US Army Kill Team in A-Stan.

[MKSheppard]

Link

US Army 'kill team' in Afghanistan posed for photos of murdered civilians

Commanders brace for backlash of anti-US sentiment that could be more damaging than after the Abu Ghraib scandal

Jon Boone The Guardian, Monday 21 March 2011

Commanders in Afghanistan are bracing themselves for possible riots and public fury triggered by the publication of "trophy" photographs of US soldiers posing with the dead bodies of defenceless Afghan civilians they killed.

Senior officials at Nato's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul have compared the pictures published by the German news weekly Der Spiegel to the images of US soldiers abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib in Iraq which sparked waves of anti-US protests around the world.

They fear that the pictures could be even more damaging as they show the aftermath of the deliberate murders of Afghan civilians by a rogue US Stryker tank unit that operated in the southern province of Kandahar last year.

Some of the activities of the self-styled "kill team" are already public, with 12 men currently on trial in Seattle for their role in the killing of three civilians.

Five of the soldiers are on trial for pre-meditated murder, after they staged killings to make it look like they were defending themselves from Taliban attacks.

Other charges include the mutilation of corpses, the possession of images of human casualties and drug abuse.

All of the soldiers have denied the charges. They face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.

The case has already created shock around the world, particularly with the revelations that the men cut "trophies" from the bodies of the people they killed.

An investigation by Der Spiegel has unearthed approximately 4,000 photos and videos taken by the men.

The magazine, which is planning to publish only three images, said that in addition to the crimes the men were on trial for there are "also entire collections of pictures of other victims that some of the defendants were keeping".

The US military has strived to keep the pictures out of the public domain fearing it could inflame feelings at a time when anti-Americanism in Afghanistan is already running high.

In a statement, the army said it apologised for the distress caused by photographs "depicting actions repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States".

The lengthy Spiegel article that accompanies the photographs contains new details about the sadistic behaviour of the men.

In one incident in May last year, the article says, during a patrol, the team apprehended a mullah who was standing by the road and took him into a ditch where they made him kneel down.

The group's leader, Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, then allegedly threw a grenade at the man while an order was given for him to be shot.

Afterwards, Gibbs is described cutting off one of the man's little fingers and removing a tooth.

The patrol team later claimed to their superiors that the mullah had tried to threaten them with a grenade and that they had no choice but to shoot.

On Sunday night many organisations employing foreign staff, including the United Nations, ordered their staff into a "lockdown", banning all movements around Kabul and requiring people to remain in their compounds.

In addition to the threat from the publication of the photographs, security has been heightened amid fears the Taliban may try to attack Persian new year celebrations.

There could also be attacks because Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, is due to make a speech declaring which areas of the country should be transferred from international to Afghan control in the coming months.

One security manager for the US company DynCorp sent an email to clients warning that publication of the photos was likely "to incite the local population" as the "severity of the incidents to be revealed are graphic and extreme".

Link

Did a U.S. 'kill team' go rogue in Afghanistan?
American soldiers allegedly murdered Afghan civilians and collected body parts as trophies, claim military documents
posted on September 10, 2010, at 12:52 PM

At least 12 American soldiers formed a secret "kill team" in Afghanistan that murdered Afghan civilians for fun and collected body parts as war trophies, according to charge sheets released by the U.S. military. Here's a guide to the grisly investigation:

How many soldiers are involved, and where are they from?
A total of 12 soldiers have had criminal charges leveled against them. All are from the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. Only five have been accused of murder, but the rest are alleged to have carried out a host of other violent crimes.

What are the allegations?
The dozen soldiers have been charged with a total of 76 crimes, including the murders of three Afghan civilans, and the beating of at least one of their fellow soldiers. Six have been accused of taking body parts from Afghan corpses as "trophies," including a skull and fingers. Other charges include assault, drug abuse, stealing mortars for personal use, and attempting to impede the investigation. (Read a full list of charges here)

Who was leading this 'kill team'?
The most senior ranking defendant is Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, a 25-year-old soldier from Billings, Montana. Gibbs allegedly joked to other members of his platoon in December 2009 about tossing a grenade at civilians. The first civilian supposedly murdered by the 'kill team' died in a grenade attack. Al Jazeera reports that "finger bones, leg bones and a tooth" from Afghan corpses were found in his possession. Gibbs denies all 16 charges leveled at him.

