Saturday, May 23, 2009

The 4300 mark

The 4300 mark has been reached. Today the US military announced: "CAMP VICTORY, Iraq -- A Multi-National Corps - Iraq Soldier died in a non-combat related incident in Baghdad Province, May 22. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. The incident is under investigation." The 4300 mark.

Democrats control both houses of the Congress and the White House and still the war drags on. It won't end this year. It won't end next. Barack lies that it will end at the end of 2011. He knows differently and, as a candidate, said so. Not while speaking to the throngs of worshippers. But when going off to speak with reporters. Yes, he made clear over and over, if things on the ground in Iraq got worse once a draw down was started, he would, as president, send more troops back in.

He left that out of his stadium appearances and he leaves it out of his speeches today. But it is what happens. Right now he and Nouri are both trying to bluff their public. Barry's got a lot more distasteful programs on the way (though one friend in the White House insists that "America really wants this" -- uh-huh) and he can't get honest about Iraq. Nouri's got to keep up the lie until January because that's when Iraq's national elections are now scheduled. They're barrelling down the narrow, dirt road at midnight with the headlights off. The world's just a hostage along for the ride.

The Wall St. Journal's Yochi J. Dreazen and August Cole report:

Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged the nation's future Army officers to question authority, challenge conventional wisdom and work to avoid the dangerous "groupthink" that often takes root in military circles.
In a commencement speech Saturday to a packed football stadium at this storied military academy, Mr. Gates told hundreds of West Point graduates that the Army's traditional consensus-driven culture was ill-suited to the complex challenges of modern warfare in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The defense chief encouraged the cadets, who will soon be commissioned into the Army, to tell higher-ranking officers what they needed to hear, as opposed to what they wanted to hear.


They should avoid "groupthink" and that includes membership in the Cult of St. Barack.

Abed Falah al-Sudani

The photo is of Iraq's Minister of Trade Abed Falah al-Sudani and Jack Dolan and Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) report that he is expected to be out of office shortly:

All of Baghdad seemed to watch last weekend when Sudany appeared on state TV to answer questions about his two brothers allegedly skimming millions from a national food program as ordinary Iraqis went without staples such as rice, wheat and cooking oil.
Sudany also struggled to answer charges that when government investigators arrived at the Trade Ministry, his guards had fired into the air, allowing his brothers to escape out a back door, and about why an inspector general was transferred to Beijing after he asked about shipments of spoiled food.
Some Iraqis saw the public interrogation as a hopeful sign for their country's nascent democracy, a rare case of the powerful being held accountable to voters. Others considered it parliamentary propaganda, convinced that politicians had found a scapegoat for the sake of appearance.


In some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mortar attack on the Green Zone, a Baghdad roadside bombing which damaged a US military Hummer, a Mosul roadside bombing which injured Lt Gen Taha Mahmoud, a second Mosul roadside bombing which injured three police officers and a Diyala Province roadside bombing which claimed 2 lives. Reuters notes an "overnight" rocket attack on the Green Zone which claimed the life of 1 "civilian working for the U.S. Department of Defense". KUNA adds that 4 police officers were killed in a Mosul bombing with three wounded.

Shootings?

Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 6-year-old son of a Sahwa ("Awakening," "Sons Of Iraq") leader was shot dead in Diyala Province. KUNA reports 1 police officer dead from "armed attacks in eastern Mosul" and another injured.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa and Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Salahuddin Province. Reuters notes 1 corpse "of a U.S. civilian found in the Green Zone on Friday".

Ernesto Londono and Steve Fainaru (Washington Post) identify the corpse found as Jim Kitterman who had been "president of Janus Construction" and they note, "Another American working for a contractor was killed Friday in a suspected rocket attack near the U.S. Embassy, U.S. officials said. It appeared to be the first fatal rocket attack in the Green Zone in more than a year. "

Finally from Mark Kukis' "How the Economy Could Crush Iraq's Hopes" (Time magazine):


The worsening revenue picture for the Iraqi government apparently stirred talk among leadership in Baghdad of allowing the export of oil from Kurdish northern Iraq. Kurdistan, as the semi-autonomous region is known, has long sought to export its significant oil reserves. But the central government in Baghdad has always objected to any such move, insisting that Baghdad control the country's oil exports and its revenues. The dispute has proven to be one of the most intractable impasses in Iraqi politics. Early reports of a possible deal buoyed hopes for a breakthrough, but so far no agreement has emerged, and the Iraqi government in Baghdad still officially considers any oil exports from Kurdish territory illegal.
Other sources of revenue have gone dry or are about to. Foreign investors have been slow to spend in Iraq because of the violence and huge uncertainty surrounding the security situation following the U.S. drawdown going forward this summer. U.S. reconstruction funds are dwindling as American troops move to go. And Iraq at present cannot sell government bonds on the international market without risking them becoming entangled in a myriad of reparations lawsuits related to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1991.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.








sahar issa

the washington post
ernesto londono

Anger over Green's sentence

Iraqi tribal and political leaders complained bitterly on Friday after an American court spared the life of a United States soldier convicted of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and then murdering her and members of her family in 2006.
The soldier, Steven D. Green, 24, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday after a jury failed to reach a consensus on whether he should be executed.
"There is no comparison between the crimes and the sentence," said Sheik Fadhil al-Janabi, a Sunni tribal leader in Anbar Province. "That soldier entered an Iraqi house, raped their under-age daughter and burned her with her family, so this sentence is not enough, and it is insulting for Iraqis' honor."
On Iraq's state-run television station, where the case received extensive coverage, the soldier was branded "the killer of innocence."


The above is from Marc Santora and Suadad al-Salhy's "Iraq Tribes Are Upset by Sentence Given to G.I." in today's New York Times. Steven D. Green was convicted three Thursdays ago on all counts in the War Crimes of gang-raping 14-year-old Iraqi Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, of her murder, the murder of her five-year-old sister and the murders of both of her parents. Thursday the jury announced they were unable to sentence Green to the death penalty so he will now be sentenced to life in prison. He is next scheduled to appear before Judget Thomas B. Russell on September 4th. Iraqis began voicing their displeasure as soon as the verdict was known. Raheem Salman's "Iraqis angered by ex-GI's sentence" (Los Angeles Times) continues the news of Iraqi reaction:

"This sentence is unjust, and we in our tribe feel displeasure, dissatisfaction and disappointment indeed," said Mahdi Obaid Janabi, 56, an elder of the Janabi tribe, to which the family belonged.He said tribal leaders planned to demand that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki put pressure on the U.S. government to somehow impose the death penalty on Green, who was tried by a civilian court in Paducah because he had been discharged from the Army by the time charges were brought."The government must move. . . . They must claim back the honor of the family," he said.
As much as any of the abuses known to have been committed by U.S. troops in Iraq, this crime has resonated in the national consciousness for its brutality and callousness.


