Brigade in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport

[Anti Federalist]

Don't know if this has been posted before, since I recall this story bubbling in the background, but this WaPo story is new this weekend.



Members of Stryker Combat Brigade in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport

By Craig Whitlock
Saturday, September 18, 2010; 9:39 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/18/AR2010091803935_pf.html

AT JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASH. The U.S. soldiers hatched a plan as simple as it was savage: to randomly target and kill an Afghan civilian, and to get away with it.

For weeks, according to Army charging documents, rogue members of a platoon from the 5th Stryker Combat Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, floated the idea. Then, one day last winter, a solitary Afghan man approached them in the village of La Mohammed Kalay. The "kill team" activated the plan.

One soldier created a ruse that they were under attack, tossing a fragmentary grenade on the ground. Then others opened fire.

According to charging documents, the unprovoked, fatal attack on Jan. 15 was the start of a months-long shooting spree against Afghan civilians that resulted in some of the grisliest allegations against American soldiers since the U.S. invasion in 2001. Members of the platoon have been charged with dismembering and photographing corpses, as well as hoarding a skull and other human bones.

The subsequent investigation has raised accusations about whether the military ignored warnings that the out-of-control soldiers were committing atrocities. The father of one soldier said he repeatedly tried to alert the Army after his son told him about the first killing, only to be rebuffed.

Two more slayings would follow. Military documents allege that five members of the unit staged a total of three murders in Kandahar province between January and May. Seven other soldiers have been charged with crimes related to the case, including hashish use, attempts to impede the investigation and a retaliatory gang assault on a private who blew the whistle.

Army officials have not disclosed a motive for the killings and macabre behavior. Nor have they explained how the attacks could have persisted without attracting scrutiny. They declined to comment on the case beyond the charges that have been filed, citing the ongoing investigation.

But a review of military court documents and interviews with people familiar with the investigation suggest the killings were committed essentially for sport by soldiers who had a fondness for hashish and alcohol.

The accused soldiers, through attorneys and family members, deny wrongdoing. But the case has already been marked by a cycle of accusations and counter-accusations among the defendants as they seek to pin the blame on each other, according to documents and interviews.

[oyarde]

There is a thread in Foreign policy on this.

[oyarde]

Who did the father speak to ? Where is the skull ? where are the photos ? If the Army has the photos , would they not say so ?

[specsaregood]

Clearly those civilians hated us for our freedoms.

[oyarde]

I have some new numbers in the DHS SHARED OIL PROTESTERS INFO THREAD .

[Minuteman2012]

How many civilians died?

[pcosmar]

Who did the father speak to ? Where is the skull ? where are the photos ? If the Army has the photos , would they not say so ?

No.
Not likely.

For example
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Force

* the routine torture and execution of prisoners[8]
* the routine practice of intentionally killing unarmed Vietnamese villagers including men, women, children, and elderly people[9]
* the routine practice of cutting off and collecting the ears of victims[10]
* the practice of wearing necklaces composed of human ears[11]
* the practice of cutting off and collecting the scalps of victims[12]
* an incident where a young mother was drugged, raped, and then executed[13]
* an incident where a soldier killed a baby and cut off his or her head after the baby's mother was killed[14]

The investigators concluded that many of the war crimes indeed took place. Despite this, the Army decided not to pursue any prosecutions.

[oyarde]

Original Article 9/16 said accusations of three .

[dannno]

LOL... ya it was definitely the hash...

[oyarde]

How many civilians died?

Original article I saw 9/16 said accusations of three . Not sure if that has increased .

[oyarde]

LOL... ya it was definitely the hash...

From what I read in the first info available , I saw nothing to believe there was any hash or alc involved . There was a bogus charge filed against one of the accused that he may have smoked hash during a period that was several months .

[oyarde]

No.
Not likely.

For example
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Force

Was this not mostly the work of the MIA Sgt. Walker ?

[Vessol]

America: Bringing Freedom to the world, one bullet at a time.

[pcosmar]

Was this not mostly the work of the MIA Sgt. Walker ?

No, There were many involved, though he is mentioned as a leader.

MIA, Pffttt,,
Just as likely reassigned with a new name.
:(

[oyarde]

No, There were many involved, though he is mentioned as a leader.

MIA, Pffttt,,
Just as likely reassigned with a new name.
:(

I have wondered about the MIA too . Things have changed drastically though . By the early 80's the Army CID would crucify you for something as simple as smoking a little dope .

[newyearsrevolution08]

crazy stuff

don't know how easy it is to realize which killing is which if that was your day to day. Not justifying it but if you haven't been there you can't know which is even more reason to bring all our damn troops home and protect US.

[phill4paul]

"Do not cry havoc, where you should but hunt with modest warrant."

Yet there is no such thing.

"Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial."


