are you being serious???!!! :@

[sahil112]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17454316

'No proof' in Afghan massacre suspect Sgt Bales case

The lawyer representing a US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in their homes has said there is little proof of his client's guilt.

John Henry Browne said there was "no forensic evidence" against Staff Sgt Robert Bales and "no confession".

He also dismissed reports suggesting Sgt Bales, 38, was having financial troubles as irrelevant to the case.

Sgt Bales is being held a military detention centre awaiting charges, which are expected this week.

The killings have undermined US relations with Kabul and led to calls for Nato to speed up their planned withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

After meeting with Sgt Bales at a US army base in Kansas, Mr Browne told reporters: "We've all heard the allegations. I don't know that the government has proved much."

Continue reading the main story
Staff Sgt Robert Bales

Aged 38
Two children
Enlisted in 2001
Three previous tours to Iraq
Injured twice
Profile: Staff Sgt Robert Bales
Sgt Bales is the only known suspect in the killings - despite repeated Afghan assertions that more than one American was involved.

Mr Browne said he now plans to travel to Afghanistan to gather his own evidence.

Money troubles
The lawyer also responded to questions about Sgt Bales' financial history.

He and his wife had reportedly struggled to make the payments on two properties they had bought.

It has now also emerged that - along with another man and his company - Sgt Bales owed a reported $1.5m (£950,000) from an arbitration ruling nearly a decade ago which found him guilty of securities fraud while he was working as a stockbroker.

Mr Browne told Associated Press "that doesn't mean anything".


Sgt Bales and his wife were reportedly having trouble making their mortgage payments
"Sure, there are financial problems. I have financial problems. Ninety-nine percent of America has financial problems," he said.

"You don't go kill women and children because you have financial problems."

His wife, Karilyn, has issued a statement expressing her condolences to the victims and their families and saying what reportedly took place is "completely out of character of the man I know and admire".

Mr Browne first met his client at Fort Leavenworth on Monday to begin preparing his defence.

The Pentagon has previously said that Sgt Bales could face charges that carry a possible death penalty.

Such a trial could take years, contrasting with Afghan demands for swift and decisive justice.

[Amir al Ghaznavi]

hes a lawyer, hes supposed to be saying those things

[sahil112]

hes a lawyer, hes supposed to be saying those things

i figured that much out by myself thank you very much

what i am saying is we all new something like this would happen... he would get taken out and just get away with it gives motives for others to do it couse they start thinking they can get away with it!!!!

[Radiant-star]

i figured that much out by myself thank you very much

what i am saying is we all new something like this would happen... he would get taken out and just get away with it gives motives for others to do it couse they start thinking they can get away with it!!!!

This is justice of the most civilized, educated, technologically advanced nation.
Follow them follow them

[Amir al Ghaznavi]

i figured that much out by myself thank you very much

what i am saying is we all new something like this would happen... he would get taken out and just get away with it gives motives for others to do it couse they start thinking they can get away with it!!!!

dont worry, im sure there will be massive bicycle bombs in the kandahar bazaar to avenge this heinous crime

[sahil112]

dont worry, im sure there will be massive bicycle bombs in the kandahar bazaar to avenge this heinous crime

thanks for the heads up

[Radiant-star]

dont worry, im sure there will be massive bicycle bombs in the kandahar bazaar to avenge this heinous crime

Because the occupied forces are on kandahari soil unfortunately. If they were not there there would be no bomb blast. I wish you take them from kandahar to somewhere else.

[IamDZJ]

eventually he will step out of his house with out any security to get some cigarettes from the gas stations..maybe six months from now and maybe 20 years from now..someone will be waiting for him. and i suggest someone declare a few fatwas on any lawyer that tries to defend him.

[Breshna]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17454316

'No proof' in Afghan massacre suspect Sgt Bales case

The lawyer representing a US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in their homes has said there is little proof of his client's guilt.

John Henry Browne said there was "no forensic evidence" against Staff Sgt Robert Bales and "no confession".

He also dismissed reports suggesting Sgt Bales, 38, was having financial troubles as irrelevant to the case.

