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that's harrys.com slash case file [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
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distressing incidents if you feel at anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested
00:02:03
phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
00:02:09
this episode details atrocities committed against men women and children it is graphic in nature and won't be
00:02:18
suitable for all listeners located in the rural sense wept hamlet of do part in central Iraq was a five acre Orchard
00:02:28
lined with pomegranate and date trees grape vines and various desert resistant crops at the front of the spacious
00:02:36
property was a dirt driveway that led to a one-story tan colored concrete farmhouse it
00:02:42
featured a kitchen living space bathroom and a single bedroom interconnected by a
00:02:47
narrow hallway each room was fully furnished with basic well-worn furniture cramped but homely the outside a
00:02:58
staircase led up to the building's flat roof with a view of the surrounding country landscape a desert patchwork of
00:03:04
palm trees wild grass and dry sandy flat lands intersected by long dirt roads neighboring buildings were few and far
00:03:12
between some were empty others were in stages of construction it was a quiet isolated and sparsely populated area if
00:03:22
you didn't have a reason to go there he wouldn't even know it existed but the year 2000 the orchards owner was
00:03:30
relocating 40 kilometers north to the capital city of Baghdad as he didn't want to sell his rural property he
00:03:37
offered to pay $50 per month to anybody willing to tend to the farm in his absence to mitigate the low pay he also
00:03:45
offered rent-free living and he's furnished a farmhouse and a cut of profits from the sale of his harvest
00:03:50
each season the job offer piqued the interest of Qasim Janabi Qasim was looking for long-term reliable work to
00:03:59
support his growing family his wife thakura had recently given birth to a healthy baby girl they named her deal
00:04:07
additionally the couple also had two sons ahmed and muhammad into their oldest child a daughter a beer at the
00:04:17
time the Janabi family were living in the rural town of you Sofia almost 40 kilometers southwest of Baghdad there
00:04:25
they were close to the support network of FAC Rio's extended family when Carson purchased a used motorcycle of a
00:04:31
relative for $20 and wasn't capable of paying off the debt the relative graciously let it go everyone wanted to
00:04:39
help the Janabi family and did so without expecting anything in return Carson picked up work where he could but
00:04:47
it was mostly low-paying sporadic jobs in farming and construction in the meantime the family moved between
00:04:53
properties throughout town trying to find somewhere they could afford with their low income but no place ever felt
00:04:59
like home life was tough but the Genovese were always in good spirits Carson and Thackeray are looked to the
00:05:09
future with optimism they share dreams of owning a spacious family house and hoped to send their children to college
00:05:15
one day there was this need to provide their family with a better future that attracted the couple to the job offer at
00:05:21
the orchard property in two but the move would sever the network of support the family had come to rely on but the
00:05:28
stable income and rent-free house convinced gassim and [ __ ] we are that was worth the risk they packed their few
00:05:35
belongings said their goodbyes and moved their family to the dubai tortured it was cramped living in the farmhouse for
00:05:43
the family of six but they made the most of it each day fukrey are maintained to
00:05:48
the house whilst the Janabi children would go outside and play hide and seek or kick soccer balls in the farmland
00:05:54
nearby Carson toiled under the blazing Desert Sun tending to the acres of crops eventually his hard work paid off come
00:06:04
harvest he'd sell the produce at local markets and with his half cut of the profits netted his family upwards of an
00:06:11
extra $30 friends and family of the Genovese visited and noted how well the family's ain't settled into their new
00:06:18
lifestyle for the Genovese the entire world had shrunk to the size of a few dusty crop fields and an old square
00:06:26
farmhouse it wasn't the big spacious family house they dreamed of but it was home
00:06:33
I felt safe there [Music] but 2003 Iraq's government led by President Saddam Hussein had been during
00:07:03
international condemnation the near decade-long iraq-iran war during the 1980s and the Gulf War only a few years
00:07:11
later had bled Iraq's resources and people draw Husein was also known to repress internal dissidents with torture
00:07:19
and killings earning him the reputation as an enemy of the free world accusations he was researching and
00:07:27
stockpiling chemical weapons as he had done so a decade earlier put Iraq under further intense global scrutiny the
00:07:35
president of the united states of america george w bush believed the hussein regime posed the growing danger
00:07:41
to the rest of the world on the night of March 17 2003 President Bush publicly gave her sane an ultimatum leave Iraq
00:07:51
within the next 48 hours or experience the full might of the United States military the sane ignored the order
00:08:02
three days later on March 20 2003 President Bush made good on his threat the American military conducted a
00:08:10
surprise invasion of Iraq and a code named Operation Iraqi Freedom US and Allied forces pressed forward into the
00:08:18
flat plains of Iraq's Western Desert charging along the immense sandy stretches towards the capital city of
00:08:24
Baghdad to confront her saying violent resistance from Hussein loyalists resulted in three weeks of intense
00:08:31
battle before Baghdad finally fell on April 9 ending Hussein's 24-year rule once the dust of the battle had settled
00:08:40
Saddam Hussein was nowhere to be found he'd escaped the city and gone into hiding the subsequent search for the
00:08:47
president of Iraq quickly became one of the biggest manhunts in the world by December 2003 Intel suggested Hussein
00:08:56
may be found in a rural village of at du'a approximately 150 kilometers northwest of Baghdad
00:09:03
under the cover of darkness on the night of December 13 600 US military personnel
00:09:09
raided the target area however the wanted president was still nowhere to be found
00:09:16
[Music] whilst in the process of being extracted from the target area a u.s. infantryman
00:09:23
randomly kicked at a pile of rubble on a map to his surprise the mass slid away revealing a small narrow hole in the
00:09:31
earth squeezed inside was Saddam Husein disheveled and exhausted he surrendered immediately Hussein was tried in an
00:09:44
Iraqi Court for crimes against humanity specifically for his involvement in the Dajjal massacre in 1982 where he
00:09:51
orchestrated the executions of 148 dissenters the torture of women and children and to the illegal arrest of
00:09:58
399 people the scene was found guilty and executed by hanging on December 30 2006 pro-american Iraqis and the local
00:10:09
population who bore the brunt of his Saints tyranny celebrated his death but supporters and admirers of Hussein
00:10:16
viewed him as a martyr to the world's superpower and were irritated at America's involvement and influence in
00:10:21
the politics of their homeland a violent civil war arose between the two opposing
00:10:26
groups and branched off into multiple sectarian conflicts throughout the land in an attempt to stabilize the conflict
00:10:35
ridden country and clean up Hussein's legacy the United States and its allies maintained a military presence in Iraq
00:10:42
but that prolonged presence in the foreign country as well as their interference in the civil war only
00:10:48
fueled the conflicts they were constantly clashing with local insurgents who perceived outside of
00:10:54
military intervention as an invading force the civil war amplified over time and continued on for years after
00:11:01
Hussein's execution Iraq deteriorated into deadly and destructive lawless chaos casualties of
00:11:09
war reached into the thousands on all sides considerations the US should pull their military out from the embattled
00:11:16
country began however the situation was becoming more complicated by the day u.s. politicians were confident they
00:11:25
were capable of securing the situation they believed with utmost certainty that our light forces would eventually
00:11:31
suppress the violence in Iraq and bring peace safety and freedom to its people the crime and violence the flared after
00:11:47
Hussein's capture quickly trickled south into the open rural landscape where it was much harder to contain the constant
00:11:54
fighting had turned the once vibrant rural towns and villages into no-go zones scared residents had withdrawn
00:12:01
into their homes rubble from destroyed buildings was piled along the streets power had been lost by constant targeted
00:12:09
attacks on regional power plants roads were potholed from explosives the thunderous roar of explosions and the
00:12:16
piercing crack of bullets had become a regular backdrop to daily life locals seen out in about one day would
00:12:24
disappear the next the Janabi family were now surrounded by this constant danger carcinogen are be legally armed
00:12:34
himself with an ak-47 assault rifle which he kept hidden behind a curtain by the bedroom window American military
00:12:42
permitted H Iraqi civilian family to own one ak-47 with 30 rounds of ammunition as a means of self-defense
00:12:51
during this chaotic time Carson tried his hardest to bring his family a sense of normality and joy when
00:12:58
the roads were cleared of explosives he'd take his children on car rides to the market at night he would help his
00:13:04
sons with their homework Fakhri r was equally supportive despite the circumstances it wasn't safe for her to
00:13:12
work outside of the home so everyday she stayed inside cleaning preparing food and taking care of their youngest
00:13:18
daughter six-year-old her deal her deal had grown into a curious and bubbly girl
00:13:24
she loved circling the exterior of the farmhouse peeking and munching on the edible sweet tasting old grass the tune
00:13:33
Arby's felt safe knowing there was a manned United States military checkpoint only two hundred meters from where they
00:13:39
lived there was a static traffic control point known as traffic control point too
00:13:45
responsible for keeping constant guard of a main road leading to and from the nearby town of use of fear each morning
00:13:53
at daybreak the American soldiers stationed the traffic control point to swept the roads for buried bombs
00:13:59
insurgents may have planted overnight they performed the daily security patrols of the surrounding area
00:14:05
conducted searches of homes questioned locals and stopped suspicious vehicles when the genovese eldest daughter
00:14:15
Herbie attended to the front garden she'd say the American soldiers performing their routine security checks
00:14:21
and foot patrols sometimes that would notice a beer too small and give her a thumbs up March 12 2006 was almost three
00:14:33
years to the day when the US military arrived in Iraq to capture Saddam Hussein the near 14 year old a beer
00:14:40