"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war."

[pcosmar]

I have wondered about the MIA too . Things have changed drastically though . By the early 80's the Army CID would crucify you for something as simple as smoking a little dope .

Well unless you were assigned to "drug Operations".

I met a guy in a bar in the Keys with hair almost as long as mine and a full beard. He had an active duty Military ID. rank of Sgt.

Hmmm,,,
Got him drunk, and had interesting conversation. ;)

[phill4paul]

Well unless you were assigned to "drug Operations".

I met a guy in a bar in the Keys with hair almost as long as mine and a full beard. He had an active duty Military ID. rank of Sgt.

Hmmm,,,
Got him drunk, and had interesting conversation. ;)

I've met a few of those Military long hairs. ;)

[oyarde]

Well unless you were assigned to "drug Operations".

I met a guy in a bar in the Keys with hair almost as long as mine and a full beard. He had an active duty Military ID. rank of Sgt.

Hmmm,,,
Got him drunk, and had interesting conversation. ;)

Yeah the CIA and CID do not have to follow the rules , but since the draft ended and the all volunteer Army , everyone else does. Once there was no war all the CID had to work on was the stoner combat arms guys .

[pcosmar]

Yeah the CIA and CID do not have to follow the rules , but since the draft ended and the all volunteer Army , everyone else does. Once there was no war all the CID had to work on was the stoner combat arms guys .

They also work with "agencies" in the Caribbean. This guy was on assignment.
needless to say, I let friends be aware of him.
More meddling and intervention.

[oyarde]

I have wondered about the MIA too . Things have changed drastically though . By the early 80's the Army CID would crucify you for something as simple as smoking a little dope .

The reason I wondered about the MIA is the CIA had recruited guys off of Court Martial prior to this when we were running missions in Laos . I do not know of any quite as late as the Tigers , but there is a previous history .

[Dan-1281]

War is a sport. It's my team against your team.

[Danke]

War is a sport. It's my team against your team.

Well, you're not supposed to shoot the fans or spectators.

[amy31416]

Well, you're not supposed to shoot the fans.

:rolleyes:

Friggin' liberals...

[oyarde]

War is a sport. It's my team against your team.

I do not view it as sport . Sport is meant to be fun. It is very serious business that needs to be thought through before engaging in it . When I say thought through , I mean you must consider all of the possible scenarios .

[oyarde]

Then , if you were to commit to it . You must commit all resources .You must win and in a timely manner . Anything less is unacceptable .

[Dan-1281]

@Danke...This is a war that you cannot identify easily who is friend and who is foe. Insurgents blend it to look like the rest of the population, I know, I've fought with them countless times in Iraq in 05-06 in Mosul and Baghdad.

@oyarde...Some people play for fun, some play because it's their life. In a Infantryman's mind, killing is winning. It's how they were trained and brought up to be. I can remember giving each other high fives when we engaged the enemy and won, successful snatch-n-grab missions, and sniping at insurgents who emplace ied's. We thought that to kill or capture an enemy, we were denying them to kill us. So, to win, you need to kill. I agree about considering all possible scenarios before going to war. War is an ugly thing and I hope one day, this world can do without it.

[Danke]

@Danke...This is a war that you cannot identify easily who is friend and who is foe. Insurgents blend it to look like the rest of the population, I know, I've fought with them countless times in Iraq in 05-06 in Mosul and Baghdad.


Have you thought about turning yourself in for killing Iraqi pedestrians as a sport?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court

[oyarde]

@Danke...This is a war that you cannot identify easily who is friend and who is foe. Insurgents blend it to look like the rest of the population, I know, I've fought with them countless times in Iraq in 05-06 in Mosul and Baghdad.

@oyarde...Some people play for fun, some play because it's their life. In a Infantryman's mind, killing is winning. It's how they were trained and brought up to be. I can remember giving each other high fives when we engaged the enemy and won, successful snatch-n-grab missions, and sniping at insurgents who emplace ied's. We thought that to kill or capture an enemy, we were denying them to kill us. So, to win, you need to kill. I agree about considering all possible scenarios before going to war. War is an ugly thing and I hope one day, this world can do without it.

I completely understand the mentality of winning . I also completely understand the feeling of denying the enemy .There have been no high fives for me . I do not believe there will be a world without war .

[Dan-1281]

Have you thought about turning yourself in for killing Iraqi pedestrians as a sport?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court

Why does it matter if I turn myself in now? In my mind, what I did was justified by means of survival for myself and my brothers in arms. For the record, I never killed anyone who wasn't trying to kill me. When you suit up and roll out, politics get thrown out the window and you do what you have to do to stay alive and make back home. As far as what these boys did, it happens a lot more than what you people see here in the states.