Sgt Bales is being held a military detention centre awaiting charges, which are expected this week.

The killings have undermined US relations with Kabul and led to calls for Nato to speed up their planned withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

After meeting with Sgt Bales at a US army base in Kansas, Mr Browne told reporters: "We've all heard the allegations. I don't know that the government has proved much."

Continue reading the main story
Staff Sgt Robert Bales

Aged 38
Two children
Enlisted in 2001
Three previous tours to Iraq
Injured twice
Profile: Staff Sgt Robert Bales
Sgt Bales is the only known suspect in the killings - despite repeated Afghan assertions that more than one American was involved.

Mr Browne said he now plans to travel to Afghanistan to gather his own evidence.

Money troubles
The lawyer also responded to questions about Sgt Bales' financial history.

He and his wife had reportedly struggled to make the payments on two properties they had bought.

It has now also emerged that - along with another man and his company - Sgt Bales owed a reported $1.5m (£950,000) from an arbitration ruling nearly a decade ago which found him guilty of securities fraud while he was working as a stockbroker.

Mr Browne told Associated Press "that doesn't mean anything".


Sgt Bales and his wife were reportedly having trouble making their mortgage payments
"Sure, there are financial problems. I have financial problems. Ninety-nine percent of America has financial problems," he said.

"You don't go kill women and children because you have financial problems."

His wife, Karilyn, has issued a statement expressing her condolences to the victims and their families and saying what reportedly took place is "completely out of character of the man I know and admire".

Mr Browne first met his client at Fort Leavenworth on Monday to begin preparing his defence.

The Pentagon has previously said that Sgt Bales could face charges that carry a possible death penalty.

Such a trial could take years, contrasting with Afghan demands for swift and decisive justice.

If the same happened...to this lawyer.

The murdering...culprit...hiding behind...his lawyer.

To the...ones that make excuses...for these people.

Then it would..be...different.

Then...we would see...them cry...we would,

see them on news...for the next 50 years.

Because their piggy blood...is precious...

whiles Afghan..Pashtuns,

blood is...cheap.

The world...is full of...hypocrites.

It just...makes your blood...boil.

[Admin Khan]

If this man gets anything < than:
A)Death sentence
B)Life in jail

Expect Afghans to seek revenge. It's common sense at this point. Also, say Bye-Bye to any strategic pact. Ever since this incident arose, even Karzai and Karimi grew a pair, and they seem to be genuinely upset.

Der da sharam khabara da.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17454316

'No proof' in Afghan massacre suspect Sgt Bales case

The lawyer representing a US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in their homes has said there is little proof of his client's guilt.

John Henry Browne said there was "no forensic evidence" against Staff Sgt Robert Bales and "no confession".

He also dismissed reports suggesting Sgt Bales, 38, was having financial troubles as irrelevant to the case.

Sgt Bales is being held a military detention centre awaiting charges, which are expected this week.

The killings have undermined US relations with Kabul and led to calls for Nato to speed up their planned withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

After meeting with Sgt Bales at a US army base in Kansas, Mr Browne told reporters: "We've all heard the allegations. I don't know that the government has proved much."

Continue reading the main story
Staff Sgt Robert Bales

Aged 38
Two children
Enlisted in 2001
Three previous tours to Iraq
Injured twice
Profile: Staff Sgt Robert Bales
Sgt Bales is the only known suspect in the killings - despite repeated Afghan assertions that more than one American was involved.

Mr Browne said he now plans to travel to Afghanistan to gather his own evidence.

Money troubles
The lawyer also responded to questions about Sgt Bales' financial history.

He and his wife had reportedly struggled to make the payments on two properties they had bought.

It has now also emerged that - along with another man and his company - Sgt Bales owed a reported $1.5m (£950,000) from an arbitration ruling nearly a decade ago which found him guilty of securities fraud while he was working as a stockbroker.

Mr Browne told Associated Press "that doesn't mean anything".


Sgt Bales and his wife were reportedly having trouble making their mortgage payments
"Sure, there are financial problems. I have financial problems. Ninety-nine percent of America has financial problems," he said.

"You don't go kill women and children because you have financial problems."

