Hello again Cyberspace. I've been reading lots of stories in the news recently pertaining to war criminals - especially about Joseph Kony (obviously) and more recently, an as yet unnamed American soldier.
I'm not going to get into the Joseph Kony debate at this point in time. Yes, he's a bad person.
What I really want to talk about is this anonymous soldier in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan. I'm only going by what I've read online, but here's what I've gleaned from the story so far. This soldier (let's call him Jim) apparently left his base, went out into a nearby village and starting going house-to-house ruthlessly gunning down civilians. Three women, four men and nine children were killed, according to Afghan authorities and witnesses. 'Jim' allegedly returned to his base and turned himself in. Amidst much public outcry in Afghanistan, the US Military has flown 'Jim' out of the country to Kuwait.
As I delve deeper into the story, some very disturbing facts begin to come to light. This was 'Jim's' first tour in Afghanistan, but he had already completed three tours of duty in Iraq. In 2010, while deployed, he suffered "a traumatic brain injury" in a motor vehicle accident. So what the hell was he doing in Kandahar?
The Afghan population and officials want him to be tried in Afghan court, which sounds like a reasonable request to me, but American military policy states that all members charged with 'wrongdoing' will be dealt with within the American military justice system. I personally think that he should charged by the ICC*.
I don't know what will happen with this story, but I feel as though the whole truth will never be known. There are reports from Afghan officials and witnesses claiming that up to 20 US soldiers were involved in the massacre. The Americans haven't even confirmed the number of dead...four days later.
All that I'm asking for is justice. Are there not 'Invisible Children' in Afghanistan as well? Why won't the world unite to persecute 'Jim'? Is it because he's a decorated American soldier? Because the children who will never have a chance to live their lives were most likely Muslim? Is it because he was injured in a previous tour of duty and should never have been there in the first place?
It's impossible to kill an idea with a gun....its impossible to fight fire with fire.What logic says we should try to fight terror with terror?
Until tomorrow,
The Critical Stranger
*The ICC is a tribunal that was formed in 2002 to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The US has measures set in place to prevent prosecution of members of its military by this court - you can read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_and_the_International_Criminal_Court#American_Service_Members_Protection_Act
Interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhen the news was first released, a boy who was shot in the leg stated that "soldiers" we're shooting people and burning houses...hmmmmm...sounds a little too convenient that the perfect fall guy (who comes complete with an easily documented plea of insanity) would turn himself in....So let's see...killing innocent women and children, burning of the Qur'an, pissing on dead bodies (and allowing it to be released it to the media).... kinda seems like a blatantly obvious attempt to provoke some more 'terrorist' attacks by those pesky 'Muslims'.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a pretty scary situation...but rest easy. He's back in the US now, safe and sound...
DeleteThe responsibility for the deaths of those 16 Afghan citizens lies squarely on the altar of the "Almighty United States Military". In my opinion.
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