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US soldiers 'killed Afghan civilians for sport and collected fingers as trophies
- Thread starter HavokFour
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Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat :
AP Exclusive: Soldier's father says he warned Army of plot by troops to kill Afghan civilians
By: Gene Johnson, The Associated Press Posted: 9/09/2010
Article Link
The father of a U.S. soldier serving in Afghanistan says he tried nearly a half dozen times to pass an urgent message from his son to the Army: Troops in his unit had murdered an Afghan civilian, planned more killings and threatened him to keep quiet about it.
By the time officials arrested suspects months later, two more Afghans were dead.
And much to Christopher Winfield's horror, his son Adam was among the five Fort Lewis-based soldiers charged in the killings.
The elder Winfield told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that his son did not kill the unarmed man and would never have been in the situation if the Army had investigated the warnings he says he passed along to Fort Lewis.
An Army spokeswoman at the base said she could not comment on whether they received such a tip or if so, whether it was acted on.
But the new details about Winfield's efforts to alert the Army and his son's pleas raised questions about the Army's handling of the case and its system for allowing soldiers to report misconduct by their colleagues.
The soldiers have been accused of conspiracy and premeditated murder. The highest ranking of them is Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, who, along with Cpl. Jeremy Morlock, are accused of taking part in all three killings.
Pfc. Andrew Holmes is charged with murder in the first killing, and Spc. Michael Wagnon is charged in another. Both deny the charges.
Winfield is charged with murder in the final killing, and his attorney, Eric Montalvo, insists he was ordered to shoot after Gibbs hit the civilian with a grenade. Winfield deliberately shot high and missed, he said.
Gibbs has denied the charges. His attorney, Phillip Stackhouse, said his client maintains that the shootings were "appropriate engagements" and denies involvement in any conspiracy to kill civilians.
The soldiers, all assigned to the 5th Stryker Brigade, deployed in July 2009 and were stationed at a base in Kandahar Province.
More on link
By: Gene Johnson, The Associated Press Posted: 9/09/2010
Article Link
The father of a U.S. soldier serving in Afghanistan says he tried nearly a half dozen times to pass an urgent message from his son to the Army: Troops in his unit had murdered an Afghan civilian, planned more killings and threatened him to keep quiet about it.
By the time officials arrested suspects months later, two more Afghans were dead.
And much to Christopher Winfield's horror, his son Adam was among the five Fort Lewis-based soldiers charged in the killings.
The elder Winfield told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that his son did not kill the unarmed man and would never have been in the situation if the Army had investigated the warnings he says he passed along to Fort Lewis.
An Army spokeswoman at the base said she could not comment on whether they received such a tip or if so, whether it was acted on.
But the new details about Winfield's efforts to alert the Army and his son's pleas raised questions about the Army's handling of the case and its system for allowing soldiers to report misconduct by their colleagues.
The soldiers have been accused of conspiracy and premeditated murder. The highest ranking of them is Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, who, along with Cpl. Jeremy Morlock, are accused of taking part in all three killings.
Pfc. Andrew Holmes is charged with murder in the first killing, and Spc. Michael Wagnon is charged in another. Both deny the charges.
Winfield is charged with murder in the final killing, and his attorney, Eric Montalvo, insists he was ordered to shoot after Gibbs hit the civilian with a grenade. Winfield deliberately shot high and missed, he said.
Gibbs has denied the charges. His attorney, Phillip Stackhouse, said his client maintains that the shootings were "appropriate engagements" and denies involvement in any conspiracy to kill civilians.
The soldiers, all assigned to the 5th Stryker Brigade, deployed in July 2009 and were stationed at a base in Kandahar Province.
More on link
Accused soldiers' unit in Afghan killings isolated from officers
Interviews reveal rampant abuse of hashish provided by Afghan interpreters
WASHINGTON — Soldiers in an American Army platoon accused of murdering Afghan civilians for sport say they took orders from a ringleader who collected body parts as war trophies, were threatened with death if they spoke up and smoked hashish on their base almost daily.
Now family members and the military are asking a central question: How could their commanders not know what was going on?
“I just don’t understand how this went so far,” said Christopher Winfield, the father of Specialist Adam C. Winfield, one of the platoon members charged with murder. “I’ve been in management for 20 years; you know what your people are doing.”
article continues
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
Interviews reveal rampant abuse of hashish provided by Afghan interpreters
WASHINGTON — Soldiers in an American Army platoon accused of murdering Afghan civilians for sport say they took orders from a ringleader who collected body parts as war trophies, were threatened with death if they spoke up and smoked hashish on their base almost daily.
Now family members and the military are asking a central question: How could their commanders not know what was going on?
