Sickness and degradation : The tragedy of Abeer Qasim Hamza
Yesterday as I read a diary over at Daily Kos ("The Face of An American Soldier -- the Last Thing She Saw", 7/10/06) I initially felt deep sorrow for Abeer Qasim Hamza, shortly followed by outrage and great anger at the perpetrators of her brutal rape and murder. The tragedy of what happened to young Abeer and her family ( her 6 year old sister Hadeel and her parents were all reportedly shot and killed by the soldiers involved) is emblematic of the horrors and cruelty that surface in war zones where chaos and lawlessness tend to rule, I thought. My outrage grew however when I read the signed affidavit by FBI Special Agent Gregor Ahlors, who detailed sworn testimony of several eyewitnesses to these barbaric acts.
Apparently on or about March 12, 2006 former U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division soldier Steven D. Green invaded the home of young Abeer (many reports list her as having been a 14 yr. old Iraqi girl but the affidavit lists her as 25 yrs. old) with several soldiers. According to testimony of an eyewitness he proceeded to the bedroom and murdered the father, mother and little sister of Abeer with an AK-47. After appearing from the bedroom and proclaiming that "they 're all dead" Green joined at least one of the other men in gang raping the girl and subsequently shooting her in the head and later burning her body. It is also reported that the AK-47 was buried near a canal outside the house to hide any evidence. Other reports suggest that some of the soldiers involved had oggled Abeer at a checkpoint just days before the attack and that she complained to her mother about this.
It shouldn't be surprising that the MSM almost uniformly failed to mention or print the name of the young victim, and also left out the gory details of the act. It is clear that by simply labelling Abeer as an "Iraqi woman" or an "Iraqi girl" the value of her life is minimized, the horrorendous nature of the crimes diminished and the public is anesthetized to the the gruesome reality of war. This unwillingness to humanize victims is part of the same agenda which dictates that the mainstream media's not show images of the flagdrapped coffins of dead U.S. soldiers or slaughtered Iraqi civilians -- what we don't see it is thought, we won't protest. In other words, "out of sight, out of mind."
But I am here to express outrage, and I know I am not alone in this outrage. I have read the posts and comments of many others who share my feelings.
According to the Washington Post "military authorities have charged four active-duty soldiers with premeditated rape and murder for the March attack near Mahmudiyah(wp.com, 7/11/06). They add that a fifth soldier has been charged with dereliction of duty. The Los Angeles Times lists these soldiers as : Sgt. Paul E.Cortez, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard. The Times article states that "Yribe is charged with dereliction of duty for allegedly failing to report the attack (,)" and add that "the others face rape and murder charges." (L.A. Times, 7/11/06)
It is noteworthy that former Pfc. Green was reportedly discharged from the Army before this incident came to light. Allegedly, this was due to an unspecified personality disorder (logic would tell us that Antisocial Personality Disorder makes sense here). Green was charged last week in federal court in Charlotte, N.C., with one count of rape and four counts of murder (L.A. Times, 7/11/06) and is currently being held without bond. We can only hope that justice is expeditiously served in the case of these unimaginably cruel and horrible crimes.
It also appears that the kidnapping, torture and execution of U.S. soldiers Kristian Menchaca and Thomas L. Tucker, played a role in at least one of the eyewitnesses to the Mahmudiyah murders coming forward with his account. Reportedly the eyewitness had a guilty conscience about the deaths of his brigade colleagues. The mayor of Mahmudiyah has said that the killings of the two U.S. soldiers was likely not retribution for the rape of Abeer Qasim Hamza and the murder of three of her family members. His explanation was that the Maymudiyah crimes were initially reported as insurgent attacks and that the involvement of U.S. troops did not emerge until after the Yusifiyah killings. (washingtonpost.com, 7/11)
On the other hand, the recent emergence of a video reportedly released by an insurgent group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq supposedly shows the bodies of Menchaca and Tucker, one of them decapitated and the other lying on the ground and his head being stepped on. The new video was purportedly posted on an insurgent Web site and accompanied by a statement from the Mujaheddin al-Shura Council saying that the killings were indeed in retaliationfor the rape and murder of the young Abeer Qasim Hamza al Janabi.
While it seems that new and updated information surrounding this case is presented everyday, one thing remains certain; the cycle of violence characteristic of warring factions such as Israel and Palestine is becoming increasingly characteristic of the conflict in Iraq. This alone should serve as a strong statement in favor of ending the occupation and immediately withdrawing the remaining troops. For those who argue that a sudden withdrawal would have even more serious consequences than maintaining a presence in Iraq, they should heed the words of Chomsky who maintains that "an occupying army doesn't have any rights," especially when they have illegally and criminally invaded an innocent country. If the people of that country want them to leave then they should do just that.
To some the rape and murder of Abeer Qasim Hamza al Janabi may come to symbolize the U.S. "rape" and destruction of Iraq. She was an innocent, indeed. In the face of the horrors of Haditha and now this terrible, terrible act it is really unthinkable that any rational person can support the present U.S. military occupation of Iraq. In a recent statement Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki called for "brotherhood and love" in the face of growing violence, while all around him "sectarian militias have been carving up Baghdad neighborhoods for weeks (.)" (J. Michael Kennedy, L.A. Times, 7/11/06). Meanwhile Major Gen. William B. Caldwell had conceded that U.S. forces have been stalled but states that "....we're moving along in a positive direction in many, many areas." (L.A. Times, 7/11). Just what are these areas General, if I may so boldly ask? Are systematic executions of civilians and premeditated combination rape/murders positive in your world?
In the same Times piece Caldwell is also quoted as stating that "I think everybody thought that perhaps it might be improving more than it is at this point." Well, General, I never suffered from such delusion. If more tradegies such as the one suffered by Abeer Qasim Hamza and her family come to light it will become increasingly difficult to convince even the most naive and unquestioning of this country's denizens that anything resembling improvement is on the horizon for the people of Iraq while the U.S. and its' military are there.
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