Current WMC Iraq Series Exclusive
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Under the War Crimes Act of 1996, which Congress passed overwhelmingly so that the U.S. could, under the Geneva Convention, prosecute North Vietnamese who tortured U.S. soldiers during the war in Vietnam, it is a federal crime for any U.S. national, whether military or civilian, to violate the Geneva Convention by engaging in murder, torture, or inhuman treatment. Significantly, the statute applies not only to those who carry out the acts, but also to those who order it, know about it, or fail to take steps to stop it. Yet no officers or military brass have been questioned for their gross failure to stop the crimes in Abeer’s home—let alone for any military policies that contributed to these abuses. This is not surprising in an administration that has demonstrated, time and again, its predilection for blaming a fall guy and refusing to hold accountable those higher up in authority. Family counselors and military mental health workers have long recognized the psychological trauma exhibited by veterans of Iraq—and that too little help is available for them. Only six counseling sessions are allowed for soldiers who are referred for service under the military’s One Source plan, an Employee Assistance Program that was created only after a string of domestic homicides occurred in 2002 at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, committed by soldiers who just returned from Afghanistan. Soldiers can also get counseling services through mental health clinics, but unlike the EAP sessions, mental health visits are noted on their military records—and can be used against them. For example, airborne soldiers cannot fly if they are being treated for depression, a career ender for troops in the 101st Airborne Battalion—to which the five soldiers involved in the rape and killing of Abeer and her family belonged. About 1.4 million soldiers, reservists and National Guard have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. So have several hundred thousand private contractors, such as truck drivers who must traverse roads laced with Improvised Explosive Devices. All are subject to the serious effects of post traumatic stress disorders and other mental health problems, yet the resources to help them and their families are too few. Even as politicians call for national probes into the lapses at Walter Reed Hospital in the medical treatment of returning soldiers, little mention is made of their mental health needs. If these veterans and private contractors don’t get treatment for their invisible wounds, all of society will suffer with them. At the end of his court martial, Sgt. Cortez apologized to brothers of Abeer Qassim Al-Janabi for turning them into orphans. His sentence for the capital war crimes he committed: 100 years, with possible parole in 10, minus his time served. For committing the gang rape of Abeer and four murders, he could be out in nine years. One can only hope that he receives the treatment he needs during his confinement before he rejoins the general population. Cortez paused to wipe his tears at several points during his testimony, becoming most emotional when he expressed his remorse for letting his fellow soldiers down. But one year after the war atrocities that took her young life with violence and terror, who weeps for Abeer? |
