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

The actions of the few are to be used to condemn the rest? So all Pakistanis should be tarred with the brush of suicide bombers?

Did you miss the part about the American military putting the perpetrators on trial?

---------- Post added at 04:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:01 AM ----------



Would you happen to have a link to support your claim?

the incident with the SAS never happened. The only link he can pull up is related to the four already being prosecuted for their crimes.
 
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the afghan government is most likely aware of the "kill teams" . they are allowing these teams into afghanistan.

Stop purposely spreading baseless lies. The case of the 5 is an isolated case, and they are actively being prosecuted for their crimes. If your going to make an accusation then provide proof.
 
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generalisation should not be there BUT again a hypocrite US and Western media covers the crimes of NATO/US soldiers by saying it was done by "FEW" soldiers from "rogue" US Army unit . but the same US/Western media goes for uncalled for propaganda against entire faith
 
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The US military shows more restraint and fights with more rules of engagement that work against their soldiers safety to keep civilian deaths to a minimum than any countries army.
 
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here is one pro-US biased reporting by BBC. just read and you will find how BBC tried to make it mild

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US Army apology for photos of soldiers with Afghan body

The US Army has apologised for graphic photographs of US soldiers grinning over the corpses of Afghan civilians they had allegedly killed.

The photos published by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine were said to be among many seized by US Army investigators.

An army statement said the photographs were "repugnant" but were already being used as evidence in a court martial.

Afghan civilian deaths at the hands of foreign forces is a highly sensitive issue in Afghanistan.

These photographs are purported to have been taken by a "rogue" US Army unit in Afghanistan in 2010.


Such images are only going to exacerbate tensions between the Afghan government and the people on the one hand and the US-led coalition on the other, says the BBC's Paul Wood in Kabul.
US court martial

It is unclear exactly when the photographs published were taken but Der Spiegel says they are among 4,000 pictures and pieces of video they have obtained.


Some of the images show two soldiers kneeling over a body. They each hold the face of the dead man up to the camera by grabbing his hair and turning his head. One of the American soldiers is grinning.

The US Army said these photographs depict "actions repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States Army".

"The actions portrayed in these photographs remain under investigation and are now the subject of ongoing US court-martial proceedings, in which the accused are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty," it added.

Soldiers who are convicted will be held accountable as appropriate, the army says.
Court sketch of Cpl Morlock (centre), investigating officer Col Thomas Molloy (right) and lawyer Michael Waddington (left) - 27 September 2010 Cpl Morlock has now agreed to plead guilty


Der Spiegel magazine says it has identified one of the soldiers in the photographs as Cpl Jeremy Morlock. He is one of five soldiers accused of the premeditated murder of three Afghan civilians earlier this year.

Cpl Morlock agreed to plead guilty in late February and get a shorter prison term if he testified against the other accused soldiers.

They deny the charges. Another seven soldiers from the same unit have been charged with conspiracy to cover up the alleged murders.

Cpl Morlock's court martial is due to resume on Wednesday.

The five accused of murder allegedly threw grenades and opened fire on civilians in unprovoked assaults, while the other seven are accused of dismembering the victims and collecting body parts.
Afghan anger


These photographs purportedly depict the alleged actions of a few "renegade" soldiers, but Afghan sensitivities about civilian deaths are running high after a series of incidents in which coalition forces have been blamed for accidentally killing civilians in bombing raids.

"This could inflame the situation. This is the last thing we expected at this time. Our position is very clear, stop killing civilians and this killing is not acceptable to the president, to the country and to the people of Afghanistan," an official from Afghanistan's National Security Council which deals with the US army, who wished to remain unnamed, told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary.


A record number of civilians were killed in Afghanistan last year. More than 2,700 civilians were killed in 2010 - up 15% on the year before.

A UN report on civilian deaths said that the Taliban were responsible for 75% of all deaths. The proportion killed by Afghan and Nato forces fell, accounting for 16% of civilian deaths.

Correspondents say that the deaths of Afghans by foreign hands provokes greater outrage than killings by the Taliban.

\BBC News - US Army apology for photos of soldiers with Afghan body
 
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Yup- you deserve to see these photos as well-

soldierinflames.jpg


You are paying taxes- they are paying with their lives :tdown:-

This one does not seem to be an American soldier. The uniform and helmet are wrong.

By the way, do you know that the website that you linked has itself a link to a site claiming that in the early part of this century that Pakistan would have had to give up vast parts of its territory to Afghanistan which is why Pakistan "invented" the Taliban? Please, do more research on your "sources."
 
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the incident with the SAS never happened. The only link he can pull up is related to the four already being prosecuted for their crimes.

The US occupation in the Middle East has been a never ending series of atrocities. From torture to rendition to Abu Graib. Countless civilians dead and now a rogue hit squad. Makes you wonder what else is being covered up never to see the light of day. What is done by American soldiers are the responsibilities of the country. You cannot call the occupation a gift of America and then wash your hands when American soldiers go rogue. These bloods are on American hands. You can be sure of that.
 
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The US occupation in the Middle East has been a never ending series of atrocities. From torture to rendition to Abu Graib. Countless civilians dead and now a rogue hit squad. Makes you wonder what else is being covered up never to see the light of day. What is done by American soldiers are the responsibilities of the country. You cannot call the occupation a gift of America and then wash your hands when American soldiers go rogue. These bloods are on American hands. You can be sure of that.

You are right, never-ending atrocities. The Americans build schools for girls! How ever can we trust them after that? They provided security for free elections such as we never had before! The horror! They withdrew most of their troops from Iraq after providing security for the Iraqi people until our own military and police were trained and experienced! Ah, those devil Americans! Even now they are insidiously providing weaponry to our freely elected government so we can defend ourselves from AIF and our "friendly" neighbors. How dastardly can they be?