Abeer remains the number one topic in e-mails. Kayla wonders about McClatchy Newspapers? They've ignored the story. Always. They just don't give a damn. They never really did. This "McClatchy [Knight-Ridder back then] could have saved us!" is just b.s. McClatchy didn't bother to cover it. They haven't covered Iraqi reaction to the trial and they haven't covered the trial. Now, for those who don't know, McClatchy is a chain. And the federal trial was held in Kentucky and McClatchy's owns the Lexington Herald-Leader. Had the Lexington Herald-Leader covered the trial daily, McClatchy could have carried it at its website and in the various papers it owns. In California, that would have included the Sacremento Bee. For Florida, that would have meant papers including the Miami Herald. In Texas it would have been limited to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In the state of Washington, it would have included The Olympian. In Kansas, it would have been the Wichita Eagle. In North Carolina, it would have included the Charlotte Observer. In South Carolina, it would have included The State. They have papers in Idaho, in Illinois, in Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. They could have covered it. They have chosen not to.

McClatchy as the savior of us all is, and always has been, nonsense. The Lexington Herald-Leader, a Kentucky paper owned by McClatchy, 'covered' the case by . . . running AP stories. Click here for Brett Barrouquere and here for Kristen M. Hall (both AP journalists). Obviously the paper doesn't 'lead' nor 'herald' much. It's an embarrassment that McClatchy has a paper that close to Paducah (you can make it from Lexington to Paducah in a roughly four hour drive) and they produce nothing. But they've got US and Iraqi reporters based in Iraq and they can't file on the reaction to the verdict. It's obvious that they don't give a damn. There's nothing to suss out there. Their actions have made it very clear. Repeatedly so. Not just with Green's trial. The myth of McClatchy is only repeated by the vastly uninformed. But it's repeated less and less because with any event, with any topic, it's back down to earth for McClatchy if you even half-way pay attention.


Gail McGowan Mellor or one of her defenders e-mails to note this photo, "See! That's Abeer as a teenager!" I've never laughed so hard. That's Abeer probably at the age of five or six. Unless she's severly malnutritioned (which she might have been, sanctions were being imposed), there's no way in the world she's over seven. You can tell that by the thickness of the sides of her lower face and the face size in relation to the size of her ears. I could go off on that photo but we're already taking that to Third. I will just say that the copyright that has been slapped on it? Not the best thing to do at a time when you're accusing others of violating your own copyright. AP didn't photograph that picture. They got a copy from the court.

The following community sites updated since Friday morning:



Cedric's Big Mix
Barack's lover on the down low
36 minutes ago

The Daily Jot
THIS JUST IN! BARRY'S GOT A SECRET!
36 minutes ago

Like Maria Said Paz
Barry will detain you
3 hours ago

Trina's Kitchen
Tomatoes and Bean Salad in the Kitchen
15 hours ago

Thomas Friedman is a Great Man
Movie
19 hours ago

Mikey Likes It!
Memorial day brief post
19 hours ago

Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude
jassy ramsey, no 1 asked you
20 hours ago

SICKOFITRADLZ
This and that
20 hours ago

Ruth's Report
More of the same
20 hours ago

Oh Boy It Never Ends
The embarrassing Jerry Lewis
20 hours ago

Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)
Barack's detention policies
20 hours ago

Kat plans to do two music reviews here over the weekend, FYI. The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

iraq
the new york times
marc santora
sudad al-salhy
the los angeles times
raheem salman
iraq
steven d. green
brett barrouquere
iraq

thomas friedman is a great man

oh boy it never ends

Friday, May 22, 2009

Iraq snapshot

Friday, May 22, 2009.  Chaos and violence continue, the 4300 mark hovers, Green gets life in prison and Iraqis aren't happy, and we look back at the Abeer coverage since the War Crimes were first exposed.
 
 
Yesterday the KPFA Evening News didn't air (or not at its usual hour if it did).  KPFK did carry the KPFA Evening News.  This being Pacifica, we should probably point out that it's fundraising before someone thinks there was another lock-out.   On the KPFA Evening News aired on KPFK, KPFA's Andrea Lewis covered the War Crimes.
 
Andrea Lewis: An ex-soldier convicted of raping and killing an Iraqi teen and murdering her family was spared the death penalty today and will serve a life sentence after jurors could not agree unanimously on a punishment. 
 
 
The jury deliberated for a total of ten hours and twenty minutes. While waiting for the jury, Jim Lesousky(P) was seen, hands clasped, as if in prayer. Scott Wendelsdorf(D) was pacing around the defense table, anxious and apprehensive. His hands were shaking as he took his seat. Green, appearing in the same maroon sweater vest as before, appeared surprisingly calm, his breathing steady; the exact same calm-cool-collected look could also be seen on Green's father John and uncle David, present in court. Pat Bouldin(D) twiddled his thumbs with his head down, knowing that this was the moment they'd spent the past two and a half years preparing for.             
The jury entered, looking quite stern. Two juror's lips were near quivering. The members of the defense team looked down, while the prosecution eyed the flock of jurors for the last time. After reviewing the verdict forms, Judge Russell announced that the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, giving Green life in prison without possibility of parole.
 
 
Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) broke it down thusly, "Green was given the life term after jurors couldn't come to unanimous agreement on sentencing him to death."
AFP explains, "Their failure to agree effectively handed Steven Dale Green life in prison without the possibility of parole for the rape and killing of Abeer al-Janabi, 14, and the murder of her mother, father and six-year-old sister."  As James Dao (New York Times) notes, "At least four other soldiers have pleaded guilty or were convicted in military courts for their roles in the rape and murders.  While most received long prison terms, none are facing the death penalty, and all will be eligble for parole in 10 years or less."  UPI explains, "The trial was the first in which a civilian jury was asked whether to execute a former service member for a wartime crime."  Alsumaria notes, "Green acknowledged the 17 charges addressed to him including rape, murder and judicial obstruction."  Andrew Wolfson (Courier-Journal -- link has a video option as well) observes, "Green broke into a slight smile when the verdict was announced."
 
While Green was grinning, Iraqis were less than pleased.  Marc Santora and Suadad al-Salhy (New York Times, for tomorrow's paper so it will not be considered in the next section of the snapshot) quote Sheik Fahil al-Janabi stating, "There is no comparison between the crimes and the sentence.  That soldier entered an Iraqi house, raped their underage daughter and burned her with her family, so this sentence is not enough and it is insulting for Iraqi's honor."  The reporters tell you that the case was news ("extensive coverage") on Iraqi TV -- well at least some media system cared -- and that Green has been dubbed "the killer of innocence."  Sami al-Jumaili and Habaib al-Zubaidy (Reuters) quote Abeer's uncle Raad Yusuf stating, "It's a real shock.  That court decision is a crime -- almost worse than the soldier's crime."  Earlier,  Habib al-Zubaidy (Reuters) noted a mechanic from Abeer's home time, Ahmed Samir stating, "What the American soldier did is a terrorist act and he deserves execution.  The court has not delivered justice.  If I killed an American girl, the American court would have executed me."  CNN quotes Sahwa leader Mustafa Kamel Shabib al-Jaoburi stating, "He raped a girl and killed an entire family, and he got only life in prison. . . . This is an unjust trial.  We demand a new trial."
 
