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U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' Iraqi Teen

Staff Sergeant Cardenas Alban was sentenced to a year in jail today after being convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder at a court martial. Last month, another soldier, Johnny Horne, was sentenced to three years for the incident. One more soldier is awaiting trial. Here's what happened:

The charges relate to the Aug. 18 killing of a 16-year-old Iraqi male found in a burning truck with severe abdominal wounds sustained during clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City, an impoverished neighborhood that was the scene of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and Shiite rebels loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. A criminal investigator had said during an earlier hearing that the soldiers decided to kill him to "put him out of his misery."

The teen was 16-year-old Qassim Hassan, who was working with relatives collecting rubbish. The Geneva Convention prohibits shooting wounded persons. Here's more on the case.

< Split Verdict in Perjury Trial of Tulia, TX Undercover Cop | Charles Graner: Guilty of Iraqi Prisoner Abuse >
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    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#2)
    by wishful on Fri Jan 14, 2005 at 02:59:16 PM EST
    Every difficult situation puts one in a position to show his true colors. This is also true of societies and nations. What are we saying about ourselves?

    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#3)
    by Kitt on Fri Jan 14, 2005 at 03:16:45 PM EST
    I tend to have more latitude with this case than with Graner, who was just declared guilty on 9/10 counts. We'll see how long before he's yucking it up again.

    1 year for murder and conspiracy to commit murder? Is that some kind of sick joke?

    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#5)
    by Peaches on Fri Jan 14, 2005 at 04:33:56 PM EST
    Is that some kind of sick joke? The sick joke was whoever put the US soldiers in Sadr City in the first place. The kid was helping his relatives pick up garbage and his truck gets blown up. The US Soldiers find him and one soldier decides it would be easier to kill the kid than to watch him suffer. A very poor decision, but hardly the worst decision ever made during war. As I said, the far worse decision was made by the powers who decided we needed to go into Iraq in the first place.

    TL, I'm not talking about the kid, so no-one get your knickers in a twist. Slightly different topic, but I believe the statement about shooting the wounded is too broad. If a soldier is engaged in active combat, his opponents can continue shooting until he has surrendered. Correct, or no?

    So, can we start mercy killing the 51% because we feel sorry for their stupidity?

    Felix writes - "So, can we start mercy killing the 51% because we feel sorry for their stupidity?" Hmmm, based on what I see as the average Kerry voter's gun knowledge you may kill more of your own than others. Repeat after me: Point long thing with hole in end way from yourself.... This is a tough one. These guys did the right thing for the wrong reason. There is little doubt that they broke the rules of engagement. You can not let that pass. Punishment is required. A shame all the way around. The Iraqui, the soldiers, everyone.

    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#9)
    by Sailor on Fri Jan 14, 2005 at 06:35:39 PM EST
    He was convicted of 'murder'. Not manslaughter, not assault, MURDER! PPJ, when that same soldier walked thru his company and 'mercy' killed all of the badly wounded, your POV might have held sway.

    Sailor - My POV is that it is a tragedy. My POV is also that the army people must be punished. What do you find wrong with that?

    So, basically, Iraqi civilians' lives are roughly equivalent to those of chattel. Did we honestly expect any more from this gov't?

    Lavocat - Very few governments in this world would have done anything. Grow up and be proud of what we have.

    Jim is right, Lavocat. When it comes to human decency, we as a nation really need to lower our expectations these days.

    Ernesto - You forgot the part of fair and equal treatment of the charged party.

    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#15)
    by soccerdad on Sat Jan 15, 2005 at 11:37:00 AM EST
    PPJ, as usual, invokes "we are better than some heinous regime somewhere so be proud it could be worse" defense. How pathetic can we get if we accept this kind of garbage.

    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#16)
    by Sailor on Sat Jan 15, 2005 at 11:56:41 AM EST
    PPJ, you said"These guys did the right thing for the wrong reason. " then you said "My POV is also that the army people must be punished." If you think they did the right thing then why do you think they should be punished? I think they did the wrong thing, their arguments were specious if they didn't do the same "mercy killings" to wounded americans. One year for murder is a joke. Good thing the DOD doesn't have sentencing guidelines, eh?

