U.S. Soldier Accused of Murdering Civilians Leaves Afghanistan

The deadly shooting has damaged relations between the U.S. and Afghanistan; now officials fear this latest violence will destroy any hope of political progress.

Flag at remote Afghan military outpost. Salem-News.com photo by Tim King

(SALEM) - The U.S. Army Staff Sergeant accused of gunning down 16 Afghan villagers has not yet been charged, however he was flown out of Afghanistan to an undisclosed location in another country Wednesday. The soldier is now housed in a pretrial confinement facility, FOX News reports.

Lawmakers in Afghanistan are angry, they have issued demands that the soldier accused of massacring Afghan civilians be tried publicly in an Afghan court. Until this happens, they are asking President Hamid Karzai to suspend all talks with the U.S. about an ongoing military presence in Afghanistan.

The deadly shooting has damaged relations between the U.S. and Afghanistan; now officials fear this latest violence carried out against civilians, will destroy any hope of political progress.

Afghanistan is witnessing an upsurge in anti-U.S. sentiment as a result of the murders, which left nine children dead, and the recent Qur'an burnings in this country where religion is of top importance. Retaliatory attacks by Afghan people against the U.S. military left more than 30 people dead, including six U.S. soldiers.

In 1968, America was partly divided over the Vietnam War, and a large aspect of the population still felt supportive of the military effort, refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the anti-war movement. Then came an attack that would forever be recalled as the Tet Offensive which happened on the Chinese New Year, normally a time when fighting sees a lull.

This terrible event that left large numbers dead on both sides, irreversibly changed America's public perception of the war effort. Many at the time and even today hold the 'media' accountable and objected to their telling their audiences the truth of what was transpiring in SE Asia. Indeed, truth is a bad component for a country that wishes to wage war and kill people in endless succession.

Will this murder of 16 innocent people who the war is supposedly being fought on behalf of, become this war's Tet Offensive? It seems distinctly possible.

Dr. Phil Leveque and I deal with most of these stories for Salem-News.com, we have both written about this event and we both see soldier's former injuries and trauma as possible contributing factors in his actions. However, it is a cruel and grotesque crime as it is described; the soldier may have been sick in the head but what he did, and what he was allowed to do, is not within the scope of anything that can be excused.

Special thanks to FOX News

Tim King in 2008, covering the Iraq War

Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Tim is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from The Associated Press the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs, Electronic Media Association and The Red Cross In a personal capacity, Tim has written 2,026 articles as of March 2012 for Salem-News.com since the new format designed by Matt Lintz was launched in December, 2005.

Serving readers with news from all over the globe, Tim's life is literally encircled by the endless news flow published by Salem-News.com, where more than 100 writers contribute stories from 20+ countries and regions.

Tim specializes in writing about political and military developments worldwide with an emphasis on Palestine and Sri Lanka, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the U.S. Marines. You can write to Tim at this address: tim@salem-news.com. Visit Tim's Facebook page (facebook.com/TimKing.Reporter)

View articles written by Tim King