Utopia Talk / Politics / US Troops Murder For Sport

Milton Bradley Member	Sun Sep 19 07:04:07 Members of U.S. platoon in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport By Craig Whitlock Saturday, September 18, 2010; 9:39 PM http://www...010091803935.html?hpid=topnews 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. This Story * Members of U.S. platoon in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport 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. The Army has scheduled pre-trial hearings in the case this fall at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, home of the Stryker brigade. (The unit was renamed the 2nd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, when it returned from Afghanistan in July.) Military officials say privately that they worry the hearings will draw further attention to the case, with photos and other evidence prompting anger among the Afghan civilians whose support is critical to the fight against the Taliban. The 'kill team' According to statements given to investigators, members of the unit - 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment - began talking about forming a "kill team" in December, shortly after the arrival of a new member, Staff Sgt. Calvin R. Gibbs, 25, of Billings, Mont. Gibbs, whom some defendants have described as the ringleader, confided to his new mates that it had been easy for him to get away with "stuff" when he served in Iraq in 2004, according to the statements. It was his second tour in Afghanistan, having served there from January 2006 until May 2007. The first opportunity presented itself Jan. 15 in the Maiwand district of Kandahar province. Members of the 3rd Platoon were providing perimeter security for a meeting between Army officers and tribal elders in the village of La Mohammed Kalay. According to charging documents, an Afghan named Gul Mudin began walking toward the soldiers. As he approached, Cpl. Jeremy N. Morlock, 22, of Wasilla, Alaska, threw the grenade on the ground, records show, to create the illusion that the soldiers were under attack. Pfc. Andrew H. Holmes, a 19-year-old from Boise, Idaho, saw the grenade and fired his weapon at Mudin, according to charging documents. The grenade exploded, prompting other soldiers to open fire on the villager as well, killing him. In statements to investigators, the soldiers involved have given conflicting details. In one statement that his attorney has subsequently tried to suppress, Morlock said that Gibbs had given him the grenade and that others were also aware of the ruse beforehand. But Holmes and his attorney said he was in the dark and opened fire only because Morlock ordered him to do so. "He was unwittingly used as the cover story," said Daniel Conway, a civilian defense attorney for Holmes. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Morlock, Holmes and Gibbs have each been charged with murder in the shooting. Attorneys for Morlock and Gibbs did not return phone calls seeking comment. A father's warning On Feb. 14, Christopher Winfield, a former Marine from Cape Coral, Fla., logged onto his Facebook account to chat with his son, Adam, a 3rd Platoon soldier who was up late in Afghanistan. Spec. Adam C. Winfield confided that he'd had a run-in with Gibbs, his squad leader. He also typed a mysterious note saying that some people get away with murder. When his father pressed him to explain, Adam replied, "did you not understand what i just told you." He then referred to the slaying of the Afghan villager the month before, adding that other platoon members had threatened him because he did not approve. In addition, he said, they were bragging about how they wanted to find another victim. "I was just shocked," Christopher Winfield said in a phone interview. "He was scared for his life at that point." The father told his son that he would contact the Army to intervene and investigate. It was a Sunday, but he didn't wait. He called the Army inspector general's 24-hour hotline and left a voice mail. He called the office of Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and left another message. He called a sergeant at Lewis-McChord who told him to call the Army's criminal investigations division. He left another message there. Finally, he said, he called the Fort Lewis command center and spoke for 12 minutes to a sergeant on duty. He said the sergeant agreed that it sounded as if Adam was in potential danger but that, unless he was willing to report it to his superiors in Afghanistan, there was little the Army could do. ad_icon "He just kind of blew it off," Christopher Winfield said. "I was sitting there with my jaw on the ground." Winfield said he doesn't recall the name of the sergeant he spoke with. Billing records that he kept confirm that he called Army officials; he also kept copies of transcripts of Facebook chats with this son. He said he specifically told the sergeant of his son's warning that more murders were in the works. Army investigators have since taken a sworn statement from Christopher Winfield, as well as copies of his phone and Internet records. Other killings Eight days after Winfield tried to warn the Army, according to charging documents, members of the 3rd Platoon murdered someone else. On Feb. 22, Marach Agha, an Afghan civilian, was killed by rifle fire near Forward Operating Base Ramrod in Kandahar province, where the 3rd Platoon was stationed. The Army has released few details about the slaying but has charged Gibbs, Morlock and Spec. Michael S. Wagnon II of Las Vegas with murder. Wagnon has also been charged with possessing "a skull taken from an Afghan person's corpse." He allegedly took the head sometime during January or February 2010, but court documents do not specify whether it belonged to the Afghan he is charged with killing. An attorney for Wagnon, who was on his second tour in Afghanistan and also served in Iraq, did not return a call seeking comment. More mayhem followed in March, when Gibbs, Wagnon and three other soldiers - Staff Sgt. Robert G. Stevens, Sgt. Darren N. Jones and Pfc. Ashton A. Moore - opened fire on three Afghan men, according to charging documents. The documents do not provide basic details, such as the precise date of the shooting, the identities of the victims or whether they were wounded. Members of the 3rd Platoon found their next victim on May 2, documents show. Gibbs, Morlock and Adam Winfield - the son of the former Marine who said he tried to alert the Army three months earlier - are accused of tossing a grenade and fatally shooting an Afghan cleric, Mullah Adahdad, near Forward Operating Base Ramrod. Winfield's attorney, Eric S. Montalvo, said his client was ordered to shoot but fired high and missed. He and Winfield's parents say they can't understand why the Army has charged their son, given that his father tried to warn officials about the platoon. Military police caught wind of the final killing a few days later, but only by happenstance. Records show they were coincidentally investigating reports of hashish use by members of the 3rd Platoon. After word leaked that one soldier had spoken to military police, several platoon members retaliated, records show. They confronted the informant and beat him severely - punching, kicking and choking the soldier, then dragging him across the ground. As a last warning, the documents state, Gibbs menacingly waved finger bones he had collected from Afghan corpses. However, the informant talked to the MPs again and told them what he had heard about the slayings, according to court documents. ad_icon click here Some members of his unit, he said in a statement, "when they are out at a village, wander off and kill someone and every time they say the same thing, about a guy throwing a grenade, but there is never proof." This time, the Army acted quickly and made arrests. Staff researcher Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.
