Afghan Survivors Outraged at US Massacre Soldier Deal

Bales Will Face Life in Prison

Survivors of the March 2012 Kandahar Massacre are expressing outrage at the US decision to accept a plea bargain from Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who plead guilty to the massacre earlier this week.

All I want is to see this guy executed,” insisted one of the survivors, whose mother was killed and whose young daughter lost an arm and a leg in the hail of gunfire from Bales’ attack.

Under the deal, the jury in the case can no longer consider the death penalty for Bales’ crimes, and instead can only decide between two choices: life with or without the possibility of parole.

Bales killed 16 people in the attack, and wounded six others. At the time, he claimed he couldn’t remember carrying out any massacres on the night in question. The US insists Bales acted alone, while the Afghan probe claimed a whole team of soldiers were involved.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.