Janabi watched as her younger brother's 11 year old Muhammad and annoying year-old Ahmed left for school the
00:14:48
decision was made by her parents that a beer would no longer attend school it was far too dangerous for their girl
00:14:54
militants had been targeting local schools and a young vulnerable women had been threatened kidnapped and killed by
00:15:01
the worst of them by midday that day March 12th Mohamed and Ahmed were at school a beer and her
00:15:10
mother were inside in the kitchen and Carson was outside keeping an eye on her deal who was head down in the front
00:15:16
garden pulling out bunches of sweet wild grass to eat school was out by 3:30 p.m. that
00:15:24
afternoon it had been an uneventful day for the Janabi brothers after they farewelled their classmates they started
00:15:32
the walk home together by 4:00 p.m. Mohammed and Ahmed reached the dirt track leading up to their farmhouse
00:15:39
excitement to be home quickly turned to panic when they noticed the thick cloud of white smoke billowing out from the
00:15:46
living-room window their parents and sisters were nowhere to be seen [Music] sergeant Anthony Arabia of the US
00:16:02
military Bravo Company 1st battalion 500 and second Regiment of the 101st airborne was stationed at traffic
00:16:09
control point 1 on March 12 2006 traffic control point 1 was a large-scale checkpoint situated across a main
00:16:18
transit road just outside of Yusuf air it was a sturdy two-story building that acted as the main headquarters for all
00:16:26
the other traffic control points in the region there were around a dozen Iraqi and American military personnel posted a
00:16:33
traffic control point one who was nearing late afternoon when news reached sergeant Uribe of a situation unraveling
00:16:41
at a civilian farm property a few kilometers away in dooba 22 year-old Anthony URI be originally from Idaho
00:16:50
joined the United States military a days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks tall broad-shouldered and strong he cut the
00:16:59
figure of an ideal infantryman this was his second tour of Iraq his first in occurring a year earlier in January 2005
00:17:08
Arabia had hardened into a stoic level-headed soldier with a magnetic ability to take command of other
00:17:14
soldiers in stressful situations younger less-experienced soldiers who looked up to you Raby as a shining
00:17:21
example of what they aspired to become in return he was fiercely loyal to his troops yuri be agreed to lead a team of
00:17:31
american soldiers to the farming to bomb to canvass the area and investigate the
00:17:36
situation unfolding there he radioed traffic control point to the smaller scale checkpoint located only a few
00:17:43
hundred meters away from the objective area he ordered soldiers of traffic control
00:17:48
point to to gear up and get ready to escort him on Patrol when Yuri B arrived a short time later
00:17:55
to traffic control point to specialist promotable Paul Cortez and private first class
00:18:00
Jesse Spillman were dressed head-to-toe in full battle gear with rifles in hand ready to go 23 year-old Paul Cortez from
00:18:10
California was also in the midst of his second tour of Iraq he was the most senior soldier at traffic control point
00:18:17
two at the time and had recently been put in charge of the checkpoint and the five other US soldiers stationed there
00:18:24
unlike sergeant anthony yuri b who had adapted under the ongoing pressure into a successful and well respected leader
00:18:31
cortez struggled and was seen as an inconsistent average soldier his career bogged down with infractions for
00:18:38
fighting drinking alcohol and drug possession Cortez was eventually shipped out to the isolated traffic control
00:18:45
point to where it was believed there was little opportunity for him to find trouble but every opportunity for him to
00:18:52
knuckle down and reform his reputation 21-year old Jesse Spielman from Pennsylvania was a recent addition to
00:19:01
traffic control point to having only arrived just days earlier he'd been in Iraq for seven months and
00:19:08
in the military since completing high school another sudden sign up after 9/11 quiet and make Spillman was a good
00:19:18
dutiful soldier who followed orders without question or complaint [Music] approximately an hour had passed by the
00:19:27
time you Reba Squad arrived to the farm the smell of smoke lingered in the humid
00:19:33
air but whatever fire there had been was extinguished up a short dirt path ahead
00:19:39
was a 10 concrete square farmhouse with barred windows and a flat roof a small civilian crowd had gathered around the
00:19:48
building Iraqi soldiers among them exchanging anxious whispers sergeant Yuri B was notably Stern straight faced
00:19:57
and focused when approaching the building he commanded his squad quickly and efficiently as they swept through
00:20:03
the farmhouse performing the building clearance they rushed down the corridor of the house shouting and kicking down
00:20:09
doors with their weapons raised but there were no hostiles waiting for them clinging to the air was a foul odor of
00:20:18
smoke propane and bird-meat with the building secured the shocking reality of what happened inside became
00:20:28
clear inside the bedroom they discovered the body of an older female laying on her
00:20:35
back by the door or as wide and unmoving blood pooled around her body from a gaping bullet wound in her back in one
00:20:43
of the back corners of the bedroom was an older male facedown his body and the wall closest to him covered in blood he
00:20:51
had been shot in the head a similar wound was found on the body of a female child laying clothes boy no older than 6
00:21:00
her pink dress was stained with blood a bunch of wild grass stuck in her rigid fists the horror didn't end there
00:21:09
another gruesome discovery was made in the living room the body of a teenage female was face-up in the corner of the
00:21:16
room beneath a window her head and chest had been burned to ash a relative of the
00:21:23
household explained he arrived shortly after the alarm was raised he entered the house just to extinguish the fire
00:21:30
but did nothing else but putting out the fire the lower half of the victims body
00:21:36
remained preserved and unburnt her dress had been lifted up to her neck and her undergarments were on the floor nearby
00:21:43
she had been raped the three bodies discovered inside the bedroom were identified as 45 year old Carson Janabi
00:21:54
his wife 34 year old [ __ ] ER and their six year old daughter had ill the partially burnt body discovered in the
00:22:03
living room was their 14 year old daughter a beer specialist promotable Paul Cortez was overwhelmed by the
00:22:13
horrific scene and spent most of his time outside dry-heaving sergeant anthony yuri be maintained his
00:22:20
characteristic level-headedness and continued on with the grim job of investigating the crime scene tailed by
00:22:27
private Jesse Spellman for two hours they moved through the house photographing the crime scene
00:22:33
sketching maps at the layout inspecting the victims wounds and searching for anything left behind by those
00:22:39
responsible the murder weapon was believed to have been the ak-47 assault rifle that the
00:22:46
family legally owned and kept in the bedroom of their house several ak-47 shell casings were found throughout the
00:22:53
building but the weapon itself was missing nothing else within the house appeared or been tampered with or taken
00:23:02
a medic tended to the bodies inside the sergeant Yuri B began carefully shifting
00:23:07
furniture around to look for evidence after flipping over a bed yuri be found a green shotgun shell casing underneath
00:23:15
he called out to Cortese who was still outside overcoming his nausea when Cortez entered the bedroom Yuri be
00:23:23
pointed out the shotgun shell on the floor Cortez collected the show and the two meticulously scanned the remainder
00:23:30
of the room looking for more shells but there was only the one the two surviving
00:23:40
two Nobby sons mohamed and ahmed were inconsolable they were taken away from the scene by relatives an Iraqi
00:23:49
translator walked amongst the civilian crowd outside seeking information on the private lives of the genovese many of
00:23:56
the locals were apprehensive to answer personal questions and were not forthcoming with information
00:24:02
gradually details emerged depicting the genovese is conservative and respectable
00:24:08
who were close to their extended family but otherwise kept to themselves no suspects were seen around if they do not
00:24:17
be property prior to at the time of or after the attack of particular significance was the personal attack of
00:24:26
Abby rike was a sensitive topic in the conservative culture meaning few people were willing to openly acknowledge and
00:24:33
discuss it to those who knew her a beer was a Wallflower an ordinary teen observant but introverted she was tall
00:24:42
for her age lanky and suffered from asthma she daydreams a bright future getting an education marrying a good man
00:24:51
and moving to a big city good-natured and polite she was according to her aunt proud to be young the attempt to burnaby
00:25:02
his body suggests that her attacker may have wanted to cover their tracks and destroy evidence however due to the lack
00:25:09
of resources available in the midst of war-torn rural Iraq a thorough investigation of the crime scene was
00:25:15
impossible the Iraqi military didn't have the knowledge or means to perform comprehensive police work such as
00:25:22
collecting DNA or fingerprints sergeant URI B was compiling enough details to complete a report on the matter but
00:25:30
those little more his troops could do they just didn't have the resources there were no witnesses to the crime
00:25:36
either or at least none who were willing to speak the Sun had almost set when you
00:25:44
Rea B and his team emerged from the house through their observations they could only offer one explanation for the
00:25:51
killings the Janabi property was located on the western edge of an area of land u.s. soldiers had nicknamed the triangle
00:26:01
of death the triangle of death was a map Goudy area 30 kilometers south of Baghdad starting at the city of mut
00:26:09
medea to the north the rural town of Yusuf air to the west and the city of Musa Abe to the south life and
00:26:17
experiences for Bravo Company during their time in the triangle of death is further detailed in Jim Frederick's book
00:26:23
black hearts the region within the triangle of death had earned the reputation as the most hostile area in
00:26:31
the country it was a centralized unrestrained battleground for the Civil War dudewitz proximity to Baghdad inside
00:26:39
the triangle massive waves of sectarian violence led to atrocities on all sides of the battle explosive mortars rained
00:26:47
from the sky killing anything within a 20 meter radius rocket-propelled grenades collapsed buildings leveling
00:26:53
entire townships unsuspecting victims triggered hidden bombs buried along roads militiamen sped utility vehicles
00:27:02
across the experience of flat cracked desert and propped up in the back tray were large automatic weapons firing
00:27:08
indiscriminately any civilian social gathering no matter how small or inconspicuous was a potential target for
00:27:15
suicide bombers as were police stations power plants oil refineries gas stations
00:27:21