And Green may get a new trial.  It's always sad when anyone -- guilty or innocent -- who is poor is betrayed by a public defender.  Maybe the defender falls asleep in court, maybe the defender just doesn't give a damn about the client?  There are many wonderful public defenders in the US and they work very, very hard.  They are heroes and heroines because they ensure that everyone gets a voice, that everyone has representation.  But not every public defender is up to the job.  Steven D. Green entered a plea of "not guilty."  As reporters have repeatedly noted, his attorneys decided (they say) not to fight the guilt but to work on being sure Green didn't get the death penalty.  If that is correct, Green's got solid grounds for an appeal because his attorneys disregarded his wishes.  A public defender does not determine what the client will plead.  Nor is a public defender allowed to say, "I'll just sit out the trial but, after they convict my client, I'll earn the tax payers dollars by fighting to prevent him/her from receiving the death penalty."  Green does not appear to have been served by his attorneys who appear to have either thought they couldn't win or just didn't want to work for a win.  This appears likely not only by their comments to the press but also by their behavior in the courtroom.  April 28th the prosecution began calling their witnesses and they rested May 4th.  That afternoon the defense began calling their witnesses and they rested . . . the following day.  1 day and a half of witnesses.  May 7th the jury returned their verdict (guilty on all counts).  Green was now guilty.  It was time for sentencing.  The defense called their first witness on May 11th. May 18th, the defense called their last witness.  Throughout the case, the defense  verbally argued the entire system failed Green. With their actions, the defense failed him.  (Click here for more on that.)  Comments made by Green's father and brother indicate it's likely Green may indeed appeal.  He's due to be sentenced September 4th.  This may or may not be over.
 
 
But let's look back to what should be the most known War Crimes of the Iraq War.  The fact that they aren't go to a media failure.  There are some who have earned praise.  Many more have not.  From July 2, 2006 snapshot: "Lupien also noted the arrest of Steven D. Green. Green, is 21 and was with the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army. Friday, in Asheville, North Carolina, he was arrested and charged with both the four deaths as well as the rape. According to the US government press release, if convicted on the charge of murder, 'the maximum statutory penalty . . . is death' while, if convicted on the charge of rape, 'the maxmium statutory penalty for the rape is life in prison'."  Green's trial finally began April 27th.  The first day,  Andrew Wolfson (Courier-Journal) reported, "In an opening statement in a trial that is expected to last three to five weeks, Justice Department lawyer Brian Skaret said the government will present at least five witnesses who say Green bragged about the crimes, including one who says Green told his fellow soldiers that it was 'awesome'." Wolfson bid closest without going over: Four weeks. The trial lasted four weeks.  In all that time, there was only one known editorial.  The Washington Observer-Reporter made the trial the topic of an editorial and they concluded, "But there are no hardships, military or otherwise, that could excuse an atrocity like this and you can't blame it on a 'lack of leadership'." The New York Times?  During the four weeks, they filed three reports on the story.  Three. Campbell Robertson and Atheer Kakan filed "Ex-G.I. Guilty of Rape and Killings in Iraq" from Iraq and this is the first report the paper ever carried which mentioned Abeer by name.  It was not their first story on the topic, or the second or third or . . .  But it was the first time that Abeer's name was ever mentioned.  The paper had repeatedly rendered her invisible for nearly three years.  James Dao filed  "Civilian Jury Considers Death Penalty for Ex-G.I." which moved Abeer's name back to paragraph 14 (paragraph thirteen was where Robertson and Kakan were able to get it in) and was a pretty sorry report with no saving graces.  Today Dao filed "Ex-Soldier Gets Life Sentence for Iraq Murders" which is such a huge improvement, it's hard to believe that both articles were written by the same reporter.  Praise for Dao.
 
That was the New York Times.  The Los Angeles Times loves, loves to cover 'military justice.'  They're always dispatching Tony Perry to . . . Well, as a friend at the San Diego Union-Tribune likes to put it, "Where ever Rick goes, they [LAT] send him."  And if anyone ever doubted that Tony was anything other than a camp follower they had their proof over the last four weeks.  Rick Rogers wasn't dispatched to Kentucky so . . . Tony didn't go.  Some people call it "competition," some people call it "stalking."  The Washington Post?  Though Ellen Knickmeyer wrote the definitive newspaper account of the crimes in 2006,  "Details Emerge in Alleged Army Rape, Killings" (July 3, 2006), the paper made do with Reuters and AP when 'covering' the Green trial.  Wall St. Journal?  Didn't Old Man Rupaul Murdoch promise no lay offs and that resources would be pooled so there would be even more coverage?  Apparently the only thing that pooled was the blood from his lifeless head because the Wall St. Journal which should have been covering it wasn't covering it.  Now everyone knows -- check any Marriott -- that the Wall St. Journal isn't really the paper with the largest circulation in the US (the bulk of the Wall St. Journals at Marriotts are never picked up -- many front desks 'store' them in the closet nearest to the front desk) but it claims to be and, as such, it certainly should have been able to manage one reporter covering the case. September 13, 2006, USA Today ran Gregg Zoroya's "Soldier describes anguish in revealing murder allegations" on the front page which not only offered a look at Justin Watt who heroically came foward, it also named the victims (Abeer, sister Hadeel, parents Fikhriya Taha and Qassim Hamza) and featured photos of her two brothers Ahmed (then nine) and Mohammed (then eleven).   Justin Watt did a courageous thing in coming forward and Zoroya explained that he took the issue to a mental health counselor "because he wanted to bypass what he thought would be a skeptical command structure and get an audience with Army investigators".  You might have thought they'd want to live up to their high water mark because, let's be honest, USA Today is not the paper most people read -- it's a glance-at.  It's the paper which causes serious readers to groan at the airports when they realize it's the only one left.  And yet despite having one of those few moments in their history that they could be proud of, they elected not to build it and appeared to think they'd show the world they were a real news outlet -- honest they were -- by blogging about what the AP wrote.  Yesterday they teamed their Andrea Stone up with the Courier-Journal's Andrew Wolfson for "Ex-soldier gets life for Iraqi murders."  It was a move they should have considered weeks ago but they still come out ahead of many, many other outlets.

