anythings.org

My local paper did a four part story titled “Suspect Soldiers” where they looked into the lives and pasts of the men and women serving in the war. This final segment examines military recruiting practices with a fine microscope, and for good reason: soldiers convicted of crimes before enlisting in the armed forces later committed crimes (sometimes the same crimes) while they were at war.

MIDLAND, TEXAS — Private First Class Steven D. Green, accused of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her family, entered the Army with a criminal record for minor offenses that included possession of drug paraphernalia.

But a yearlong examination by The Sacramento Bee found that Green’s court record was not the worst among former and current Midland residents applying for the military since the Iraq war began, and he’s not the only one to later be charged with committing offenses in the military. […]

Among those who enlisted was a man with a history of inpatient treatment for mental illness and others with records of drug possession, assault, theft and illegally carrying weapons. At least 10 had outstanding charges, fines or sentences when they applied for military service.

When Green applied for the Army in 2005, a court record noted that he owed outstanding fines and “must contact court immediately.” The following year in Iraq, Green drank before going to a house he’d previously visited, where he emerged from a room to tell fellow soldiers, “I just killed them. All are dead,” according to an affidavit from an FBI agent.

Green was discharged from the Army “due to a personality disorder,” the affidavit says. He subsequently was charged by a federal court in Kentucky with murdering and sexually assaulting Abeer Kassem Hamza Al-Janabi and killing her parents and sibling. Two months ago, Green’s attorneys notified prosecutors that they may use insanity as a defense.

Now, I know the military will just about take anybody, especially these days, but when you look at the statistics the Bee uncovered, it kind of makes you wonder. Are the Marines recruiting petty criminals and training them to become better criminals? They did it with Lee Harvey Oswald, and they are doing it now with similarly serious consequences.

None of the recently recruited Marines have murdered any Americans (yet) - and certainly not Presidents - which is probably the reason such antics are getting very little publicity. They are killing (and raping) “the enemy” in Iraq: something many Americans shockingly still support. These disgusting military recruitment practices really need to stop.

Image courtesy of The Sacramento Bee.