markets and military checkpoints deadly gunfights between insurgents and the military were commonplace hundreds
00:27:31
of attacks per week occurred within the triangle of death cord in the middle where hundreds of rural towns and
00:27:38
villages the homes - approximately 1 million Iraqi civilians civilians were constantly threatened and brutalized by
00:27:45
insurgents who maintained control through fear each morning the Rising Sun revealed the death and destruction from
00:27:54
the night before dumping canals part beside roads and dug in shallow graves were the victims of late-night
00:28:01
executions the violence was indiscriminate and unpredictable and for those inside the triangle of death there
00:28:09
was little opportunity all means to escape at the Janabi farmhouse on the western edge of the triangle of death
00:28:18
the US soldiers concluded that the slaughter was committed by insurgents it carried the typical hallmarks of an
00:28:26
insurgent crime the brazen opportunistic nature execution-style killings and willingness
00:28:32
to murder children as well as the odd timing of the attack occurring in the middle of the day employing the killers
00:28:40
held no fear of being seen heard were interrupted it was unknown whether that Genovese had any direct or indirect
00:28:49
links to militias fighting in the area most civilians had an investment in the Civil War but it didn't necessarily mean
00:28:57
they participated in the fighting they may have supported their chosen militias in other ways it also wasn't uncommon
00:29:04
for civilians to be threatened into actively or passively assisting insurgents the Genovese isolated
00:29:11
unassuming farmstead would have been seen as the ideal place to stockpile weapons or for use as a safe house or
00:29:17
hideout Hut Carson refused the demands of militiamen and was this his punishment
00:29:25
every day the military confronted the aftermath of the brutal acts committed by insurgents on the civilian population
00:29:32
abductions tortures massacres executions rapes mutilations decapitations of men women and children so frequent many
00:29:42
soldiers had become desensitized to the horror that appeared the Genovese had crossed paths with these ruthless
00:29:49
insurgents relatives of the Janabi family had similar thoughts they couldn't comprehend that anyone in their
00:29:58
local community was capable of committing such a senseless and vicious massacre as news of the killing spread
00:30:04
locally so did the accusations every local militia group was blamed other theories suggest that the murders were
00:30:12
the outcome of a feud unpaid debt or personal vendetta the following day the bodies of Qasim fukrey are a beer and a
00:30:23
deal were buried together in a private area of desert near the farmhouse they had called home as days weeks and months
00:30:31
passed the Janabi family massacre was forgotten in the fog of war sergeant Anthony UAB had submitted his report on
00:30:40
the matter and that was the end of the US military's involvement hope of justice for the slaughtered family faded
00:30:48
whoever murdered Qasim and fukrey our and their two defenseless daughters a beer and her deal had gotten away with
00:30:56
it on the evening of June 16 2006 96 days after the murder of the Janabi family United States Army Specialist David
00:31:10
Babineaux and private first class Thomas Tucker were preparing for a long shift on guard duty together 25-year old David
00:31:19
Babineaux from Massachusetts predicted in his high-school yearbook that in 20 years time he'd be a five-star general
00:31:25
in the United States Army before that summer was over Babineaux had enlisted in May 2006 he was reaching the end of
00:31:35
his second tour of Iraq and was preparing to head back home to his wife and children then the news came through
00:31:42
that his tour of duty was being extended indefinitely Babineaux visited home briefly and
00:31:49
gifted his three children camouflaged clad teddy bears but almost immediately he was saying goodbye and in what felt
00:31:56
like the blink of an eye he was back in his camo carrying his rifle and beginning his indefinite stretch in the
00:32:03
triangle of death 25-year old Thomas Tucker from Oregon never anticipated he'd wind up in the military
00:32:13
prior to enlistment his life felt out of focus and his job in construction left him feeling unfulfilled wanting to do
00:32:21
something positive with his life he joined the military in July 2005 Tucker was a softie at heart a talented piano
00:32:30
player who loved spending lazy weekend's fishing and tinkering with his Chevy pickup by June 2006 Tucker had been in
00:32:38
Iraq for five months and had already made an impact as an enthusiastic soldier fully dedicated to his job On
00:32:48
June 16 2006 Babineaux and Tucker were guarding an armored vehicle launch bridge near the tiny village of joyful
00:32:55
Saco about 25 kilometers south of Yusuf Air the armored vehicle launch bridge was a military engineering vehicle that
00:33:04
featured a long flat metal platform that could be rapidly deployed to create a makeshift bridge across gap type
00:33:10
obstacles at the time the vehicle launch bridge was situated on the edge of the Euphrates River a wide marshy canal that
00:33:19
cut through the center of Iraq and led all the way to the Persian Gulf also on post that night with Babineau and taco
00:33:27
was private first class Christian menchaca menchaca was entrusted on to guard the outpost at that time he'd
00:33:35
volunteered to take the shift so another soldier could have the night off for his
00:33:39
birthday 23 year old Christian menchaca from Texas was a quiet humble man from a
00:33:45
close-knit mexican-american family when men chocker announced that he planned to
00:33:50
enlist in the army his family initially tried to talk him out of it he wouldn't like it they insisted but man Chaka was
00:33:58
determined scoring high on his entrance test and convincing his family that maybe he was right for the military
00:34:04
after all however on a visit home during his Iraq deployment menchaca was visibly
00:34:11
nervous jittery and struggled to sleep he'd also developed the habit of chain-smoking
00:34:17
finally admitting to his family that life in Iraq had been difficult men Chaka was dreading going back Babineau
00:34:27
taka and dementia cos outpost consisted of a Humvee vehicle that the three men occupied one in each of the front seats
00:34:34
and two one spread out in the backseat there was an inn efficiently designed outpost with no sense of safety no Road
00:34:42
barriers or any early warning devices were set up more Humvees and guards were supposed to be present but they had
00:34:48
moved on to other checkpoints resources and manpower was spread dangerously thin
00:34:53
in the triangle of death the three soldiers wearily surveyed the dark desert farmlands from behind the
00:35:02
windshield they'd been warned to remain alert the night before insurgents had hit the
00:35:08
outpost with gun and RPG fire no one was seriously hurt and strangely the insurgents fled the
00:35:15
fight almost immediately but so far the June 16 night shift had been quiet for the three US soldiers there was no sign
00:35:23
of the insurgents from the before at approximately 750 p.m. two separate US military outposts reported
00:35:33
hearing a torrent of gunfire erupted from the direction of the armored vehicle launch bridge our post it was
00:35:39
initially thought the gunfire was caused by Babineaux and the others probably shooting aimlessly to scare away
00:35:45
suspicious persons in the area but when a deep explosion echoed across the desert plains they knew the armored
00:35:52
vehicle launch bridge was taking insurgent RPG fire once again an attempt to establish radio comms with Babineaux
00:36:01
Tucker and dementia akka was met with silence troops from surrounding checkpoints poured into vehicles and
00:36:08
quickly descended on the air post to provide backup they sped along the dirt road towards the secluded outpost
00:36:16
suddenly vehicles screeched hakuna Brock told head lights illuminated several oil
00:36:21
drums suspected to be IEDs placed across the center of the road but upon careful
00:36:27
inspection the oil drums were confirmed to be harmless the realization setting this was a well-planned and coordinated
00:36:37
attack the oil drum decoys were a distraction that delayed backup from reaching the armored vehicle launch
00:36:44
bridge outpost the seemingly pointless attack on the outpost the night before had actually been a test the real attack
00:36:52
had just occurred specialist Babineaux and two privates Tucker and him in charka were in serious danger
00:37:07
first responders arrived to the armored vehicle launch bridge outpost at around 8:15 p.m. the area was quiet the attack
00:37:16
already over peppered around at the Humvee were hundreds of shell casings large splatters of blood painted the
00:37:24
ground on top of the Humvees hood were two US military brand m4 rifles both the Humvees right-hand side doors were wide
00:37:33
open neither Babineau tucker or men charkha were inside signs of their presence remained two though including H of their
00:37:42
helmets a packet of skittles candy and a PlayStation Portable handheld gaming system they hadn't released a mayday
00:37:51
signal none of their weapons had fired a single bullet and the Humvees gun turret
00:37:56
was still locked the road was cordoned off as troops swept the surrounding area for the three missing soldiers they
00:38:04
shouted into the darkness calling out the names of Babineaux taka and dementia Kaka there was no response
00:38:13
a soldier trudged 30 meters along the marshy banks of the canal and discovered the body of specialist David Babineaux
00:38:21
facedown in a tangle of weeds vámanos upper body had been shredded by bullets the expectation was that
00:38:30
Tucker's and men charkas bodies would be found somewhere close by however as the
00:38:36
search radius expanded further and further from the Humvees location neither Tucker almond charkas bodies
00:38:42
were spotted a local Iraqi farmer whose field overlooked the armored vehicle launch bridge a post came forward having
00:38:50
witnessed the ambush he said that seven masked the gunmen one carrying a machine
00:38:56
gun swarmed the Humvee before it could move off they pummeled the vehicle with hundreds of bullets killing Babineaux in
00:39:03
the driver's seat but Tucker and menchaca were taken alive by the insurgents dred swept over the
00:39:12
troops TOC current menchaca were alive and in the hands of the enemy emotions ran high as a feverish search for Thomas
00:39:22
Tucker and Christian menchaca began within the first five hours troops had meticulously canvassed three objective
00:39:29
areas in the vicinity of the attack site but found no clues to the whereabouts of
00:39:34
the kidnapped soldiers the desperate search continued throughout the night and into the following day then finally
00:39:43
a startling discovery along a straight stretch of dirt road leading to an abandoned non-functional
00:39:50
power plant with several bloody drag marks along the drag marks were torn up pieces of a US military body armor vest
00:39:57
a comprehensive search of the power plant led to a white pickup truck being found in sawed in the trucks flatbed was
00:40:06
a pool of thick blood pitaka and menchaca was still nowhere to be found private first class Justin what was
00:40:20
