Afghanistan

War crimes by US soldier

A US Army sergeant was convicted of murdering unarmed Afghanistan civilians in a court martial on Thursday. Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was also convicted of removing fingers from their corpses as a war prize, which he likened to removing the antlers from a deer. Gibbs was the suspected ring leader of a self proclaimed “kill team” squad, which committed the premeditated murders during a 3 month period last year. In total, 5 soldiers from Gibbs’ infantry unit were accused of murder. Gibbs, the ringleader, was sentenced to jail time, but would be eligible for parole in 8 ½ years.

The fact that something so atrocious could happen and the person responsible could only essentially be given a slap on the wrist is pathetic. If this were a case of Iraqi or Afghanistan forces doing this to Americans, all hell would have broken loose and America would have wanted the people responsible to receive the death penalty. These murders are not only a war crime, but also a crime against all humanity. To think that someone who was charged with the responsibility of trying to protect an innocent bystander would deliberately kill them for sport is sickening, and this crime against our brothers in the Middle East was punished way too lightly.

Identity

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2011/11/201111114265669553.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/us-soldiers-crimes-idUSTRE7A96Z420111111

November 11, 2011 at 09:19 am