Steven Dale Green, a convicted US war criminal responsible for raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her family, stated in a chilling interview before his death that he “didn’t think of Iraqis as humans.”

Green spoke about how war’s terrors and his experiences in Iraq dehumanized him, leading him to commit heinous acts before ultimately taking his life in 2014.

After returning to the US, Green discussed the profound, devastating impact of war on individuals, including the trauma and psychological consequences faced by soldiers.

The 101st Airborne soldier explained that exposure to extreme war zone violence led him to stop viewing Iraqi civilians as humans.

Green partially attributed his crimes to his time in Iraq’s notoriously violent “Triangle of Death,” where two of his sergeants were killed.

Their deaths “messed me up real bad,” Green admitted. This deepened his hatred towards Iraqis, whom soldiers frequently referred to using a derogatory term. Green described his mental state at the time as “crazy” and claimed he didn’t expect to live.

He also mentioned the Army’s lack of leadership and support, saying he and fellow soldiers stationed at a Baghdad checkpoint felt abandoned, resorting to alcohol and drugs.

Green acknowledged his “altered state of mind” and admitted he didn’t think about the future or care about consequences.

The Mahmudiyah Killings

One day, Green and four other soldiers—James Barker, Paul Cortez, Jesse Spielman, and Bryan Howard—visited an Iraqi family’s home in Yusufiya, near Mahmudiyah, approximately 20 miles south of Baghdad.

The soldiers, who were intoxicated and disguised in civilian clothes, intended to rape the family’s teenage daughter.

The soldiers took turns raping 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi. Following the assault, Green shot and killed Abeer, her parents, and her six-year-old sister.

They then attempted to cover up their crime by setting the house on fire and discarding a gun in a canal.

The brutal crime sparked outrage in Iraq and globally, prompting questions about the behavior of US troops in the Iraq War.

Green was discharged from the army two weeks later due to a personality disorder and returned to the US as a civilian.

The Aftermath

Green emphasized that his actions were a result of his circumstances in a war zone but did not seek sympathy or attempt to justify his actions.

He was arrested after attending another soldier’s funeral and was ultimately convicted of rape and murder in 2011.

Four other active-duty soldiers were charged with the same crime, and Green’s lawyers sought a gag order to prevent further media coverage.

A federal judge denied the request, and Green was found guilty, sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Green apologized to the Iraqi family, saying he was “truly sorry” for his actions.

He acknowledged that he helped destroy a family and took the lives of four fellow human beings, expressing his remorse and inability to undo the harm he had caused.