It's a good thing no Iraqis know about this, because then they might think about fighting us:
Several soldiers have said in sworn statements that Colonel [Michael D.] Steele told them to kill all military-age males. Colonel Steele and two lawyers representing him did not respond to several e-mail and phone messages requesting comment on the case. But in testimony he gave on June 3 to General Maffey and another investigator at an Army garrison in Tikrit, Colonel Steele said he did not use “specific language” to order his soldiers to kill all military-age males, and that “we don’t shoot people with their hands up.”
On June 10, an investigative report by the 101st Airborne Division’s lawyers concluded: “Although clearly unintentional, confusion regarding the R.O.E. was the proximate cause of the death of at least four unarmed individuals, none of whom committed a hostile act or displayed hostile intent.”
In his June 3 testimony, Colonel Steele said he told his men that Army intelligence had shown that the island held dozens of fighters for Al Qaeda. “Guys, you are going to get shot coming off the helicopter,” Colonel Steele said he told them before the raid. “If you don’t get shot, you ought to be surprised.”
As it turned out, the assault occurred without encountering any hostile fire, and the soldiers found only unarmed men, women and children. Only excess caution by Colonel Steele’s troops spared the Iraqi civilians from being shot, General Maffey wrote in his report.
The military’s investigations of Colonel Steele’s actions before and after the raid also determined that the fourth Iraqi man killed in the assault was 70 years old, unarmed and not a legitimate target.
After the raid, several soldiers noticed blindfolds and plastic handcuffs on the bodies of three of the men who were killed. Colonel Steele testified that he ordered a junior officer to begin an investigation into the deaths but to avoid reporting any findings to the division commander until the colonel returned from leave a few weeks later.
(Emphasis added.) Who to believe? Maybe "several soldiers" who
testified Steele told them to kill everyone in sight were all lying. Or
maybe Steele is. Let me think ... hmmm. I pick Steele. He was telling the truth when he said we don't shoot people with their hands up ... we shoot them with their hands bound.
The formal reprimand Colonel Steele received effectively blocks any chance for his promotion, according to former and current military officers.
A whole reprimand! No further promotion! That'll teach him.
"Colonel Steele" is a great name for a murderous Army officer, though. Steele fought in the First Battle of Mogadishu and was depicted in the "Blackhawk Down" book and movie. Maybe they'll do another movie with him in it where he tells someone they can't handle the truth.
Shades of another crusade:
Beziers was a Languedoc stronghold of the Cathars, whom Catholics considered heretics and whom Catholic forces exterminated in the War against the Cathars. Béziers was the first city to be sacked, on July 22, 1209, burning the cathedral of Saint Nazaire, which collapsed on the terrified inhabitants who had taken refuge inside. Béziers was then destroyed and its surviving inhabitants
slaughtered.
The first commander of the crusade was the Papal Legate Arnald Amalaricus, Abbot of Citeaux. When asked by a Crusader how they should they treat the inhabitants of the city after they had captured it (because most of them were
Catholics, not Cathars), the abbot famously replied, "Kill them all,
God will recognize His own" / "Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet" ... .
In the past, I've seen soldiers wearing t-shirts that say "Kill them all. Let God sort them out." Nice touch.
Recent Comments