John Boone
March 21, 2011
Commanders brace for backlash of anti-US sentiment that could be more damaging than after the Abu Ghraib scandal. The Afghanistan 'kill team' photos of murdered civilians could be more damaging than those from Abu Ghraib, say Nato commanders.
Commanders in Afghanistan are bracing themselves for possible riots and public fury triggered by the publication of "trophy" photographs of US soldiers posing with the dead bodies of defenceless Afghan civilians they killed.
Senior officials at Nato's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul have compared the pictures published by the German news weekly Der Spiegel to the images of US soldiers abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib in Iraq which sparked waves of anti-US protests around the world.
They fear that the pictures could be even more damaging as they show the aftermath of the deliberate murders of Afghan civilians by a rogue US Stryker tank unit that operated in the southern province of Kandahar last year.
Some of the activities of the self-styled "kill team" are already public, with 12 men currently on trial in Seattle for their role in the killing of three civilians.
Five of the soldiers are on trial for pre-meditated murder, after they staged killings to make it look like they were defending themselves from Taliban attacks.
Other charges include the mutilation of corpses, the possession of images of human casualties and drug abuse.
All of the soldiers have denied the charges. They face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.
The case has already created shock around the world, particularly with the revelations that the men cut "trophies" from the bodies of the people they killed.
An investigation by Der Spiegel has unearthed approximately 4,000 photos and videos taken by the men.
The magazine, which is planning to publish only three images, said that in addition to the crimes the men were on trial for there are "also entire collections of pictures of other victims that some of the defendants were keeping".
The US military has strived to keep the pictures out of the public domain fearing it could inflame feelings at a time when anti-Americanism in Afghanistan is already running high.
In a statement, the army said it apologized for the distress caused by photographs "depicting actions repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States".
The lengthy Spiegel article that accompanies the photographs contains new details about the sadistic behaviour of the men.
In one incident in May last year, the article says, during a patrol, the team apprehended a mullah who was standing by the road and took him into a ditch where they made him kneel down.
The group's leader, Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, then allegedly threw a grenade at the man while an order was given for him to be shot.
Afterwards, Gibbs is described cutting off one of the man's little fingers and removing a tooth.
The patrol team later claimed to their superiors that the mullah had tried to threaten them with a grenade and that they had no choice but to shoot.
On Sunday night many organizations employing foreign staff, including the United Nations, ordered their staff into a "lockdown", banning all movements around Kabul and requiring people to remain in their compounds.
In addition to the threat from the publication of the photographs, security has been heightened amid fears the Taliban may try to attack Persian new year celebrations.
There could also be attacks because Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, is due to make a speech declaring which areas of the country should be transferred from international to Afghan control in the coming months.
Let me add, I consider this to be the action of scumbuckets no matter what path their lives took/take. This is by no means meant to reflect on the average soldier..
Let me add, I consider this to be the action of scumbuckets no matter what path their lives took/take. This is by no means meant to reflect on the average soldier..
One security manager for the US company DynCorp sent an email to clients warning that publication of the photos was likely "to incite the local population" as the "severity of the incidents to be revealed are graphic and extreme".
ASSUMPTION: I'm a soldier in the US army. I was sent to Afghanistan or somewhere. I had orders to kill Taliban, or whoever. Being a soldier, I have to obey orders (GOLDEN RULE: carry out order first, and then complain about it later).
ReplyDeleteFrom the above, I understand the dilemma in which a soldier is.
But when the killer poses for photographs while laughing and cut off trophies of his victim's body, I get confused and reject the above said dilemma as there is not any: those soldiers are sick and sickening, murderers before joining the army and have been educated nothing about rules of combat during their training. Those soldiers are fall-outs of education, thugs who failed to do it among the civilians and therefore joined the army to make living where they become professional cold-blooded killers.
I am extremely disgusted. And I do understand why Muhammad Ali Clay prefered to serve time in prison to serving in Vietnam.
I know exactly what you are saying. I hope you saw my post yesterday on the awakening of soldiers and their words to the world and the youth to follow them.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes I also agree that these are the bottom of the barrel of wet dog food after it has been left out in the sun too long.
I never ever approved of boxing. Never. Never advocated violence at all but when Muhammad Ali went to jail for refusing to fight, I fell in love with him. I saw the gentle gentleman beneath the sting like a bee showman. He has been a true example for the men of all races and cultures for this action.