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U.S. troops accused of killing Afghans for sport
Houston Chronicle ^ | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | CRAIG WHITLOCK -- Washington Post

Posted on 09/18/2010 7:33:50 PM PDT by Willie Green

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — The U.S. soldiers allegedly floated a plan as simple as it was savage: to randomly target and kill an Afghan civilian, and to get away with it.

For weeks, according to Army charging documents, rogue members of a platoon from the 5th Stryker Combat Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, hatched the idea. Then, one day last winter, a solitary Afghan man approached them in the village of La Mohammed Kalay. The "kill team" activated the plan.

One soldier created a ruse that they were under attack, tossing a grenade on the ground. Then others opened fire.

According to charging documents, the unprovoked, fatal attack on Jan. 15 was the start of a months-long shooting spree against Afghan civilians that resulted in some of the grisliest allegations against American soldiers since the U.S. invasion in 2001. Members of the platoon have been charged with dismembering and photographing corpses, as well as hoarding a skull and other human bones.

The subsequent investigation has raised accusations about whether the military ignored warnings that the out-of-control soldiers were committing atrocities. The father of one soldier said he repeatedly tried to alert the Army after his son told him about the first killing, only to be rebuffed.

Two more slayings would follow. Military documents allege that five members of the unit staged a total of three killings in Kandahar province between January and May. Seven other soldiers have been charged with crimes related to the case, including hashish use, attempts to impede the investigation and a retaliatory gang assault on a private who blew the whistle.

Army officials have not disclosed a motive for the killings and macabre behavior. Nor have they explained how the attacks could have persisted without attracting scrutiny. They declined to comment on the case beyond...

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; lies; warcrimes
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1 posted on 09/18/2010 7:33:52 PM PDT by Willie Green
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Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: Willie Green

accuse by whom, Congress?


3 posted on 09/18/2010 7:36:28 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand
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To: Willie Green
Hopefully, there is absolutely nothing to this.

But if there is, I will just say that when Abu Ghraib became news, the media pretty much thought that it was a complete indictment of George W. Bush. Any mistreatment of prisoners MUST have been the fault of the guy in the Oval Office. Now, (perhaps), we have civilians killed for sport. Well -- what did Obama know, and when did he know it?

4 posted on 09/18/2010 7:37:30 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Things will change after the revolution, but not before.)
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To: Willie Green

I’m starting to get the impression that a bunch of liberal commie dickweeds are now running our military. Hey America! How’s that hope and change workin’ for ya?


5 posted on 09/18/2010 7:38:08 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (This isn't going to be "another 1994"! It's another 1776!)
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To: Willie Green
If true the libs are going to judge anyone who serve and has served by the action of these few...


6 posted on 09/18/2010 7:38:39 PM PDT by darkwing104 (Lets get dangerous)
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To: Willie Green

Is this another Haditha non-massacre?


7 posted on 09/18/2010 7:40:43 PM PDT by eclecticEel (Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: 7/4/1776 - 3/21/2010)
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To: Willie Green

As though AQ has never engaged in recreational bombing.


8 posted on 09/18/2010 7:42:33 PM PDT by lightman (Adjutorium nostrum (+) in nomine Domini)
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To: Willie Green
I was wondering when these attacks would begin. It looks like the commies must see that their anointed one is going to go down in flames so either there's nothing to lose at this point or maybe they believe that their favorite tactic of demonizing the military/conservatives may help their marxist brethren in November.

In any case, I hope these charges are bogus but if true I have no doubt the military will properly police their own ranks.

9 posted on 09/18/2010 7:44:59 PM PDT by Pox (Good Night. I expect more respect tomorrow.)
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To: lightman

Houston, we have a problem and it’s call the enemy within, the lamestream media.


10 posted on 09/18/2010 7:47:25 PM PDT by yorkie01
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To: Pox

smoke / mirrors

This will be a story once it’s gone to trial and people are convicted. Until then these are mere allegations.

Sorry Obambi, you’ll still have to answer for your record in real time. Sniff, sniff...


11 posted on 09/18/2010 7:49:25 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (All hail Prince Skid-mark, Barack Hussein Obama, constantly soiling himself and our nation.)
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To: ClearCase_guy
Hopefully, there is absolutely nothing to this.

