by David Safier
I just read a book review in the Sunday NY Times: BLACK HEARTS: One Platoon’s Descent Into Madness in Iraq’s Triangle of Death. It's about the horrific "murder of an entire Iraqi family in the village of Yusufiya" by 4 soldiers in Bravo Company.
Here's a description of the ringleader of the soldiers responsible for the murders, Steven Green.
Pvt. Steven Green from Midland, Tex., “a petulant loner and a hard-drinking druggie” according to Newsweek, who was afflicted by a “seething, seemingly random rage.” Despite Green’s repeated troubles with the law, he had easily enlisted in an Army hurting for recruits and breezed through basic training. Before his deployment, Green made no secret of his bloodlust, reportedly telling one neighbor, “I’m gonna go over there and kill ’em all.”
Green, repeatedly in trouble with the law and open about his penchant for violence, "easily enlisted" in the army.
At the same time as the Army overlooks the huge, blood-red danger signs from Green and others like him, the Army won't let gay men and women enlist if they are open about their sexual orientations, because the Army believes openly gay soldiers pose a danger to the military.