Army sniper weeps on stand in Iraq

[Barrett808]

Source: Associated Press

Army sniper weeps on stand in Iraq
By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer
Sat Feb 9, 6:09 PM ET

BAGHDAD - A weeping Army soldier said Saturday at his murder trial that he can't remember firing the gun that killed an Iraqi civilian who had stumbled upon the hiding place where he and five other snipers were sleeping.

Sgt. Evan Vela and several of his fellow snipers described the confused scene and their own exhaustion in the May shooting. Tears rolled down Vela's cheeks as he said in a hushed voice that he could not recall the exact moment he killed Genei Nasir al-Janabi.

"I don't remember pulling the trigger. I don't remember the sound of the shot," Vela said. "It took me a few seconds to realize that the shot came from my pistol."

The defense rested Saturday in the court-martial at Camp Victory in Baghdad. Vela is charged with murdering the civilian and planting an AK-47 automatic rifle on his body to make him look like an insurgent.

Vela and the other snipers testified that they were confused and exhausted after more than two days of trekking through rough terrain near Iskandariyah, a mostly Sunni Arab city 30 miles south of Baghdad.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080209/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[Bicoastal]

1. I'd have a great deal of sympathy for this guy...

...if he hadn't planted the gun. So I have very little.

[dkf]

2. Maybe he panicked.

I feel bad for anyone there.

[Bicoastal]

4. I feel bad too, but planting weapons on civilians is inexcusible.

Think about what this meant for the family of the dead--suddenly, their deceased relative was classified as an enemy combatant by the US army.

The death itself was a tragic mistake. The planting could EASILY have been avoided. The aftermath may never fully end for the families of the victim and the shooter.

[dkf]

9. Agh I'm just a big softy. I'm very bad at punishment.

Of course I am assuming it was a mistake. If he did that on purpose we should throw the book at him.

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

3. BAAAWWW tears because his ass got caught

Too bad he's one of the pitiful few that actually get caught for mowing down civilians during wartime. Please excuse the lack of violins, I have no sympathy in this case.

[alittlelark]

8. I cannot imagine the crazy horror of being there.

Replace his name w/ a friend, nephew, son.... I can't judge those who are already in hell.

[tuckessee]

15. If it's "hell" for the GI's.....

...then what the hell is it for the Iraqis?

[alittlelark]

18. They are together in hell - thown together by the BFEE

I do not believe in an afterlife... hell is what we create here on earth.

[NanceGreggs]

5. As we read stories like this ...

... and the many that will inevitably follow over the next few years, we would be wise to remember that none of us really knows what we would do in the same circumstances.

It's easy to play Solomon from behind a keyboard. Being there is not so easy.

Yes, some soldiers are cold-hearted bullies, anxious for a chance to kill under the guise of following orders, or "protecting American freedoms". But there are also those who are just scared kids, never meant to be there in the first place, who will act impulsively to protect themselves when caught in a situation such as this.

Judge not lest ye be judged - seems more appropriate today than ever before.

[ChazII]

6. If only more people

would practice the last line of your post, the world would be a better place. Thanks for reminding us.

[Hekate]

7. What you said, Nance. Bush sent them there to kill in our name, then trapped them there...

... as virtual slaves with no way out. Every general worth his salt says the troops are exhausted. Their friends are blown up, killed, maimed every day right in front of them.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Hekate

[NanceGreggs]

10. That bears repeating, my friend ...

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are the ones who should be on trial.


'Nuf said? Not really - it can never be said enough.

[gratuitous]

11. Then quit

Desert. Leave. Take your ball and go home. Don't murder civilians on your way out.

[Hekate]

12. Just a question--are you by any chance a veteran? Do you have any idea what military law is? nt

[gratuitous]

13. Jail, death, or worse than death

If those are the choices, jail seems preferable. The government has broken trust with its military, and the only honorable way out is to quit.

[Afje]

16. Not so fast -

they were confused and exhausted but not too confused and exhausted to make the Iraqi look like an insurgent.

[NanceGreggs]

19. Ever been exhausted from combat ...

... confused about where you are, and what you're really doing there? Ever been in a situation where your own survival trumped every other thought?

I haven't. That's why I don't pretend to know what I would do, or what I would be capable of doing.

Neither do you.

[Afje]

20. Exhaustion and confusion isn't enough

to give plain murder a mantle of respectability.

[NanceGreggs]

21. And your keyboard rhetoric isn't enough ...

... to make you an I-would-have-done-the-right-thing hero.

Pretty damned easy to make the "right call" sitting in front of a computer screen - isn't it?

[NanceGreggs]

22. Oh, I'm so sorry ...

... "They were confused and exhausted, but not too confused and exhausted to make the Iraqi look like an insurgent."

I so totally forgot that you were there, and would know exactly how confused and exhausted they were.

Silly me - thinking I was responding to just another asshole who didn't know what he was talking about.

So when did you get home from Iraq? Please tell us about all of your adventures there - it's a story we all want to hear!

[Afje]

23. It was standart operating procedure since early 07

read it an weep:

"The military trials have highlighted a secret baiting program, begun in early 2007, in which snipers placed lures like fake explosives or other weaponry to draw insurgents into the open, where they could be killed.

But Sergeant Hensley’s testimony at the base here suggested that by last spring, in addition to baiting and killing, soldiers had added a new tactic: carrying weapons to plant on bodies to deter prosecution.

Mr. Culp also said his client’s superiors pressed his squad to increase their kill rate, while holding out the threat of prosecution for unjust shootings."

[The Wizard]

14. There is such a thing as combat fatigue

where nothing makes sense and inappropriate responses and actions result. None of knows how we'll react to those circumstances until we're confronted with them. Just wondering how many tours Sgt. Evan Vela had before losing control. He'll be living with this for the rest of his life. War demoralizes everyone involved.

[boricua79]

26. PTSD, SHellshock!

I love Carlin's routine on "shellshock...PTSD...combat fatigue". It's shellshock.

But your point is well taken.

[Political Heretic]

17. The planting the gun part kind of limits my sympathy a little.

[pokercat999]

24. Before those big crock tears start rolling down your face

REMEMBER THEY ARE THERE BY CHOICE this is a volunteer army!

[Teaser]

25. I hope you're kidding, chuckles

They are in the army by choice. They don't get to where they go after that.

What a wonderful person you are. Truly a great humanitarian.

[pokercat999]

28. Not kidding, see these posts.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3176191&mesg_id=3176270

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3176191&mesg_id=3176270



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3176191&mesg_id=3176439


Yes, they do get to choose weather to follow an unlawful order! It's time all Americans get their head of their ass and THINK. Want to support a troop? Guarantee him/her sanctuary if they lay down their weapons and return home.

[Teaser]

30. you got nothin', chuckles

How many military orders you disobeyed? What have you put on the line?

[pokercat999]

31. You have no idea.

[tuckessee]

27. Well said.

I'd love to know the % that joined AFTER the Iraq Invasion. I bet it's pretty high.

All this excuse making by the military cultitsts & apologists is disturbing.

[Bragi]

29. I partly agree

My variation is that a) war criminals are never innocent, and b) anyone who joined after the US invaded Iraq is not innocent.

- B