Two Stories, One Soldier

OK, the good news story first:

Coalition forces keep streets of Iraq safe

By Spc. George Welcome

YUSUFIYAH, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 9, 2005) – Soldiers from Task Force Baghdad, alongside Iraqi forces, constantly search the streets and alleyways of Baghdad and surrounding communities for weapons, insurgents and anti-coalition propaganda. The searches are thorough, yet the Soldiers still respect people's rights and property.

“I feel that our patrols make a difference,” said Sgt. Kenneth Casica. “I guess the patrols make the insurgents nervous because they know…we'll push them out of this area to make the people feel safe.”


Pfc. Steven Green, B Co. 1-502 prepares to blast a lock off the gate of an abandoned home during a search of homes in Mullah Fayed on Dec. 2.
Spc. George Welcome

Well, sounds good, huh? The Soldier in the picture looks alert and strong. Good guy, huh?

Maybe not:

Ex-GI Charged in Federal Court With Murder, Rape in Death of Iraqi Woman

Monday, July 03, 2006; AP

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal prosecutors accused a former U.S. soldier Monday of raping and murdering a young Iraqi woman and gunning down her family, all of whose bodies were found burned in an apparent cover-up.

Steven D. Green, a 21-year-old former Army private first class who was recently discharged because of a "personality disorder," appeared in a federal magistrate's courtroom in Charlotte Monday.

Granted, Mr. Green is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And he'll have his day in court.

What is my point in showing you all this? Only that the false blog post title you read here stinks. The spin in that post would have you believe that supporting the war and/or the current administration means that you want all negative stories buried and only positive ones told. Or, put another way, "the truth" (i.e. information about secret government programs to capture terrorists and their money) should be printed and often, meanwhile Army public affairs personnel are pulling out their hair because they published a picture in December 2005 of a guy who was later chaptered out of the Army for a personality disorder and then charged with murder and rape in June 2006. [sarcasm] Those stupid PAO guys... they should have known that Green would be accused of murder/rape six months later and not used his photo in a press release. THE HUMANITY!!!! [/sarcasm]

So, while I understand the man's bitterness towards the Army, I find it shameful how he appears to convict the man before a trial and how he appears to be gleeful in the way Green's current situation is juxtaposed against the PAO story using his picture. The way Kevin puts it, "the truth" (i.e. Army PAO used a picture of a Soldier who was later accused of a crime and then didn't announce it to the world) thankfully is out there because of a blog. Too bad he shies away from the truth in his.

Oh, by the way, there are folks in the Army that commit crimes. Yeah, I know that surprises you. "Aren't Soldiers trained to be perfect?" you ask. Sure, but, in the end, we are still just people. Imperfect as always. Shucks, huh? The good news is that when a Soldier commits a crime, he or she is likely to be tried and if found guilty, convicted. Not on Kevin's blog, though. Just to be accused is enough conviction for him. Oh, and it's nice in that it gives him another chance to bash the Army.

You just keep putting out those good news stories, PAO folks. Lord knows there are enough other folks out there ready and excited to tell the bad news stories. And don't loose any sleep over the fact that an old photo is dredged up when a Soldier in that photo is arrested... unless you're psychic!