Sgt. Robert Bales, suspect in Afghanistan massacre, likely to be charged soon: expert

[steve2470]

Source: New York Daily News

The Army soldier suspected in the bloody Afghanistan massacre that left 16 people dead - including 9 kids - should be officially charged with a week, and will be tried in the U.S., a U.S. military legal expert said Sunday.

The legal expert, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, also said that U.S. officials were discussing the best way to compensate the relatives of the victims and those wounded.

More details have surfaced about Staff Sgt. Robert Bales since his identity was released last week.

Records and a family blog say that a lost promotion and money woes plagued the 38-year-old, and he wanted out of his job at a Washington State military base in the months before he allegedly massacred 16 Afghan civilians.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sgt-robert-bales-suspect-afghanistan-massacre-plagued-money-problems-article-1.1041725

[SamG]

1. Well DUH! But will he be tried in a court in

Afghanistan?

That's the place where he murdered those children and adults in cold blood. Let's see the "experts" tell us that that is where his trial will take place.

[pasto76]

3. why would he be tried in Afghanistan

There is little chance the US military and Afghani government have any deal to hold US troops accountable under afgani law. Remember that was THE sticking point in why the troops didnt stay longer in Iraq.

Uniform Code of Military Justice is much more harsh than our civilian laws. But at least it is fair and governed by order. Aside from murder, there is a pile of possible charges that carry a death sentence, this being in a designated war zone and everything.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. Because that's where the witnesses are

Unless we're going to shuttle the witnesses back and forth.

[SamG]

7. So let me get this straight! Someone who lives in Mass, (no DP) should NOT be...

tried in Florida, (where there is a DP), even when he killed people in FL ..because ....???

No, your "UCMJ" is NOT "fair, nor does it allow for outright NON military actions by U.S. soldiers to be trid in the country where the civilian,

(non-military) crimes took place.

Designated war zone, by whom? You have a very jaundiced view of justice. Only YOUR rules, and only wherever YOU want those rules to be in place.

Send him back to Afghanistan tomorrow, let him get off the plane, let Afghanistan justice take place.

Why are you so in favor of American war criminals getting "special rights"?

[atreides1]

13. Your theory is apples and oranges

Between two US States there are extradition agreements, so your argument is bunk, at best.

There is no Status of Forces Agreement, without such an agreement any crime committed by US military personnel is charged under the UCMJ and the Manual of Courts Martial!

Also, the concept of fairness is that the soldier will have certain rights, that he probably wouldn't have in an Afghan court, and no matter what your personal view is, Afghanistan is still a combat zone in an ongoing conflict, if you don't agree with it being called a war.

The crimes were committed during an ongoing military operation, by a member of the US military, therefore it is considered a military crime...in this case he could very well be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity...civilian victims do not make this act a non-military crime.

Personally, as a vet myself this man makes me ashamed...my theory is that he was just pissed off at the world because shit didn't go his way, add to that the alledged consumption of alcohol, a possible brain injury that was not diagnosed correctly, the weight of 4 deployments, and the personal and financial problems it appears he was having...and you have a one soldier who was ready to go off like a bomb.

[pasto76]

2. a word of caution before some start to "comment" on this

unless you've been deployed 4 times, you are only offering opinions and speculation. just be honest about that.

[tularetom]

4. I guess the question is why the fuck is anybody deployed 4 times

Of course there is no answer because that would lead to the question why the hell have we spent ten years fighting a war we cannot win.

And that ain't opinion or speculation it's simply a question.

[Uncle Joe]

6. I was just watching a CNN segment and it does seem like the war destroyed him.

My condolences to the Afghani victims.

[NeoConsSuck]

8. He is a MASS MURDERER

I'll repeat so it sinks in: He is a MASS MURDERER.

He killed nine children and four women. Thousands of soldiers have served overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq and none felt the need to mass murder innocent women and children.

I'm hoping he gets the death penalty and let him rot in hell.

He is no different than Ted Bundy.

[former9thward]

9. He will not get the death penalty.

The President would have to sign a death warrant and no President would ever sign one in a situation like this. It would be political suicide and presidents tend not to knowingly commit political suicide.

[BadtotheboneBob]

11. Don't forget Maj. Nidal Hassan...

... who will finally be coming to trial this June after his 'massacre' at a Ft. Hood medical clinic in November 2009. 13 dead, 29 more wounded. Do you wish he gets the death penalty and rots in hell, too?

[olddad56]

10. I would agree with your word of caution...

I can't comment on his situation, but I would sure like to see Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfield charged with mass murder, just for starters.

[JoeyT]

16. How silly.

Only other military are allowed to criticize the military?

Shall we extend that to other groups? If an electrician intentionally burns a house down only other electricians are allowed to comment? If a cop shoots a bunch of kids only other cops are allowed to comment? Only oil companies should have been allowed to comment over the BP spill?

Oh, that's only for the military? Well isn't that convenient.

[LanternWaste]

20. The corollary being that if one has indeed been deployed four times

The corollary being that if one has indeed been deployed four times, comments would therefore not be speculation nor opinion, but factual and without bias?

[JI7]

12. have they done or doing a mental evaluation ?

[Bohunk68]

14. Heard a report on NPR

today. The excuses being made for this man were all over the place. Cranking up the sympathy for a mass murderer. War is not an excuse for murdering systematically, women and children. And, let us not forget, this guy killed mostly children. Children. Should I say that again? Children. What a macho man. Yup, depressed about the war? Kill children and then burn the bodies afterwards.

[Blue_Tires]

15. I think he'll only get a slap on the wrist when all is said and done...

[SoCalMusicLover]

17. Americans Are Hypocrites To The Extreme!

What better way to demonstrate democracy and the BS which goes on in this country, than to give this killer a platform to make excuses and justify his actions.

Sure, he probably did have PTSD. Sure, he snapped after being sent back a 4th time.

I'm sick and tired of Killers getting a free pass. Coming up with explanations and reasoning after the fact.

If this was reversed, and it had been a Taliban shooting a bunch of soldiers, do you think they would be alive today? I doubt it.

We can stand behind the flag all we want. I guess since we're the good guys, it's impossible to turn the tables. Put ourselves in their shoes, and it obvious that they want accountability. Something which our military, law system, and government, will make sure is as limited as possible.

[NeoConsSuck]

18. Think of it like this

If a person went into any American neighborhood and slaughtered 16 people, 9 of them children and 4 of them women, would the media be falling over themselves trying to explain the reasons for the killing?

But when the mass murderer is an American, and the victims are 'those people', suddenly everything changes.

[kristopher]

19. Bales “engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, churning, unauthorized trading...

Thjis is part of a longer background article:

...Fraud Charges

Bales’s money problems went beyond mortgage debt, to the time when he worked in the financial-services industry, records show.
He owed an Ohio couple about $1.3 million in damages, plus interest, for defrauding them in 2000 when he served as their investment adviser, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which oversees the industry.
An arbitrator found that Bales “engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, churning, unauthorized trading, and unsuitable investments,” according to a 2003 report on the FINRA web site. Bales, who grew up in Ohio, worked in the industry there from 1996 to 2000, according to FINRA records.
Bales never paid the money and the couple could never find him, one of the victims, Gary Liebschner told WCPO TV, the ABC affiliate in Cincinnati....

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-20/bales-fought-losing-war-on-home-front-as-mortgage-debt-mounted