Afghan Massacre: Will Justice Be Found and Done? (looking unlikely)
2012 03 22
By Michael S. Rozeff | The LRC Blog
 On March 11, allegedly 16 civilians were killed, mostly women and children in Kandahar’s Panjwaii district . Source
No one has yet been charged for the recent night time murder of 16 Afghan villagers. A suspect, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, is in custody in the U.S., after having been removed from Afghanistan. The news coverage of this event has been extremely sketchy. The authorities are not releasing much information yet. We do not know who gave the orders to remove Bales or how that came about. We do not know how he is to be tried, that is, who the prosecution will be and what the trial rules will be. We do not know what discovery procedures will occur. We do not know who is collecting what evidence.
Bales has a prominent lawyer named John Henry Browne. Browne made some interesting statements that coincide with earlier remarks of mine about the need for forensic evidence and crime scene investigation of a professional nature, without which justice cannot easily be done. He said
"There’s no forensic evidence."
"There’s no medical examiner’s evidence. There’s no evidence about how many alleged victims or where those remains are."
"So it’s fascinating from a defence lawyer’s perspective. Prove it."
"Asked if there was evidence of a crime, Mr. Browne replied: ’I really don’t know. Certainly from what I’ve read, there’s very little.’"
Since there are no charges and no discovery process yet, there is no way that Browne could have access to any of the evidence of which he speaks, if such evidence has been collected and exists. Who is taking statements from witnesses in Afghanistan? Who has taken photographs of the crime scene? We have pitifully little information about any of this. Has reporting gone out of style? Or do the authorities now routinely create information blackouts?
Can justice be done thousands of miles away from the crime scene? Will witnesses be flown in from Afghanistan?
Why are civilian deaths by drone attack treated differently than the deaths that occurred in this case? In drone attacks, a chain of command exists from which orders emanate and death dealt out. But does the mere existence of an organization created and approved by the U.S. legitimize the deaths that it inflicts in Afghanistan? Mere official organization is a flimsy basis for killing people, and it is a basis that is shrouded in darkness, secrecy and a lack of accountability.
The Panjwai massacre is being treated differently because it is said to have occurred outside the chain of command. Unjustifiable killings of innocent civilians are not allowed. Responsibility is traced back to those who do them, if possible. This is well and good, but the moral question arises: Why are killings done by "official" U.S. organizations, as with drones, any less in the category of unjustifiable killings? What justifies the U.S. presence in Afghanistan? It is not al-Qaeda.
[...]
Read the full article at: lewrockwell.com
Afghan Massacre: Mass Murder By 2 Death Squads With Air Support (?) (Graphic)
By Alexander Higgins | AlexanderHigginsBlog
US cover up of the Afghan massacre unravels as probe finds two groups of US Soldiers carried out executions of 16 civilians, allegedly with full air support.
The US corporate media continues to insist that only one soldier carried out the brutal Afghan massacre which left 16 civilians, mostly woman and children, dead in their homes.
 In Afghanistan another version of the story is developing that the corporate media fails to even acknowledge as Afghanistan President Karzai accuses the US government of covering up the truth about the executions.
President Karzai, Afghanistan Parliament members, investigators and local witnesses are have a compiled a mountain of corroborating evidence that points to a clear cover up of the massacre by the US government.
Top officials in Afghanistan say the assassinations were premeditated executions carried out by death squads, who were flown in by helicopter and given air support during the mass murder and the death squads conducted the civilian slaughter in retaliation for attacks on US troops.
The killings have been found to have been conducted nearly simultaneously at two separate locations which cast major doubts the US narrative that a single gunman carried out the atrocities.
Further adding to the credibility of the Afghan narrative is these killings were conducted in less than a one hour time period during which time two Afghan woman were raped before they were murdered execution style.
While the people of Afghanistan have welcomed the US military in their country since 2001 they are demanding the US government end the cover up immediately and bring the perpetrators to justice.
They have gone on to warn that if that doesn’t happen, they will declare the United States military an occupying force like they did during the Russia invasion and that didn’t turn out to well for the Russians.
[...]
In typical fashion the US media has entered into damage control mode.
The New York Times went on to report that Karzai has lashed out at the US government for failing to cooperate with the panel he assigned to investigate the incident.
The article conveniently leaves out any mention of Karzai’s accusation of a cover up or any mention that the executions were carried out by squads of US soldiers .
Instead, in typical doublespeak fashion used by the media to lie about something, the article uses a passive voice to described the incident “a shooting rampage attributed to an American soldier.”
Perhaps even more disgusting is the article links the phrase “a delegation he had sent to investigate the killings” to an article about militants attacking a memorial service for the victims.”
[...]
Read the full article at: blog.alexanderhiggins.com
After Bales’ arrest, military tried to delete him from Web
US soldier ’can’t recall’ Afghan massacre
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