A U.S. soldier is accused of shooting nine children, three women and four men in a house-to-house rampage in villages near his combat outpost in southern Afghanistan on Sunday.
The incident has sent ripples across the U.S. and the world, sparking threats of revenge from the Taliban, concern about the political implications of the attack and outrage from villagers.
There are more questions than answers around this horrific attack: What exactly happened when the soldier entered those villages Sunday? Who was the soldier behind this attack? Why did he do it? What are the political ramifications of this attack? And how will it affect the goal of peace in Afghanistan and future U.S. relations with the country?
How much do we know about what happened?
The shootings are believed to have begun between 2 and 3 a.m. Sunday in Panjwai district in Afghanistan's Kandahar province when the soldier went from house to house opening fire, according to officials and witnesses from the village.
"One guy came in and pulled a boy from his sleep, and he shot him in this doorway," one mother in the village told CNN. "Then they came back inside the room and put a gun in the mouth of one child and stomped on another child."
While investigators try to figure out exactly what happened, villagers say that the evidence that remains from the shooting paints a grisly picture. Shell casings were strewn across the streets. A dead toddler with a blood-stained face was lying sandwiched between two other dead men in the back of a pickup truck. In another truck, not far away, a blanket covered the charred bodies of two more victims.
A local minister told CNN that one family alone lost 11 members during the shooting spree.
"Look at this. The bodies - they all belong to one family," a villager cried.
While the bodies are mostly now covered or have been removed, the reminders of what happened literally still stain the village.
The floors and the walls of several homes in this area are splattered with the blood of those ambushed during the early morning attack.
The attack has shaken residents of the area in the western part of Kandahar, which is known to have a strong Taliban presence. Villagers there told CNN they are enraged. Residents say they moved back to the village because people on the nearby military base had said it was safe to return home, and that nobody would bother them.
Now, men openly weep in the street. Dreams of peace are now replaced with much of sorrow, and many people are crying and trying, through tears, to come to terms with what happened in Panjwai.
Who is the soldier accused in the shooting?
Details about the soldier are beginning to emerge, but they are sparse. So far, it's known that he was a qualified infantry sniper, according to a senior U.S. Department of Defense official.
The unidentified suspect served three tours of duty in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan, said Gen. John Allen, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan. A U.S. military official, who asked not to be named because he was talking about an ongoing investigation, said the suspect is an Army staff sergeant who arrived in Afghanistan in January.
During the suspect's last deployment, in 2010, he was riding in a vehicle that rolled over in an accident, according to a senior Defense Department official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. The sergeant was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury after the crash but was found fit for duty after treatment, the official said.
Traumatic brain injury has become one of the signature injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He had been stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a sprawling military installation between Tacoma and Olympia, Washington. A handful of soldiers from the base have been involved in violent incidents in the past few years, including four soldiers convicted of killing Afghan civilians in 2010 as part of a "kill squad." Also in 2010, three other soldiers "suffered dangerous public mental breakdowns" after returning from Afghanistan, with two of them shot to death by police, according to the Stars and Stripes military newspaper.
The suspect's family has been moved to that base for their safety, an official said.
In Sunday's incident, after an Afghan soldier alerted the U.S. military at the outpost of the soldier's initial departure, the U.S. military put up an aircraft to search for him. Soon after, Afghan civilians came to the gate carrying wounded civilians, the first indication the military had of the shooting. When the soldier turned himself over to the search party, he immediately invoked his right not to speak. He has been moved to Kandahar and put in pretrial confinement, a congressional source told CNN.
The soldier could face the death penalty, said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who spoke to reporters as he flew to the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan for high-level talks Tuesday.
What are the security concerns after the attacks?
There are fears that Sunday's killings could reignite the anger that led to deadly riots directed at international forces last month over the burning of Qurans by U.S. troops. That was one of a string of incidents involving American forces that have recently strained ties between the United States and Afghanistan.
The Taliban has already warned there will be reprisals, perhaps violent ones. Members of parliament in Kabul have decided to close down the parliament in protest of the killings. Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets Tuesday to protest the killings as the Taliban threatened to behead "Americans anywhere in the country."
There is a lot of anger brewing in the village and across the country. There's a lot of speculation that this plays into the hands of the divisive Taliban, which is trying to say, "Look, you can't really trust these coalition forces who claim to be here to help you," said CNN's Sara Sidner, who has spoken to villagers.
The U.S. government, NATO and Afghan officials are looking into this. But the real concern for Americans is that there are a lot of people asking for swift justice and wanting the person who perpetrated this crime to be tried in Afghanistan.
