Chicago Tribune: Chicago soldier shot Iraqi out of mercy, officer testifies

[jpillian]

Chicago soldier shot Iraqi out of mercy, officer testifies

Thu Sep 9, 9:40 AM ET

By Bill Glauber Tribune staff reporter

Chicago Tribune - Chicago soldier shot Iraqi out of mercy, officer testifies

U.S. Army Capt. Roger Maynulet told his executive officer that he shot a mortally wounded Iraqi driver after a medic said the man had no chance to survive, according to dramatic testimony in a military court Wednesday.

"It was something he didn`t want to do. But it was the compassionate response. It was definitely the humane response," 1st. Lt. Colin Cremin said when asked if Maynulet gave any indication of what motivated him.

Maynulet, 29, a Chicago native, faces charges of murder and dereliction of duty in the killing of Karim Hassan Abed Ali al-Haleji on May 21 after a chase on a road between Najaf and Kufa in southern Iraq (news - web sites).

Eight witnesses testified at an Article 32 investigation reconvened to determine if Maynulet--the first U.S. military officer charged with murder after the Iraq invasion--should face a full court martial.

The testimony also provided a window into the world Maynulet faced for nearly a year in Iraq, enduring bombings, shootings and clashes while his tank unit had enough rifles for only half his men and relied on some tactics culled from Vietnam era manuals.

The most gripping testimony was provided by Cremin, executive officer of Maynulet's unit, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Armor Division.

On the day of the killing, Cremin said he was monitoring movements via radio at a command post. During testimony, he was pressed by a government attorney, Capt. Daniel Sennott, to confirm an earlier account he provided of Maynulet's version of the event.

"He told you they pulled out the driver ... he had half his brain hanging out ... [and the unit's medic said] nothing could be done for him and at that point Capt. Maynulet told you he stepped back and shot him in the base of the neck or back of the head?" Sennott asked.

"That is the ballpark approximation of what he said," Cremin said.

For Maynulet, much hinges on such testimony. A decorated officer, he faces a potential life sentence if found guilty.

Dressed in a green camouflage uniform and sitting between his two defense counsels, Maynulet was engaged throughout the session inside the wood-paneled courtroom on the Pioneer Kaserne base. His wife Brooke, an Army captain and Black Hawk helicopter pilot, sat one row behind him.

Maynulet was only a few feet from witnesses, many of whom he once commanded. Over and over they testified to his abilities as a commander with more than one soldier saying he was the best company officer they had served with.

"Calm under fire. That's a term that gets thrown around a lot. But I've seen it. He's very poised," Cremin said.

An intelligence officer, Capt. Jeremy Dobos, said Maynulet provided information that led to the arrest of some 1,000 Saddam Fedayeen fighters.

Besides a personal tale, the case touches on some of the more sensitive secrets and policies for U.S. troops in Iraq.

There is a 10-minute tape of the incident, including the killing, according to a 1st Armored Division spokesman, the first time the government has acknowledged existence of the footage from an unmanned aerial vehicle. Reporters were cleared from the court when the footage was reviewed by a military neurosurgeon.

Maynulet's mission that day remains classified, but those with knowledge of the case have said Maynulet's unit was assigned to kill or capture rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr. A top Sadr aide was captured during the incident.

Sadr has been wanted in connection with the murder of a religious rival and has since triggered repeated uprisings against the U.S.-led occupation.

During questioning it appeared the defense was raising the specter that Maynulet was involved in a mercy killing of a mortally wounded enemy insurgent who could not be evacuated from the battlefield without placing the lives of U.S. soldiers in jeopardy.

On May 21, Maynulet and his unit faced a hostile and often confusing battlefield, according to some of those who testified.

Capt. John Moore, a tank commander who was 3 kilometers south of Maynulet's unit, described heading north with another tank to provide support and running into an ambush. During five minutes of fighting, he said, he fired three main rounds from his M1-A1 Abrams tank. He said another 200 rounds were fired from 50 caliber machine guns with several hundred smaller rounds fired.

Asked if he was in Maynulet's position and heard the volleys would he feel under threat?

"Absolutely," Moore said.

When pressed by the defense attorneys, Cremin said Maynulet could not have evacuated the wounded driver under the circumstances he faced.

"He would have compromised the lives of the soldiers involved in the mission," Cremin said.

A few days after the incident, and after Maynulet had been confronted by a sergeant over the matter, Cremin testified that Maynulet told him, "I wouldn't be surprised if there was some type of negative action."

Cremin added that he had planned to put in Maynulet for a bronze star with valor for his role in commanding the tank company in a May 14 battle at Najaf`s sprawling cemetery.

"I was told not to put it in," pending the legal proceedings, said Cremin, who received a bronze star with valor for the cemetery battle and who said he is due to receive a Silver Star for another Iraq incident.

Cremin added that the tank company was given only 28 M4 carbines for 56 men in the unit, which was standard issue although he said the unit needed more rifles because it performed infantry duties.

Dobos, during his testimony, said that in preparing to meet some of the challenges, "We had to pull out old manuals from Vietnam and go on our own."

Government attorneys also pressed another witness, Capt. Geoff Wright, on an incident in which Maynulet allegedly went out of his sector in Baghdad to retrieve a translator badge from an Iraqi police station. "Were you aware Capt. Maynulet was reprimanded and ordered to pay for the damage of the local IP station?" Sennott asked. "I was not," Wright replied

[jpillian]

Man, what a crappy position to be in. I really feel for this guy.

[Cskin]

The testimony also provided a window into the world Maynulet faced for nearly a year in Iraq, enduring bombings, shootings and clashes while his tank unit had enough rifles for only half his men and relied on some tactics culled from Vietnam era manuals.

What's this about? We've got units over there that have to share rifles? They're using tactical manuevering manuals written for Vietnam? Someone tell me this is just this guy's opinion. :mad:

[jpillian]

No, the problem is that by MTOE (Modified Table of Organization and Equipment) for a tank unit, we don't have a lot of rifles. We usually carry pistols; with usually only 2 x M4's per tank (so 2 out of the 4 crewmen only have a M9 pistol).

Therefore, when a tank unit is converted to infantry, there's problems.

We had tons of issues with this in Iraq, and in preparing to go to Iraq. You'll notice I have an AK47 in my sig line. That's because I was an XO for a HQ unit -- and therefore only allocated an M9 by the MTOE. When I got reassigned to a non-MTOE position as a Liasion Officer out running around in Suburbans -- my choice was to stick with an M9, or pony up and buy an AK.

Anyways, a lot of things have been done over the past year to shore up these unexpected deficiencies (i.e., body armor, uparmormered HMMWVs) -- so I'd imagine additional M4s have also been a part of this package. But there was a long period there that I know for a fact people were beg, borrowing, and buying weapons that were appropriate for the missions they were assigned.