And what about radio?  A lot of McBurgers were sold to make NPR what it is so where's the beef?  Never on air.  Diane Rehm famously BANNED the topic from her show when the jury released their verdict of guilty (on all counts).  After they were exposed (here) the show sent out a laughable e-mail to those who had e-mailed on the topic and those who had called Rehm out for banning the topic.  We've got seven forwarded copies of that and I've confirmed it with a friend with the show so on a slow day this summer we may include it in the snapshot.  (Click here for some of the e-mails sent into the show on the day Diane was banning the topic.)  All those hours to fill every day and not a word about Abeer on the NPR programs.  This afternoon Frank James blogs and includes some comments by  NPR's JJ Sutherland.  But actually getting it on air was too damn much work for NPR.  Pacifica Radio?  They didn't send anyone.  They're begging for money right now and they're doing awful.  KPFA, for example, is supposed to be ending their fund drive and they are $100,000 short of their target goal.  KPFA has the best fundraising (because it has the richest base) of any Pacifica radio station.  WBAI is teetering due to already being in debt.  No one thought to send anyone to Kentucky and despite the fact that all the Pacifica stations have listeners in Kentucky, no one thought to ask one of them to file some sort of report or, for that matter, to interview Evan Bright.  We'll come back to Evan.  Lila Garrett talks a good game about caring about Iraqis, she talks a good game.  But when it came to an Iraqi teenager who was gang-raped and murdered by US soldiers?  Where were you, Lila?  We know where Margret Prescond was -- on the corner whoring for Barack.  Remember that when Maggie The Cat wants to tell you yet again how wonderful she is and how she interview Hugo Chavez and how she . . . Didn't do s**t. 
 
I'm not overly fond of Amy Goodman.  I'd love to right now be able to point to someone else but Amy's the only one who consistently was aware of Abeer.  It was never more than headlines but when Goodman's getting ready to go to bed, she can tell herself, "I did cover it."  And she did.  Credit where it's due.  Not as much but also deserving credit, Andrea Lewis on KPFA.  Andrea covered it twice.  Andrea does know what actual news is.  Which puts her far ahead of her morning replacement, to be honest.  When Andrea co-hosted The Morning Show and when Sandra Lupien did the news breaks?  They broke the story.  No other radio station in the country had run with the arrest of Steven D. Green.  Sandra worked her ass off and she didn't -- as Aileen does -- just grab AP and read it out loud (which some call plagiarism when you don't say "AP reports . . .").  She found the government's announcement of the arrest and found it about ten minutes after it was released and worked furiously to include it in the news break she was about to do.  KPFA was the first broadcast outlet to note Steven D. Green's death.
 
They're short now.  And why is that?  Why should we give money to KPFA?  They didn't send anyone to cover Abeer's case.  We had Aimee Allison making a fool herself every damn morning, being the equivalent of Phyllis George, and we're supposed to pay for that?  We're supposed to pay to listen to them read Associated Press stories to us that they pass off as news?  We're supposed to pay for all that Barack Whoring?  It's not news.  It's not free speech.  It is propaganda and, no surprise, they're learning people aren't going to pay for it.  (See Panhandle Media for how KPFA in particular ABUSED the airwaves and the audience to WHORE for Barack.)  Andrea Lewis is a functioning adult.  She may be one of the few left at KPFA.  But despite all the calls and e-mails and all the blog comments they've had (you can leave comments at their archives) asking why they weren't covering the Green trial, the only KPFA employee who seemed to think "Maybe in a fundraising cycle it's really not good to piss off our audience?" was Andrea.  When the layoffs come, they need to start way at the top.  When the layoffs come they need to start with the execs who allowed this to go on and who have turned The Morning Show into two hours that no one can listen to because it's a daily sermonette (preached strongest by Brother Mitch Jeserich in that hideous "Washington Letter") on the Glory and Goodness of St. Barack.  Instead of sending Mitch to DC to reach his hands down St. Barack's pants, maybe the money could have been spent reporting on the War Crimes trial coz, pay attention, in ten years when Pacifica really needs to beg for money, their happy time chatter about Barack won't be worth s**t but if they could say "We covered the War Crimes trial" they might have have impressed someone.  That's especially true of Free Speech Radio News which appears to be utilizing all of their energies currently to demonstrate that they are not "free speech" nor are they news.  Message received.  May you share warm reminisces . . . on the unemployment line.
 
 
Turning to televison.  I have friends with The NewsHour and I know they are re-tooling the show.  That's no excuse for their silence on this story.  That's no excuse for not covering it.  For those wondering,  PBS does have a member station in Paducah, Kentucky (where the trial was held), WKPD.  There's no reason they couldn't have partnered with that station to cover it.  There's no reason -- other than it wouldn't let her be the airhead she loves to be -- that Washington Week couldn't have covered the trial in their gas bag way.  (For those not aware of it, even under Gwen, Washington Week has brought reporters on to do a report and not gas bag, they're usually reporting by remote from outside the studio.)  PBS is broadcast television.  The network news?  Damn disgusting.  And it's really sad that when we finally do have a woman anchor that the gang-rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager by US soldiers isn't seen as news.  It's really sad. 
 
MSNBC?  They don't do news, kids.  They think they do comedy and that actually is funny.  CNN?  CNN covered this story starting in 2006.  They have always covered the story.  While MSNBC and Fox 'News' served up pompous wind bags, CNN offered news.  They deserve a lot of credit for the reports they did -- including the reports done by Dave Alsup and Deborah Feyerick on the Green trial.  Yet again, CNN proved they are in the news business.  They may be the only ones, but they are in it.
 
The weeklies? Newsweek couldn't be bothered.  When can they be?  TIME magazine offered a report by Jim Frederick who has long covered the story and who is writing a book on Green's unit.  US News & World Reports?  Stop, you're making us laugh.  The Nation?  Oh that is funny.  You think any of those useless writers at The Nation gives a damn about Abeer.  Ugly Girl Katha Pollitt who poses as a feminist?  What has that useless woman ever done?  Not real damn much.  She's trashed the NAACP, true.  That made her feel good, I guess.  What a proud moment for White Katha, lecturing the NAACP on what she thinks they should focus on.  How they were wasting their time complaining about the unfair portrayals on TV and the lack of them.  But what does Katha do but kvetch and moan every two weeks about something in the media.  Real problems?  Katha doesn't have time for them.  And she never had time for Abeer.  It was almost one year after the War Crimes were known that, under tremendous pressure, Katha was forced to mention Abeer.  Which she did . . . for a half-sentence.  The self-styled den mother of the push-up bra set of 'feminists,' the 21st century's Charlotte Rae, Katha Pollitt, take your bow.  Ruth Conniff?  She makes Katha look like a deep thinker.  The Progressive's a monthly but, no, it didn't cover Abeer.  There was time for Matthew Rothschild to come out of the closet this week but no time for Abeer.  Never time for Abeer.  Well, hey, Matthew Rothschild, what he's really like, him telling us that, does qualify as news, right?  News you can use?  No, it's more naval gazing from the man who is far too intimate with his own pot belly and who, honestly, should have grasped long enough that, as a news topic, he's just not interesting.
 
