stray, if they have, we will investigate and take proper action," Gen. Case says.
Asked how he accounts for this case, in light of other cases, including the Haditha investigation, and why these types of things are seeming to happen now, Gen. Case says, "Harry, don't know. We'll get to the bottom of that. That's why we do the investigations. In fact, this latest one, if I'm correct, came about because it was a post-deployment interview. We make available to families, to soldiers and Marines counseling after they've left the battlefield to ensure that their mental health is as good as their physical health. I understand it was during one of these counseling sessions that this latest accusation came out.
"So, again, we've had over a million -- over a million serve in the Gulf and it is unacceptable that anybody would do anything that these folks are accused of, but if they have, they will be dealt with and the vast majority of the American servicemen and women should be proud of how they are serving this nation," Gen. Case adds.
"Attacks against U.S. Troops have actually begun to escalate again in the last two months in Iraq, Civilian deaths almost unabated there. Do you see some light on the horizon?" Smith asks.
"Harry, I think what we have is the enemy wants to dislodge the new government. They want to make Iraq ungovernable and together with Iraqi counterparts we're not going to let them make it ungovernable. We're going to make it governable," Gen. Pace says.
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