Daily Kos

Were two officers fragged in Iraq?

by Stoy

Fri Jun 17, 2005 at 08:27:37 AM PDT

From the BBC:


US officers 'murdered by soldier'

A US soldier serving in Iraq has been charged with murdering two of his own officers whose deaths in an explosion were initially blamed on rebels.

Capt Phillip T Esposito and 1st Lt Louis E Allen were said to have been killed in a mortar attack near the town of Tikrit on 7 June.

However, the military has since charged Sgt Alberto Martinez with the two deaths in his National Guard unit.

The article reports that both men were popular and well liked by the people under their command.  So, could this be a fragging, or simply a case of a soldier who came unhinged?  

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  •  Coming Unhinged (none / 0)

    "Sgt, I order you to get your ass into that humvee, I don't give a damn if it's armored or not, and drive around Tikrit scoping for roadside IEDs."

    The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

    by easong on Fri Jun 17, 2005 at 08:43:08 AM PDT

  •  What's the difference? (none / 1)

    So, could this be a fragging, or simply a case of a soldier who came unhinged?

    Pretty much the same thing, aren't they?

    Yes, We Can

    by litho on Fri Jun 17, 2005 at 08:48:45 AM PDT

    •  I would say the difference is (none / 0)

      between specifically trying to elimnate commanders because a soldier and maybe others in his/her unit believe their officers' leadership will get people in the unit killed and a lone soldier killing the officers because he/she is angry, depressed, etc and just can't handle it anymore.  The difference is in intent, between calculation and desperation.

      Investigators don't yet know what kind of explosive device killed the two men.  We don't know if the Sgt. had help from others in his unit.

      ePluribus Media - Truth be told.

      by Stoy on Fri Jun 17, 2005 at 09:19:08 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Fragging... (none / 0)

      Nope. Classic fragging is a rational decision, typically by a group of grunts, to rid yourself of a low level c.o. who is perceived to be needlessly putting lives at risk (usually a lieutenant or captain). Think Douglas Niedermayer.

      This very well could be a one-off by a distubed individual, rather than a case of  "lets roll the live fragmentation grenade into the officer's  hooch and see what comes out, boys."

      DFooK

      "Impeach the Cheerleader, save the world!"

      by deepfish on Fri Jun 17, 2005 at 09:20:47 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  This is a sign of incipient mutiny. (none / 0)

    The war will have to wind down now. The soldiers have begun to realize they are being asked to die for nothing.

    I thought it would happen when the overall US casualty table reached 20,000. I think it's about 15,000 right now.

    "It's a race to decide who the British goverment will follow blindly for the next 4 years" Kennedy/Kerry '08

    by Salo on Fri Jun 17, 2005 at 08:51:10 AM PDT

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