Reuters, UPI, AFP and AP filed stories.  AP was fortunate to have Brett Barrouquere who has covered the story for nearly three years and may know it better -- all the ins and outs -- than any other reporter who has followed the story.  AP's not really fond of bylines.  They're not really fond of reporters names.  They prefer their 'product' be known and not individuals -- their 'product' is not the news reports, they mean "Associated Press."  Well tough, because Brett Barrouquere deserves praise for the work he's long done on this story and, his own natural talents aside, he's also the strongest argument for keeping reporters on stories.  Other outlets should learn something from that.  In a reporter's universe, 'heaven' may be tenacity paying off.  If so, Brett's earned his joy.
 
And then there's Evan Bright.  The 18-year-old high school senior, one who's not even necessarily planning to be a reporter, one who wasn't even aware the case over six months ago.  But he reported -- REPORTED -- on the case.  He was in the court room every day.  During the last four weeks we've been treated to a load of sanctimonous claims about the power of the newspapers and how important they are and how much they matter to democracy and how we need to give them a bail out and blah, blah, blah.  No national newspaper put a reporter in a court room every day.  Evan Bright put himself in that court room.  When the US media system failed (excepting only Brett's work for AP), Evan Bright was there.  Instead of bailing out newspapers, maybe Congress can fund Evan's college career?  Evan's offered closing thoughts on the trial here.
 
 
WASHINGTON -- A federal jury that convicted Steven D. Green, a former Ft. Campbell, Ky., soldier of charges arising out of the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of the girl and her family today said it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether the defendant should be sentenced to death. Because the jury did not unanimously reach a decision on the death penalty, U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell will sentence Green to life without parole, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Candace G. Hill of the Western District of Kentucky announced.

Judge Russell is scheduled to formally sentence Green on September 4, 2009.

Green, 24, was convicted by the federal jury on May 7, 2009, in Louisville, Ky., on all charged counts, including premeditated murder, aggravated sexual abuse, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated sexual abuse, use of firearms during the commission of violent crimes and obstruction of justice. Green was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 2, 2006.

Green was charged with the crimes following an incident that occurred on March 12, 2006, in and around Mahmoudiyah, Iraq. According to evidence presented at trial, while manning a military checkpoint, Green and other fellow soldiers discussed raping and killing Iraqis. Trial evidence showed that Green and others then took off their uniforms, put on black clothing, left their post and forced their way into the nearby home of the Al-Janabi family. Evidence presented at trial proved that Green then took the mother, father and six-year-old into a bedroom where he shot and killed them. In the living room, Green and the other soldiers raped the 14-year-old and then Green repeatedly shot her in the face and set her body on fire. Green then tried to blow up the house, according to trial evidence, after which the soldiers returned to their checkpoint. After committing the rape and murders, trial testimony revealed that Green bragged to others that the experience was "awesome."             

Green was discharged from the U.S. Army in May 2006 and was prosecuted in U.S. District Court under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), a statute that gives U.S. courts jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed outside the United States by, among others, persons who served with the armed forces but who are no longer subject to military prosecution. Green's co-conspirators were prosecuted by military authorities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Green, formerly stationed at Ft. Campbell and deployed to Iraq while serving with the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, was arrested by the FBI on June 30, 2006, on federal charges of murder and rape based on MEJA.            

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa Ford and Jim Lesousky of the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Brian Skaret of the Criminal Division's Domestic Security Section.  

 
Yesterday's violence in Iraq resulted in 27 reported deaths and thirty-two reported wounded. The 27 includes the 3 US soldiers killed. This morning Reuters adds the following on Thursday's violence: a Mosul roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 police officer and injured six more, another Mosul roadside bombing injured a woman, 2 corpses discovered in Mosul ("man with bullet wounds" and "woman with bullet wounds"). So there are 30 reported deaths from Thursday's violence (at least thirty) and thirty-nine reported wounded plus nine US soldiers wounded for a total of forty-eight wounded. And the violence follows Wednesday's Baghdad bombing which resulted in at least 40 dead. On yesterday's Baghdad bombing,  Nada Bakri (Washington Post) notes eye witness Raed Nizar stating, "Blood was all over the ground.  The wounded were pleading with motorists who happened to drive by to take them to the hospital."  Timothy Williams and Abeer Mohammed (New York Times) describe the Baghdad bomber as "a beared man dressed in a woman's black floor-length cloak".
 
 In some of today's reported violence . . .
 
 Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad mortar attack on the Green Zone (missed), a Baghdad mortar attack which wounded two people, a Mosul roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 police officer and left six people injured and a second Mosul roadside bombing which injured one person. 
 
 As the US heads into Memorial Day weekend, the number of US service members killed in the Iraq War stands at 4299 -- one away from the 4300 mark.
 
TV notes. NOW on PBS begins airing on many PBS stations tonight (check local listings):

This week NOW on PBS partners with best-selling author and journalist Robert Lacey to investigate the surprising success of Saudi Arabia's approach to dealing with terrorists and extremists - without torture or water-boarding. Given extraordinary access to the Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry and its practices, Lacey visits terrorist rehabilitation camps that use "soft policing" tactics to be nice to the bad guys.
In the program we see the Saudis providing a private jumbo jet to bring inmates home from Guantanamo Bay, giving them a hero's welcome, then sending them to a converted holiday resort for re-education. Then, the men are set free.
Is this rehab program working, and can we trust the Saudis to protect themselves - and us - against Islamic extremism in the future? Watch this NOW on PBS report for a perspective on terrorism you've never seen before.