Dead Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 07:05:57 Why dont they love us??? I will tell you: Because they are jealous of our freedom!
saiko Member	Sun Sep 19 07:06:00 The ULTIMATE sport!
Milton Bradley Member	Sun Sep 19 07:21:23 "Finally, he said, he called the Fort Lewis command center and spoke for 12 minutes to a sergeant on duty. He said the sergeant agreed that it sounded as if Adam was in potential danger but that, unless he was willing to report it to his superiors in Afghanistan, there was little the Army could do. "He just kind of blew it off," Christopher Winfield said. "I was sitting there with my jaw on the ground." The sergeant was thinking: "damn bleeding heart liberals dont understand theres a war going on" " He then referred to the slaying of the Afghan villager the month before, adding that other platoon members had threatened him because he did not approve. " They said: "Have you already forgotten 911, muslim-lover? There is approaching a billion of them that want to kill us. Why do you hate the USA, You Liberal Traitor?"
Milton Bradley Member	Sun Sep 19 07:22:15 is=are
Aeros Member	Sun Sep 19 07:57:01 This is what happens when you get a platoon of J.B's all together and then lose all military discipline. Apparently the fucks were drinking booze and smoking hashish too.
Aeros Member	Sun Sep 19 08:00:36 Heh, and the one who threw the Grenade to start the murder is from Sarah Palin's home town.
Dead Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 08:05:20 The boys are just letting off some steam! And You Liberals want to condemn them for that! Have you all sucked some juicy big muslim cock today? Thought so.
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 08:22:04 Or we could wait for the trial. Isn't that what you always tell those who demand instant "justice" when you disagree with us?
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 08:25:53 Or we could call people marxists while stating that we are uninterested in reading the article the claim is based upon without a trial. Isn't that what you always tell those who demand instant "justice" when you disagree with us you sick fuck?
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 08:27:34 Or we could say that approaching a billion people should be killed because they all want to murder you without having any trials. Isnt that what you always want, you disgusting genocidal cunt?
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 08:27:39 Post the article that no one has yet posted and I will read it. Thank you.
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 08:28:48 Or we could say people should be tortured without trying their guilt. Isnt that what you always say you want, you bastard?
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 08:30:32 If they are captured on the battlefield with a gun in their hands and you want Intel to save your own people, absolutely.
saiko Member	Sun Sep 19 08:32:44 "If they are captured on the battlefield with a gun in their hands and you want Intel to save your own people, absolutely." Haha, HR thinks it's okay to torture American soldiers.
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 08:33:01 And the 1 billion people not captured with a gun in their hand, you whore? Thats a rhetorical question, you fucking motherless cunt. Everyone here knows that the list of HR hypocrisy would fill this entire board. Now go join your dead rotting mom, you sick fuck.
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 08:41:42 saiko - Haha, HR thinks it's okay to torture American soldiers. From the enemy POV, of course it is. But, chopping off heads or tying prisoners behind a vehicle and dragging them to death is a bit over the top. Depending on the risk to your own troops justifies the degree of torture to obtain Intel. AH, There is your tell, here is your sign. I guess we can put you down that you do not believe in fair trials.
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 08:42:39 Not ever.
saiko Member	Sun Sep 19 08:44:12 "From the enemy POV, of course it is." Nice to see you see it from the other guy's side for once lol
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 08:48:22 I usually do, it is when they resort to murder or permanent deformity that I draw the line for either side.
