Posted on 03/19/2012 4:15:37 PM PDT by xzins
Karilyn Bales, whose husband, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused of killing Afghan civilians, released this statement on Monday:
What happened on the night of March 11 in Kandahar Province was a terrible and heartbreaking tragedy.
My family including my and Bob’s extended families are all profoundly sad. We extend our condolences to all the people of the Panjawai District, our hearts go out to all of them, especially to the parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents of the children who perished.
I know that all good people around the world, regardless of nationality, religion or political values, join me in grieving that such a terrible thing could happen.
Our family has little information beyond what we read and see in the media. What has been reported is completely out of character of the man I know and admire. Please respect me when I say I cannot shed any light on what happened that night, so please do not ask.
I too want to know what happened. I want to know how this could be.
I have no indication that my family’s own safety is at risk, but I appreciate the efforts that have been undertaken to protect us. I hope there will soon be no reason for protection of families, whether here or in Kandahar Province, or anywhere, because the pain inevitably inflicted in war should never be an excuse to inflict yet more pain. The cycle must be broken. We must find peace.
I know the media has a right to pursue and report news. As you do your jobs, I plead with you to respect the trauma that I and my extended family are experiencing. Please allow us some peace and time as we try to make sense of something that makes no sense at all.
All I can do now is emphasize my sadness and my condolences to the families in Panjawai for their terrible loss. The victims and their families are all in my prayers, as is my husband who I love very much.
End of Statement
This scenario does not make any sense! He was on an SF COP! Was security so lax that he could leave without being noticed? This was PANJWAII!!!! Panjwaii IS the hottest zone in all of Afghanistan!
Not only did he leave, he walked a mile in an area that has IED’s everywhere! And he made it to TWO villages???
The whole thing sounds very bizarre to me.
That one I have zero facts on, but I do have a lot of unanswered questions:
1) What was the amount of money? I’ve heard everywhere from $800,000 to $1.5 million. Not a good start.
2) If there was a legal order to pay back the money, what judge did it come from?
3) Was there no follow-up by said legal entity on the status of the payback?
4) Why did the supposed victim not say anything about this until now? If it was a legal directive, and he hasn’t seen a dime from Bales, then you’d think he’d have been making a stink about it for quite some time.
5) Bales left that job and joined the Army over 10 years ago. Again, why is this guy just now getting worked up? Why, if Bales was at fault and liable for those losses, did no one seem to be able to find him in the Army? People think they can hide in the Army, but it’s probably the worst place to go. Your name, picture, and fingerprints are VERY easily found.
Bales avoided this for 10 years by being in the Army? I don’t think so.
DO NOT believe what the press is saying as to how this all went down!!! There is NO way they have the answers this soon!
AMEN!!!!
SSG? Thanks, xzins, did not know.
I don’t disagree that something smells about the money allegedly owed. About half of the 1.3 - 1.5 Million number the press is throwing around out there is for punative damages. Just found it curious that no explanation has been provided. If there is a halfway reasonable explanation, it would be better to get it out there (outside of FR), sooner rather than later.
Okay, that’s the STRATEGY, I’m just referring to the TACTICS of this case and we’re otherwise saying the same things.
I should have realized that, it’s what I get for having a preconceived mindset. :-)
1. Have you not hear it was compensatory and punitive damages? That would cover the disparity.
2. If it was a case filed with the SEC, it would have been adjudicated by the FDIC which is now called FINRA.
3. I’m assuming there was. There are dozens, if not hundreds of articles about this. Start reading.
4. Just because you had not heard that someone was bilked out of funds years ago does NOT mean he has not been trying to get his money back until now.
5. Bales did not become notorious until now. That’s why the press has not been all over his background.
Indeed, one theory is his attorney may use the “bad apple soldier” defense. Meaning they will lay the blame on the army for either not checking his background enough, or allowing him in to meet enlistment quotas.
Either way, Bales comes out as an unsavory person. I suspect he will not be free for a long time, if ever. And, at this point, we still do not know enough of the circumstances of the crime.
I found it interesting that the people he REPORTEDLY
drank with prior to the event say that he had domestic problems. And the news has reported that his wife put the house up for sale 3 days before the massacre.
Very interesting questions, panthermom. Supposedly, he was noticed missing and a search was made for him on the base. Regarding the IED’s, I wondered the same thing.
Yes, I have heard. It would not cover such numerous wildly divergent numbers. If there was a judgement rendered, the numbers would be easily accessible.
2. If it was a case filed with the SEC, it would have been adjudicated by the FDIC which is now called FINRA.
Exactly, "If"--why, if this Horrible Deed was done, has there been no legal ramifications. We still don't know who did what and why.
3. I’m assuming there was. There are dozens, if not hundreds of articles about this. Start reading.
So the accusations are tossed out there and you get to assume, but I raise some pretty basic questions that reports aren't answering, and I have to "start reading"?
4. Just because you had not heard that someone was bilked out of funds years ago does NOT mean he has not been trying to get his money back until now.
My not having heard about it is irrelevant. This guy supposedly was conned out of a LOT of money, and he didn't think to alert any authorities as to the lack of recompense by the people/person ordered to pay up? If he had, Bales wouldn't have made it to E-5...he's be in jail for fraud and contempt.
5. Bales did not become notorious until now. That’s why the press has not been all over his background.
Law enforcement and the general legal system don't care if your face is plastered all over the news. They track people down all the time who fail to adhere to legal directives. Bales was "hiding" in about the worst possible place, and we're supposed to believe he evaded the system for this long? Color me skeptical.
Either way, Bales comes out as an unsavory person.
Judge, jury, and executioner based on a few reports with gaping holes in them.
LOL
Using those standards of "justice", I would have been just about eligible for parole last August. (Spent ten years teaching Naval Aviators, so I must be a big time bad actor.)
Agreed. One really doesn't have anything to do with the other. Even assuming Bales maliciously stole this guy's money, that doesn't lead to potential mass murder after 10 years of outstanding military service.
OK, so the total amount is in the neighborhood of $1.5 million, so now we know.
Depending on when in 2003 the arbitration was, Bales may have been in Iraq on his first deployment.
There’s alot of detail in the article below about the goings on in the firms Bales worked for before he enlisted. Even though the writer attempts to disparage Bales to some degree it’s quite obvious that Bales was a minor player at best in a much larger criminal enterprise. He may well have had little or any knowledge of what he was involved in.
I haven’t had time to read this from the beginning.
But the “fraud” case was settled through arbitration wherein NONE of the defendants showed up.
Anyway, here is FINRA’s BrokerCheck
Search 2765462 which is Bales’ CRD number. It will give his entire history.
I’ve had my CRD number for about 35 years. And there have blessedly been ZERO events.
Bales CRD number is 2765462
On my previous post you can find the link to search his number at FINRA.
I have been registered and work in the industry for 35 years.
Agreed, FSE. It’s the press that’s helping this story along. Wish the lawyer would deal with this - could go a long way to minimizing its impact.
Thanks for that link, smooth. You’re probably right about his involvement. A guy with his character references going back to highschool days wouldn’t have knowingly hired on to a company like that.
Yes, in my haste I did not add the link. You have it.
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