Posted on 03/16/2012 3:53:49 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater
Senior US officials told the BBC the name of the suspect as he was heading back to the US to face charges. He is being flown to Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas, from Kuwait. His lawyer, John Henry Browne, said on Thursday that the suspect was a 38-year-old man who had been injured twice while serving in Iraq. He also said the accused had witnessed his friend's leg blown off the day before the killings. That incident has not been confirmed by the US Army. The Taliban called off peace talks in the wake of Sunday's deadly rampage - in which men, women and children were shot and killed at close range. The US has stressed it remained committed to Afghan reconciliation. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also reacted angrily to the killings. He told the US it must pull back its troops from village areas and allow Afghan security forces to take the lead in an effort to reduce civilian deaths. On Friday he said the US was not fully co-operating with a probe into the killings.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Something is dreadfully wrong w/what is currently happening in Afghanistan ...the lengthy delay in releasing the info about the young Marine L/Cpl who was assassinated while on guard duty by an Afghan soldier; the disarming of the Marines who attended the SECDEFs briefing. Foremost, this experienced, decorated NCO, w/a recent history of TBI, 4th combat tour in SWA; whom you acknowledge is a stellar troop, the day after witnessing a friend horribly mutilated suddenly goes berserk and apparently w/o warning kills over a dozen Afghan civilians.
We aren't getting the whole story behind this and there are some major failures of senior leadership going on over there. (Not to mention the WH and the “Puzzle Palace”)
Incidentally, I heard Bales’ lawyer on TV this morning and he categorically denies that Bales was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident and that there is no truth to the allegation that Bales had or has “family problems” as was “leaked” to the press.
Glad to hear Bales family has been relocated to a secure location.
Terrible. Thank you for telling us this. Prayers for him and his family.
My favorite pic of Bales. My Stryker vehicle commander had a feeling we were going to get hit with an IED on that particular patrol. Bales and I both bet him $0.50 we'd get through just fine. When we reached the next FOB without any issue, my VC tore a $1 bill in half and gave us each one. This was our celebratory photo.
My husband is retired military...did 3 tours in Nam. First comment he made was...”why did they send this guy over on a 4th tour”
Do hope you send your take on Sgt Bales to his atty. Something is amiss here
I have a USMC son at Leatherneck right now. He is 2nd Battalion 4th Regiment. It is possible he was one of the 200 US Marines Panetta disarmed before talking to them the other day. My son has been through some heavy fighting and lost a number of comrades. I get the impression from the few communications we have received that indeed our troops are fighting with their hands tied behind their backs compliments of the socialist turncoat in the Oval Office.
Thank You for your service.
Prayers out from me for this man, his family and friends. Whatever happened, this is a truly aweful thing that has touched many lives. You are right to support the man you know him to be, he will need people like you to speak up for him. Others may not agree- but I will not judge him, not my place.
Oh my God...tears are just streaming down my face for this soldier. I am mortified
Thank you both for your service.
Future Snake Eater (Don’t stop. Keep moving!)
Thank you for your service and for standing up for this soldier. Americans need to understand how incredibly difficult it is to serve in the military, especially now. Our thoughts and prayers are with SSgt Bales, his family and his comrades in arms.
Man I am angry about this! I am in Monterey at the Language School and all the yoohoo instructors are trying to do nothing but focus on this so I had to start searching for the Maj Nidal “asp wipe” and his story and they immediatly dropped the issue. Did I mention I am in Arabic? We have lost a veteran to faulty ROE and misguided views of our true mission. I only hope that the Constitution and innocent until proven guilty are practiced and observed. Good work and how is that green beenie coming along? Good luck and God Bless!
Heard Ollie North speaking of the Panetta visit and the soldiers disarming..needless to say they were not too happy about it.
How much more will be done to demoralize the military? and also remember President Bush went right into Iraq against the wishes of sec service to celebrate Thanksgiving with the troops. He also visited them numerous times and never did they have to disarm
Panetta is a snake in the grass
Interesting...the NBC nightly news just showed photos of Bales, and he looks nothing like the Bales in this pic.
I posted this today on another thread before Sgt. Bales’ name was released and I am posting it again, verbatim.
“A slight tangent, if I may, on this article. I have been giving a lot of thought about the Staff Sgt. accused of killing the Afghan civilians.
In short, I blame, his superiors and the Pentagon for what happened. This is the story of a soldier twice wounded in the service of his country, including a brain injury. The brain injury, alone, should have disqualifid him from further duty, whether in a war zone or a stateside assignment.
However, the issue goes beyond that - WELL beyond that. 3 tours of duty in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan shows that the reduction in the military begun by Clinton and continued with Obama has proven disastrous. These fine folks have been over used and repeatedly sent back to wars that the generals aren’t allowed to fight as real wars. Instead, we are seeing “politically correct” wars instead of open warfare such as was conducted during WWII. Our troops are paying the price of this foolishness and this SSGT. is the poster child.
With the drawdown of regular military that Clinton initiated, the Pentagon has relied too frequently on the reserves to fight the Iraq and Afghan wars. These folks are tired and “shell shocked” (to use the older WWII term for today’s PTSD).
I don’t doubt that the SSGT. cracked under the stress, but I don’t believe that it is entirely his fault. The Army in general, the Pentagon and, certainly Obama, all share the blame and need to be held equally or more accountable.”
I will add that SSgt. Bales has likely been overexposed to the ugliest side of human nature - that of war. It changes all of us who have been once. I can’t imagine going back for the 4th time.
I'm guessing everybody, no matter how rock solid, has his breaking point.
Prayers for all including FSE. This will unfold and the truth will be out. Whatever comes, bless both of you for your service and love of country.
Hmmmm. Bales is on the right, right?
FSE, thank you for the information. We will keep this soldier and his family in our prayers. Thank you very much for your service!
I'm open to the possibility that some enemy covertly slipped him some drug which made him go nuts.
Thank you for the personal note. I did one tour - just one - in 2007 before retiring. Some of the Army guys I worked with were already on their third tour there. The BGD/CC was starting his FOURTH - in 2007!
I cannot imagine the stress we’ve continued to put these soldiers thru. It is heartbreaking to see...from a retired USAF officer perspective.
My son finished a tour there in December. He hopes to get out before going again (Army Guard). My son-in-law was Marine Infantry. He did two tours, and got out. It is too much to ask men to go there time after time after time...
Amen
May God bless him and his family
AND
Thank you for your service son
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.