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| Afghanistan | |
| SHTF in Kandahar Province | |
| 2012-03-11 | |
| This sounds ugly. And not surprising. A U.S. service member has been detained after shooting Afghan civilians in Kandahar province, the U.S. military said Sunday. The BBC reported that at least three people were killed. A statement from the military in Kabul did not say how many casualties there were Reports are as high as 16 or what the circumstances were. It directed inquiries on the casualties to the Afghan Ministry of Interior. "This is a deeply regrettable incident and we extend our thoughts and concerns to the families involved," the statement said. The BBC report said the soldier shot the civilians after walking off his base, then surrendered to U.S. military authorities.
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| Posted by:Glenmore |
| #7 Reading between the lines on Yon's posts, I am suspecting this may have been a Special Forces soldier going off the deep end. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-03-11 14:17 |
| #6 Could be more to this story than we think. We've heard horror stories of what some of the "Enlightened" families do over there to family members. With us pulling out, the local governments positions, and the unwillingness to act in general against the locals on our part for whatever reason, one soldier may have had enough. This may be more Street Justice than PTSD. 16 dead, 5 more wounded, and it happened in TWO villages. Then he calmly strolls back to command and turns himself in? |
| Posted by: Charles 2012-03-11 14:05 |
| #5 The only thing we know about this for certain is that it is not, in the slightest degree and by thought, word, deed, or implication, the Commander in Chief's fault. |
| Posted by: Matt 2012-03-11 12:56 |
| #4 Abu Ghraib was far worse as the absence of MSM attention after two days will show. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-03-11 10:25 |
| #3 Bottom line: A SSG with severe PTSD, apparently, has a nervous breakdown, leaves his base, armed, and goes on a killing spree in an Afghan town. Then he returns to base and turns himself in. If this is a typical case, I suspect that he has long been complaining of PTSD, which was ignored by his command, who likely accused him of malingering. Unless his command immediately destroys the evidence, I would hazard to guess that he had pending Article 15 or even more serious charges pending. The real nightmare will be if he complained to a Chaplain or medical types who didn't destroy their records. That will be the SHTF court martial scenario. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2012-03-11 10:03 |
| #2 There is better coverage out there now, if a mod wants to substitute with this one, for instance. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-03-11 09:42 |
| #1 I am certain that this person, especially if he is in American custody, will be given a fair court martial and, if found guilty, punished appropriately. Unlike the Afghanis who murdered Americans. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2012-03-11 03:13 |