(AP Photo/ Daniel R. Patmore)
Steven Dale Green, 24, of Midland, Texas was honored with five consecutive life sentences on Friday for raping and murdering an Iraqi teenager and shooting three of her family members, including her mother, father and sister.
Green was the third soldier to rape the Iraqi teenager before shooting her in the face and setting her body on fire, 20 miles from Baghdad, according to the Huffington Post.
"What the defendant did was horrifying and inexcusable…the court believes any lesser sentence would be insufficient” (U.S. District Judge, Thomas Russell).
Above: Former 101st Airborne Division Pfc. Steven Dale Green, 24, of Midland, Texas, is taken in the back of the court building in Paducah, Ky. by US marshals Friday Sept. 4, 2009 for formal sentencing to life in prison for the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and the shooting deaths of three of her family members. A civilian jury convicted Green in May of rape and multiple counts of murder for the deaths of the al-Janabi family on March 12, 2006.
Despite having to spend a lifetime behind bars for uprooting the al-Janabi family, Green adamantly rested the blame for his hideous crimes on the US Army, as well as his fellow soldiers who were also involved in the attack,
“You can act like I'm a sociopath. You can act like I'm a sex offender or whatever…If I had not joined the Army, if I had not gone to Iraq, I would not have got caught up in anything." (Steven Dale Green).
What’s Green’s excuse, “he knew little about Iraqis and realizes now his actions then were wrong. Green described the attacks as "evil" and said when he dies there will be justice and whatever I deserve, I'll get."(Brett Barrouquere, Huffington Post).
Hence, he is inferring that knowing more about the 'Iraqis’ would have somehow prevented him from indulging in the extra-curricular activities? Right, point taken.
On the other hand things are heating up in Afghanistan as well, where eight security guards at the U.S. Embassy were fired and two resigned after facing allegations of vulgar sexual behavior.
“In at least one case, supervisors brought prostitutes into the quarters where the guards live, a serious breach of security and discipline, the watchdog said this week. In other instances, members of the guard force drew Afghans into activities forbidden by Muslims, such as drinking alcohol” (Kay Johnson, Huffington Post)
“The US embassy in Afghanistan has brought in an alcohol ban and appointed American staff to monitor private security guards after allegations that they held "deviant and lewd" parties that have been compared to Lord of the Flies” (Guardian)
- What is the ultimate goal of war and why were these by-products not accounted for during the planning stages?
- Is rape a core ingredient of the subjugating power?
- Why do we witness grave sexual violations and prisoner abuse over and over again during wartime?
Army training camps need to revamp their agendas and incorporate a clear positive message in the instruction to prevent ethnically cleansing societies with rape and violence, which could possibly engender a never ending game of vengeance.
Orders need to flow in a top-down manner to prevent unjust blame flowing up from the accused soldiers, as in the case of Green as well as the prosecuted soldiers at the Abu Ghraib.
To be a surgeon, doctors need to first prove their ability to handle sensitive cases which could possibly affect the life and death of their patients. Similarly, civilians should not be exposed to amateur soldiers who in battling with their puberty exercise unwarranted sexual appetite on innocent victims.
War is not a green light to disrespect a nation's culture or religious values, rather it is a yellow light, where every action should be taken with caution while respecting the basic humanitarian obligation to treat one of your kind with respect.
For more info:
- US embassy bans alcohol at guards' quarters after claims of 'lewd' parties (Guardian)
- US likely to expand Afghan military action (Dawn)
- Afghanistan: What are We Fighting For? (The Huffington Post)
Comments
AlhamdulAllah - I remember when I first read this story that I and many other American Muslims I know were worried that justice would not be served in this case. At least this family has the comfort of knowing that this man will never see outside of a prison in his lifetime.
"Similarly, civilians should not be exposed to amateur soldiers who in battling with their puberty exercise unwarranted sexual appetite on innocent victims."
One issue I would raise is that this is not just a case of "unwarranted sexual appetite." Rape in and of itself is a horrible crime, made even worse by being a weapon of war among a supposedly civilized military. But he and his buddies not only raped this girl, they brutally tortured and murdered her, as well as murdering three other people. This goes a bit beyond "sexual appetite," which arguably has little to do with rape in and of itself to begin with.
"War is not a green light -- every action should be taken with caution while respecting the basic humanitarian obligation to treat one of your kind with respect"
I think the statement above is the bigger picture. Rape, violence, abuse, etc are all violations of the humanitarian obligation that I for one have towards every other breathing human, as well as other God's creations.
I think the author captures the essence of the real issue here, which is before a problem occurs why isn't it thought of.
@ A'ishah - That's clearly my point; rape along with the other notably violent behavior needs to be accounted for before deploying an army of people abroad. Innocent civilians are often victimized in a quest to discipline ‘the other’, the enemy; however the core agenda of war should be peace. However, 'peace' doesn’t fit into the definition of war, which is the breeding grounds for oppressors.
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