“I just don’t understand how this went so far,” said Christopher Winfield, the father of Specialist Adam C. Winfield, one of the platoon members charged with murder. “I’ve been in management for 20 years; you know what your people are doing.”
article continues
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
Tomahawk6,
I really cannot even possibly imagine this type of crap going on anywhere found
trained soldiers, who have somehow given oath to uphold the law, in combat or not.
A disgrace to the whole of the unit.
And more-so, an utter disgrace to the uniform. :evil:
I really cannot even possibly imagine this type of crap going on anywhere found
trained soldiers, who have somehow given oath to uphold the law, in combat or not.
A disgrace to the whole of the unit.
And more-so, an utter disgrace to the uniform. :evil:
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This truly disgusting, I can't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now.
OldSolduer
Army.ca Relic
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I can tell you:
This platoon was infected with a critical mass of ill disciplined soldiers - one of them a leader. We've seen this before in the CF.
You can deal with one or two ill disciplined soldiers, but once you get that critical mass...then you have problems.
This platoon was infected with a critical mass of ill disciplined soldiers - one of them a leader. We've seen this before in the CF.
You can deal with one or two ill disciplined soldiers, but once you get that critical mass...then you have problems.
Soldier won't testify in atrocity case
By LAURA MYERS, Reuters
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/10/22/15786296.html
TACOMA, Wash. - A U.S. Army private identified as a whistleblower in the investigation of rogue infantrymen accused of terrorizing Afghan civilians and fellow soldiers appeared in military court Thursday but refused to testify.
Private first-class Justin Stoner was called as a witness in the prosecution of Staff Sergeant David Bram, the second of 12 soldiers to face a hearing in a case that grew from a probe of hashish abuse into charges of atrocities that Pentagon officials have said could undermine the U.S. war effort.
A court-martial was ordered this month for Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, the first to be charged in the case and one of five accused of killing unarmed Afghan civilians for sport.
Several of the defendants, including Morlock, are alleged to have collected fingers and other body parts removed from dead Afghans as war trophies.
But the most potentially explosive elements of the case are dozens of ghoulish photographs that Bram, Morlock and two others are accused of having taken of war dead, some of them showing U.S. soldiers posed with dead Afghans.
Prosecutors say the incidents occurred between January and May while the men were deployed with the 5th Stryker Brigade in Kandahar province, a stronghold for Taliban insurgents.
The photos, found on soldiers' computers seized as evidence in the case, have been kept secret by the military.
Their existence has drawn comparisons to pictures of naked Iraqi prisoners taken by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison that sparked worldwide outrage in 2004 against U.S. conduct of the war in Iraq.
By LAURA MYERS, Reuters
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2010/10/22/15786296.html
TACOMA, Wash. - A U.S. Army private identified as a whistleblower in the investigation of rogue infantrymen accused of terrorizing Afghan civilians and fellow soldiers appeared in military court Thursday but refused to testify.
Private first-class Justin Stoner was called as a witness in the prosecution of Staff Sergeant David Bram, the second of 12 soldiers to face a hearing in a case that grew from a probe of hashish abuse into charges of atrocities that Pentagon officials have said could undermine the U.S. war effort.
A court-martial was ordered this month for Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, the first to be charged in the case and one of five accused of killing unarmed Afghan civilians for sport.
Several of the defendants, including Morlock, are alleged to have collected fingers and other body parts removed from dead Afghans as war trophies.
But the most potentially explosive elements of the case are dozens of ghoulish photographs that Bram, Morlock and two others are accused of having taken of war dead, some of them showing U.S. soldiers posed with dead Afghans.
Prosecutors say the incidents occurred between January and May while the men were deployed with the 5th Stryker Brigade in Kandahar province, a stronghold for Taliban insurgents.
The photos, found on soldiers' computers seized as evidence in the case, have been kept secret by the military.
Their existence has drawn comparisons to pictures of naked Iraqi prisoners taken by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison that sparked worldwide outrage in 2004 against U.S. conduct of the war in Iraq.
Soldier admits firing on unarmed Afghans
By LAURA L. MYERS, Reuters
Article Link
TACOMA, Wash. - A U.S. Army medic was sentenced to nine months in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to shooting at unarmed Afghan farmers and agreeing to testify against other soldiers accused of terrorizing civilians.
Five of the 12 soldiers are accused of premeditated murder in the most serious prosecution of alleged atrocities by U.S. military personnel since the war began in late 2001.
Several are alleged to have collected severed fingers and other human remains as war trophies in Afghanistan.
In the first court-martial in the case, Staff Sergeant Robert Stevens, 25, admitted opening fire on two Afghan men for no apparent reason, saying he and other soldiers were acting on orders from a squad leader during a patrol in March.
"I performed those actions and I did it," he said when asked by the presiding officer why he pleaded guilty to charges that carried a maximum penalty of nearly 20 years in prison.