    Jim says right thing for the wrong reasons. What is the count of mercy killings of US troops by other compassionate unwounded US troops? If it is still at ZERO as I suspect, then this "mercy killing" story does not pass muster.

    SD - Stuff it. I didn't say anything beyond that is a tragedy, and that we can't let it do by. And yes, most countries would just let it go by. CA - During the Civil War there was a "Bloody Sergeant" who would do triage. It was not uncommon for someone who was in intense pain with no hope of living to be dispatched, usually at their request. You will not like this comparsion, but I wonder if you have ever watched a loved one struggle for days in pain that will not end, and wonder why God would not send a real angel, not a fake such as yourself, to end their agnoy. Mercy killing is wrong because its proscribed. But I can see the moral mistake the young men made, and what wrong it yielded without condeming my country, my soceity and my culture. And yes, their punishment should include that understanding.

    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#19)
    by Sailor on Sat Jan 15, 2005 at 02:05:24 PM EST
    Quick, look over here! A strawman!!! "the Civil War" How pathetic. Now if he had said the Crimean War, oh well, that's different!

    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#20)
    by soccerdad on Sat Jan 15, 2005 at 02:14:26 PM EST
    PPJ Your meaning was very clear as you hav taken this tack many times before

    Let me ask the question again: How many badly wounded soldiers have been killed out of mercy by US soldiers in Iraq during this war? If it's a mercy, wouldn't we be providing the mercy to our own brother and sisters in arms? Don't dodge back into history. Answer the question about mercy killings of US soldiers in this millenium.

    "Posted by Robert Prather: I believe the statement about shooting the wounded is too broad. If a soldier is engaged in active combat, his opponents can continue shooting until he has surrendered. Correct, or no?" Not according to my information. Troops, at least in Bosnia, were taught that if they step past someone they have shot who is disabled, they are to keep moving. This kid WAS NOT a combatant. That aside, the whole basis of this kind of conduct of war rule is TO PROTECT AMERICAN GIS. Once Bushliar's policies have convinced the world that US soldiers kill disabled soldiers, there goes any constraint on how our wounded soldiers are treated. For the record, according to the historian I saw on CSPAN, even the Nazis, on the whole, treated Allies' wounded as proper for POWs. But everything is different now that a tsunami has killed 500,000 people. We must destroy the Axis of Techtonic Plates, starting by attacking Iraq, though there isn't any evidence Iraq was at fault for the tsunami. It's another of Bushliar's gut feelings, and since he was never elected to office either time, that's just going to have to be good enough. "You trusted us!! You f*cked up!!" -- Animal House --

    "Charging someone with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500" - Apocalypse Now I liked the tsunami analogy. It's an infinitely better analogy than anything Jim has ever been able to come up with.

    Re: U.S. Soldier Gets One Year for 'Mercy Killing' (none / 0) (#24)
    by Che's Lounge on Sun Jan 16, 2005 at 01:52:26 PM EST
    Maybe they learned it from Starship Troopers, though I don't think Heinlein had it in the book. Paul Verhoven is another matter altogether. His brand of gratuitous violence is an unfortunate model for todays soldiers.

    Oh, man! I don't guess anyone at this forum ever killed a man. I can imagine how that young man must have had to screw up his courage in order to do this. It is not easy to pull the trigger. And it is not done without great personal cost, both in the moment and afterwards. I won't comment on the morality or lack of it of this particular case. Your secretary of defense and the other Neo-Nazis uh, I mean, Neo-Cons whose personal war this is (make no mistake about it as Nixon would have said) are the criminals here for sending undertrained, underequipped, and undersupplied troops in a headlong rush to a war, the reasons for which have since proved to be bullsh*t. Not mistakes... bullsh*t. If you think otherwise, in the face of the mountains of evidence, then stop taking up my space and get off the planet... you're using my air.