Some More Graphic Pictures...and then some...

Whatta ya gonna believe?

G.I.'s Investigated in Slayings of 4 and Rape in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 30 — The American military is investigating accusations that soldiers raped an Iraqi woman in her home and killed her and three family members, including a child, American officials said Friday.

The investigation is the fourth into suspected killings of unarmed Iraqis by American soldiers announced by the military in June. In May, it was disclosed that the military was conducting an inquiry into the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha last November.

The alleged rape and killings took place March 12 in the vicinity of the volatile market town of Mahmudiya, an insurgent stronghold about 20 miles south of Baghdad. The killing of the family was originally reported by the military as due to "insurgent activity," American officials said.

A senior police official in Mahmudiya said in a telephone interview that he received a report of the killings in March. The victims were a woman, her child, her husband and the husband's brother, he said. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said a sheik from the family's tribe immediately reported the episode to the police...

The American officials, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly about possible criminal proceedings, said the investigation involved five soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment, attached to the Fourth Infantry Division.

A senior American official confirmed several details first reported by The Associated Press on Friday, including that the soldiers were accused of raping the woman, before killing her and three other family members and possibly burning her body. An Army official in Washington also confirmed that the inquiry was focused on soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment, adding, "The allegation is one of rape and murder."

The alleged rape and killings came to light after a soldier felt compelled to talk about it in a "counseling-type session," after the discovery of the bodies of his kidnapped colleagues, The Associated Press reported. The soldier who originally disclosed the alleged killings had heard about them but had not taken part in them, The A.P. said.

There is a lot more about this but I won't post it. The link goes to a NY Times article.

How much longer is this going to go on? It's looking like only the dregs of our country are sent to Iraq; if we can believe these stories about all the indiscriminate killings and rapes allegedly commited by our troops.

How about our women in the military in Iraq? Have they raped and killed Iraqi men as well and we just haven't heard about it yet? I can't help but notice the requests for anonimity by the whistle blowers in all this. We hear all about it but aren't told who is saying it.

We really need to bring our troops home so they can rape and kill their own people for a change. That's only fair!

Later...