When and where did these crimes take place?
They are alleged to have happened earlier this year, while the 5th Stryker Brigade was stationed at Forward Operating Base Ramrod, west of Kandahar. The region is one of the most dangerous in Afghanistan.

How did they come to light?
The investigation was launched after a soldier from the 5th Stryker Brigade informed his superiors that some of the accused were smoking marijuana. The informant was allegedly attacked and threatened with death as a result. Staff Sgt Gibbs reportedly showed the fingers collected from Afghan corpses to the whistle-blower to stop him talking.

What do the soldiers say about the charges?
All deny the charges leveled against them. One, Spc. Jeremy Morlock, reportedly admitted involvement in the first murder but later claimed his statements were made under the influence of prescription drugs. The father of one of the other accused, Spc. Adam Winfield, says his son had told him of the first murder and expressed his horror at it. Subsequent attempts by Christopher Winfield to warn the U.S. Army about his son's platoon's behavior were reportedly ignored. Spc Winfield is one of the five accused of murder.

What are the alleged motives?
"The charge sheets don't shed light on what might have driven the soldiers to kill," says Mike Archbold at McClatchy, "whether for revenge, or for sport, or something else." The 5th Stryker Brigade suffered a heavy toll in Kandahar, losing 32 soldiers since July 2009 — including seven in a single roadside bomb.

What happens next?
The charges are being considered by a military grand jury to determine if there is enough evidence for a court-martial. More details will likely emerge about the charges then, as the prosecution lays out its case to officers.

[madd0ct0r]

I can hear choppers in the distance...

[Todeswind]

Oh good grief.

[hongi]

What more can you say than: the sick fucks.

[Todeswind]

I seriously hope they're seeking maximum charges on these fuck-heads.

[wautd]

But... but... Articles like these will aid the enemy and endanger US troops. These journalists should be put to trial.

[Zaune]

Does the US have an extradition treaty with Afghanistan yet? Short of taking a page out of the Napoleonic War-era British Army's book and publicly executing them in the centre of Kabul to win back hearts and minds, that would seem to be the most expeditious way of undoing some of the damage they've done.

[Winston Blake]

Der Spiegel photos can be viewed here.

The guy smiling in Picture 2 is Spc Jeremy Morlock. The corpse he is holding up is 'Afgani farmer Gul Mudin' (from the Wikipedia article - apparently this incident is now called the 'FOB Ramrod kill team' - includes list of soldiers facing charges).

The below page mentions that he is apparently going to testify against some other soldiers:

The photos, recalling the notorious Abu Ghraib prison abuse images from Iraq, show Morlock and another soldier --Private Andrew Holmes, who also faces murder charges --holding up the head of a blood-spattered corpse.

[...]

Morlock is also the government's star witness against four other soldiers accused over the execution of Afghan civilians -- in particular the alleged ring-leader, Staff Sergeant Calvin R. Gibbs.

Morlock led Army investigators to gruesome trophies allegedly taken from the bodies of civilians killed by members of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Division's Stryker brigade, based out of Fort Lewis, Washington.

I wonder how long it will take for the 4000 photos and videos to be leaked. OTOH, maybe the army learnt its lesson from the Wikileaks scandal.

[Steven Snyder]

This story is just amazing.

The Morlock in this story is from none other than Wasilla Alaska, hometown of Sarah Palin. Word has it that the Morlocks and the Palins are actually close.
Linky


As for what these shitheads did, I will leave that to the more eloquent crowd. But I am looking forward to the court-marshall.

[JME2]

I feel like I'm going to be sick...

[Ritterin Sophia]

As for what these shitheads did, I will leave that to the more eloquent crowd. But I am looking forward to the court-marshall.

Martial. It's a 'Court Martial', you know 'of people associated by war'.

[bobalot]

But... but... Articles like these will aid the enemy and endanger US troops. These journalists should be put to trial.

It's saddening that's an actual reaction that many people have.

[Block]

But... but... Articles like these will aid the enemy and endanger US troops. These journalists should be put to trial.

It's saddening that's an actual reaction that many people have.

