Exposed: Military Lied About Murder of U.S. Soldier in Iraq

[babylonsister]

Greg Mitchell
Exposed: Military Lied About Murder of U.S. Soldier in Iraq

Posted June 21, 2008 | 09:28 AM (EST)


For five years now, I have been chronicling the disturbing number of "noncombat" deaths in Iraq, often suicides, which usually come to light only due to the diligence of local newspapers. As part of that effort, last August I briefly described yet another case, involving a 20-year-old Texas woman named Kamisha Block, who apparently was much loved in her Vidor hometown. It was said to be death by "friendly fire," which officially is fairly rare in Iraq, so I kept an eye on it for days, in case of an update.

Many more nonhostile deaths arrived, and so I forgot about Kamisha. Now a horrible truth has emerged: Forget friendly fire. It turns out that Spc. Block was actually murdered, and the killer, another soldier, Staff Sgt. Brandon Norris, then turned the gun on himself.

And more: Her parents were misled at the start, and only after the mother noticed a suspicious head wound at the funeral (it turns out she was shot five times) and asked why, were they informed about the murder angle.

In fact, their local newspaper, the Beaumont Enterprise, too, was lied to by the Pentagon. Last August 21, the paper reported: "The U.S. Defense Department has confirmed two fatalities on Aug. 12 by friendly fire, but has not officially released names or the cause of death."

That same article quoted her aunt, Kathy Byerly: "She was shot in the chest by friendly fire. They haven't told us anything else - the rest is under investigation. We just want to know the truth about it." Norris, too, was listed simply as a "noncombat" death.

The Enterprise in an editorial yesterday charged: "There is no excuse for the U.S. Army's shabby treatment of Kamisha Block's parents and others who cared for her. Her commanders knew right away that she had been killed by a fellow soldier in Iraq, who had been harassing her. It was a standard murder-suicide. Incredibly, the Army first told her parents that it was an accidental death due to friendly fire."

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/exposed-military-lied-abo_b_108426.html