Washington Week also begins airing tonight and Catty Girl Gwen invites three boys over for her sleep over and tosses Karen Tumulty (TIME) in for giggles (NYT's David Sanger, Wall St. Journal's Naftali Bendavid and National Journal's John Maggs compete to be Gwen's Dream Date). Golly, you know if PBS had been okay with this sort of 'representation' of the American public, Gwen would never have been a host of any PBS show. Don't worry though, she's off singing "I got mine." Four guests, one is a woman. No that's not reflective of the population. Yes, it does speak to Gwen's own sexism and her own vanity. As a fix you can watch (and starts airing tonight on many PBS stations, check local listings) as Bonnie Erbe sits down withCari Dominguez, Karen Czarnecki, Patricia Sosa and Avis Jones-DeWeever to discuss this week's news on To The Contrary. And turning to broadcast TV, Sunday CBS' 60 Minutes offers:

Buy American
The economic stimulus package includes a "buy American" clause that the steel and other U.S. industries lobbied hard for. However, American businesses that export overseas now fear foreign governments will retaliate and keep U.S. products out of their market, hurting their business. Lesley Stahl reports. | Watch Video
Sergeant Bill
Waving a badge he bought on the Internet and claiming to belong to the "Multi-jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force," Bill Jakob fooled a small town's officials into granting him the authority of a law enforcement officer. Katie Couric reports. | Watch Video
Wine Rx
Scientists have found a substance called resveratrol in red wine that slows down the aging process in mice. Will it someday lengthen the lives of humans, too? Morley Safer reports. | Watch Video
60 Minutes, Sunday, May 24, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
 

At least 30 dead, 48 injured in Thursday's violence

Yesterday's violence in Iraq resulted in 27 reported deaths and thirty-two reported wounded. The 27 includes the 3 US soldiers killed. This morning Reuters adds the following on Thursday's violence: a Mosul roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 police officer and injured six more, another Mosul roadside bombing injured a woman, 2 corpses discovered in Mosul ("man with bullet wounds" and "woman with bullet wounds"). So there are 30 reported deaths from Thursday's violence (at least thirty) and thirty-nine reported wounded plus nine US soldiers wounded for a total of forty-eight wounded. And the violence follows Wednesday's Baghdad bombing which resulted in at least 40 dead.

Nada Bakri (Washington Post) notes the nine wounded and, on the Baghdad bombing, quotes eye witnesses including these two:

"Blood was all over the ground," said Raed Nizar, a street vendor. "The wounded were pleading with motorists who happened to drive by to take them to the hospital."
[. . .]
"Everybody was here," said Ahmad Falah, 19, a blacksmith. "How did they not catch him before he blew himself up?"

Timothy Williams and Abeer Mohammed (New York Times) describe the Baghdad bomber:


As the soldiers stood outside chatting with Awakening members, a bearded man dressed in a woman's black floor-length cloak walked from an adjacent outdoor market and detonated explosives attached to his body, the witnesses said.
The force of the explosion tore the man's body apart, witnesses said, leaving his decapitated head on the pavement.

Alsumaria covers yesterday violence:

Whoever is targeting Iraq security stability knows well that this would lead to delaying US Forces withdrawal from Iraq and extend gory bombings targeting innocents.
Baghdad Streets were anew faced by a bloodshed that was believed to be over, yet, 12 people were killed in Al Dora District and 25 others were wounded when a gunman blew himself up in a crowded market. Three US soldiers were killed as well in the incident.
In Kirkuk, a suicide bomber camouflaged in a Sahwa uniform blew himself up among a crowd of Sahwas who were lined up to get paid their salaries killing seven and wounding eight others.
In Al Maamoun District, two policemen were killed and 20 others wounded when a bomb planted in a garbage can detonated near a police station.
In a separate incident, five citizens were killed including two policemen in a roadside bomb explosion.
In Al Zaafaraniya District, five citizens were wounded including two policemen in a bomb explosion while a Katyosha missile near a police patrol in Al Mussayeb wounded four members.
In Al Mussayeb as well, seven citizens were wounded including three policemen when they rushed to assist in rescuing a car accident victims among whom nine were killed and seven were wounded.
In Hilla, a gunman shot dead two citizens in a mourning council.
Meanwhile, Interior and Defense Ministries are preparing to start a comprehensive plan for Iraqi Forces redeployment preparing for the withdrawal of US Forces from cities at the end of June, Interior Ministry operations chief Brigadier Abdul Karim Khalaf said.

Brian Faler (Bloomberg) reports the US Senate voted 86 to 3 to approved the $91 billion war supplemental bill for Barack. Yesterday's snapshot noted the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Kat's "Senate Armed Services Committee" covers the hearing.

Turning to news of Barry O! Constant caving . . . has always been . . . In "Obama's promise to gays," the Los Angeles Times editorial board notes:

Some gay activists fear that, given the welter of other issues confronting the president, he may be unwilling to expend time or political capital on this or other gay-rights initiatives. Their anxiety was exacerbated by Obama's refusal to intervene in the expulsion from the National Guard of Dan Choi, an Arabic-speaking Iraq war veteran who disclosed he was gay in a TV interview. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Choi's case showed that "don't ask, don't tell" is a failure, adding that Obama would work with Congress and the Pentagon on a new policy. But changes, he said, "require more than the snapping of one's fingers."
That less-than-ringing reaffirmation of Obama's support for gays in the military sows doubt about whether the president will vigorously lobby Congress for two other items on his campaign's gay-rights agenda: enactment of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act protecting gays and lesbians against workplace discrimination, and a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman." Political reality and the press of other business may justify the postponement of some of Obama's campaign promises, but these aren't among them.

Event today in the Bay Area. Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian, authors of Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians, were guests on Tuesday's KPFA Flashpoints (show is archived at Flashpoints and at KPFA -- there are some excerpts in yesterday's snapshot). Friday, Hedges and Al-Arian will be speaking at MLK Auditorium (MLK Middle School) in Berkeley and ticket prices are twelve to fifteen dollars. The event starts at seven p.m.

Elizabeth Landau (CNN) has an important article on torture. Jeremy Scahill's "US Colonel Advocates US 'Military Attacks' on 'Partisan Media' in Essay for Neocon, Pro-Israel Group JINSA " is also a must read. On the previous entry this morning, note this from AP's Brett Barroquere's report:


Green's attorneys never denied his involvement in the attack, instead focusing on building a case that he didn't deserve the death penalty. Former Marines and other soldiers with whom Green served testified that he faced an unusually stressful combat tour in Iraq in a unit that suffered heavy casualties and didn't receive sufficient Army leadership while serving in the area labeled "Triangle of Death."

Alexander Cockburn (First Post via Information Clearing House) weighs in on Barry O!:

How long does it take a mild-mannered, anti-war, black professor of constitutional law, trained as a community organiser on the South Side of Chicago, to become an enthusiastic sponsor of targeted assassinations, 'decapitation' strategies and remote-control bombing of mud houses at the far end of the globe?
There's nothing surprising here. As far back as President Woodrow Wilson, in the early 20th century, American liberalism has been swift to flex its imperial muscle and whistle up the Marines. High-explosive has always been in the hormone shot.
The nearest parallel to Obama in eager deference to the bloodthirsty counsels of his counter-insurgency advisors is John F. Kennedy. It is not surprising that bright young presidents relish quick-fix, 'outside the box' scenarios for victory.
Obama's course is set and his presidency is already stained the familiar blood-red
Whether in Vietnam or Afghanistan the counsel of regular Army generals tends to be drear and unappetising: vast, costly deployments of troops by the hundreds of thousands, mounting casualties, uncertain prospects for any long-term success ­ all adding up to dismaying political costs on the home front.