Who? This wasn't a single incident that could be interpreted as a heat of the moment decision gone horribly wrong. This was a systematic butchering of people. Who would support that?

[Steven Snyder]

Martial. It's a 'Court Martial', you know 'of people associated by war'.

Yes of course, at the moment I was typing that the wife was informing me that our dishwasher was broken and my concentration followed suit.

[Vendetta]

But... but... Articles like these will aid the enemy and endanger US troops. These journalists should be put to trial.

It's saddening that's an actual reaction that many people have.

Who? This wasn't a single incident that could be interpreted as a heat of the moment decision gone horribly wrong. This was a systematic butchering of people. Who would support that?

There is a subset of people who are quite vocal in American politics* who will, whilst faithfully deploring these actions, entirely agree with the sentiment that they should under no circumstances be made public, and any punishment meted out should be done under a veil of secrecy such that the entire incident disappears for the sake of America's image. They will frequently use the argument that freely admitting to atrocities and demonstrating public justice being done is somehow "more harmful" to the US Army than allowing the culture which generated them to proceed unchecked.

* Every country has them, I suspect, but they're usually kept away from the mainstream media.

[Gandalf]

When it says that they're on trial in Seattle, is that a military or civilian court?

[Zaune]

There is a subset of people who are quite vocal in American politics* who will, whilst faithfully deploring these actions, entirely agree with the sentiment that they should under no circumstances be made public, and any punishment meted out should be done under a veil of secrecy such that the entire incident disappears for the sake of America's image. They will frequently use the argument that freely admitting to atrocities and demonstrating public justice being done is somehow "more harmful" to the US Army than allowing the culture which generated them to proceed unchecked.

* Every country has them, I suspect, but they're usually kept away from the mainstream media.

I can almost see merit in that argument, unpleasantly cynical as it may be. Why should the (I hope) overwhelming majority of service personnel who reacted to these revelations with as much horror, revulsion and fury as every poster on this board have their reputations tainted by association? Let's face it, it's going to be an uphill struggle convincing the Afghan population that they're not just being punished for being dumb enough to get caught no matter what we do.

But no matter how damaging these revelations are, being seen to be covering them up would be infinitely worse. And it is logistically impossible to keep something like this buried indefinitely.

[Zixinus]

In a strange sort of way, I'm sort of glad for this news: it shows that the US seems to give at least try and give a shit about preventing and punishing war crimes and war criminals.

[Winston Blake]

In a strange sort of way, I'm sort of glad for this news: it shows that the US seems to give at least try and give a shit about preventing and punishing war crimes and war criminals.

At this point, for all we know they're just covering their asses right now.

Some info on how the story got blown open:

‘Kill team’ whistle-blowing soldier held in solitary confinement
By Lynn Herrmann.

A US soldier who had alerted his father to a secret “kill team” of soldiers operating in Afghanistan has been placed in solitary confinement over concerns for his safety.
Spc. Adam Winfield, 21, had previously alerted his father about innocent Afghan civilians being murdered by a group of US soldiers. His whistle-blowing activity led to the arrests of 12 soldiers, including himself, over the incidents that included the murder of three Afghan civilian men.

As previously reported by Digital Journal, US Army charging sheets show five soldiers are charged with using grenades and firearms in the killings. Seven other soldiers are accused of stabbing an Afghan corpse, taking or being in possession of photos of casualties and beating other soldiers in their attempts to cover up the crimes.
Additionally, three of the soldiers are charged with the use of hashish, a controlled substance.

Winfield had contacted his parents earlier this year about the first killing via a Facebook message. “I’m not sure what to do about something that happened out here but I need to be secretive about this.”

A month went by before his parents heard from him again. In an Internet message on February 14 he told them members of his unit - all part of the Army’s Fifth Stryker brigade - had killed “some innocent guy about my age just farming.”

The younger Winfield asked his parents to contact an Army hotline for help because of his fear of being overheard using a phone while in the occupied country.
Records show the elder Winfield made repeated attempts to contact military officials and when finally reaching someone within an Army CID office, the official explained there was nothing the military could do if his son was unwilling to come forward with the information while deployed. Arrests of the five original soldiers, including the younger Winfield, occurred in June, with arrests of the other seven taking place in August.