[oyarde]

Have you thought about turning yourself in for killing Iraqi pedestrians as a sport?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court

I doubt he was shooting any Iraqi pedestrians .

[Dan-1281]

I completely understand the mentality of winning . I also completely understand the feeling of denying the enemy .There have been no high fives for me . I do not believe there will be a world without war .

Why don't you believe that we can live without war?

[oyarde]

Why don't you believe that we can live without war?

I am a student of History . Not many periods of peace . Looking at Africa,Korea and the Middle East alone I see it as unattainable . It appears to me someone will always be trying to advance something at anothers expense .

[Dan-1281]

I am a student of History . Not many periods of peace . Looking at Africa,Korea and the Middle East alone I see it as unattainable . It appears to me someone will always be trying to advance something at anothers expense .

That's all history. The future is still unwritten.

[oyarde]

That's all history. The future is still unwritten.

Yes , hopefully you are right. But to me it still looks , tastes and smells the same .

[oyarde]

Why don't you believe that we can live without war?

That does not mean we have to be involved . It will continue to occur I believe .

[Dan-1281]

That's the mindset I hope people can get out of. If enough people want peace, it will happen. This day in age, everyone wants war so it continues.

[oyarde]

That's the mindset I hope people can get out of. If enough people want peace, it will happen. This day in age, everyone wants war so it continues.

I do not think everyone wants war . I also doubt if many want peace that peace will just happen .

[Monarchist]

Five soldiers does not a brigade make.

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

Goddamn Petraeus should have his fucking stars shoved up his ass for opening his pie hole to complain about 'blowback' from someone burning a Koran when this kind of shit goes on! We need to get out of Afghanistan NOW! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[oyarde]

Five soldiers does not a brigade make.

Correct .

[oyarde]

FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

Goddamn Petraeus should have his fucking stars shoved up his ass for opening his pie hole to complain about 'blowback' from someone burning a Koran when this kind of shit goes on! We need to get out of Afghanistan NOW! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

We will have to wait for the facts to see what went on . I am sure none of the Generals or other senior officers or NCO's would allow this if they were aware . The General just needs to work and forget about making public comments .

[moderate libertarian]

War is a sport.

War is also hell.


So does that mean hell is a sport?

[Anti Federalist]

War is also hell.


So does that mean hell is a sport?

+rep for a timely thread bump.

[Anti Federalist]

Afghan shooter was member of Stryker brigade and Chris Kyle protégé.


The soldier was deployed to Afghanistan on Dec. 3 with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord located south of Seattle, according to a congressional source, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.


The soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians, most of them children, and burning their bodies was trained as a sniper and recently suffered a head injury in Iraq, U.S. officials said Monday.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=NCAGW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Got his "Combat Quals".

He'll get a medical discharge after acquittal and come to work on your local police force.

[heavenlyboy34]

I am a student of History . Not many periods of peace . Looking at Africa,Korea and the Middle East alone I see it as unattainable . It appears to me someone will always be trying to advance something at anothers expense .
Indeed. Plus-war is very profitable for TPTB and cronies. As long as war is "business", men will look for ways to start new wars.

[Feeding the Abscess]

Afghan shooter was member of Stryker brigade and Chris Kyle protégé.





http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=NCAGW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Got his "Combat Quals".

He'll get a medical discharge after acquittal and come to work on your local police force.

Take the hell out of war: disband the military

[heavenlyboy34]

Take the hell out of war: disband the military +a zillion! Pro standing armies=fail

[Anti Federalist]

Soldier held in Afghan killings was from troubled U.S. base

Dozens of recent cases of killings, suicides and assaults have been linked to combat troops from sprawling Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lewis-mcchord-20120313,0,6203043.story

By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times

March 12, 2012, 9:19 p.m.
Reporting from Seattle— The call would soon become agonizingly familiar: A 28-year-old Army specialist from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, recently home from Afghanistan, had walked into a parking garage in Salt Lake City with a full set of body armor, ammunition clips and his AR-15 rifle.

Five weeks before the 2010 incident, Spc. Brandon Barrett had gone absent without leave after a drunk driving arrest near the sprawling military base in Washington state and had begun sending ominous messages to friends. "About to show the world they shouldn't [mess] with soldiers back from a deployment," he said in one.

Barrett died after firing at a police officer, and Lewis-McChord was rocked by questions about how a soldier so angry had been able to go AWOL in plain sight for weeks.

PHOTOS: Afghanistan shooting

Since then, the base has become one of the most troubled in the Army. This week, accusations that a Lewis-McChord sergeant in southern Afghanistan shot to death at least 16 civilians were added to the dozens of cases of killings, suicides, assaults and other crimes linked to soldiers from the base.

