When I was a young man in the war in South Vietnam, if you had 10+ confirmed kills you got to join what they called, “The Viet Cong Hunting Club”….at least it was so in the Mekong Delta around the 9th Infantry Division…..and now I see that tradition has NOT been put to bed….looks like they have an Afghan Hunting Club” in our conflict in Afghanistan….but there it seems you do not have to be a known insurgent to be counted…….
This piece is from Newser website……..
How did the US Army’s self-proclaimed “kill team” get away with murdering unarmed Afghan civilians for so long, with little to no intervention by officers? That’s the question Hurt Locker screenwriter Mark Boal addresses in a lengthy Rolling Stone article on the murders and the cover-ups, in which no officers or senior officials have yet been charged. Boal traces the evolution of the plot, from the moment Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs joined the 5th Stryker Brigade’s Bravo Company as squad leader for the 3rd Platoon. Gibbs, who replaced a squad leader whose legs had been blown off by an IED, was already “an extreme version of a relentless attacker,” writes Boal. His new squad was suffering from low morale, and Gibbs had a solution: Hatch a plot within the troops to avenge their losses by killing civilians and hiding the evidence.Gibbs has been portrayed as a “crazy” sociopath, but Boal reports that Gibbs was actually well-liked by those both above and below him in the ranks. The article tracks the platoon’s actions from the first kill last January—a teenage boy in the isolated farming village of La Mohammad Kalay, whose finger Gibbs sliced off as a trophy—through those that followed over the next four months, claiming at least three more innocent lives. The soldiers involved were never disciplined or punished, and they got bolder as leadership continued to seemingly ignore their activities, despite warning signs and suspicious details. Boal shows that, far from the “rogue unit” the Army framed it as, the “kill team” actually operated quite openly, and the murders were common knowledge among the platoon. Furthermore, he writes, there is “evidence that the killings of civilians went beyond a few men in 3rd Platoon.” Click for the full piece, which also includes newly released—and very graphic……
A disgusting story……and it looks like the US cannot find a way from the accusation that we are on a crusade in Afghanistan……this type of stuff is some of the same occurrences that were reported during the crusades of years gone by….it is sad and disgusting….the things that we humans are capable of doing…
I certainly hope the actions of a few are not used to paint a broad stroke, if you know what I mean.
Most of our service men and women are nothing close to those animals. Most conduct themselves with nothing but honor and integrity, and it would be a shame if a few rotten apples were allowed to tear down the entire United States’ military, and indeed, the entire country. It would be a shame.
Morning Terrance……I am afraid it will be used against our troops…just as My Lai was….Abu Grehb (sp?)……this is the sort of stuff AQ lives for….I agree that the troops, most of them, do NOT deserve this …..
Let’s hope our disgust is universal (perhaps, with luck, it is).
Morning B……so far most of the comments that I have read are in disgust…..
You know the really sad thing? That doesn’t even surprise me.
Yet (as Terrance H says) it does NOTHING to help the vast majority of decent service personnel who are doing a fine job in difficult circumstances – in fact it puts them at increased risk.
Quin…during the VN war one of the sayings to explain or try to explain some of the horrendous stuff that was done…..”nothing more savage than a 19 yr old with a gun”….I amn sure someone somewhere will get a grant to study if some of the more violent games played by teens could have contributed to the outcome……
Games are games and reality is reality – if we taught “decency” to our children, particularly when they are very young, then the two would never be confused – or allowed to go unpunished!
I could use the grant, though 😈
Unfortunately, parents use the violent games as baby sitters and young minds that have a hard time with distinguishing reality think that is the way of the world….I agree with your decency thing….but will people do it?