MAHAMOUDIYA AND US MILITARY RESPONSE
A GOOD BEGINNING
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JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
The recent announcement at Baghdad that the 6 marines responsible for the rape and murder of a 15 yeatr old Iraqi girl and her entire family have beencharged with muder, rape, destruction of evidence, obstruction of justice and the like is a welcome step. The March 12 incident at Mahamoudiya has not received the same attention as the Hadita incident and probably that crime would have been forgotten but for the serious psychological problems displayed by the unit that participated in the March 12 event. That these marines belonged to the famous 101 Air Borne is particularly important because they have sullied the reputation of one of the bravest of the US military . The question that needs to be asked is why do such incidents happen? One can always say that in war such incidents are passe. However the number of such unfortunate events in which US serviceman are involved in increasing and there is an air of impunity with which such crimes are excecuted.
It is no ones case that the US military leadership actively encourages its men to indulge in such crimes. However the fact remains that the lower ranks of the chain of command are more likely to cover up such incidents and at times even abet in the fabrication of evidence, as is suspected in this case. In fact that men who indulged in that crimes had served 2 terms of duty in Iraq and probably were driven by despair. Since the toops are not being rotatyed enough, the potential for such breakdown of morale is far greater now than ever before.
The al-Maliki regime has staked claim over the soldiers responsible for the crime at Mahmoudiya on the ground that they have jurisdiction over such matters. The fact is that after al Maliki spoke of his so called plan of reconcilliation, the level of sectarian violence had dramatically increased. In fact just yesterday scores of gun toting Shiaas drove all over Baghdad stopping cars and pulling out passengers and killing those with Sunni names. Even women and children were not spared marking a dangerous turn in sectarian violence.
In spite of these glitches, the step to try the marines is welcome. The world is watching the outcome of the trial.
It is no ones case that the US military leadership actively encourages its men to indulge in such crimes. However the fact remains that the lower ranks of the chain of command are more likely to cover up such incidents and at times even abet in the fabrication of evidence, as is suspected in this case. In fact that men who indulged in that crimes had served 2 terms of duty in Iraq and probably were driven by despair. Since the toops are not being rotatyed enough, the potential for such breakdown of morale is far greater now than ever before.
The al-Maliki regime has staked claim over the soldiers responsible for the crime at Mahmoudiya on the ground that they have jurisdiction over such matters. The fact is that after al Maliki spoke of his so called plan of reconcilliation, the level of sectarian violence had dramatically increased. In fact just yesterday scores of gun toting Shiaas drove all over Baghdad stopping cars and pulling out passengers and killing those with Sunni names. Even women and children were not spared marking a dangerous turn in sectarian violence.
In spite of these glitches, the step to try the marines is welcome. The world is watching the outcome of the trial.
