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Kpete's Journal Documenting the Atrocities
Posted by kpete in General Discussion
Wed Aug 27th 2008, 10:19 AM
"A U.S. Army sergeant described as a murderer in today's NYT seems to be the same one that led the unit involved in last years New Republic / Beauchamp controversy."
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/007890...

..................

In July 2007 a U.S. soldier under the pseudonym Scott Thomas wrote about the war in Iraq at the The New Republic's Shock Troops blog. Scott Thomas described some disgusting behavior by his fellow soldiers. Such included running over dogs with Bradley fighting vehicles and playing with a child's scull found in a mass grave.

The rightwing media, the Weekly Standard, the National Review and many others, went nuts over these reports. The blogger's name was disclosed as Scott Thomas Beauchamp, a member of Alpha Company, 1-18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division, and after some heavy push and pull and an army investigation, The New Republic said it "cannot stand by these stories."
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2008/08/first...


...................

Today the NYT reports about willful killing of Iraqis who were taken prisoners by the U.S. troops.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/mi...

In March or April 2007, three noncommissioned United States Army officers, including a first sergeant, a platoon sergeant and a senior medic, killed four Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots to the head as the men stood handcuffed and blindfolded beside a Baghdad canal, two of the soldiers said in sworn statements.

After the killings, the first sergeant — the senior noncommissioned officer of his Army company — told the other two to remove the men’s bloody blindfolds and plastic handcuffs, according to the statements made to Army investigators, which were obtained by The New York Times.
...
The soldiers, all from Company D, First Battalion, Second Infantry, 172nd Infantry Brigade, have not been charged with a crime.
...
The accounts of and confessions to the killings, by Sgt. First Class Joseph P. Mayo, the platoon sergeant, and Sgt. Michael P. Leahy Jr., Company D’s senior medic and an acting squad leader, were made in January in signed statements to Army investigators in Schweinfurt, Germany.

In their statements, Sergeants Mayo and Leahy each described killing at least one of the Iraqi detainees on instructions from First Sgt. John E. Hatley, who the soldiers said killed two of the detainees with pistol shots to the back of their heads.
...
Last month, four other soldiers from Sergeant Hatley’s unit were charged with murder conspiracy for agreeing to go along with the plan to kill the four prisoners, in violation of military laws that forbid harming enemy combatants once they are disarmed and in custody.


Is the First Sgt. John E. Hatley who led Beauchamp's unit the same one that murdered handcuffed prisoners?

Different units you say? Beauchamp's unit was part of the 1-18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division and the NYT associates Hatley with the First Battalion, Second Infantry, 172nd Infantry Brigade.

But those units are one and the same. The unit changed its name:
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section...

It is extremely unlikely that one battalion has two First Sergeants with the name John E. Hatley.

A few month after Hatley ordered and took part in the murdering of prisoners he denied some relative harmless though brutal behavior Beauchamp described, "this by no means reflects the truth of what is happening here." Indeed, what was really happening was much worse. The soldiers in his company (including himself?) were "the best America has to offer." Really?

......................

UPDATE:

* The Stars & Stripes confirms the unit conversion.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section...
* First Sergeant Hatley seems to be up for promotion.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2008/08/first...

more at:
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2008/08/first...
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kpete
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My Art Work
You can reach my art gallery at http://www.kpetestudio.com


I long for meaningful discussion of our shared values as Americans; I fear only the sound of silence. In the spirit of progressive hope, and while honoring tradition, I poured out my life, heart and soul into the hope of showing the spark of democracy within the paint. I submit my deep longing for the fireworks of a greater democratic deliberation, one that serves us all, as the hoped for result of the sparks in "Freedom in Love."

Before putting paint to canvas for this latest series on the outer path, my preparatory process included: (1) four intense years of research, (2) posting tens of millions of lines of political discourse and images among over 12,000 blog posts, and (3) actively listening to the opinions of others contained in the responses to my posts. I learned much, and the core of this is present in "Freedom in Love."

Notable similarities emerge between my earlier work on the path of the soul and my present work on the path of freedom and democracy. In both, windows represent seeing, or ways out, and pathways symbolize journey. Trees traditionally represent soul, their gnarled qualities a reflection of the forces that buffet them. Birds are wildness, but also observers, the "nonvoters" of nature who still see with dignity and a worthy opinion. Stars and moons are elemental forces of nature and soul-guides. In democracy they are the guide-stars of ideals or principles, lighting the way down the path of democracy. I feel this series of paintings reveals both inner and outer paths as the same journey.

kpete
Freedom in Love Series
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