And that's why some U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are tightening security to protect against retaliation. Some of the precautions were put in place after the Quran burning incident, a senior defense official tells CNN.
The measures include adding a second U.S. soldier to watchtowers, where before there was one American and one Afghan on watch. American and Afghan forces live together on many of the smaller bases and outposts, and on some of these, the U.S. has instituted a 24-hour guard for barracks.
Joshua Foust is a fellow at the American Security Project, author of "Afghanistan Journal: Selections from Registan.net" and a former civilian cultural adviser for the U.S. Army. He said that while the shooting is horrific, it isn't surprising.
"Sunday's mass murder is not a new outrage for Afghanistan," Foust wrote in a column for CNN. "While the deliberate killing of civilians is (thankfully) rare, many Afghans do not distinguish between accidental and deliberate civilian death."
He added that the event is not game-changing and that many residents aren't surprised when the U.S. kills civilians.
What are the political ramifications? Does this change the U.S. mission in Afghanistan?
Most people agree that this incident will again strain ties between the Afghan government and the United States.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday called the killing of Afghan civilians, allegedly by a U.S. soldier, "outrageous" and "unacceptable," and said he is "heartbroken" over the incident.
"The United States takes this as seriously as if it was our own citizens and our own children who were murdered," Obama said in a statement to reporters at the White House. He said he directed the Pentagon to "spare no effort in conducting a full investigation" of what happened, and pledged that "we will follow the facts wherever they lead us."
But Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said this is unforgivable and an act of terror, in his words. He also expressed his condolences to the families of the Panjwai incident in Kandahar saying "the incident was cruel and an invasion that caused great pain for the people of Afghanistan."
The incident also calls into question the chances for stability as the U.S.-led military mission shifts security responsibility to Afghan forces in coming months. Combined with other recent events that sparked anger and distrust between the Afghan and U.S. governments, this shooting may make things even more difficult.
Analysts and U.S. officials said Monday they believe the transition under way - which seeks to end the American-led military mission in 2014 - will remain on track, though the process may be more difficult.
"There is still no better option, and the Afghans still aren't ready to handle their problems without us, and I think they know that," Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, said in an e-mail to CNN.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, reacted to Sunday's shooting by adding to calls for bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan as soon as possible, while Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich said the entire Afghanistan mission needs to be reassessed.
The Obama administration insisted Monday that the civilian killings, while tragic and horrific, would not change the goals or timing of the U.S. strategy to defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and turn over security responsibility to Afghan forces.
"This is a challenging time, there's no question," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters Monday. "I do not believe that this incident will change the timetable of a strategy that was designed and is being implemented to allow for the withdrawal of U.S. forces."
So what now? Analysts say time to evaluate U.S. strategy in Afghanistan
Seth Jones, a senior political scientist at the nonpartisan Rand Corporation research organization, said the Sunday incident "certainly adds to tension between the U.S. and the Afghans, but I don't believe this is a tipping point."
Jones said news of the attack was sure to travel quickly throughout Afghanistan, spread by mullahs in mosques, word of mouth and radio.
The government will probably depict the incident as the latest of many atrocities by both sides, noting Taliban killings of civilians, while the Taliban will try to portray it as another example of U .S. aggression, Jones added.
Many analysts say the first step toward any progress is going to be taking a hard look at the policy in Afghanistan.
Foust says there is a larger problem with the U.S.-Afghan relations, saying "the U.S. is fighting one war while the insurgency is fighting a very different one."
"Put simply, the U.S. never put in place the strategic and political framework to make much headway in Afghanistan," he wrote. "Despite the renewed push for negotiations with the Taliban, there is no political strategy for the country. There is no end state for the war, either - right now, the plan is to draw down to about 20,000 troops or so - similar to troop levels in 2008 - and stay that way for the indefinite future. That's not a strategy, and it's not a plan."
Jeremi Suri, a Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote in a column for CNN that said the U.S. has a "self-defeating cycle in Afghanistan" and U.S. leaders have failed to set and pursue achievable objectives there. Until those are made, and carried out, Suri says, no real progress can be made and opportunities for increasing violence will remain.
"The American soldiers in Afghanistan are fighting a war against an elusive enemy amidst a population that is increasingly resistant to American demands for assistance," Suri wrote. "Afghan citizens know that the United States is planning to leave soon, and they sense that the Americans they meet care more about an "exit strategy" than the welfare of their society. Afghan intransigence furthers the frustration and resentment among American soldiers, fueling violent behavior directed at innocent civilians."
