War Crime Allegations Threaten to Harm America's Image -- Spiegel Online
Five US soldiers are facing charges of war crimes, suspected of deliberately killing Afghan civilians. The unfolding scandal threatens to harm America's image abroad and derail President Barack Obama's efforts to draw a line under the abuses of the Bush era.
He used to boast about all the "stuff" he had done in Iraq and about how easy it was for an American soldier to get away with almost anything in a war. Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, 25, a native of the US state of Montana, was the highest-ranking member of a group of five soldiers that he allegedly dubbed the "kill team." Gibbs had been in Iraq long enough to know how to impress his fellow soldiers. All you have to do, he told them in December, is "toss a grenade" and you'll have killed a bunch of Afghans. The kill team apparently tossed its first grenade in January.
Read more ....
Previous Post: 12 U.S. Soldiers Accussed Of War Crimes In Afghanistan
My Comment: President Obama and his Democrat allies are in a bind on this issue. They used torture allegations at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison to undermine President Bush's Iraq war strategy for political points .... and now they are finding the same tactics being used against them on Afghan war crimes allegations.
There are no winners on this issue .... and as this case becomes more publicized, it will seriously harm America's image in much of the world .... much to President Obama's (and others/including my own) chagrin.
Update: Ex-CIA Agents Confirm Torture at Polish Black Site -- Spiegel Online
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