stationed at the US Army's Forward Operating Base in the rural city of MOC media on the northern point of the
00:40:26
triangle of death when news head of the abduction of Thomas Tucker and Christian
00:40:30
menchaca 23 year-old Justin what from South Carolina joined the military in 2004 after a bad relationship breakup
00:40:40
he'd always held great respect for the military as his father had served in the Vietnam War Justin's father was somewhat
00:40:47
surprised that his son's desire to join the military nobies three children Justin was the sensitive and
00:40:53
introspective one the least likely person to seek combat nevertheless what arrived in Iraq in 2005 and was sent to
00:41:03
the front lines in the triangle of death [Music] each new morning was like a spin of a
00:41:10
rule that will of what horrors they'd be facing that day would a bear squad made
00:41:15
accidentally triggering a concealed explosive an urban gunfight inside the unfamiliar maze-like rural cities a
00:41:22
suicide bomber wiping out an entire neighborhood with the flick of a switch the split-second moral dilemma whether
00:41:30
to kill the child strapped with explosives a car bomb detonated at a school local
00:41:35
soccer match funeral or police recruitment drive the Iraq war was insidious trust between occupying
00:41:43
military and Iraqi civilians was fragile it was near impossible for soldiers the
00:41:48
pker civilian from an insurgent one moment a good natured civilian would be casually approaching a US soldier to say
00:41:55
hello the next there'd be a knife deep in the soldier's neck Bravo Company lost on average about one soldier per week
00:42:05
the approximate stats at the time was that one out of every three soldiers were killed and one out of every two was
00:42:11
wounded morale was at an all-time low US military bases our posts and checkpoints
00:42:20
were a mess of Grom and clutter due to the indifference of highly strong soldiers focused purely on survival
00:42:27
many never left the safety of their posts patrols had become quick drive-bys of objective areas with the main goal to
00:42:34
return back to the base as quickly as possible don't make eye contact with the Iraqi locals new arrivals were warned
00:42:41
don't stop and talk to anyone fire bullets of anything that seemed to remotely suspicious civilians walking
00:42:49
too close to our posts cars driving too slow or too fast rustling bushes people in the rear trays of trucks full wheel
00:42:58
drive vehicles with tinted windows or anyone reaching under their clothes private first class Justin what was
00:43:06
profoundly impacted by the abduction of Thomas Tucker and Christian menchaca imagery of his two squad mates being
00:43:14
tortured consumed his daily thoughts when he managed to sleep he had recurring nightmares of dead Iraqi
00:43:20
children or slain soldiers likely staring at him and whispering dying words he could barely hear whilst
00:43:28
thousands of soldiers were out looking for Tucker and menchaca what was sitting with his team leader
00:43:33
sergeant Anthony Uribe the two traded fond stories of Tucker and menchaca to raise their spirits sergeant you rabies
00:43:42
seemed too lost in troubled thought during one conversation he suddenly asked what do you remember that family
00:43:50
that got murdered back in March it had been a long time since Justin what heard anyone talking about the gruesome Janabi
00:43:59
family Massacre sergeant UAB had led the squad who investigated the quadruple murder at the
00:44:07
time he publicly concluded insurgents most likely killed the father mother and two young daughters but sergeant UAV was
00:44:16
carrying a secret he told Justin what that he no longer believed that the killings were committed by Iraqi
00:44:23
insurgents he now suspected they were committed by one of their own a member of the United States military
00:44:33
what had no reason to doubt you Raby who was far from the type who to make up or
00:44:38
lie about something so serious but who amongst his military brothers would commit such a cruel and senseless murder
00:44:55
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case file twenty-one-year-old Stephen green from Texas joined to the US Army shortly
00:48:08
after a four-day stint in jail for his third misdemeanor news of a failing endless war in the Middle East had
00:48:15
resulted in a recruitment shortfall for the military troop numbers in Iraq were dwindling by the day and there were not
00:48:22
enough people signing up to replace them so the military started granting moral character waivers to those with
00:48:29
histories of juvenile delinquency and minor criminal charges people with recorded behavioral problems who would
00:48:35
otherwise be rejected for military service would now have the opportunity to sign up Stephen green wasn't the type
00:48:43
one would consider an honorable military candidate he was a loner in troublemaker
00:48:48
who started fights and who coped with stress with drugs and alcohol with a rap sheet of convictions going back to his
00:48:56
teenage years Stephen greens options were limited so he took the military up on their offer
00:49:01
by the end of 2005 Stephen green was officially a private first class with Bravo Company patrolling the Iraqi
00:49:10
countryside in the triangle of death on December 10 2005 Green's unit was maintaining a traffic checkpoint an
00:49:20
Iraqi civilian considered by soldiers to be a friend and trusted informant approached 32 year-old sergeant Kenneth
00:49:27
kausika kohsaka greeted the men the two exchanged the seemingly friendly back-and-forth conversation in both
00:49:34
Arabic and English in the midst of their harmless conversation the Iraqi civilian
00:49:40
pulled out a nine-millimeter handgun lifting it quickly towards Kousaka he pulled the trigger
00:49:47
Kousaka was shot in the neck and fell to the ground 41 year-old Sergeant Travis Nelson
00:49:53
sitting on a stool near boss smoking a cigarette took a bullet to the back of his head seconds later the armed Iraqi
00:50:01
civilian continued firing Stephen green threw sergeant Casilla on the hood of a Humvee and shielded his superior from
00:50:08
the gunfire the Humvee took off towards a field hospital private Stephen green later told a war correspondent for the
00:50:16
Washington Post quote we were going 55 miles an hour and I was hanging on to him I was like sergeant Casey Kerr
00:50:25
sergeant Casey Kerr he just moved his eyes a little bit I was just laying on top of him listening to him breathing
00:50:33
telling him he's okay I was rubbing his chest I was looking at the tattoo on his
00:50:39
arm he had his little girl's name tattooed on his own then I heard him stop breathing he was the nicest man I
00:50:48
ever met I never saw him yell at anybody that was the worst time that was my worst time
00:50:55
since I've been in Iraq both sergeants Nelson and Kousaka died of their wounds later Stephen green
00:51:06
admitted the deaths of his superiors messed him up real bad and fueled his hatred for the Iraqi people quote
00:51:14
there's not a word that would describe how much I hated these people I wasn't thinking these people were
00:51:20
humans over here killing people is like squashing in here I mean you kill someone and it's like
00:51:28
all right let's go get some pizza over the following months greens mental health deteriorated he viewed the war
00:51:38
and his involvement as pointless quote are going to be here for a year and if there ain't [ __ ] I can do about it I
00:51:46
just want to go home alive I don't give a [ __ ] about the whole Iraq thing but I
00:51:52
care see this war is different from all the ones that our fathers and grandfathers fought those wars were for
00:51:58
something this war is for nothing [Music] even his own platoon were becoming increasingly uncomfortable bug rains
00:52:09
mental instability he snapped the superiors found a joy in the McHarg and it Joe Vuli through a puppy off a
00:52:16
rooftop he'd go on long offensively racist rants before ending them with his desire to kill every last Iraqi on the
00:52:23
planet acknowledging he wasn't coping Green sort of military stress counselor showing signs of behavioral problems
00:52:32
such as agitation irritability hostility and hyper vigilance Green also despite fear severe anxiety mistrust and
00:52:41
emotional detachment he admitted he also suffered from nightmares and wanted to take revenge on Iraqis including
00:52:49
civilians the counselor concluded Green had symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder Judah
00:52:57
greens poor morale higher combat stress and anger over the deaths of friends the
00:53:02
counselor labeled Green mission incompatible it was recommended Green take a break from front-line combat to
00:53:09
rest and should he return he needed stronger supervision the grain got neither he was prescribed
00:53:19
small doses of a mood regulating drug to help him sleep and was sent back to the
00:53:24
drastically understaffed traffic control point to on the secluded stretch of road
00:53:28
just a few hundred meters from the Janabi family home traffic control point to was based out of a hollowed-out
00:53:36
abandoned concrete house on a straight dirt road side soldiers sleeping cots were laid out in two small rooms inside
00:53:44
behind the house was a courtyard surrounded by a wire fence the military Humvee was parked out front observing
00:53:51
the rural road in both directions traffic control point to had no electricity or running water soldiers
00:53:58
there had little else but the uniform on their backs including Stephen green traffic control point two had a total of
00:54:06
six men barely enough to both adequately guard the checkpoint and conduct regular
00:54:12
and safe patrols of the surrounding area their outpost had not been fortified making the soldiers feel like sitting
00:54:19
ducks they were overworked underslept an incredibly high strong despite being prohibited by the US military they'd
00:54:28
taken up getting drunk on Iraqi whiskey and gin to coke on March 12 2006 when sergeant Anthony Arabian DS patrol
00:54:41
returned to traffic control point two after investigating their Janabi family crime scene he spotted Stephen green
00:54:48
standing in the middle of the road anxiously looking back and forth when you Ray be approached Green pulled him
00:54:55
aside and asked him what was going on his breath raped of hard liquor Yuri B gave him a quick situation report
00:55:03
on the Janabi family Massacre Green responded why did that [ __ ] that was me oh I did it I killed that family
00:55:16
sergeant you Raby didn't believe him there was no secret Stephen green was completely unstable manic medicated and
00:55:24
talked about killing Iraqis all the time but never followed through Green was constantly saying outrageous [ __ ] to try
00:55:31
and get a rise out of others and was always pushing boundaries between what he considered a funny joke and what
00:55:36
others considered downright offensive besides Yuri be thought there was absolutely no way someone like private
00:55:45
first class Stephen green far from a seasoned and skillful assassin snuck out of traffic control point to in broad
00:55:52
daylight broke into the Janabi house took control of everyone inside corralled the parents and youngest
00:55:59
daughter into a room grabbed at the family's ak-47 killed them one after the other and forced the eldest daughter
00:56:06
