Seven years ago two unarmed Iraqi brothers herded cattle in a grove where a US army reconnaissance team was hidden. Michael Barbera, then a staff sergeant, took a knee, leveled his rifle and killed them in cold blood. The first boy was shot in the back, prosecutor Captain Ben Hillner, told an investigating officer considering whether Barbera should face a court martial for the March 2007 slayings. The second boy was shot in the chest as he raised his hands in the air. Barbera, 31 and now a sergeant first-class based at Alaskas Joint Base Elmendorff-Richardson, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder in a case that raised concerns about a possible cover-up. Two years after the murders, army criminal investigators looked into the case, but commanders decided to give Barbera a letter of reprimand instead of a court martial. It was only after a Pittsburgh newspaper, The Tribune-Review, published an investigation about the matter in 2012 that the army took another look. The story prompted calls from Congress for the army to review the matter.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 17:55:43 +0000
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