U.S. soldier acquitted in Iraqi's death (Former Wall Streeter)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

FORT HOOD, Texas - An Army staff sergeant was acquitted of murder Thursday in the death of an unarmed Iraqi he said he shot to save a fellow soldier.

A jury of four soldiers and two officers deliberated for less than three hours before finding Staff Sgt. Shane Werst not guilty of premeditated murder. He had faced a maximum of life in prison without parole.

Before the jury announced the verdict, the judge, Col. Theodore Dixon, found Werst not guilty of obstruction of justice. Dixon said he decided to rule on that count, but did not give an explanation.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/11747568.htm


Another link on the story... Former Wall streeter!

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--marine-iraqdeath0526may26,0,3959910.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

[merwin]

1. How does killing an unarmed person save someone's life?

I mean, the unarmed person can't be THAT much of a threat, being unarmed and all :) Unless, maybe, he was Jackie Chan or something.

[kliljedahl]

2. And the Iraqi is still dead

Any word on how many friends & relatives he has? Just asking.


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[maddezmom]

3. earlier thread to pull it all together

more coverups and lies. :(

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1499790

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

4. Jesus. This is reprehensible.

It's getting harder and harder to admit being an American.

[jobycom]

5. No, I just have more and more trouble acknowledging certain others

as being American.

[Voltaire99]

6. Of course he's been acquitted

America doesn't recognize Iraqis as human beings, so how can there have been murder?

The fact that the unperson was unarmed is just, well, unpersuasive, unfortunately.

Now let's get back to teaching that oil how to vote and pray to Jesus!

[MisterP]

9. remember, Perle decried the "evil of international law"

and the Pentagoons said that international means were a "strategy of the weak"--along with terrorism.
Rumsfeld also wants orbiting Death Stars (his flunkies' words) among the other space weaponry the Ape signed into law.

[jayfish]

10. Head-Shots.

I have come to the same conclusion you have. The reason I say this is because I have seen picture after picture after picture of Iraqis who have been killed via violent contact with US forces and the vast majority of them are head-shots. The rest are simply exploded or burned beyond recognition. Whether they have an RPG lying next to them or a bag of groceries, it's head-shots, head-shots, head-shots. When your aim is to take someones head off with every single shot, you don't know who they are and don't care.

Jay

[gratuitous]

7. Well, this will certainly enhance American credibility!

Sgt. Werst shoots Naser Ismail, then takes a pistol that he says he confiscated from Ismail, shoots it into the couch, and orders his subordinate to put the corpse's fingerprints on the pistol. Werst can't imagine why he would have done that, no explanation. He sure does remember, however, that the theretofore cooperative Ismail suddenly "lunged" for one of the soldier's guns, so he had to be shot down. But we'd hate to have our faultless, star-spangled, freckle-faced men and women in uniform second guessed in the battlefield. Or in someone's living room.

I sure hope someone does a post telling me how wrong I am, and how the military is really a noble and honorable profession, these sorts of tribunals notwithstanding. Because from this vantage point, it sure looks like a bunch of out-of-control, murderous thugs, exonerating each other and calling it justice. I can only imagine what it looks like to the rest of the world.

[UpInArms]

8. color me

not surprised.

:(

[Solly Mack]

11. fuckers

the hypocrites would be screaming loud if an unarmed and captured soldier had been murdered