into the living room raped her set the place on fire got away without being seen or heard and returned to
00:56:14
traffic control point to without a single other soldier noticing he was gone sergeant UAB didn't believe it was
00:56:22
possible so we told green to shut the [ __ ] up and the conversation ended there
00:56:30
over the following days sergeant you rabies thoughts lingered on greens confession he really reflected on the
00:56:37
shotgun shell he found in the Janabi bedroom American military were issued with combat shotguns for breaching doors
00:56:44
and close combat indoor battles you rebe couldn't get his mind off the shotgun shell he knew its presence was
00:56:53
problematic if the rumor ever got out that an American soldier killed the Janabi family the backlash from both the
00:57:00
American and the Iraqi people would be career and potentially life ending that would intensify the war giving the Iraqi
00:57:08
population more reasons to resent and target the Americans in their country sergeant UAB continued to wrestle with
00:57:16
the possibility Stephen green had committed the murders the more he thought about it the more he started to
00:57:22
think that maybe Green did get away without being seen did he finally snap and carry out his
00:57:29
eventual bloodlust was he truly capable of single-handedly slaughtering a civilian family not able to get it out
00:57:37
of his head sergeant yuri be returned to traffic control point to a few days after the
00:57:43
Janabi family massacre to confront steven green for more information Green verbally walked through the
00:57:49
entirety of they do not be crime-scene he described it in such a vivid detail there was little doubt Green had been
00:57:57
there at some point you Raby tall green I'm done with you you're dead to me you get yourself out of this or I'll get you
00:58:07
out myself but UAB took no immediate action after this interaction later that month Green arrived at the
00:58:18
Forward Operating Base in my video where he approached the combat stress team for
00:58:22
a mental health evaluation confessing his military transgressions and bad behavior he stopped short of
00:58:29
mentioning anything about the Janabi murders after their evaluation of green the combat stress team concluded he had
00:58:38
serious issues with impulsiveness and lying lacked empathy and remorse was aggressive and arrogant and harbored a
00:58:44
disregard for right and wrong they diagnosed Greene with a pre-existing antisocial personality disorder
00:58:51
frequently associated with sociopathic and psychopathic persons although they listed his potential to harm others as
00:58:58
aloe on April 14 2006 one month after the Janabi family Massacre green was approved to leave Iraq and return home
00:59:09
to the United States due to his diagnosed antisocial personality disorder and post-traumatic stress
00:59:16
disorder Green was not eligible for a second tour of duty on may 16 2006 Stephen green was honorably discharged
00:59:25
from the United States Army back in Iraq certain you rate was happy to say Stephen green gone and felt it ended his
00:59:34
role in the Janabi situation once and for all he kept knowledge of greens confession a
00:59:40
secret until his conversation with private first class just than what when sergeant new Raby confessed all this
00:59:51
information about Stephen green to justin ward in june what was shell-shocked it was a tough time in
00:59:57
Bravo Company two of their brothers Thomas Tucker and Christian menchaca had just been kidnapped and another David
01:00:05
Babineaux had been killed during the intense search for the missing soldiers sergeant Yuri B had let
01:00:12
his guard down and told Justin what that an American soldier was responsible for
01:00:16
the dinner be family Massacre Justin what later stated quote I couldn't believe what I was hearing in one
01:00:26
sentence he had dismantled for me every good thing we'd done every hospital would build every school we'd protected
01:00:33
I had been prepared to fight the enemy but I never expected to feel betrayed by my own people determined to find the
01:00:43
truth of the matter what insisted greens claim should be properly investigated forget about it sergeant yer a be
01:00:50
required just like God sorted out what found it impossible to follow you rabies advice
01:00:57
he lay awake thinking over greens confession what truly believed green wasn't lying and he did kill the Janabi
01:01:04
family however what struggled with the idea that green acted alone Green was the runt of the platoon and not in the
01:01:14
frame of mind to intricately plan stage and get away with a successful multiple murder on his own furthermore traffic
01:01:22
control point to wasn't a main base with hundreds of troops constantly coming and
01:01:26
going there was a small empty house with only six station soldiers if one was gone for
01:01:33
even five minutes the others would notice what was convinced someone else must have known what Green was up to
01:01:41
Green was protecting someone what started conducting his own discrete investigation who was above his rank and
01:01:51
expertise and risked his reputation career and possibly his life yet he was determined to discover the truth with
01:02:00
Stephen green alloying Mad Men or was he really a murderer the only ones who could possibly know the truth
01:02:08
were the five other soldiers stationed at traffic control point two at the time of the killings
01:02:16
the first soldier they're just on what spoke to was private first class Brian Hellmuth 18 year old Brian Howard from
01:02:24
Texas had only been in Iraq for around two five months he was one of the soldiers stationed at traffic control
01:02:30
point two with Stephen green at the time of the Janabi massacre Howard was the youngest of the troops stationed there a
01:02:37
new recruit who was perpetually stuck in the hazing stage Justin what suspected to Brian Howard was the one most likely
01:02:45
to talk how we didn't have the same long-term connection and loyalty to green as the more seasoned soldiers that
01:02:52
truck a control point to what pulled Howard aside for a talk and shaped their conversation into a back-and-forth of
01:03:00
really messed up stuff they had experienced in Iraq Howard was eager to listen and trade horror stories but
01:03:07
seemed to intentionally skirt around the Janabi killings what instantly felt Howard's reluctance
01:03:13
to bring up the topic himself implied he was hiding something so what casually brought up the Janabi
01:03:20
murders careful not to raise Howard suspicions that there was an ulterior motive for their conversation but Howard
01:03:27
remained hesitant to talk about it frustrated by Howard's reluctance the talk just on what decided to risk at all
01:03:36
pretending he knew more than he did what repeated details sergeant you Raby had told him about the crime including
01:03:43
labeling Stephen green as the killer it was a massive gamble if Howard sincerely
01:03:49
didn't know anything about the crime word would get around the Justin what was starting rumors implicating his own
01:03:55
brothers he'd be labeled a traitor and a lawyer maybe a terrorist sympathizer his career
01:04:01
would be over but the gamble paid off It was as if what slid the right key into the lock
01:04:10
suddenly Howard's guard lowered and he began talking openly about the Janabi killings as though he was sharing a
01:04:16
story they both already knew but to just them what this was all horrifyingly new
01:04:27
private first class Brian Howard started his story in the morning of March 12 2006 at traffic control point to private
01:04:36
seth skele was pulling guard out front in the Humvee the remainder of the squad were off-duty the soldier in charge at
01:04:44
the checkpoint specialist promotable Paul Cortez was out back in the courtyard with Cortez were privates
01:04:50
Jessie Spillman and Stephen green entered the second most senior soldier at the checkpoint specialist James Barca
01:04:58
23 year old James Barca from California was the mischief maker of the squad described as a lovable dork Barker was a
01:05:06
quick-witted smart aleck whose timely humor brought levity to the harsh war environment he joined the army in 2003
01:05:14
as his prior history with gangs drugs and alcohol made it difficult for him to find ordinary work back home Barker had
01:05:22
anger issues and was once reported for physically abusing his wife and child Barker insisted the situation was a
01:05:29
misunderstanding but it was forced to attend anger-management classes anyway his boots first hit Iraqi soil in
01:05:36
October 2003 by March 2006 he was on his second tour despite his rocky past immature behavior
01:05:44
and anger issues Barker was noted as one of the best combat soldiers many of his
01:05:49
superiors had ever seen Cortez Barker crane and Spillman were sitting in plastic lawn chairs around a
01:05:58
makeshift table playing a card game Brian Howard was not playing cards with the boys he was inside the building
01:06:05
laying on his cot with headphones in listening to music beginning sometime between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. the
01:06:13
group out back playing cards started drinking alcohol they mixed whiskey and gin with several
01:06:18
cans of energy drinks then passed around the potent concoction drinking liberally
01:06:23
when they ran dry they mixed up a new batch as the group got drunker their boyish banter and chicha turned to
01:06:33
something more sinister howard overheard fragments of their conversation through
01:06:38
the wall and realized they were discussing raping an iraqi girl a short time later cortez barker green
01:06:46
and Spillman came inside the traffic control point to building they were bused from the alcohol and pumped up
01:06:53
from energy drinks howard watched as they changed into what soldiers called a ninja suit it's black silk lightweight
01:07:01
underwear consisting of pants and a long slave to talk usually worn under clothes
01:07:06
on cold nights after putting on their ninja suits the soldiers also made makeshift balaclavas head of t-shirts
01:07:13
and wrapped them around their heads covering their faces Spillman grabbed an m14 long-range
01:07:21
sniper rifle Cortez and Barca took an m4 assault rifle each and grain carried a combat shotgun Cortez told Howard they
01:07:31
were going to go [ __ ] an Iraqi girl near boy Howard thought Cortez was insane and
01:07:37
didn't honestly believe that's what the group who really going off to do he attempted to keep them from leaving by
01:07:44
reminding them it was a really bad idea for the four of them to abandon the traffic control point leaving only two
01:07:50
soldiers on guard there Cortez entered Howard a two-way radio keeping the other for himself he ordered
01:07:58
hell with the cheney into a different channel so no one else would hear their chatter if there were any problems
01:08:03
they'd radio each other easy they weren't going far they could be back to the traffic control point in
01:08:11
minutes if anything happened Cortez Barker green and Spillman walked out the back squeezed through a gap in the wire
01:08:21
fence that surrounded the checkpoint and disappeared Howard estimated the four of them were
01:08:27
gone for approximately fifteen minutes when they returned all of the men were in a heartened hyper and erratic State
01:08:34
one of the soldiers had blood on his clothing but Howard couldn't recall which one they also had an ak-47 assault
