US officials announced today that Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is being charged with 17 counts of murder, as well as other counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault and dereliction of duty related to the March 11 massacre in Kandahar Province.
The “17 counts” is odd because every official statement from US and Afghan officials has indicated that 16 people were slain. The official who announced the charges did not explain where the extra count came from.
Needless to say such a massive number of charges could carry an enormous prison sentence, and the trial will be closely watched, particularly after virtually all of the charges against those responsible for the Haditha massacre in Iraq were quietly dropped and one soldier was given a pay cut related to that massacre.
Bales lawyer, John Henry Browne, has said that he has been provided with no evidence related to the massacre, and Bales denies remember anything about the incident. Browne has hinted at his defense strategy, saying that “the war is on trial” in the case. There has been speculation that Bales’ repeated deployments played a role in the massacre. This was his fourth overall deployment, with three previous tours in Iraq.
Bales lawyer stated that the litigation could go on for two years, the enigma stage of a happening where its too old for news but too early for the history books.
Me thinks it be a night raid that got botched up, too many witnesses looking on for things to be covered up.
Anything, and anyone, the Empire touches is co-opted, corrupted, or conveniently "corpsed". Bales' sudden memory loss is also all too coincidental. Why the sudden disappearing act? We've had numerous atrocities and multi-murder missions over the years and I can't recall them ever vanishing someone so vigorously, unless it was that rat bastard in Pakistan who got bailed out.
But it was worth it as long as Washington gets another colony.
Hithere! We're going to fly you halfway around the planet in a military cargo transport to a nation where you don't speak the language to set you up to be grilled by professional discreditors who will leave you humiliated and confused and will not provide you with any information about what happened, how they regarded anything you said or any benefit for going. You'll be dumped back here without compensation beyond our expenses in holding you. Want to go? Or did you say you were having trouble remembering what you saw?
The trial will stretch a few years with more massacres committed by rouge soldiers. Same ending with pay cuts or demotion or dishonorable discharge. Wooop..the story will continue with another Mr. Jingo Jones from the United Snakes of America.