The largest military base on the West Coast, with more than 60,000 military and civilian personnel, Lewis-McChord is one of the main infantry engines for Iraq and Afghanistan. Lately, the base has earned a reputation for a series of horrific crimes emanating from there, including those by a "kill team" of Stryker brigade soldiers accused of killing Afghan civilians for sport, a father accused of waterboarding his child and a soldier accused of dousing his wife's legs with lighter fluid and setting her on fire.

Twelve suicides were reported last year among Lewis-McChord soldiers, and earlier this year, a 24-year-old Iraq war veteran shot and killed a park ranger at Mt. Rainier National Park.

In February, the head of the base's Madigan medical center was temporarily removed from duty after reports that diagnoses were overturned for hundreds of soldiers scheduled to receive help for post-traumatic stress disorder, allegedly in some cases in an attempt to save money.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has asked the Army surgeon general to begin an investigation into how combat stress cases are handled at Lewis-McChord. Some soldiers report that they have long faced obstacles getting help for combat stress, with much of the base's focus placed on preparing soldiers for new combat deployment.

The 38-year-old staff sergeant who reportedly turned himself in after the rampage in Afghanistan was attached to the 3rd Stryker Brigade combat team, part of the 2nd Infantry Division, out of Lewis-McChord, according to a congressional source. The reported father of two has been in the Army for 11 years.

He had already served three tours in Iraq, where he'd suffered a traumatic brain injury, according to news reports. He was on his first deployment in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said.

The reaction around Lewis-McChord on Monday was largely one of stunned sadness, tinged with a dose of fatalism.

"It's surprising, but it's no longer a shock," said Jorge Gonzalez, director of GI Voice, a group of mainly Lewis-McChord veterans calling for better mental health care for soldiers. "I just keep expecting, what else is going to happen out of this base?"

Army analysts say combat stress isn't solely to blame for the record levels of suicides — and substance abuse, domestic violence and assault — plaguing soldiers throughout the Army. The problems also stem from the normal domestic disputes and financial troubles in any large population of young men and women, the analysts say. Lewis-McChord officials say the base's troubles are no worse than those at other U.S. military facilities with large troop numbers and heavy combat deployments.

Lewis-McChord has brought in a large number of psychiatrists to help troubled soldiers and has made it a priority for commanders to make sure their troops get help. The Army also has instituted a large number of new programs to help fight combat stress, including mental health screenings immediately upon troops' return from deployments.

Service members and their families have long complained about the difficulty of getting good mental health services at Lewis-McChord, saying that soldiers are discouraged by their local sergeants or face stigma among peers. Many say they are handed prescriptions for an anti-anxiety or sleeping medication and dismissed.

Physicians at Madigan have been overwhelmed, many soldiers say, by the flood of troops returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan looking for help. Behavioral health visits rose sharply in 2010 to 101,000 from 93,000 the previous year and then increased again in 2011.

"I told them I couldn't sleep, and they kept giving me pamphlets like, 'Don't drink a lot of caffeine before bed.' I came in telling them I thought I was losing my mind, and all they had was PowerPoint seminars and workbooks," said Greg Miller, who served as an infantryman in Iraq out of Lewis-McChord but was recently discharged.

Family members at the base tell stories of badgering the healthcare staff at Madigan for help, only to wait for hours at a walk-in clinic or be accused of faking symptoms to gain disability benefits.

For those reasons, there is a degree of sympathy for the soldier in custody in the Afghanistan shootings.

"Of course, what has happened is a complete atrocity. At the same time, it's disheartening how the public and the Army and the president jumps to bash this soldier [who] has served our country for three combat tours," said an Army wife from Lewis-McChord who has battled to get mental health help for her husband.

"When is America going to leave the mall and realize that we are at war, and that our men in uniform can only take so much before they break?" she said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to prevent reprisals against her husband.

In Barrett's case, there were few if any red flags. The young serviceman had passed a mental health review after returning from his deployment, according to a report obtained by The Times. Colleagues and friends at first reported no strange behavior, though his family said it was unusual that he didn't want to play the combat video games that previously had been his passion.

(There's a huge story there. - AF)

Only after being reprimanded in front of his fellow troops for the DUI arrest and being threatened with losing his scheduled leave did Barrett suddenly disappear. Base authorities at first failed to directly contact his family in Arizona — who thought Barrett had come home on ordinary leave — despite repeated warnings from colleagues about his strange messages, investigators found.

"Watch the news," he said in one.

Harry Croft, a former Army physician and psychiatrist who has reviewed thousands of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among service members, said repeated deployments such as those experienced by many soldiers at Lewis-McChord can have a wearing effect on soldiers' ability to recover.

"Even when they're home, in their minds, they're getting ready for the next deployment," said Croft, whose book, "I Always Sit With My Back to the Wall," explores the origins of combat-related stress. "And they don't want to unwind too much, because they know they're going back to the same place, and they need to stay ready and alert."