There is.

12 posted on 09/18/2010 7:54:33 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater ("Get out of the boat and walk on the water with us!”--Sen. Joe Biden)
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To: Willie Green

Other way around.


13 posted on 09/18/2010 7:58:40 PM PDT by Impy (Don't call me red.)
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To: Willie Green

Horse Sh**!


14 posted on 09/18/2010 8:00:01 PM PDT by calex59
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To: Willie Green

It sounds like there were a number of personnel involved.

And they did it without the knowledge of any sergeants or officers?

Or the sergeants and officers were in on the plan?

And nobody blew the whistle before, during or after the event? And they repeated an attack?

I call baloney. This whole thing presents a very low view of the integrity of the forces and its command structure. Too low.


15 posted on 09/18/2010 8:18:30 PM PDT by lurk
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To: lurk; Willie Green; ClearCase_guy; calex59; Future Snake Eater; FlingWingFlyer; ...
Got some info back in June this guy, Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, wanted to do things like Kurtz in Apocalypse now. Way out of control. So there is a good possibility some of it is true.

On the one hand I could care less. And yes, I am a blood thirsty barbarian.

On the other,and strictly my opinion, crap like this is bound to happen in an overly prolonged PC mess that should have started with us sending 50,000 troops after Bin Laden & Associates . Into Pakistan if necessary. No detour to Iraq. Destroy the Taliban/AQ and leave.

Maybe it is time to do the McChrystal Strategy.

Get the F$$$ out of Dodge.

16 posted on 09/18/2010 8:37:19 PM PDT by bigheadfred (We built a tower of stone. With our flesh and bone. Just to see him fly .)
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To: Willie Green

It’s BS stories like this that fuel and help the enemy with recruiting and it also makes some Americans second guess their support for our troops. Let’s put these reporters in Afghanistan with a 100 pound pack on their back in 110 degree heat dodging snipers and IED’s and see if they still want to write stories like this one.


17 posted on 09/18/2010 8:40:09 PM PDT by BILLNHILL MAKE ME ILL (Onward thru the smoke, mirrors, and B.S....)
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To: Willie Green; SandRat; Allegra
The wise course would be to take this with a grain of salt. Some years ago, a metrosexual POS reporter for The New Republic named Scott Beuchamp enlisted in the Army to give credence to his Iraqi War articles.

He claimed he wore a child's skull under his helmet and used “highly illegal square backed bullets (SIC)” in his issued glock. When the liberal groups used the articles as proof of war crimes, the Army tracked him down and proved his claims false. The investigators stated in the report that Beauchamp was highly delusional and saw himself as a modern day Hemmingway.

Another fine example is Jesse MacBeth. MacBeth was the toast of the Communist Antiwar crowd. He claimed to be a decorated Spec Ops member and claimed he and his fellows would break into homes and torment civilians. MacBeth described questioning locals "and if we didn't like the answer, we'd kill their youngest child." The truth is MacBeth washed out of Basic training and eventually served a prison sentence for filing fraudulent claims for VA benefits.

Just because someone claims war crimes were committed doesn't mean they happened. Of course, any reasonable patriot already knows this. Do you, Willie?

18 posted on 09/18/2010 9:03:12 PM PDT by Grizzled Bear (Does not play well with others)
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To: bigheadfred
On the one hand I could care less. And yes, I am a blood thirsty barbarian.

Well, that's the wrong answer. These guys are murderers. There's nothing Soldier-like or professional about their actions. They were psychopaths with weapons and body armor and they thought they could do whatever they wanted to the hajis without consequences. Well, they were wrong, and now they're screwed. Hope it was worth it to them.

19 posted on 09/18/2010 9:13:18 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater ("Get out of the boat and walk on the water with us!”--Sen. Joe Biden)
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To: Future Snake Eater

I agree. If they actually did this they all should stand in front of a firing squad.

No military can tolerate or even survive random murder and blood lust in its ranks.


20 posted on 09/18/2010 9:31:33 PM PDT by Brucifer (Proud member of the Double Secret Reloading Underground.)
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