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 08:48:31 Theres my mom (shes making dinner right now) Heres your mom (shes a shovel-pile of dead maggot infested shit in a hole)
saiko Member	Sun Sep 19 08:49:53 "I usually do, it is when they resort to murder or permanent deformity that I draw the line for either side." Cutting off fingers bad, waterboarding okay?
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 08:54:48 saiko - Cutting off fingers bad, waterboarding okay? Cutting off a finger or threatening to would be the extreme. I've never been convinced that waterboarding causes permanent damage if applied by someone trained to administer it properly.
NeverWoods Member	Sun Sep 19 08:57:55 But threatening to cutting of fingers does?
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 08:58:31 Ah yes, torture masqueraded for the benefit of GoUSA!-GoUSA!murder-loving war-whores as a careful, humane, medical science. You sick fuck
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 09:01:50 If you threaten to cut off a finger you are almost obliged to do it. That is why I consider it extreme. But we are getting way off topic. Should the accused soldiers be given a fair trial before being condemned or not?
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:03:32 incidentally, thats exactly the psychology for dummies that the inquisition used, as I read recently: that torture was not torture but a necessary interrogation process administered by experts. Go back to the 15th century where you belong with the taliban, you regressive savage.
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:05:18 Thats not the topic, thats you hijacking the thread. Since all the involved soldiers are blaming each other, you would have to be an idiot to think these murders havent happened. Wait - you are an idiot.
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 09:09:01 ^-So says the Nazi that does not believe in fair trials.
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:10:03 Your mom Rod. Shes dead sludge in a wet hole in the ground. That makes me smile lol
saiko Member	Sun Sep 19 09:10:07 "I've never been convinced that waterboarding causes permanent damage if applied by someone trained to administer it properly." Okay, so it's alright to waterboard Americans as long as you don't cut off fingers.
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:14:54 "^-So says the Nazi that does not believe in fair trials. " This from the cunt who wants to kill about a billion people without a trial...just wow...its unbelievable and yet its his default mode. HR makes me lose faith in humans.
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 09:16:45 No one is saying they didn't happen. Unlike you, I think there should be a fair trial before you take the accused out and execute them.
saiko Member	Sun Sep 19 09:22:51 But only because the perps are Americans, right? If they were Iraqis killing Americans, you'd want them against the wall first.
saiko Member	Sun Sep 19 09:23:15 I heard one of the soldiers is secretly a Muslim.
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:32:38 "Unlike you, I think there should be a fair trial before you take the accused out and execute them." Yes we saw that when you want to kill about 1,000,000,000 women, children and men. *Puke*
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 09:34:04 My knee jerk reaction would be to hang them, but I would accede to a fair trial as soon as some one reminded me. :) How do you know if it is a secrete? :)
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:42:18 Heres a case where US troops have quite clearly been involved in planned murders on civilians. Heres another case of someone who believes around 1,000,000,000 women, children and men should be sentenced to death because he says they all want to kill him. Guess which case he thinks makes him a fair-minded man for demanding a fair trial before passing sentence on? I know, I know, its mindboggling, impossible one would think, but there he is anyway.
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:44:07 My kneejerk reaction would be to hang you if I ever met you and stuff your decomposing body in the same cold, dark hole in the ground that your mom is in right this second, but I would accede to a fair trial as soon as some one reminded me. :)
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:48:53 "How do you know if it is a secrete? :) " Oh look, a little joke about his wish to hang 1,000,000,000 children, women and men. Youre such a charming old man, you really are. I'd like to hang your little grand niece. Who would ever know if it was a secret, eh? :D
Dead Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 09:52:20 My knee jerk reaction would be to hang these troops, but I would accede to a fair trial as soon as some one reminded me. :) How do you know if it is a secrete? :)
Hot Rod Member	Sun Sep 19 09:54:22 Do you people ever pay attention to the thread or do you just post like a deranged monkey?
Adolf Hitler Member	Sun Sep 19 09:58:20 Your mom rod. Do you think shes passed through the Black putrefaction phase yet or is she still at the putrefaction stage right this second? Black putrefaction After the body goes through the bloating stage it begins the black putrefaction stage. At this point the body cavity ruptures, the abdominal gases escape and the body darkens from its greenish color. These activities allow for a greater invasion of scavengers, and insect activity increases greatly. During the black putrefaction stage of decomposition, insects that can be found living in the body are: Calliphoridae larvae, Staphylinidae, Histeridae, Gamasid mites, Ptomaphila, Trichopterygidae, Piophilid larvae, Parasitic wasps, Staphylinid larvae, Trichopterygid larvae, Histerid larvae, Ptomaphila larvae, Dermestes, Tyroglyphid mites, Tineid larvae, and the Dermestes larvae. Some insects can also be found living in the soil around the body such as: Isopoda, Collembola, Dermaptera, Formicidae, Pseudoscorpiones, Araneae, Plectochetos, Acari, Pauropoda, Symphyla, Geophilidae, and Protura. The types of insects will differ based on where the body is, although Diptera larvae can be found feeding on the body in almost all cases.
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