Military records say that platoon leader Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, so-called leader of the kill team, collected body parts from the dead civilians as souvenirs.
According to CNN, Winfield is being held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, along with the other soldiers he claims plotted the murders. Any case(s) brought against them would involve Winfield as a key element.

Military officials at Lewis-McChord would not comment on questions concerning Winfield but a spokeswoman said an investigation is underway.
“We will not comment on measures taken to ensure this individual’s safety. The US Army CID is investigating allegations that a threat was made to one of the defendants; however, we are not releasing any further information associated with these allegations,” said Maj. Kathleen Turner, public affairs officer at Lewis-McChord.
Additionally, the Army has provided no details over Winfield and the other defendants housing conditions or whether they have been allowed to communicate among themselves.

TL;DR version - a whistleblower told his Dad about it on Facebook, afraid to use the phones, then his Dad "made repeated attempts to contact military officials and when finally reaching someone within an Army CID office, the official explained there was nothing the military could do if his son was unwilling to come forward with the information while deployed". Eventually whistleblower gets arrested along with the others (pretending to know nothing, if he was smart), and is later put into solitary confinement for his own safety.

Let's hope it's not the same kind of solitary confinement Bradley Manning was put in 'for his own safety'.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Let's hope it's not the same kind of solitary confinement Bradley Manning was put in 'for his own safety'.

It probably will be, for the exact same reasons. I would not be at all shocked if an updated charge sheet eventually includes "treason" or "aiding the enemy" in the list of charges.

Spc Jeremy Morlock

Wow. His last name is AMAZINGLY appropriate.

[Zaune]

It probably will be, for the exact same reasons. I would not be at all shocked if an updated charge sheet eventually includes "treason" or "aiding the enemy" in the list of charges.

Doubt it. This guy's whistleblowing was done more or less by the book, and whilst this does not excuse or justify Manning's treatment in any way, he did arguably short-circuit procedure somewhat.

[Gil Hamilton]

In the past, plenty of whistleblowers and other involved in stopping rogue or not-so-rogue elements of the US military doing bad things have been lashed out at. Hugh Thompson Jr., the helicopter pilot who intervened in the My Lai massacre, ended up getting hauled up before congress and brow beat by various Senators who intervening once the cover up of the incident had failed. One of the Dixiecrats of the time claimed he was the only soldier to be punished for it and tried (unsuccessfully) to have him court-martialled for threatening to fire on other US soldiers who were attempting to murder a bunker full of defenseless villagers. Even afterwards, he constantly received hate mail, death threats, and even the corpses of dead animals on his doorstep.

In fact, this all current mess sounds like something out of Vietnam, where from time to time exactly what was described in the article happened by rogue and not-so-rogue military units. These bozos might as well been Tiger Force for going out an killing and cutting up civilians for trophies. I suppose though that progress has been made since the guys in the Afghan Kill Team are going to be punished by the military, rather than more-or-less encouraged by the military of the Vietnam era.

[Edi]

More likely than not this incident would also be hushed up as much as possible if it was not already public. Just look at Abu Ghraib, which went all the way to the top and only a few bottom level grunts got punished as scapegoats.

You can bet that the same is going to happen here and command responsibility is certainly not going to be extended anywhere above the guy who has been fingered as one of the main instigators.

[MKSheppard]

TL;DR version - a whistleblower told his Dad about it on Facebook, afraid to use the phones, then his Dad "made repeated attempts to contact military officials and when finally reaching someone within an Army CID office, the official explained there was nothing the military could do if his son was unwilling to come forward with the information while deployed".

One version I've read starts with newbie soldier in 5th Stryker brigade telling his bosses that some of teh guys are smoking pot. The accused attack the newbie and threaten him with death. Army starts getting interested at that point.

[jegs2]

More likely than not this incident would also be hushed up as much as possible if it was not already public. Just look at Abu Ghraib, which went all the way to the top and only a few bottom level grunts got punished as scapegoats.

You can bet that the same is going to happen here and command responsibility is certainly not going to be extended anywhere above the guy who has been fingered as one of the main instigators.

The commander of 5/2 SBCT has some serious issues with leadership:

Army Times article

More linkage

Red flags