The charge of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon was the most serious of four offenses to which Stevens, an Army veteran of 7-1/2 years, pleaded guilty at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington.
The case began as an investigation into hashish use by members of what was then known as the 5th Stryker Brigade but grew into a probe of what prosecutors have described as an infantry unit run amok.
A potentially explosive aspect is the existence of dozens of grisly photos that four of the defendants are accused of having taken of war dead, some of them showing U.S. soldiers posing with the corpses.
The images, so far sealed from public view, have drawn comparisons with pictures of Iraqi prisoners taken by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2004.
'THE RIGHT THING TO DO'
Stevens, though not regarded as one of the leading figures in the case, was court-martialed first because he waived his rights to a preliminary proceeding.
As part of the deal, military prosecutors said they would grant Stevens immunity from further charges in exchange for his testimony against the 11 other soldiers.
"It's the right thing to do and I'm going to do it," he said at the hearing.
The three other charges against Stevens were wrongfully tossing a grenade out of his vehicle during a convoy last spring, making false statements to military investigators and dereliction of duty.
He pleaded not guilty to a fifth charge, conspiracy to commit assault, stemming from the shooting incident involving the two Afghan farmers.
Prosecutors sought a prison term of at least 18 months.
Stevens will serve his nine months at a military brig on his home base. He will be demoted to E-1 private, the lowest rank in the Army, and forfeit his pay while in prison but will be allowed to stay in the military.
end
By LAURA L. MYERS, Reuters
Article Link
TACOMA, Wash. - A U.S. Army medic was sentenced to nine months in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to shooting at unarmed Afghan farmers and agreeing to testify against other soldiers accused of terrorizing civilians.
Five of the 12 soldiers are accused of premeditated murder in the most serious prosecution of alleged atrocities by U.S. military personnel since the war began in late 2001.
Several are alleged to have collected severed fingers and other human remains as war trophies in Afghanistan.
In the first court-martial in the case, Staff Sergeant Robert Stevens, 25, admitted opening fire on two Afghan men for no apparent reason, saying he and other soldiers were acting on orders from a squad leader during a patrol in March.
"I performed those actions and I did it," he said when asked by the presiding officer why he pleaded guilty to charges that carried a maximum penalty of nearly 20 years in prison.
The charge of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon was the most serious of four offenses to which Stevens, an Army veteran of 7-1/2 years, pleaded guilty at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington.
The case began as an investigation into hashish use by members of what was then known as the 5th Stryker Brigade but grew into a probe of what prosecutors have described as an infantry unit run amok.
A potentially explosive aspect is the existence of dozens of grisly photos that four of the defendants are accused of having taken of war dead, some of them showing U.S. soldiers posing with the corpses.
The images, so far sealed from public view, have drawn comparisons with pictures of Iraqi prisoners taken by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2004.
'THE RIGHT THING TO DO'
Stevens, though not regarded as one of the leading figures in the case, was court-martialed first because he waived his rights to a preliminary proceeding.
As part of the deal, military prosecutors said they would grant Stevens immunity from further charges in exchange for his testimony against the 11 other soldiers.
"It's the right thing to do and I'm going to do it," he said at the hearing.
The three other charges against Stevens were wrongfully tossing a grenade out of his vehicle during a convoy last spring, making false statements to military investigators and dereliction of duty.
He pleaded not guilty to a fifth charge, conspiracy to commit assault, stemming from the shooting incident involving the two Afghan farmers.
Prosecutors sought a prison term of at least 18 months.
Stevens will serve his nine months at a military brig on his home base. He will be demoted to E-1 private, the lowest rank in the Army, and forfeit his pay while in prison but will be allowed to stay in the military.
end
daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
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GAP said:
At least we can be thankful for at least two things:
1) They were stupid enough to take pictures, which makes it easy to find them guilty
2) Military courts martral can still condemn those found guilty in such cases to death, hopefully by hanging
U.S. soldier to face court-martial in Afghan killings
article link
SEATTLE, Washington - A U.S. Army staff sergeant was ordered on Friday to be tried by a military court to face charges that include murdering three unarmed Afghan civilians, keeping body parts as grisly war trophies and beating a whistle-blower who told superiors about widespread hashish use in his unit.
Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, 25, is one of five soldiers from the Stryker Brigade charged with murder. Twelve soldiers in all face charges in the most serious prosecutions of alleged war atrocities by U.S. military deployed in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001.
Gibbs, of Billings, Montana, was ordered to stand trial by Major General Curtis Scaparrotti, commanding officer of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. No date was set.
The Stryker Brigade cases, with some 4,000 photographs sealed from public view including some reportedly of soldiers posing with Afghan casualties, have drawn comparisons to the inflammatory Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq in 2004.