TV notes. NOW on PBS begins airing on many PBS stations tonight (check local listings):

This week NOW on PBS partners with best-selling author and journalist Robert Lacey to investigate the surprising success of Saudi Arabia's approach to dealing with terrorists and extremists - without torture or water-boarding. Given extraordinary access to the Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry and its practices, Lacey visits terrorist rehabilitation camps that use "soft policing" tactics to be nice to the bad guys.
In the program we see the Saudis providing a private jumbo jet to bring inmates home from Guantanamo Bay, giving them a hero's welcome, then sending them to a converted holiday resort for re-education. Then, the men are set free.
Is this rehab program working, and can we trust the Saudis to protect themselves - and us - against Islamic extremism in the future? Watch this NOW on PBS report for a perspective on terrorism you've never seen before.

Washington Week also begins airing tonight and Catty Girl Gwen invites three boys over for her sleep over and tosses Karen Tumulty (TIME) in for giggles (NYT's David Sanger, Wall St. Journal's Naftali Bendavid and National Journal's John Maggs compete to be Gwen's Dream Date). Golly, you know if PBS had been okay with this sort of 'representation' of the American public, Gwen would never have been a host of any PBS show. Don't worry though, she's off singing "I got mine." Four guests, one is a woman. No that's not reflective of the population. Yes, it does speak to Gwen's own sexism and her own vanity. As a fix you can watch (and starts airing tonight on many PBS stations, check local listings) as Bonnie Erbe sits down withCari Dominguez, Karen Czarnecki, Patricia Sosa and Avis Jones-DeWeever to discuss this week's news on To The Contrary. And turning to broadcast TV, Sunday CBS' 60 Minutes offers:

Buy American
The economic stimulus package includes a "buy American" clause that the steel and other U.S. industries lobbied hard for. However, American businesses that export overseas now fear foreign governments will retaliate and keep U.S. products out of their market, hurting their business. Lesley Stahl reports. | Watch Video
Sergeant Bill
Waving a badge he bought on the Internet and claiming to belong to the "Multi-jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force," Bill Jakob fooled a small town's officials into granting him the authority of a law enforcement officer. Katie Couric reports. | Watch Video
Wine Rx
Scientists have found a substance called resveratrol in red wine that slows down the aging process in mice. Will it someday lengthen the lives of humans, too? Morley Safer reports. | Watch Video
60 Minutes, Sunday, May 24, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.


On NPR this morning, The Diane Rehm Show starts at 10:00 am (you can stream live online, archived broadcast is usually up 15 minutes after the second hour). The first hour features Karen Tumulty, the Weekly Standard's Matthew Continetti and The Nation's Chris Hayes. The second hour features Boston Globe's Farah Stockman, Kevin Whitelaw and NYT's David Sanger.

Today NPR's live concert is St. Vincent:

May 22: St. Vincent Live In Concert

Hear Full Show Webcast On NPR.org From Washington, D.C.

Remind Me With: Google Calendar, iCal, or Outlook.

NPR.org, May 18, 2009 - Annie Clark, who writes and records under the name St. Vincent, has never been a fan of convention. Her 2007 debut, Marry Me, was filled with off-kilter rhythms, strangely melodic electronic arrangements and cryptic narratives. St. Vincent's latest release, a candidate for one of 2009's best albums, is even more surprising and inventive. St. Vincent will showcase the album, Actor, in a full concert, webcast live on NPR.org May 22. The performance, from the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., will begin streaming online at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET.

Annie Clark got her start as a guitarist for The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, she played nearly every instrument on Marry Me. For Actor, Clark plays guitar, bass and keys, with woodwind contributions from Hideaki Aomori (Sufjan Stevens) and Alex Sopp (Bjork, Phillip Glass), and additional rhythm section work by McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake.


St. Vincent
also has a MySpace page.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.


the washington post









npr
the diane rehm show

Steven D. Green's case may not be over

Durham Gal e-mailed the below, from the Mecklenburg Sheriff's Dept. When we made the copy of a Steven D. Green's mugshot public domain and explained I had gotten the copy at the Sheriff's Dept (the same way AP, Getty Images and all the others slapping "copyright!" on a government photo), Durham Gal went surfing online and found the below.




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Inmate Summary

Arrest #: 01284831 Prisoner Type: FEDERAL INMATE
PID #: 0000330790 JID #: 06-81784
Name: GREEN, STEVEN Alias:
Race/Sex: W/M Date of Birth: 5/2/1985
Height: 600" Weight: 150
Address: 002601 A ST
MIDLAND TX 79705

Committed: 7/3/2006 At: 14:06 By:
Housing: Not Active
Released: 7/6/2006 At: 11:03


Living / Working / Governing / Visiting / Contacts
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So Steven D. Green who was convicted three Thursdays ago in the gang-rape of 14-year-old Iraqi Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, her murder, the murder of her five-year-old sister and the murders of both of her parents. Yesterday the jury returned the sentence. He'll spend life in prison, he did not receive the death penalty.

Evan Bright notes:


The jury deliberated for a total of ten hours and twenty minutes. While waiting for the jury, Jim Lesousky(P) was seen, hands clasped, as if in prayer. Scott Wendelsdorf(D) was pacing around the defense table, anxious and apprehensive. His hands were shaking as he took his seat. Green, appearing in the same maroon sweater vest as before, appeared surprisingly calm, his breathing steady; the exact same calm-cool-collected look could also be seen on Green’s father John and uncle David, present in court. Pat Bouldin(D) twiddled his thumbs with his head down, knowing that this was the moment they’d spent the past two and a half years preparing for.
The jury entered, looking quite stern. Two juror’s lips were near quivering. The members of the defense team looked down, while the prosecution eyed the flock of jurors for the last time. After reviewing the verdict forms, Judge Russell announced that the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, giving Green life in prison without possibility of parole.

Sentencing will be September 4th. Green may or may not appeal. If he does decide to appeal, he'll have strong grounds for it because the inept defense can't stop talking to the press about how they threw the trial and saved it up for the sentencing. That's okay . . . if that's what the client wants. Green entered a not guilty plea. Green wanted to argue not guilty. His defense team overrode him. They did not present a case for him being not guilty to the jury during the trial. They spent more time calling witnesses for the sentencing than they did for the actual trial.

There are some who are upset Green didn't get the death penalty and there are some who are seeing life in prison as a win. Reality, Green may appeal. If he does, he has strong grounds for an appeal. He has strong grounds to bring an official complaint against his court-appointed attorneys who did not present the case he wanted during the trial.

Steven D. Green was found guilty on all counts. I believe he is guilty. I'm not arguing or advocating, "Let Little Stevie out of prison!" I am saying don't be so quick to think this is over.
The defense disregarded their client. The defense then bragged to the press repeatedly -- press that the jury wasn't supposed to be reading so it can't be written off as an attempt to sway the jury -- that they basically tossed the trial and focused on the hearing.

That may or may not have been the best legal strategy. It is not, however, what their client wants. An attorney represents a client. If a lawyer can't do that -- court appointed or not -- the lawyer removes her/his self from the case. Even if you're court-appointed, you can do that.

The defense ignored Green's desires and this was Green's trial. He -- and any other person tried in the US -- is entitled to present their defense when accused. It's his right, it's everyone's right. But that didn't happen. His attorneys overrode what he wanted.

So where ever you are on the verdict (or if you're like Gina and just glad that it's finally over), you need to realize it may not be over. The appeals process may be the next avenue and, if that does happen, Green could end up walking. In a way, he now deserves to. His court appointed attorneys ignored him, disregarded his plea and did not present a case that argued not guilty.

I think Green's guilty and I believe he'll be haunted by his actions forever. That said, if I was on a jury where he was appealing, I would vote to let him off. Why? The process was abused.

It is hilarious when you grasp that the defense argued that Green was repeatedly failed by various institutions (including familial and governmental); however, the ones who refused to argue Green's case was the defense. The defense failed their client. You do not have the choice of overriding your client's wishes even if you fear not doing so will result in the death penalty.

As it stands, it's obvious that arguing Green's defense -- the one he wanted -- would not have done any damage. The jury convicted him on every count. Every count. There's no way that arguing during the trial phase that Green was innocent (a position he maintained and he entered a plea of not guilty) could have done any worse.

The defense verbally argued the entire system failed Green. With their actions, the defense failed him.



This is a huge topic to this community and it's all the e-mails this morning are about. We will cover it more in depth in the snapshot today. I do want to make a point right now though to note James Dao's "Ex-Soldier Gets Life Sentence for Iraq Murders" (New York Times) which is a remarkable improvement over yesterday's report. One example of how steady his hand is today (as opposed to yesterday) can be found in this paragraph:

At least four other soldiers have pleaded guilty or were convicted in military courts for their roles in the rape and murders. While most received long prison terms, none are facing the death penalty, and all will be eligible for parole in 10 years or less.

One of the few to grasp the difference. It really is a solid report and we'll try to go into that in the snapshot today but Dao's done a strong report and he deserves credit for it.

Andrew Wolfson (Courier-Journal -- link has a video option as well) observes, "Green broke into a slight smile when the verdict was announced." CNN notes:

During the trial, relatives of the murder victims gave gripping testimony about how the crimes still haunt them. Some family members said their lives have been ruined and it would have been better if they'd also been killed.
Doug Green offered an apology.
"Our hearts and prayers are with you. We're sorry. We're sorry," he said. "This has been hard for everybody involved. Not just my family, but the Iraqis. Everybody is going to need some healing."

Alsumaria notes, "Green acknowledged the 17 charges addressed to him including rape, murder and judicial obstruction. The former soldier is accused of heading a gang who committed a crime in March 2006 in southern Baghdad.
Similarly, three other soldiers appeared before a field court and were sentenced to life prison while another soldier charged of guarding the prison was sentenced to 2 years and three months in jail." Habib al-Zubaidy (Reuters) reports Iraqi reaction to the life sentence:

"What the American soldier did is a terrorist act and he deserves execution," said Ahmed Samir Jaber, 27, a mechanic, from underneath the bonnet of an old car he was fixing in Mahmudiya, a dusty trading town on the edge of the desert.
"The court has not delivered justice. If I killed an American girl, the American court would have executed me."

UPI covers it here and this is the US Justice Dept press release on yesterday's events:

Former Ft. Campbell Soldier Convicted on Charges Related to Deaths of Iraqi Civilians

WASHINGTON -- A federal jury that convicted Steven D. Green, a former Ft. Campbell, Ky., soldier of charges arising out of the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of the girl and her family today said it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether the defendant should be sentenced to death. Because the jury did not unanimously reach a decision on the death penalty, U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell will sentence Green to life without parole, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Candace G. Hill of the Western District of Kentucky announced.

Judge Russell is scheduled to formally sentence Green on September 4, 2009.

Green, 24, was convicted by the federal jury on May 7, 2009, in Louisville, Ky., on all charged counts, including premeditated murder, aggravated sexual abuse, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated sexual abuse, use of firearms during the commission of violent crimes and obstruction of justice. Green was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 2, 2006.

Green was charged with the crimes following an incident that occurred on March 12, 2006, in and around Mahmoudiyah, Iraq. According to evidence presented at trial, while manning a military checkpoint, Green and other fellow soldiers discussed raping and killing Iraqis. Trial evidence showed that Green and others then took off their uniforms, put on black clothing, left their post and forced their way into the nearby home of the Al-Janabi family. Evidence presented at trial proved that Green then took the mother, father and six-year-old into a bedroom where he shot and killed them. In the living room, Green and the other soldiers raped the 14-year-old and then Green repeatedly shot her in the face and set her body on fire. Green then tried to blow up the house, according to trial evidence, after which the soldiers returned to their checkpoint. After committing the rape and murders, trial testimony revealed that Green bragged to others that the experience was "awesome."

Green was discharged from the U.S. Army in May 2006 and was prosecuted in U.S. District Court under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), a statute that gives U.S. courts jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed outside the United States by, among others, persons who served with the armed forces but who are no longer subject to military prosecution. Green’s co-conspirators were prosecuted by military authorities under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Green, formerly stationed at Ft. Campbell and deployed to Iraq while serving with the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, was arrested by the FBI on June 30, 2006, on federal charges of murder and rape based on MEJA.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa Ford and Jim Lesousky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Brian Skaret of the Criminal Division’s Domestic Security Section.


On Democracy Now! today, Vincent Warren whores himself out and, sadly, the Center for Constitutional Rights with him. I think the Center's going to find it very difficult to raise money and they have the little butt smoocher Vinnie Warren to blame for it. I'm tired of defending the Center and I've done that for three or four months now.

And here's the Center's first clue for how they bring the problems on themselves: Participating as the Center in a meeting and making it off the record. That's not allowed. That's disgusting. It's time for Vinnie to go. It's time for that little ass kiss, that little apologist, to go. And you better believe as the funds continue to dry up for the Center, that nothing less than Vinnie leaving will satisfy those who are outraged by the Center's continued caving. And to repeat, I'm not running interference anymore. When the calls come in from now on and they say, "I don't want to give to the Center," I'm not doing a spiel for it. My response will be, "I don't blame you. Let's find a better cause to donate to."

Vinnie met with the White House in his CCR role. He is not allowed to promise to keep that secret. CCR is all about calling out government secrecy. Vinnie's brought shame to the organization and it will not easily wash away.


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thomas friedman is a great man






oh boy it never ends