Another Boneheaded Play....

[Crackpot]

I think we should ship all sociopaths to Afganistan

[rubato]

I think we should ship all sociopaths to Afganistan

Or Somalia.

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

'No proof' in Afghan massacre suspect Sgt Bales case

The lawyer representing a US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in their homes has said there is little proof of his client's guilt.

John Henry Browne said there was "no forensic evidence" against Staff Sgt Robert Bales and "no confession".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17454316

Odds on him getting off?

[Gob]

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - The United States has paid $50,000 in compensation for each Afghan killed in the shooting spree attributed to a U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official and a community elder said Sunday.

The families of the dead received the money Saturday at the governor's office, said Kandahar provincial council member Agha Lalai. Each wounded person received $11,000, Lalai said. Community elder Jan Agha confirmed the same figures.

They were told that the money came from U.S. President Barack Obama, Lalai said.

A U.S. official confirmed that compensation had been paid but declined to discuss exact amounts, saying only that it reflected the devastating nature of the incident. The official spoke anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the subject.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20120325/D9TNFTIO0.html

[Timster]

I have to call bullshit here. First of all, why would payment be made before a trial? Secondarily; WTF? sort of precedent would this set?!

Thirdly; WTF? Daily Mail Shocked I tell you~

[Crackpot]

there is little doubt he did it what remains is a question guilt. either way it shows willingness to make amends.

[Timster]

So, HOW do we begin to make "amends" for Every civilian and piece of collateral damage that happens during an act of "Liberation"????????

Seriously! Or is it that we only cover our collective assets when it makes the news? Fuck that!


*Spit!!~*

[Crackpot]

This wasn't collateral damage. It was an illegal act by any measure by a representative of the us government and seeing as we are not relinquishing him to face Afghan justice (in any likelihood anyway) blood money is being paid.

[Timster]

This wasn't collateral damage. It was an illegal act by any measure by a representative of the us government and seeing as we are not relinquishing him to face Afghan justice (in any likelihood anyway) blood money is being paid.

And this is different from our invasion of a sovereign country how? ... scale. Just saying.

[Lord Jim]

This wasn't collateral damage. It was an illegal act by any measure by a representative of the us government and seeing as we are not relinquishing him to face Afghan justice (in any likelihood anyway) blood money is being paid.

Bingo. This isn't some sort of "consequence of war"; this is a totally different thing.

[Crackpot]

There are rules of engagement Timster. There is wide recognition that there are things that go above and beyond any legitimate aims of "war". be it genocide, the killing non-combatants for "sport" or a wide varitey of otheratrocities. Unfortunately shit happens in war and it cannot be stopped completely. Hence the practice. it is an attempt to be honerable in a completly jacked up situation.

[Gob]

Graphic photos of American soldiers posing with the bodies of suspected Taliban suicide bombers have drawn Australian Government condemnation and fury from the Obama administration.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the graphic pictures in the Los Angeles Times - showing grinning soldiers posing with severed hands and disembodied legs - were "terrible" and "contemptible."

"They don't reflect the values and the virtues of the United States or NATO or the international security assistance force for what we are trying to do in Afghanistan," he said.


"There is no point gilding the lily, there is no point pretend(ing) it is not a setback."

The LA Times photos represent the latest in a series of damaging incidents involving American troops since the start of the year.

The decision to publish the photos, provided by an anonymous soldier, also set off a debate about whether the newspaper had acted responsibly.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political ... z1sRfDW4ur

[rubato]

It is naive in the extreme to think that you can put soldiers in combat for months and years at a time and not have this sort of thing happen.

War is a brutalizing experience and severely damages people both mentally and emotionally.

yrs,
rubato

[BoSoxGal]

No kidding.

It sickens me that there is so much shock and outrage over the inappropriate behavior of men facing death every day, and so little outrage over the behavior of men in thousand dollar suits with manicured nails and Rolex watches who ruin lives from the comfort of their leather office chairs at JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs.