http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2012/03/18/fea50.asp

US soldier massacres Afghan civilians

The U.S. soldier who allegedly shot 16 Afghan villagers was caught on
surveillance video that showed him walking up to his base and raising his arms
in surrender, according to an Afghan official who viewed the footage.
The official said late Tuesday that U.S. authorities showed Afghan
authorities the surveillance video to prove that only one perpetrator was
involved in the Sunday shootings, which have sparked outrage across the country.
A delegation investigating the shootings was meeting in the southern city of
Kandahar on Wednesday when a bomb hidden in a motorcycle exploded about 600
yards (meters) away. The blast killed one Afghan intelligence official and
wounded three other people, but the delegation members were unharmed.
Abdul Samad, an Afghan who had 11 relatives
killed in the massacre, expressed his outrage to President Hamid
Karzai
The bodies of Afghan civilians allegedly shot
by a rogue US soldier lay in the back of a van
The day before, the delegation visited the two villages in Kandahar province
where the shootings took place. Two villagers who lost relatives insisted that
not one - but at least two - soldiers took part in the shootings. Afghan
officials have also suggested that more than one shooter was involved.
The video, taken from an overhead blimp that films the area around the base,
shows a soldier in a U.S. uniform approaching the south gate of the base with a
traditional Afghan shawl hiding the weapon in his hand, the official said. He
then removes the shawl as he lays his weapon on the ground and raises his arms
in surrender.
The official had not been shown any footage of the soldier leaving the base.
The official spoke anonymously to discuss a private briefing. Afghan lawmakers
have demanded that the shooter, identified by U.S. officials as a staff
sergeant, face a public trial inside Afghanistan. They have called on Afghan
President Hamid Karzai to suspend any negotiations with the U.S. on a long-term
military pact until this happens.
"No final decision has been made yet" on the location of the trial, said Col.
Gary Kolb, a U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan. "We have done court
martials in Afghanistan before, so we have the capability," Kolb said. "They'll
take a look at all the circumstances and determine if they do it here or if it
goes back to the States."
The U.S. is holding the soldier, who military officials say slipped off a
U.S. base before dawn Sunday, walked to the villages, barged into their homes
and opened fire. Some of the corpses were burned. Eleven were from one family.
Five other people were wounded.
The military said Tuesday there was probable cause to continue holding the
soldier, who has not been named, in custody. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon
Panetta has said he could face capital punishment.
Panetta arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday on a visit that was planned
months before the weekend slaughter of Afghan villagers. But the trip propels
Panetta into the center of escalating anti-American anger and sets the stage for
some difficult discussions with Afghan leaders.
Panetta and other U.S. officials say the shooting spree should not derail the
U.S. and NATO strategy of a gradual withdrawal of troops by the end of 2014. But
it has further soured relations with war-weary Afghans, jeopardizing the U.S.
strategy of working closely with Afghan forces so they can take over their
country's security.
Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak called the massacre "deplorable"
Wednesday but said the country must remember the bigger issues at stake, likely
a reference to the fear that the Taliban could capitalize on a precipitous
foreign withdrawal.
"I mean the stakes are much higher than this incident, which we have all have
condemned, and I think we are assured that the U.S. authority will take
appropriate action," said Wardak in a press conference with German Defense
Minister Thomas de Maiziere in Kabul.
President Barack Obama has pledged a thorough investigation, saying the U.S.
was taking the case "as seriously as if it was our own citizens, and our
children, who were murdered."
The Taliban have vowed to take revenge for the shootings and on Tuesday fired
on the government delegation visiting the villages that were attacked. One
Afghan army soldier was killed and two other army personnel were wounded.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing Wednesday in
Kandahar. The explosion occurred about 300 meters from the Afghan intelligence
headquarters in the city, said the spokesman for the provincial governor, Zalmai
Ayubi. One Afghan intelligence official was killed in the attack. Two of the
three wounded were also intelligence officials, he said.
Elsewhere on southern Afghanistan, eight civilians were killed in Helmand
province's Marjah district when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle, said the
provincial governor's office.
Protesters in the east called for the death of the accused U.S. soldier
Tuesday and burned an effigy of Obama as well as a cross, which they used as a
symbol of people who like many Americans are Christians.
It was the first significant protest since the killings, which many had
worried would spark another wave of deadly riots like those that followed the
burning of Qurans at a U.S. base last month. Nearly a week of violent
demonstrations and attacks left more than 30 dead, including six U.S. soldiers
killed apparent reprisal attacks.
Military commanders have yet to release their final investigation on the
Quran burnings, which U.S. officials say was a mistake. Five U.S. service
members could face disciplinary action in connection with the incident.
- HUFF POST