His wife, Karilyn, has issued a statement expressing her condolences to the victims and their families and saying what reportedly took place is "completely out of character of the man I know and admire".

Mr Browne first met his client at Fort Leavenworth on Monday to begin preparing his defence.

The Pentagon has previously said that Sgt Bales could face charges that carry a possible death penalty.

Such a trial could take years, contrasting with Afghan demands for swift and decisive justice.

Sahel Saheb, as long as there are strong powers that are unregulated by their people, might will unfortunateIly remain right.

This is going to be interesting in terms of what the legal implications are for the US Military Penal Code.

In the past, a sort of defense based on a particular soldier's case, called the Medina Standard was utilized. Interestingly enough, the soldier whose name it is based on was acquitted of all crimes.

In this situation, there are clear witnesses (i.e. an Afghan soldier) and base videos of this guy leaving his base without permission.

However, the same occurred in the case of the rape of Abeer Hamza, in Iraq. That case was actually in some ways more cruel even than this. A group of soldiers noticed young Abeer who was noted for her beauty and scouted out her living arrangements. They left their base without permission and raided her home, took her into another room, gang raped her, shot her family (including a baby), and then killed her. They proceeded to burn her body as well

The main culprit in that case, Mr. Stephen Greene was not given the death penalty but was given life in prison due to Jury disagreements.

I think that in the court of public opinion, there has been a double standard. In Falluja years ago, when those contractors were killed, a lady named Peggy Noonan wrote an article advocating that each of the young Iraqi men seen in that video be hunted down and snuffed out. While the US soldiers are given the excuse of: Combat stress and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI); I find it interesting that Fallujans did not get the excuse that they were in Mr. Rumsfeld's words: shocked and awed.

However, Sahil, I think we need to look at the forest AND the trees here. Every person is responsible for individual actions, after all not everyone has gone loco like this guy and off'ed a bunch of people, including a 2 month old.

But the real criminals are the men in suits that sent Mr. Bale there in the first place. He would have been fine, eating his mayonnaise sandwiches in his Norwood Kentucky home, dealing with subprime mortgage issues and what not. Instead, Senator Graham and others sent him there to supposedly nation build, forgetting that soldiers since time immemorial are trained for one thing: to kill enemies. They are not habitat for humanity nor are they the Peace Corps.

Miss Merkel, Mr. Cameron, Mr. Bush, and Mr Obama are all criminally involved in this notion that the nation's elite has the right to do whatever it wants with its sons and daughters.

On our parents' side of the ocean, Mr. Karzai and the emigre elites cannot really shed too many crockadile tears either as their whole government survives simply on the back of US power at this point. In fact Mr. Karzai openly admitted in his loya jirga that he wanted them there for power projection and as a deterrence. "Deterrance" doesnt give villagers flowers and "deterrance" does not build girls schools without any possible side effect when it interacts with villagers amongst whom are people that want these guys out. No deterrance is trained with an M16 to kill.

The US is there because a whole new war industry has been spawned to add bulk to the military industrial complex (MIC). Contracting firms for translation services, NGOs, etc all get lucrative contracts and as seen in the case of Rateb Popal and other corrupt government officials, they are now making their living by keeping this war going. In the mean time, they are living under the dream, that most of us grew out of when we were 9 years old, that they will bring Pizza, Coke, Chips, Women in the work place, Fast Cars, Afghan versions of Saved by the Bell, and McAfghans to Afghanistan. These folks really did not do much here (e.g. Ashraf Ghani) and so now they are he-ll bent on educating their little "brown brothers" about how to adopt values and ideologies completely foreign to them.

The same goes for the elites amongst the Pakistan government. They are all too willing to play war games with the lives of young men in order to keep the money flowing into their own military's pocket. And the Saudi Royals/Algerians were not too far off either when, a generation ago they sent young Arab men that they thought were threats to their leadership. Weren't they surprised when these guys came back and told them that they wanted all US contacts out of their nations?