When you begin to understand that there is much, nearly everything in fact, that you do not know about Iraq, please feel free to comment about my country further.
 
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salaam.......:angry:

ref:Photos show US soldiers in Afghanistan posing with dead civilians | World news | The Guardian

Photos show US soldiers in Afghanistan posing with dead civilians'Trophy' pictures show US soldiers posing with corpses of Afghan civilians they are accused of killing for sport
A-US-soldier-poses-with-d-007.jpg


Share703 Jon Boone in Kabul guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 March 2011 21.56 GMT Article history
A US soldier poses with the corpse of an Afghan boy – one of three photographs published by German magazine Der Spiegel. Photograph: AP
A-US-soldier-poses-with-d-007.jpg


The face of Jeremy Morlock, a young US soldier, grins at the camera, his hand holding up the head of the dead and bloodied youth he and his colleagues have just killed in an act military prosecutors say was premeditated murder.
Moments before the picture was taken in January last year, the unsuspecting victim had been waved over by a group of US soldiers who had driven to his village in Kandahar province in one of their armoured Stryker tanks.
According to testimony collected by Der Spiegel magazine the boy had, as a matter of routine, lifted up his shirt to reveal that he was not hiding a suicide bomb vest.

That was the moment Morlock, according to a pre-arranged plan, threw a grenade at the boy that exploded while other members of the rogue group who called themselves the "kill team" opened fire.
They would later tell military investigators that the boy, a farmer's son, had threatened them with the grenade.

The pictures include a similar photograph of a different soldier posing with the same victim and a photograph of two other civilians killed by the unit.

There was no sign on Monday of the anticipated public outrage. But with Afghanistan on holiday for the Persian new year celebrations, and media outlets initially unable to get hold of the images, anger may yet build.

The US ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, recently confided to officials that he feared it might trigger the same kind of scandal as that at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, where images of prisoners being abused by US soldiers sparked anti-American protests.

For weeks the US government has been working to pre-empt any outrage, with top officials, including the US vice president Joe Biden, in talks with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president.

Despite being a setback in the propaganda war between the western coalition and its insurgent enemies, Nato will be relieved that for the time being only a tiny sample of a total collection of roughly 4,000 images and video clips have found their way into the public domain.

The publication of the photos will also mark the ultimate disgrace of the group of young US soldiers, who are currently facing military justice for killing innocent civilians for sport and mutilating their bodies by cutting off fingers and ripping out teeth to keep as trophies.

Morlock has turned on his former colleagues, agreeing to testify against them in return for a reduced jail sentence. Some of the activities of the group are already public, with 12 men currently on trial in Seattle for their role in the killing of three civilians. Morlock has told investigators that Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was the ringleader. In videotaped evidence, he has said Gibbs would pick out a possible target with a comment such as: "You guys wanna wax this guy or what?"

Gibbs, if found guilty, could receive a life sentence.

Hans-Ulrich Stoldt, a spokesman for Der Spiegel, said the magazine had other, more graphic photos.

"We published three but not others, and we even pixilated those we did print so that the victims could not be identified," Stoldt said. "We needed to document [the accusations] in some form, and were as restrained as possible."
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ARROGANT BASTARD MURDERERS...MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL.....THEY NEED TO BE HANGED>>>>BASTARDS ARE GIVING THEIR BULLSHIT DEMOCRACY TO THE WORLD>>>>>I HOPE THEY ROT IN HELL!
 
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ref:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/201...afghanistan-posed-pictures-murdered-civilians

US Army 'kill team' in Afghanistan posed for photos of murdered civiliansCommanders brace for backlash of anti-US sentiment that could be more damaging than after the Abu Ghraib scandal
Abu-Ghraib-prison-007.jpg

Share13K Jon Boone The Guardian, Monday 21 March 2011 Article history
The Afghanistan 'kill team' photos of murdered civilians could be more damaging than those from Abu Ghraib, say Nato commanders. Photograph: AP

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".
 
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You are right, never-ending atrocities. The Americans build schools for girls! How ever can we trust them after that? They provided security for free elections such as we never had before! The horror! They withdrew most of their troops from Iraq after providing security for the Iraqi people until our own military and police were trained and experienced! Ah, those devil Americans! Even now they are insidiously providing weaponry to our freely elected government so we can defend ourselves from AIF and our "friendly" neighbors. How dastardly can they be?

When you begin to understand that there is much, nearly everything in fact, that you do not know about Iraq, please feel free to comment about my country further.

Why don't you enlighten us with the tale of your love for America?
 
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You are right, never-ending atrocities. The Americans build schools for girls! How ever can we trust them after that? They provided security for free elections such as we never had before! The horror! They withdrew most of their troops from Iraq after providing security for the Iraqi people until our own military and police were trained and experienced! Ah, those devil Americans! Even now they are insidiously providing weaponry to our freely elected government so we can defend ourselves from AIF and our "friendly" neighbors. How dastardly can they be?

When you begin to understand that there is much, nearly everything in fact, that you do not know about Iraq, please feel free to comment about my country further.

Yeah them evil Americans.:rolleyes:

2m44mc3.jpg


A UH-60 Black Hawk from Task Force 34, 1st Battalion 244th Assault Helicopter Battalion flies over a mosque during a routine flight on Feb. 27.(Photo by Staff Sgt. Lynette Hoke : 34th Combat Aviation Brigade)

This Weekends PIX!! 28 FEB/1 March, 2009
 
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This is going to make many people angry and not only in Afghanistan. Americans/NATO should leave Afghanistan.
 
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