Iraq III: Cards, Whiskey, Golf, Rape & Murder

Bad wars bring out bad apples, and this goes a long way to explaining the disturbing number of civilians murdered by U.S. troops in Iraq.

The rules of engagement have been especially difficult to understand because military commanders have never had unambiguous orders about what they are supposed to do. And those orders sometimes are made because of political considerations.

Add to that the lack of sufficient troops, the presence of violent militias and insurgents and their ability to blend seamlessly into the general population, as well as the stress of not knowing whether the next alley you turn into in your Humvee may be the last, and you have a recipe for bad behavior.

I have obsessed over the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murders of she and her family near Mahmudiyah in March for good reason. All of the above factors were in play, not the least of which was the presence of a very bad apple -- Private First Class Steven Green.

Testimony on Monday in Baghdad by an investigator fleshes out my suppositions:

Special Agent Benjamin Bierce testified that Specialist James Barker and other participents in the rape-murders had given sworn statements that they took place after a morning of cards and consumption of Iraqi whisky mixed with an energy drink followed by hitting some golf balls behind a military checkpoint and then an intoxicated Green pestering his fellow partiers to go to a house he knew about and kill some Iraqis.

The Iraqis were Abir Al-Janabi, who was raped and then murdered along with her father, mother and sister.

The New York Times reports that:

Mr. Bierce testified that Specialist Barker said that while he and another soldier took turns holding down the girl and sexually assaulting her, they heard gunshots from the bedroom, where Private Green had taken three of her relatives.

Private Green then came into the living room looking agitated and said something to the effect of “They’re all dead — I just killed them,’’ Mr. Bierce testified.

The Times also reported that Green was being treated for combat-related stresses prior to the crimes.

God knows that his unit, the 1st Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment, has seen its share of difficulties:

The unit has been stationed in the so-called Sunni Triangle, an especially violent area south of Baghdad, and has taken a fair number of casualties. To avenge the rape-murders, two members of Green's platoon, Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker, were later kidnapped and beheaded.

More from The Times here. Go here and here for my previous posts.