Sunday, March 16, 2008 | News, In this Issue...
SP In cold blood

In February, a Georgia soldier was found not guilty of murdering an Iraqi civilian. But his case raises questions about following illegal orders

 Eventually, the Army seemed to answer the latter question in the negative. The investigators looking into the June 22 murder grew confident of Shore’s innocence, recommending that the charges against Shore be reduced dramatically from third-degree murder to lesser charges, like assault.

 But the charges were not reduced. Shore was court-martialed for third-degree murder, ostensibly at the direction of Maj. Gen. Benjamin “Randy” Mixon, the head of Corrales and Shore’s division, the 25th Infantry.

 Georgia State Sen. John Douglas, who represents the district where Brian Shore lives, became involved in the case after news of the charges against Christopher Shore became public. He met with Brian Shore and offered to hold an inquiry into the matter in the Georgia legislature. He also swung a pair of tickets to the Georgia-Kentucky game for Christopher Shore when he was home on leave last fall.

 Douglas finds himself in a unique position. Not only is he the Shores’ state senator, he also attended North Georgia College with Gen. Mixon, the 25th Infantry commander who refused to allow charges against Shore to be reduced.

“He was a very rigid and straight-laced person,” Douglas says of his fellow North Georgia alumnus. “There didn’t appear to be any gray area with him.”

 Nonetheless, Sen. Douglas’ theory about why Shore was court-martialed on charges of third-degree murder reaches beyond Mixon.

 “It seems like we’re taking even the slightest cases and blowing them out of proportion just to satisfy those opposed to the war and the Iraqi government.” – State Sen. John Douglas

 “It seems like we’re taking even the slightest cases and blowing them out of proportion just to satisfy those opposed to the war and the Iraqi government,” he says.

Brian Shore agrees.

 “I was mad they could do that to him,” Shore says of the charges against his son. “He didn’t even hit the man. This is war we’re talking about.”

THE WRECKING BALL


And in war, as Clausewitz wrote, the forces of violence and chaos are held in check by a chain of command and a rational policy. The command, however, may have failed to keep Corrales chained to policy, or even encouraged his brutishness. He was openly referred to by some soldiers as the “wrecking ball” of Lt. Col. Michael Browder, who was never charged in relation to the death of the civilian in Kirkuk, but who has been relieved of his duty as commander of the battalion.

Ultimately, the military jury agreed with the Army investigators’ assessment, and Shore was convicted on Feb. 20 at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii of the lesser charge of aggravated assault. The prosecution sought three years in prison and a dishonorable discharge, but he instead received a written reprimand, a $400 reduction in his monthly pay and four months in the brig.

Shore’s fellow platoon members who are stationed back at the base in Hawaii don’t seem inclined to forget him. Most have become certified for specialized prisoner escort so they can transport Shore anytime he leaves the brig, rather than allowing an MP to do it.

Corrales will go on trial April 22 for premeditated murder, wrongfully soliciting another soldier to shoot the Iraqi man, and wrongfully impeding the investigation by planting an AK-47 rifle near the victim. He faces life in prison without parole.

Shore, who joined the army shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, hasn’t changed his plans for a military career.

“He plans on staying in,” says Brian Shore, adding that he recognizes a change in his son, though he’s not sure if it developed before or after the deadly incident last summer. “You can see a bit of difference in him; he’s more mature,” he says. “But he’s still my son.” SP