– CNN's Sara Sidner, Chris Lawrence and Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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This must be part of our exit strategy. First the quran burnings then this incident. Now we can say that Afghan people don't want us there anymore and look good while leaving the place as we found it.
Think about it. Would US purposely have an exit strategy that makes the US look bad? What kind of strategy is that?
This should hasten our departure from Afghanistan. Initial goals of driving out the Taliban and capture/killing of Osama bin Laden have been achieved. A huge military presence in another country is inevitably going to result in unintended innocent civilian casualties. Every war experience has told us that. There have been enough of these incidents to tarnish the US military. Why should we be surprised? When will we ever learn?
The military is looking for any kind of ailment to coverup and get the. Guy off with no charges. Second, the guy is a paid assassin for the Unigted States...so, the more people he kills, the less people will fight back. Intimicdation and "othering" is the. American way of life.
Ann, I can understand your frustrations...but I do want to say that we cannot help where we are born. I am a American, yet at the same time..I am embarrassed to be one most times. I'm African American....and we are only 12 percent of America's population, Native Americans are like 8 and Asian Americans are around 10. The point I am trying to make is that we face a lot of adversity although we're Americans. Laws are made to benefit the white, and rich. We are along for the ride. you are right, many Americans are a piece of work, especially the dominant race. Just remember that my people have suffered on American soil as well and we continue to struggle for rights and equality. Just because we are Americans don't mean we aren't outraged..you knwo what I mean?
WOW. You are so awesome! Wish I had half the knowledge you seem to have! If only....
Perhaps they are trying to find a way for him to NOT be tried in public and then given an inhumane death sentence to be carried out immediatly after he is found guilty. And perhaps being from the "Unigted States" (wherever the heck that is) will make a difference for him, but here in the US, he will still face a trial (most likely public because of the media coverage although that is debatable since it will be held in a military court) and be punished, perhaps even the death penalty, but atleast the trial will be fair....
And REALLY Olivia???? Dominant race???? someone ALWAYS has to bring up race.... I wasn't aware that the dominant race was incapable of outrage or pity. Must be something lacking other than skin color. *eye roll*
I just love how you people like to bash on the military as soon as "one guy" does something stupid. Yes we are aware what he did was not right but does that give you the right to trash talk saying that he is a payed assassain? Really what have you done for your country did you ever get shot at or did someone try to blow you up. Did you see your friend get beheaded or watched a suiced bomber kill your friends. Let me answer that for you No you didn't why because "the payed assassians" that you call us military did not allow it to happen at your door. So you should think twice before you call all of US Military a "payed assassian". I joined the military to portect my country from another 9/11 and so that you wont have to worry about IED's or suiced bombers.
@TS
First and foremost, Thank You for your service. Glad to have you in the ranks.
Secondly, don't fret about Ms. Ann-Belinda. She's not a U.S. citizen (that's why she can't spell "United" and doesn't use proper spelling or grammar.) She's from one of those countries that GETS U.S. aide and GETS protection from the U.S. of A. Her values are based on what makes her "feel" good – not a DEDICATION to PURPOSE as you took when you volunteered. Never pay attention to those who don't know the meaning of and have NEVER answered the call:
"Ask NOT what your country can do for you. Ask what YOU can do for your Country." (President Kennedy)
Oh, and that includes the likes of "Olivia", too. I'm the same race as she is, but I know better than to play the race / victim card. I've been places where BOTH of these woman would be lucky to have Internet access, much less the right to SPEAK out about ANYTHING.
Un-stinking-believable. So terrible and depressing. That poor family. What is wrong with the world? Everyone seems to think everyone else is beneath them. Where's the humanity? Where's the love? Where's the sense and compassion to understand that we are ALL people?
God have mercy.
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. – Gandhi
absolutely agree. Thank you for this comment.
It's funny how when a Koran is burned these idiots go crazy, but kill woman and children and there's just a few protest's, I guess being as some of the victims were female they really don't care that much.........
It is indeed amazing to see the juxtaposition of Koran Burning with Family Massacre. How could these incidents possibly compare?
Paper cut to Brain Surgery.
It's sad when the priorities are warped.
well, the thing is that these things happen so often that there is no time left for people to go out on the streets.
The protests have been intensified and further aroused that this happened.
What are you talking about there is little protest? It never stopped.
It is like saying "Well see, this gasoline I poured on the fire didn't start any new fires." You are ignoring the fact that the old fire is now a inferno.
This was an atrocity – a war crime. All those responsible should be punished as such. No excuses. It doesn't matter what other people say or do. Or that "they would celebrate" if it were the other way around. WE have standards. We have beliefs in the rightness or wrongness of actions. We need to judge ourselves based on our standards. This was wrong. However it happened, whoever "let" it happen. Responsibility must be taken for this heinous act.
As we peer into the murky depths of this thing, a few things seem to come out. The majority of those killed were from the family of the village elder who seemed not to be at home that night. We also know that this sergeant was involved in village pacification, and maybe he knew just where he was going when he visited three houses. The locals say that more than one killer was involved, but only one seems to be taking the rap. Not only that the lone gunman is being spun as brain-damaged from a car rollover. He is not identified, so it is hard to check out just who he is. As we know, death squads and assassinations are not beyond the pale for US operations, especially when they want to "send a message" to some kind of insurgency or to punish someone. It was always a good question about the MyLai massacre of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians how high up the chain of command the "take them out" order went.
Go to the ABC News website and get more details including that he may have been drunk.
Have you notice how the media is going nuts with their coverage of this event. But when the Taliban blow up innocent civilitans, that is not a big deal.
Why is the media pulling out all stops on this event and has swept the 13 troops being murdered by the muslim terrorist major in Fort Hood, all under the rug. As has little imam berry.
Can you imagine what the media and dims would be saying if W was still the prez.
How many of our civilians are left in Afghanistan to be killed by Taliban? This story is big news because one of ours, wearing the uniform of our country, has murdered little children and sleeping women then set their bodies on fire. It's the kind of murder that really sick individuals do, because it is face to face and sadistic in the extreme. That said, we have knowingly hired death squads in Latin America to do the same (even to American priests and nuns, along with their housekeepers and their children) and Mr. Kissinger is still grinning like a crocodile and giving his opinion of how to keep American supremacy in the world.
I don't know BillyBob..please tell us? Didn't W start this mess...so why should Obama be blamed? Why are you all off course though? Innocent women, men and children were murdered while they slept and you are worrying about politics.The main reason why I can't stand racist butt Republicans is because they are always and consistently out of freaking touch. A family lost 11 members in one day, children..innocent babies had their head blown off and you're asking about politics? You wonder why people hate Americans....because of people like you!
Just ask yourself the question
Is it a big news when criminals do criminal things?
Is it a big news when Police do criminal things?
Or are you saying they are equally "big news"?
first and foremost we are americans. this makes me think of the Pledge of allegiance... the very last line and "JUSTICE FOR ALL"... Not just something we make a children say daily but something we as American's couldn't and cannot live without.
In some people's head the word "americans" is added to the end
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all [americans]."
This soldier deserves the death penalty
If he committed the war crime. We presume people's innocence till proven guilty.
This is terrible and I feel for these people I know this soldier only created a situation in which his fellow soldiers will pay for however the Taliban didn't have mercy on the US when they killed thousands of people woman included on the day of 9/11. They need to remember we might not even be over there if it wasn't for their senseless acts of violence. Now these soldiers we send over there for their protection so our government says right now, deal with their friends being blown up daily for no reason. When our government sends them over their time and time again with very little break or coping in between what do they think is going to happen. A person can only take so much! Obama you can call it what ever you want but maybe you need to bring our people home and let them kill themselves over there which is what they do anyways regardless of how much training you give them. If you can't tell this situation only makes us look worse it is time to bring these troops home!
Look at the Taliban, who still wear their 13th century clothing and live in mud brick houses. You're telling me they coordinated four flights on 9/11. The official story says it was Saudis and Egyptians anyway, not time travelling Taliban disguised as preppies. But you are not the only person who confuses Taliban with bin Laden's boys (or whoever else of a very sophisticated society you can name). Therefore, people are callous and dismissive of what goes down in Afghanistan. Didn't you hear? Bin Laden died in Pakistan (another sophisticated hellhole with lots of well-educated terrorists like the kind that killed Daniel Pearl).
9/11 was an attack by Al Qaeda funded by the Saudis, not the Taliban.
Unbelievable??? Why is it that President Obama feels the need to apologize and eulogize the burning of Koran's and the killing of Afghan civilians but is totally silent when an Afghan soldier assassinates our soldiers and civilians??? I guess it is only outrageous when Americans kill innocent civilians but the killing of Americans at the hands of Afghan's is to be not only expected, but condoned by this administration.
What is he supposed to say? Dismiss it like you do because somebody killed an American last week?
What do you actually KNOW about ANYTHING? Anything?
I am sorry for the loss of civilian life in Afghanastan, but I am still saddened by what happened to our civilians on 911. Two wrongs don't make a right, but I think everyone should know by now that no matter what we do or how much we try to help them, they are going to hate us. In their eyes we are evil. Nothing is going to change. The prejudice against the US runs deep. Bring our troops home and take care of our own. To the soldier who committed this war crime, you have brought your fellow troops into a more dangerous situation. You should be punished according to the facts. Still apologizing to the TALIBAN is wrong, wrong, wrong. They don't give two sticks about our women or children and would applaud in the streets if this had of happened to one of ours.
Musings, you are obviously a child of the left who has been brain-washed by the Liberal media and probably you parents to post such comments regarding our military personnel. Here's a history lesson for you, the US military has been the greatest proponent of freedom in the history of the known world. Obama could display the same sort of sentiment toward our troops when they are killed at the hands of assassins as he does when Afghan civilians our killed, that is what I was saying. You probably wouldnt understand because you probably have never sacrificed a thing in your life, I bet you also are one of these liberals who call for military action by the US in Syria or Libya, and dont know what the definition of a hypocrite is. Liberal=Idiot.
Hypocrisy is When you say one thing is ok when you do it, and it is not OK when someone else does it.
The problem with Hypocrisy is that those who have a habit of doing it cannot see – because they see no contradiction.
If you are going to criticize the others for blowing up civilians, but not criticize your own troops when they do the same, then you are 100% hypocrite. To do this while claiming our army is a symbol of honor and integrity is even sillier.
This has nothing to do with liberal or conservative. Left or Right. The only thing it has to do is Honor and Integrity. To make it into a left or right issue is moronic and clearly demonstrates a lack of both.
Hussein Obama is quick to condemn US soldiers and apologize about the Koran but he remains silent about the murderer bashar killing thousands of civilians. Incompetent in chief!! we need to fire him and elect a real american president who puts America first, not Afganistan, Russia and China.
So because a police chief does not have a press conference when a criminal commits a murder, he should shut up when his own policemen does the same... What great logic.
I am shocked that anyone would imply that we should hold our troops to the same standard as terrorists and war criminals.
Last reports were that the President has condemned Bashar al Assad. And just WHO do you consider "a real american president"?
As for "Incompetent in chief"? I searched, but can't find ANY stories:
- about the current President starting a war based upon lies of WMD;
- showing President Bush being successful in killing Osama bin Laden;
- that anybody threw shoes at President Obama.
1st, We killed the jerk who attacked USA on 911.. that was based in that country , but he hid like a little girl in another country of cowards.
They got the message "YOU ATTACK USA ..WE wiil OCCUPY YOUR COUNTRY OR JUST BOME YOU OR PAY A LATE NIGHT VISIT"
Its time to pull out, if they don't have enough balls to stop the TALLYBANNERS,, thats their problem we gave them more than enougnt opportunties to start a new government/way of life.. but they are just not equiped to handle any type of FREEDOM and their goverment wants to oppress them.. They Need to stand up And Fight..
Its sad to see one of our soliders flip-out and do such a horrible act, but we are all human, Hey Sh..T happens.
They need to stand up for themselves....
PULL OUT... If the TALLYBANNERS attack the USA, LET THEM KNOW WE WILL JUST BOMB .even if they are hiding under those pretty blue burkas?.. Simple not diplomatic, but its what they understand. They do understand their POPPIES.. THINK Also they owe THE USA BILLIONS & BILLIONS of GOLD ,CASH, LAND...
We should be done in that area of the world. We sent a clear
The Taliban never touched the US and they never will. Look at them. But yes, it's time to leave the Graveyard of Empires, and hope the door don't hit us on the way out.
He should go back socializing in Chicago. This country has never seen an incompetent president who condemns his own country and sides with outsiders.
Oh? Have we already forgotten about Bush's condemnation of what transpired in gitmo?
he didn't condemn his own country, he condemned the slaughter of innocents by an obvious crazy soldier from our country. sure they, as in the radicals over there, have committed similar and worse atrocities but WE are supposed to be better than that. so condemnation of a brutal act is completely appropriate and called for. geeez this president could walk on water and solve the energy crisis and you haters would hate him even more. should be justice666....
As opposed to someone like you, Justice? Someone who "sides" with a child-murderer, simply because of his nationality? Some things are more important than flags.
So "My country wrong or right"??
Interesting for someone who's name is "Justice"766