On March 12 2006 the horror incident now known as the killings

of Mahmudiyah occurred to a luckless Iraqi family residing in

a vilage near the town of that name just south of Baghdad.
In that incident, a group of US soldiers gang-raped a young
Iraqi girl inside her home after shooting the other members
of her family. The girl was then shot savagedly and her body
set partially on fire. The victim was only about 14 years old.
The house where the family lived was located near a US Army
checkpoint and on several occasions the US soldiers had been
observed eyeing the young Iraqi girl. Her mother had then
forbidden her to go outside out of fear for her safety.
But it did not prevent the animals from barging into their
home on that fateful day of March 12. The US soldiers had
been drinking alcohol just before marching into the house
and separating the family members.
The girl's parents were shot dead along with another sibling
while in a room the young Iraqi girl was being savagely and
mercilessly ravished by the fully grown two-legged animals.
After taking turns to rape the young girl, she was killed
by the soldiers who left after some half-hearted attempts
to burn down the house. After the soldiers left, neighbours
came to view the results of their ghastly work and reported
the matter to the Iraqi authorities.
Initially the US soldiers claimed the incident was the work
of Iraqi insurgents and thus the killings were not investigated
by the proper authorities. The dead civilians were regarded
as part of the unfortunate casualties of the Iraqi war and not
some investigable crime victims.
However, three months later a strange twist to the saga quite
unexpectedly emerged. During one counselling or debriefing
session for US soldiers operating in the area, a private
blurted out details about the incident ( the Mahmudiyah killings).
Within twenty-fours thanks to the honesty of the particular
counsellor handling the case that day, the details were handed
over to special investigators at Camp Slayer in Iraq.
Almost one week later, a man identified as a former soldier
who had served in Iraq was arrested in North Carolina. He
was one (ex-)Private Green of the US Army.
Pte Green belonged to an elite unit, the 101st Airborne Division.
After his arrest he and three others belonging to the same unit
were charged with committing rape and murder in Mahmudiyah.
The gory details were soon revealed. Green had shot the parents
and another child while others were attacking the young girl.
Green then had his turn and the girl was then shot and her
body poured over with kerosene. Someone then lit the fire on
her. When the soldiers left they tried to set fire to the house
but nearby Iraqi civilians quickly came and put out all the
fires including the one on the dead girl's body.
Of the four accused, three including Green were found guilty
and sentenced to lengthy jail terms but entitled to parole
after a period of ten years except for Green. Really peanuts
when compared to the agony and horror suffered by the Iraqi
civilians. All other remaining charges were deleted.
The US military has long being known for murdering, raping and
robbing civilians and usually the guilty soldiers were never
punished. In this case only Green was seen to have been punished
adequately. But this must be compared to other non-US military
in other parts of the world. In other armies, soldiers who
commit rape against civilians automatically get the firing
squad upon conviction. The relatively lenient treatment meted
out to US soldiers is the reason why they are always known to
fondly repeat their criminal behaviour time and time again
across the entire globe, even today.
The US military is nothing but an outfit full of sadists,
rapists and murderers. Not much different from their leaders.
Even today. Even right now.