Gibbs faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole for charges that include premeditated murder in the deaths of three unarmed Afghan civilians, including a cleric, in the Afghan villages of La Muhammad Kalay in January 2010, Khari Kleyl in February 2010 and Qualaday in May 2010, according to court documents.
Gibbs allegedly kept fingers, severed with medical shears, and displayed them at platoon mates to intimidate them.
He faces a dozen other charges that include keeping body parts such as teeth, finger and leg bones as war trophies.
The cases began as an investigation into hashish use by members of what was then known as the 5th Stryker Brigade, but grew into a probe of what prosecutors described as an infantry unit run amok.
Phillip Stackhouse, a civilian attorney defending Gibbs, has described Gibbs' involvement as legitimate combat killings, He was not immediately available for comment on the order.
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
article link
SEATTLE, Washington - A U.S. Army staff sergeant was ordered on Friday to be tried by a military court to face charges that include murdering three unarmed Afghan civilians, keeping body parts as grisly war trophies and beating a whistle-blower who told superiors about widespread hashish use in his unit.
Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, 25, is one of five soldiers from the Stryker Brigade charged with murder. Twelve soldiers in all face charges in the most serious prosecutions of alleged war atrocities by U.S. military deployed in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001.
Gibbs, of Billings, Montana, was ordered to stand trial by Major General Curtis Scaparrotti, commanding officer of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. No date was set.
The Stryker Brigade cases, with some 4,000 photographs sealed from public view including some reportedly of soldiers posing with Afghan casualties, have drawn comparisons to the inflammatory Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq in 2004.
Gibbs faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole for charges that include premeditated murder in the deaths of three unarmed Afghan civilians, including a cleric, in the Afghan villages of La Muhammad Kalay in January 2010, Khari Kleyl in February 2010 and Qualaday in May 2010, according to court documents.
Gibbs allegedly kept fingers, severed with medical shears, and displayed them at platoon mates to intimidate them.
He faces a dozen other charges that include keeping body parts such as teeth, finger and leg bones as war trophies.
The cases began as an investigation into hashish use by members of what was then known as the 5th Stryker Brigade, but grew into a probe of what prosecutors described as an infantry unit run amok.
Phillip Stackhouse, a civilian attorney defending Gibbs, has described Gibbs' involvement as legitimate combat killings, He was not immediately available for comment on the order.
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
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‘Kill Team’ soldier David Bram sentenced to five years for war crimes in Afghanistan
A U.S. Army sergeant, the eleventh "Kill Team" soldier convicted of crimes in the widest-ranging prosecution of war crimes in the ten years of the Afghanistan War, was sentenced Friday to five years in jail for misconduct.
David Bram, 27, was found guilty on all but two of nine counts including solicitation to commit murder, conspiracy to commit assault and trying to derail the investigation into the slaying of innocent Afghans, reports the Associated Press.
Bram's crimes involved the beating of subordinate soldier, Private Justin Stoner, who had exposed the rampant use of hashish among U.S. troops in Afghanistan and led Army investigators to uncover the heinous crimes of the 'Kill Team," which involved the murdering of villagers for sport.
The five-soldier jury returned their guilty verdict after 90 minutes of deliberation, but acquitted Bram of abusing Afghan detainees and planting an AK-47 near a corpse after a shooting in January 2010.
More at link
A U.S. Army sergeant, the eleventh "Kill Team" soldier convicted of crimes in the widest-ranging prosecution of war crimes in the ten years of the Afghanistan War, was sentenced Friday to five years in jail for misconduct.
David Bram, 27, was found guilty on all but two of nine counts including solicitation to commit murder, conspiracy to commit assault and trying to derail the investigation into the slaying of innocent Afghans, reports the Associated Press.
Bram's crimes involved the beating of subordinate soldier, Private Justin Stoner, who had exposed the rampant use of hashish among U.S. troops in Afghanistan and led Army investigators to uncover the heinous crimes of the 'Kill Team," which involved the murdering of villagers for sport.
The five-soldier jury returned their guilty verdict after 90 minutes of deliberation, but acquitted Bram of abusing Afghan detainees and planting an AK-47 near a corpse after a shooting in January 2010.
More at link
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Nemo888 said:
Yup things like this have happened in many wars but that doesn't make them right.
I remember back in the days of the Vietnam war, the wiping out of Muy Lai at the orders of William Calley, he said it was to reduce casualities among his troops.
As a YO, that seemed like a reasonable idea, fortunately I was smart enough to talk it over with my MWO, who was a veteran of WWII and Korea. He put me straight by reminding me the purpose of the Army is to protect civilian lives even at the cost of our own.
Soldiers who take civilian lives for their own pleasures are like mad dogs and should be put down.
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