01:08:42
rifle in their possession which they didn't have earlier after stripping off their ninja suits Cortez and Barker
01:08:49
poured a bottle of water over their genitals and started scrubbing them clean the clothes they wore out were collected
01:08:55
in a box and Howard was ordered to burn them Howard also recalled someone being ordered to throw the ak-47 assault rifle
01:09:03
into the nearby canal his memory was foggy though so he couldn't remember exactly who made the order or who
01:09:10
carried it out Justin what must he shot from Howard's revelations his instincts were correct Stephen green didn't act
01:09:22
alone but it was flawed to discover just about the entire outpost was in on it after this conversation Justin what
01:09:31
confronted his team leader sergeant Anthony Uribe with the new details gathered from Brian Howard
01:09:36
but you Raby despite his own suspicions couldn't accept for US soldiers were involved in their genomic Ron Howard's
01:09:45
testimony was flaky and he couldn't prove what the men did when they left traffic control point to they may not
01:09:51
have gone to the Janabi property they probably went to beat up some Iraqis to let off steam
01:09:57
as far as you Rabia was concerned everything Howard told what was he say nothing Howard claimed conclusively
01:10:05
proved without a doubt that Stephen green or any of the others committed the Janabi murders Justin what felt defeated
01:10:13
at this point he didn't know what to do there was nothing in recruit training that taught soldiers what to do if their
01:10:20
buddies have raped and murdered a civilian family he couldn't confront any of the men Howard had implicated that
01:10:27
all just annoyed even his own superior seemed content to remain ignorant of the truth and forget about the whole thing
01:10:36
has what to Dover thoughts about the Janabi family murders upwards of 8,000 American and Iraqi soldiers were still
01:10:44
searching for missing privates Thomas Tucker and Christian menchaca 25 combat operations were conducted 12 villages
01:10:53
were cleared 11 airstrikes were ordered 400 manual flight hours were logged as well as an additional 200 flight hours
01:11:01
for unmanned drones 2908 days were encountered 17 of those were dismantled and twelve were detonated one coalition
01:11:09
force member died 12 others were wounded two insurgents were killed 36 suspects were the tanked yet still after all that
01:11:18
no crucial Intel was gathered pointing to the abductors for their location American media reported news of the
01:11:28
ambush and abduction David Babineaux was reported killed in action Thomas Tucker and Christian menchaca
01:11:34
with duty status whereabouts unknown their families anxiously waited for updates and prayed that would be found
01:11:41
alive reports initially suggested it was an act of retaliation for an American airstrike days earlier that killed
01:11:48
several militant group leaders however no one had come forward claiming responsibility for the ambush and
01:11:54
abduction and neither a ransom or an exchange had been requested by the kidnappers until finally on June 19
01:12:04
three days into the search the Mujahideen Shura Council of Iraq an organization consisting of several
01:12:11
insurgent groups opposing us and coalition forces published a press release claiming credit for the ambush
01:12:17
and abduction they bragged they to humiliated the strongest army in the world and stated quote we give good news
01:12:26
to the nation that we have carried God's verdict by slaughtering the two captured
01:12:30
Crusaders shortly before 8:00 p.m. on June 19 US troops conducted a nighttime sweep of an area almost 3 kilometres
01:12:41
northeast from the power plant where the blood-stained road drag marks and truck
01:12:45
had been found they spotted something up ahead on the secluded stretch of dirt road on display in the center of the
01:12:53
road with the bodies of Thomas Tucker and Christian menchaca there were near unrecognizable caked with blood and mud
01:13:01
both soldiers have been mutilated dismembered and burned one of the men had been beheaded
01:13:10
phears the bodies were booby-trapped by insurgents held off retrieval until daylight the following morning the
01:13:17
grueling way proved life-saving nied was discovered rigged between one of the victims legs and three more were planted
01:13:25
around the bodies it took hours to safely defuse the IEDs the memorial service was held for David Babineaux
01:13:34
Thomas Tucker and Christian menchaca in Iraq before their bodies were flying back home to the United States hundreds
01:13:41
of people attended the memorial services for each men on home soil held in their
01:13:46
respective hometowns they were all bestowed a Purple Heart awarded to military personnel wounded or killed on
01:13:52
active duty and a Bronze Star awarded for heroic service and achievement within a combat zone Justin what was
01:14:03
overwhelmed with anger he asked himself why need good honorable heroic soldiers like Babineaux Tucker and Ben charka
01:14:11
door while Stephen green a confessed to child rapist and killer got to go home and live out his life as a false
01:14:18
American hero what was tormented by the hopelessness Tucker and menchaca must have felt during their capture and
01:14:26
torture a feeling he related to how custom Janabi must have felt as US soldiers marched into his home and
01:14:32
against slaughtering his wife and daughters the added realization that both Cortez and Spillman attended and
01:14:39
investigated the Janabi crime scene with sergeant you Raby knowing full well what
01:14:44
happened there met Justin what feel sick what was compelled to seek justice for the Janabi family but struggled with the
01:14:53
fear of going against the squadmates as well as his superiors sergeant you rabies complete disregard of the matter
01:14:59
told what that he would rather Berry's head in this hand pushing him Byrne investigation was a dead end
01:15:05
Huw ray B had made it clear that was over as far as he was concerned that June naught the phone rang in the what
01:15:13
family home in South Carolina Rick white answered the satellite phone link was clear though somewhat delayed when his
01:15:21
son's voice came through the savor sanding obviously distraught Justin what asked his father if you knew
01:15:29
something bad about your brothers would you come forward an Army veteran himself
01:15:35
ricky knew when he son said brothers he was referring to his fellow soldiers Rick what pressed his son for more
01:15:44
information but justin remained ambiguous i really shouldn't say but it's bad beyond anything you could
01:15:50
imagine rick what greatly honored and respected the bond of loyalty between soldiers
01:15:56
however he could tell his son was carrying a great burden perhaps more important than that bond honor and
01:16:03
loyalty Rick told his son to follow his conscience he shouldn't let loyalty to his men get in the way of doing what was
01:16:10
right On June 20 2006 Justin what approached the military mental health counselor the
01:16:20
only person he knew would be obligated to take his statements to investigators after a deep slow breath he told them
01:16:28
everything in you an internal military investigation commenced immediately due to the sensitivity of the case it was
01:16:41
treated with utmost confidentiality many soldiers suspected an investigation was
01:16:46
happening but few had any idea what it was all about each of the soldiers who had been at traffic control point two on
01:16:54
the date of the crime were brought in for questioning with the exception of Stephen green who is back in the States
01:17:00
and no longer under military legal jurisdiction all of the soldiers interviewed Paul Cortez James Barca
01:17:07
Jesse Spillman Brian Howard and Anthony URI be initially denied everything Justin what had asserted
01:17:14
so the investigative spotlight was then put on just than what he was immediately
01:17:19
railroaded caught a liar threatened to be charged with making false statements and perjury the
01:17:26
interrogations of what were relentless almost as though he was the bad guy with no evidence to prove his claims it was
01:17:34
his word against the five other soldiers involved and they were determined to remain tight-lipped Justin what knew he
01:17:43
was being intimidated to stay quiet but despite their hardest efforts to derail him what stuck to his guns until finally
01:17:53
one of the five soldiers cracked there was 21-year old private Jesse Spellman who was the first to acknowledge what
01:18:00
really happened at first he deliberately left out facts to avoid implicating himself but through his revelations each
01:18:08
of the men involved began opening up to tell their version of events as the investigation carried on their candid
01:18:16
statements stitched together a chilling portrait of what exactly happened on March 12 2006
01:18:25
in the early morning of March 12 2006 after their routine roadside IEDs sweep Paul Cortez James Barker and Stephen
01:18:34
green were in the courtyard at the rear of traffic control point two Barker was hitting golf balls over the fence line
01:18:41
as the others watched he remarked that he was going to waste a couple of dudes on his next guard shift Cortez who is in
01:18:49
charge of the traffic control point warned him not to as they didn't want to get in trouble for it Barker then
01:18:56
exclaimed he had a better idea his desire was to quote [ __ ] an Iraqi [ __ ] the comment spurred a conversation
01:19:06
between the three soldiers that carried on into a plan they plotted throughout the morning Barker already had a target
01:19:13
in mind the girl in the farmhouse nearby he didn't know her name but had seen her
01:19:20
almost daily outside in the garden what about witnesses one of the soldiers are asked answering this question earned
01:19:30
Stephen green his role in the plan Barkin new Green was itching to kill Iraqis when asked if he was willing to
01:19:38
take care of any witnesses Green agreed he wouldn't leave anyone alive Barker and Cortez had both performed to
01:19:48
retain searches of the Janabi property before they knew the father legally owned an ak-47 assault rifle that he
01:19:55
kept in the bedroom they described the layout of the house the green specifically where he could
01:20:01
find to the bedroom and rifle Greene was told to order the family to get on the ground and lay on their stomachs when
01:20:09
they went down Green would put pillows over their heads and shoot each of them one by one through the pillow at
01:20:15
point-blank range Cortez pulled rank and stated he would be the first one to rape the older girl
01:20:23
by now Barker and Green were getting increasingly invested in the idea but all of a sudden Cortez came to his
01:20:31
senses and pulled the plug telling the others this is crazy [ __ ] this there's no way we're doing
01:20:37
this [ __ ] and the topic was dropped for a wall the day then played out exactly
01:20:48
as Brian Howard had described to Justin what private Seth skele was on guard duty alone in the Humvee Brian Howard
01:20:56
was inside listening to music and Cortez Baca green and Spillman were out back getting drunk and playing cards and they
01:21:05
are all too into their drinking session Cortez who had originally shut down the plan of rape and murder suddenly stood
01:21:12
up and said [ __ ] it we are going to do this the plan was finalized Cortez embarked I would take the oldest
01:21:21
daughter and green would kill the family this was actually the first time Jessi Spillman heard what horrors his fellow
01:21:30
soldiers were hatching when they asked if he wanted in he said he was down the group got changed out of their military
01:21:39
clothes their aim was to look like insurgents in case they were spotted by any witnesses Barker and Cortes changed
01:21:46
into their ninja suits Green removed to the US military insignias on his uniform
01:21:52
they covered their faces and arm to themselves Cortez gave Howard who is not participating in the crime a radio to
01:22:00
keep in touch [Music] Cortez Barker green and Spillman then left traffic control point two after
01:22:10
squeezing through a gap in the wire fence surrounding the checkpoint they entered a big field blocked in by walls
01:22:15
and another chain-link fence using a multi-tool knife Barker cut a gap through this second fence and the group
01:22:23
squeezed through one after the other remaining in formation they quickly followed a path past an abandoned
01:22:31
property until they reached another chain-link fence this one already had a cut through it so the soldiers just
01:22:37
pulled it open and climbed through they marched through a grassy field shaded with palm trees until they reached their
01:22:45
target location the small tan colored concrete farmhouse at the end of a dirt driveway specialist promotable Paul
01:22:56
Cortez quote the father and the little girl was outside right by the front door in front of their car
01:23:04
Spillman had kind of pushed the little girl kind of taking her inside and then Green had grabbed the father on the time
01:23:12
I got inside Green had already had them all inside the room and was pushing the older daughter after me and Barker me
01:23:20
and Barker took her toward the back wall I think she was hyperventilating she was just breathing real hard kind of
01:23:27
scared probably I threw her to the ground by her hair I tore off her little silk wait Barker was holding her hands
01:23:37
down up above her head end quote Grainne entered the bedroom where he'd forced to Qasim [ __ ] Rhea and her deal
01:23:47
before shutting and locking the door behind him private first class Jessi Spillman quote the bedroom door shut
01:23:56
then I went back to the front foyer area looking at again just pulling security I
01:24:02
heard several gunshots coming from the bedroom it kind of took me by surprise so I ran over to the door I started
01:24:10
beating on the door and the door was locked just a few seconds went by into then
01:24:15
grain kind of opened up the door just cracked it open a little bit I asked him is everything all right is everything
01:24:22
fine and he was like yeah everything's fallen any kind of opened at the door the rest of the way and are saying the
01:24:30
older female on the ground and the older male in the corner and the ground as well it appeared like they were both
01:24:37
dead I seen a shotgun shell on the ground it didn't look like it was expended it was
01:24:43
not fired and I pointed that out Green picked it up he had a shotgun I remember saying at that time he put the show back
01:24:52
in the shotgun and kind of kept looking around on the ground looking for something that's when I kind of backed
01:24:58
up from the doorway a little bit and I peered into the living room and that's when I was saying Cortez and Barker
01:25:04
raping the female in thank Green comes out of the bedroom enters the living room the four of us are in the living
01:25:12
room any kind of announces just everybody or killed them and they're all dead and two then the other two Barker
01:25:22
and Cortez get up and they're finished and they leaved the female laying on the ground at that point Green was holding
01:25:29
an ak-47 and he leans it up against the wall and then he goes over after Green was done he gets up and kind of pulls
01:25:39
his pants back up went over to where he placed the ak-47 against the wall walked
01:25:45
back over to the young lady there and I remember him putting a pillow over her face and then he put the ak-47 up to
01:25:54
the pillow and then fired probably five or six times I walked over to the body of the young female my back was towards
01:26:05
everybody in the living room so I don't know who was in there and I knelt down beside her and who lifted up her shirt I
01:26:13
touched her breasts I really can't tell you why I really don't know the reason why I did it
01:26:21
end quote [Music] at this point Cortez was frenzied and started telling everybody that they had
01:26:33
to get out of there Barker entered the kitchen and returned holding a glass lamp he poured the
01:26:39
kerosene in the lamp over itby his body they used Spillman cigarette lighter to set the liquid alight Spillman collected
01:26:47
bags of clothes from the corner of the room and put them on top of a beers body to feed the flames Greene pulled the
01:26:55
hose of a propane bottle in the kitchen the four soldiers then quickly fled the property and ran back the traffic
01:27:01
control point to when they got back they stripped off their clothes and burnt them Cortese
01:27:13
ordered Spillman to take the ak-47 Greene had brought back from the Janabi property and throw it into a nearby
01:27:19
canal Green was hyper energetic bouncing around exclaiming what they just did was awesome that around 5:00 p.m. that
01:27:30
afternoon they overheard a report on the radio from traffic control point one of
01:27:34
the murder and rape when sergeant Anthony Arabia arrived to traffic control point two to pick up Cortez and
01:27:41
Spillman for his patrol of the scene he had no idea the soldiers were responsible Cortez recalled returning to
01:27:50
the crime scene when he first saw what Greene had done in the bedroom and made him physically sick and he had the rush
01:27:57
outside to vomit later when you Ray be found the shotgun shell in the bedroom Cortez realized Greene had accidentally
01:28:05
left it behind he pocketed the show and destroyed it later that evening later that same night Cortez Barker Greene
01:28:16
Spillman and Howard were standing under the stars staring into the flames of the
01:28:20
fire together privates Keller the other soldier at traffic control point two was back on
01:28:26
duty in the Humvee skele had no knowledge and no involvement in the planning orchestration or covering up of
01:28:33
the crime while staring into the flames Cortez told the others to keep quiet about everything to keep it to
01:28:41
themselves Greene told the others if had ever got out just to blame everything on
01:28:47
him from that day onwards none of the men involved spoke of the crime eventually that were rotated out from
01:28:56
traffic control point to Spillman ran into green months later in May at the Forward Operating Base at that stage
01:29:04
Steven green was processing through his discharge and preparing to go back to the United States they played video
01:29:11
games together and at no point did they mention the murders after their confessions peach of the soldiers were
01:29:21
stripped of their weapons and placed under arrest the entire situation was kept from the
01:29:26
public considering the implications if word got out what US soldiers did to an Iraqi civilian family it was believed to
01:29:35
be safer for everyone to handle the situation internally on June 26 Justin what logged into his MySpace page he'd
01:29:45
often post status updates on his time in Iraq for friends and family back home on
01:29:51
that day he posted an obscure message hinting at his frustration know what he perceived was a military cover-up quote
01:29:59
nobody would know that I brought justice to a murdered family on June 30 Ryan Lenz a war correspondent for
01:30:10
Associated Press was tailing a unit north of Baghdad he started hearing rumors amongst troops about a murder
01:30:17
investigation involving American military personnel prying around for more details he interviewed several
01:30:25
anonymous sources who were directly involved in the investigation and had intimate knowledge of the case
01:30:31
on July 1 Ryan Lenz published a comprehensive story on the crime titled gos may have planned Iraq rape slangs
01:30:41
immediately the story became an international scandal on July 10 2006 21 days after the mutilated bodies of us
01:30:52
privates Thomas Tucker and Christian Mann charka were found the Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq released a video
01:30:58
online the four minute and thirty nine second video begins with a brief introduction featuring the image and
01:31:06
voice of a sama bin Laden the leader of terrorist organization al Qaeda the video cuts to rough grainy handheld
01:31:14
footage the camera hovers over the bodies of the two soldiers they laid close to each other as insurgents move
01:31:22
in and out of shot pointing and poking a statement was released with the video quote here is a film on the remains of
01:31:32
the bodies of the two American soldiers kidnapped near use of fear we are showing it to avenge our sister who was
01:31:39
dishonored by a soldier belonging to the same brigade as these two soldiers [Music]
01:31:48
the media sifted through the history of members of Bravo Company in Iraq in a frenzied search for more information
01:31:55
just then what's myspace profile was found and the message he posted on June 26 nobody will know that I brought
01:32:02
justice to a murdered family was published in the media singling him out as the crimes whistleblower what was
01:32:11
warned of possible threats made by other members of his unit and a lived in constant fear of retribution for turning
01:32:17
in his squad mates he was moved from Bravo Company to Charlie Company in an attempt to create some distance between
01:32:24
himself and to those being investigated Stephen greens time back in the United States after Iraq was hollow and
01:32:32
directionless he spent his time driving around aimlessly with a pistol and rifle
01:32:36
in his car Green had gone back to old vices drinking and drugs when he narrated or higher he would reveal to
01:32:45
friends the horrors he had witnessed in Iraq at one point mentioning witnessing a rape committed by American soldiers
01:32:52
however when he sobered up he told them to forget about what he said in early July Stephen green attended the funeral
01:33:02
for David Babineaux held at the Arlington National Cemetery a US military cemetery in Virginia two
01:33:09
hundred people were in attendance including Babineaux his family and extended family old school friend's wife
01:33:16
and children as well as a large contingent of American military members afterwards green visited his grandmother
01:33:24
in North Carolina it was there that FBI agents stormed the house arresting green
01:33:32
as green was technically a civilian at the time of his arrest his trial was to be held before a civilian court the
01:33:39
other perpetrators all still active duty soldiers faced military court Paul Cortez James Barca Jesse Spellman and
01:33:50
Brian Howard had multiple charges to their names including housebreaking with intent to rape conspiracy to commit rape
01:33:57
rape four counts of murder and arson specialist promotable Paul Cortez who greenlit the rape claimed he didn't
01:34:06
realize the family would actually be killed on january 22 2007 Cortez pleaded guilty in his court-martial and wept as
01:34:16
he apologized for the crimes offering no explanation as to why he took part Paul
01:34:22
Cortez was sentenced to 100 years in prison specialist James Barca who pitched the
01:34:31
idea of the rape accepted responsibility for his actions quote I want the people
01:34:37
of Iraq to know that I did not go there to do the terrible things I did I do not
01:34:42
ask anyone to forgive me to live there to survive there I became angry and mean I loved my friends my fellow soldiers
01:34:51
and my leaders but I began to hate everyone else in Iraq on November 15 2006 Barker pleaded
01:35:01
guilty in his court-martial and showed a no emotion when he was sentenced to 90 years in prison private first class
01:35:10
Jesse Spillman whose participation in the crime was as the group's lookout accepted that his passive involvement
01:35:16
made him just as culpable as the others quote I don't really blame my chain of command I don't really blame anybody I
01:35:26
could have stopped it I take responsibility for my actions I thought about it that night and I decided not to
01:35:34
report it for a couple of different reasons I mean you go over there in the wartime environment and we're looking
01:35:41
out for each other and I just didn't feel like telling on the people that I served with and at the same time I might
01:35:48
end up like them too you know if I go tell the command somebody might silence me or something
01:35:55
like that on August 3rd 2007 Spillman pleaded guilty in his court-martial and was
01:36:05
sentenced to 110 years Spillman received a larger sentence than the others as he didn't own up to the
01:36:11
full extent of his knowledge of the crime he claimed he didn't know what the plan was when they went to the Janabi
01:36:17
house and when he found out he was too scared and do anything about it he also interfered with a beers body
01:36:24
after she was murdered as a part of play deals Cortez Barker and Spillman avoided
01:36:32
the death penalty and had been on parole periods lowered to 10 10 and 20 years respectively on the condition that gave
01:36:39
evidence at each other's court proceedings private first class Brian Howard who ever heard the others
01:36:47
planning the crime but didn't participate stated quote if I could go back I would not have let it happen in
01:36:54
the first place but definitely would have told somebody howard was sentenced to 27 months for obstruction of justice
01:37:03
and being an accessory after the fact he was released after 17 months for good behavior sergeant Anthony Arabia who
01:37:14
didn't report Greene's confession of murder was charged with obstructing the investigation specifically dereliction
01:37:20
of duty into making a false statement he was granted immunity from prosecution for his testimony in the trials of the
01:37:26
others each of the soldiers involved were dishonorably discharged from the United States military except for
01:37:34
sergeant Anthony Uribe who was given a less than honorable discharge on April 27 2009 Stephen green civilian trial
01:37:45
began he pleaded not guilty but never denied his involvement in the crime his defense team detailed what life was
01:37:54
really like in Iraq for US soldiers emphasizing the harsh and stressful wartime conditions the lack of
01:38:00
leadership and the little help troops received from the army to deal with the loss of friends they suggested the Army
01:38:08
should have removed grain from frontline duty and provided him with more intensive mental health care when it was
01:38:13
clear he wasn't coping under the pressure a psychiatrist the grains trawl testified that his medical treatment in
01:38:22
Iraq didn't meet the acceptable standard of care soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder in Iraq who would
01:38:29
normally have been removed from the battlefield were retained to satisfy the need for combat troops a 2008 MRI scan
01:38:38
of Greene's brain showed he had been suffering from brain damage and the people with his kind of brain injury
01:38:43
often experienced major difficulties checking impulses described as quote they won't have the brakes and they'll
01:38:51
be easily aroused into action relatives of the Janabi family testified at Green's trial a cousin testified how
01:39:01
they believed the Americans when they said the crime had been committed by insurgents quote I thought it had to be
01:39:08
terrorists this was a massacre not a crawlin I thought no American would do such a thing other relatives
01:39:17
day tired how [ __ ] ryojun are be disclosed to them on March 10 she had caught American soldiers leering at her
01:39:23
daughter fourteen-year-old ABI and giving her unwanted attention as she worked outside
01:39:28
in the garden that would point to her daughter give her a thumbs up and say very good very good
01:39:35
this behavior concerned effec we owe so much she made plans for B to spend the night of March 11 sleeping at her
01:39:42
uncle's house but the same relatives reassured FAC RIA and told her that the Americans would not do such a thing
01:39:49
ABI did not take up the offer to stay at her uncle's that night and it was the following day when she and her family
01:39:56
were killed abby's harassment by the offenders was further substantiated by her brother
01:40:02
Mohamed Janabi testified as Steve and grains trawl that he recalled when the American soldiers were searching their
01:40:08
house and one of them ran his index finger down a beers cheek an action that terrified her Mohammed also revealed
01:40:17
that neither he or his younger brother Ahmed had any idea when they came home from school on March 12 2006 and saw the
01:40:24
smoke coming from their family home that it was coming from their sisters body both Janabi brother stopped attending
01:40:34
school after the murders as they no longer had the mood to study youngest son Ahmed stated he wanted to grow up to
01:40:41
be a policeman quote so I can protect myself and other people and poor people [Music]
01:40:50
Stephen greens trial last the day pays each of the soldiers involved in the crime testified explaining in grim
01:40:58
detail of the planning orchestration and to cover-up of the murders on May 7 2009
01:41:04
a federal jury convicted Stephen green of rape and murder Greene was spared the death penalty as the jury of nine men
01:41:12
and three women could not come to a unanimous decision as a result Greene was sentenced to life without parole
01:41:20
Greene appealed his convictions stating he should have faced a military trial not a civilian trial he lost his appeal
01:41:29
in August 2011 as anticipated violence in Iraq picked up once the truth of the Janabi killers was publicly revealed
01:41:41
however some Iraqis understood the criminals exist - regardless of culture and didn't hold the United States
01:41:48
accountable for the actions of the few who were responsible Iraq's government argued that H of the
01:41:55
soldiers trial should have been held in an Iraqi Court some believe green especially should have been put to death
01:42:02
in the place where he committed his crime a relative of the Janabi family stated quote imagine the situation
01:42:09
reversed if a non-american had done this crime the world would be up in arms and
01:42:14
surely he would have been executed [Music] Stephen green issued a public apology
01:42:21
for his crimes that he personally read during his trial he stated quote before I was in the Army I never thought I
01:42:30
would kill anyone and even after I was in the Army but before I went to Iraq I never thought I would intentionally kill
01:42:36
a civilian when I was in Iraq something happened to me that I can only explain by saying that I lost my mind at some
01:42:45
point while I was in Iraq why stop seeing Iraqis as good and bad as men women and children I started seeing them
01:42:52
all as one and evil and the less than human when that happened any natural learned or religious morality that
01:43:01
normally would have stopped this was gone life in prison wasn't easy for Steven green due to the nature of his crime and
01:43:11
the fact that involved children he was often targeted for attacks by other inmates and was often placed in
01:43:17
protective segregation he described prison as a lonely existence On February 13 2014 an
01:43:26
unresponsive Steven green was found hanging in his prison cell two days later he was confirmed that dead
01:43:35
Steven greens lawyer said their greens death quote adds another tragedy to a long list of tragedies that already
01:43:42
existed in this case it's another indication of how horrific this case had been for everyone involved
01:43:51
Justin what eventually sought a medical discharge from the military in 2007 due to his diagnosed post-traumatic stress
01:43:59
disorder a traumatic brain injury and annoy a day related stomach injury he credited his ability to come forward and
01:44:07
expose his fellow troops by the fact that he unlocked the perpetrators of the Janabi killings never demonized his
01:44:14
enemy Justin what understood that in war nobody thinks they are the bad guy and both sides perceived themselves as the
01:44:22
righteous one what was their nightmare just as much they were his evil in each other's eyes
01:44:34
since returning back to the United States he's been labeled both a hero and a traitor letters and emails from the
01:44:42
public of varied some praised his bravery and integrity whilst others mocked his disloyalty and allegiance to
01:44:48
his home country his father Ric watt whose encouragement propelled Justin to come forward his proud of his son quote
01:44:57
I'm proud of him for coming forward it took moral courage on an age that the content of his character by 2009
01:45:08
discussions were had amongst us political circles leading to an agreement that all US combat brigades
01:45:15
would be removed from Iraq by the end of August 2010 on August 18 2010 the final US military
01:45:24
combat troops were reported to have crossed Iraq southeastern border into the country of Kuwait the official
01:45:31
closure to Operation Iraqi Freedom was announced on August 31 2010 on the night of March 17 2003 the President of the
01:45:44
United States George W Bush stood alone before a single camera in the cross Hall
01:45:49
of the White House in Washington DC standing before the American flag in a crisp suit entire the president was
01:45:57
stoic as he began a 13 minute speech broadcast around the world looking deep into the camera President Bush gave a
01:46:05
powerful ultimatum he demanded President Saddam Hussein leave Iraq if Hussein refused the order the full might of the
01:46:14
United States military and its allies would enter Iraq and remove him by force he then added many Iraqis can hear me
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tonight in a translated radio broadcast and I have a message for them if we must
01:46:30
begin a military campaign it will be directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you as
01:46:39
our coalition takes away their power we will deliver the food and medicine you need we will tear down the apparatus of
01:46:48
terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free in a free Iraq there will be no more wars
01:46:57
of aggression against your neighbors no more poison factories no more executions
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of dissidents no more torture chambers and rape drums the tyrant will soon be gone the day of
01:47:11
your liberation is near [Music]