Bottom line my friend, the real folks that need to face a trial at the Hague are Mr. Bush, Mr. Obama, Miss Merkel. Mr. Sarkozy, Mr Karzai, Mr. Gilani and Zardari and Kiyani, All current Arab leaders and pretty much these elites that took young boys who would have done just fine where they were and decided to play with their lives. Not a single one of these people has a relative in their immediate family that is on the front lines.
When we compare these folks to Alexander the Great what we can say is that he at least led all his battles right from the front lines and even took an arrow in the leg. His men knew that wherever he went, he would lead from the front.

The American public and the Afghan public should unite and demand all their leaders be held accountable in the World Court or some other means like the Court at Hague.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

Because the occupied forces are on kandahari soil unfortunately. If they were not there there would be no bomb blast. I wish you take them from kandahar to somewhere else.

and that justices such indiscriminate and negligent tactics of course.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

If this man gets anything < than:
A)Death sentence
B)Life in jail

Expect Afghans to seek revenge. It's common sense at this point. Also, say Bye-Bye to any strategic pact. Ever since this incident arose, even Karzai and Karimi grew a pair, and they seem to be genuinely upset.

Der da sharam khabara da.

Lets see what happens. At this point, its like Pakistan next door to Pakistan. In the past Karzai's MO has been to pretty much say a few things that supposedly pissed off Holbrooke and caused Spanta to threaten to quit, and then some time passes and he pretty much does what they want. Go through the timeline of events. A little over a year or so ago another civilian family was killed, Karzai said a few things and then Lindsay Graham floated the idea of permanent bases. There was Karzai to claim that the discussion had not been had... fast forward and he is giving his loya jirga speech about how he is somehow smart enough to counter balance all the powers against eachother locally to allow Afghanistan to grow and become a super power.

Basically, Karzai = the Pakistani government in terms of how he has approached each and every tragedy. Forward operating bases are shuttered only to be reoccupied.

Its like a lock step and tempo between these two governments. Karzai has also tried has hand at the art of focusing his people on outside enemies... that comes up in each speech including the meeting that Din posted. That has always been Pakistan's time honored approach at amalgamating a mish mash of groups.

I mean think about it, his end solution was: why dont they just pull out of the villages? Admin, this guy was on a base and sauntered into a village. So basically when you boil down his solution he is saying: Daaang, Mr. Bale shouldnt be in a village... he should be on a ... a.... a.... BASE... thats it... a BASE! Well sh-it sherlock, Wasn't that where he was to begin with? So do you mean you want to relocate the base? Do you mean that the base should be in a green zone in the city center?

People got all proud for 2 seconds because Karzai and Karimi pulled a Gilani and Kiyani and pertended to atest sovereignty. In reality, people's minds shut off and they forget this Soldier Bale was on a base.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

To buttress what I said above, recall that within a few hours Mr. Karzai's ambassador was in the US telling the airwaves and television channels here that Mr. Karzai actually did believe the US version etc etc. That expatriot government knows that the world is now scrutinizing their situation there and they are finding it untenable. They know that they are caught in a virtual chinese finger trap of their own making. The Afghan ambassador knows very well where is security, $$$, and support emanate from and he very likely was instructed to provide a softer view here to work against the rising tide of weekly reports questioning US committment. You know its problematic when Rick Santorum, who has never seen a war he did not want to insert the US into, is talking about letting go there.

So Karzai basically projects himself as one with the Afghan people there and then gives his ambassador the begging bowl here.

[BarakzaiAbdali]

Sad thing is if Mr. Karzai just stood up for his people and truly sided with them and put aside this fake aura of being the Obama of Afghanistan everyone would back him. If he is worried about support, who is greater for support than the Afghan people themselves. He is a at a critical juncture and is taking the same steps as before. If he wants talks with his enemies who have side stepped him for Qatar, he could even win them over by standing up, handing the nation back to the Afghan people, taking on a diplomatic role between all teh subsequent contentious groups, and then retiring with his life, his sanity, his wife, and his children with a clean heart and clean hands. However, the last few years and the fall of Ben Ali, Qadafi, Hussein, the flight of Musharraf, the angst of Assad, and court case against Mubarak were not enough in terms of signs for Mr Karzai that he should trust no one but his own people.