06 July 2006
No U.S. Soldier Immune from Prosecution for Criminal Acts
Every service member held accountable for conduct, U.S. general says
Washington – Any member of the U.S. armed forces serving in Iraq “is subject to prosecution” if suspected of a criminal act or unethical behavior, says Army Major General William Caldwell.
“There is nobody who is immune from law,” he told Arab journalists in Baghdad, Iraq, July 6, “Everybody is subject to prosecution under our Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
U.S. military service personnel are subject to this code wherever they are located in the world,” the spokesman said. (See related article.)
Thousands of U.S. soldiers have come to Iraq since 2003 “to help the Iraqi people,” Caldwell said, and misconduct even by four soldiers “is too many.” The Army Criminal Investigation Command currently is looking into allegations that several soldiers killed four members of an Iraqi family in Mahmoudiyah in March and that one of the 15-year-old victims was assaulted sexually.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace said July 4 that the accusation surfaced as the result of a mental counseling session for U.S. soldiers. He told the NBC Today show that the alleged behavior is unacceptable for any soldier.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and Multinational Force Commander General George Casey issued a statement July 6 offering their condolences to the family of those killed in Mahmoudiyah and calling the alleged crime inexcusable.
“Coalition Forces came to Iraq to protect the rights and freedoms of the Iraqi people, to defend democratic values, and to uphold human dignity,” they said. “As such, we will face every situation honestly and openly, and we will leave no stone unturned in pursuit of the facts. We will hold our service members accountable if they are found guilty of misconduct in a court of law.”
While expressing the U.S. military’s deepest sympathy during his news briefing in Iraq, Caldwell described the alleged incident as a terrible and tragic event. He also acknowledged how painful, disturbing and confusing the American investigation process and the judicial proceedings might appear to Iraqi onlookers.
Khalilzad and Casey said the United States and the multinational force would work closely with the Iraqi government to ensure transparency in the investigation and legal process.
When asked by journalists why it took four months publicly to acknowledge the investigation, Caldwell said that soldiers initially reported that insurgents killed the Iraqi civilians. In a routine round of counseling for soldiers following the abduction and murder of two U.S. soldiers in mid-June, Caldwell said that a soldier stepped forward to say the report concerning the Mahmoudiyah incident was false, that U.S. soldiers were responsible and had concealed their criminal involvement.
Asked about a reported recent expression of displeasure by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki about the incident, Caldwell said the U.S. military is equally displeased with the alleged performance of a small group of its soldiers.
“And we also, just as much as the prime minister, want to see justice done in this case. And we’re committed to being as transparent ... as we possibly can as we pursue and continue to investigate all aspects of this case,” Caldwell said.
He also said the U.S. military is willing to engage in a dialogue with the Iraqi prime minister about how it has handled the criminal proceedings in this high-profile case as well as several others.
Caldwell said any solid evidence that suggests misconduct or criminal activity, in this or any other case, “will be immediately dealt with and thoroughly investigated ... because we will not tolerate that kind of behavior.”
The U.S. military is in Iraq as a guest, he said, “and just like a guest at your home, you could ask [us] to leave whenever you want.” Caldwell continued by saying as a guest of the Iraqi government, “we are here to protect and safeguard the rights of each and every Iraqi citizen.”
The Iraqi people and the world at large should know that “we’re going to hold ourselves accountable for the actions of each and every service member in this country,” Caldwell said.
“We are committed to the rule of law. We have faith in the justice system,” he added.
The FBI also is involved in this case because one of the individuals who was arrested and charged in the United States June 30 had left Iraq and separated from the Army. He will be tried under the U.S. federal court system.
There is no predisposition to the outcome of his case or the accompanying sentence, Caldwell said, but the maximum penalty with a charge of premeditated murder could be death.
Caldwell was careful in his answers to reporters’ questions not to say anything that might taint the rights of the accused or the outcome of the court case. At the same time, he said, additional information about the case would be made available as swiftly as possible.
For more information about U.S. policy, see International Security.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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