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Subscribe to RSSU.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, charged with killing 16 Afghan villagers as they slept, appears in a Washington state military courtroom Monday. TODAY's Natalie Morales reports.
Updated at 6:45 p.m. ET: In pretrial hearings for U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Bales, accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers in a nighttime massacre in March, prosecutors described to a military court on Monday how the sergeant allegedly returned to his base in Kandahar province with the blood of his victims on his rifle, belt, shirt and shoes and then seemed stunned to be confronted by fellow soldiers.
Bales sat quietly in the courtroom at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state as military prosecutors summarized the events of March 11 when they allege the 39-year-old sergeant walked off his base in Kandahar province under cover of darkness and opened fire on civilians — mostly women and children — in their homes in at least two villages.
Prosecutor Lt. Col Jay Morse said Bales had been drinking and briefly visited the room of a fellow soldier before he left the Army post, called Camp Belambay, and went to a village where he committed the first set of slayings.
Morse said Bales then returned to the camp, told some others what he had done and left again, moving on to a different village and committing additional killings. He called Bales' actions "deliberate, methodical."
The prosecution also showed a video shot by night-vision camera from a surveillance balloon over the camp, showing a figure they identified as Bales walking back to the post wearing what they described as a cape.
The man is seen being confronted by three soldiers, who order him to drop his weapons and take him into custody as he is heard saying, "Are you @!$%#ing kidding me?"
Karilyn Bales, the wife of Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, spoke exclusively with NBC's Matt Lauer, telling the TODAY anchor that the news about her husband is 'very unbelievable.'
Cpl. David Godwin, who was among the first to encounter Bales after the alleged shootings, also testified on Monday, describing the meeting as "kind of surreal," the Seattle Times reported.
Godwin, who served under Bales, was one of the people who had been drinking with him on March 10, the night before the killings. He told the court that while they drank, they watched the 2004 movie "Man on Fire," which stars Denzel Washington and is about a CIA operative turned bodyguard who goes on a killing rampage after his child is kidnapped.
After that, Godwin said, he believed Bales went to bed, the Times reported, but learned otherwise when another soldier awakened him at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., and the two of them went to the post's outer gate looking for Bales. They finally spotted him returning to base sometime before 5 a.m., Godwin told the court.
"I kind of thought that Bob (Bales) thought... he was doing this to better us," said Godwin, according to the Times. He quoted Bales as saying: "I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was doing the right thing."
The shooting, which if proven at trial would be the worst civilian slaughter by U.S. forces since the Vietnam War, eroded already-strained U.S.-Afghan ties after over a decade of conflict in the country.
Bales faces 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder, as well as charges of assault and wrongfully possessing and using steroids and alcohol while deployed. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
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The hearing is expected to last two weeks and include witness testimony carried by live video from Afghanistan, including villagers and Afghan soldiers. Part of the hearing will be held at night due to the time difference.
At the end, military commanders will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to refer the case for trial by court-martial.
'Sanity board'
Morse said he would present evidence proving "chilling premeditation" on the part of Bales.
John Henry Browne, Bales' civilian lawyer, has suggested that Bales may not have acted alone and may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Bales is a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How Staff Sgt. Bales' lawyers are fighting for his life
Bales also has two military defense counselors, Maj. Gregory Malson and Capt. Matthew Aeisi. Malson represented Army Sgt. William Kreutzer, who was sentenced to life in prison three years ago for killing an officer and wounding 18 U.S. soldiers in a 1995 shooting spree during a training session at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Separately, Bales is also subject to a review of his mental fitness to stand trial, often referred to as a "sanity board." The Army has not disclosed the status of that review.
The father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., appeared with his head shaved, dressed in Army fatigues. He embraced his wife in court before the hearing started.
The investigating officer read the charges against Bales and informed him of his rights. Bales said, "Sir, yes, sir," when asked if he understood them. He was not expected to answer questions in the hearings.
Bales was confined at a military prison in Kansas from March until he was moved in October to Lewis-McChord, where his infantry regiment was based.
Aref Karimi / AFP - Getty Images
More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.
The March shooting highlighted discipline problems among U.S. soldiers from Lewis-McChord, which was also the home base of five enlisted men from the former 5th Stryker Brigade charged with premeditated murder in connection with three killings of unarmed Afghan civilians in 2010.
Four of the men were convicted or pleaded guilty in court-martial proceedings to murder or manslaughter charges and were sentenced to prison. Charges against the fifth were dropped.
In August, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta directed a panel of experts to assess whether reforms were needed in the way the military justice system handles crimes committed by U.S. forces against civilians in combat zones.
Reuters and The Associated Press and NBC News' Kari Huus contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
@Hohum, you put on hash marks for years in service 1 for every 3 in the Army, after the first 3 years you get orders for a Good Conduct Ribbon, if you've had no disapline problems. and every three years after you get orders to add clusters to said ribbon if you been good. The only ribbon I can think of that orders are not required is The National Defence Ribbon that everyone is authorized to wear after 6 months of duty. I would THINK that Sgt Bales had quite a few awards being he was on his 4 deployment. I'm guessing here but I'll bet he was on the list for promotion to E-7 also.
True enough, but there is a lot of difference between various "decorations". An Army Commendation Medal for essentially doing your job well as compared to a Bronze Star for valor, or a Silver Star. As the comment was made earlier, every soldier is "decorated" but the implication given to the public in this case is that the decoration was unusual or for heroic service. May or may not be so in this instance, but the journalist should be clearer in the statement.
He murdered families. He killed babies. And he did it while they were sleeping, like a coward. He is an evil serial killer. Don't try to use the fact that he was in combat as an excuse for his actions. The Afghan people have been living in a war zone for many, many years-some, their whole lives. When any of them become terrorists and kill Americans, do we go out of our way making excuses for them because of the war atrocities they've seen? NO. So DON'T do it for this scum. My grandfather was a sniper during World War II and stationed in Germany for most of the war. He saw the concentration camps, he lost a leg as a result of being shot by a Nazi soldier. Although he was no doubt angry with the German people at that time, he didn't go into civilians' homes and kill them or their children. STOP making excuses! This "man" is cowardly SCUM and should be executed like any other serial killer.
and how much combat has you seen ,? you liberal pc of @!$%#
How much combat HAS I seen? You are obviously a hillbilly conservative, you don't know how to spell. I don't support killing people, I would rather go to college and get an education. What about you, hillbilly republican piece of sh**?
Once again, your online name stands for what? Courage... Peace...Love...Living... all awesome virtues to possess and cultivate. I take it these are elements you stand for and value deeply
Yet you say: "This "man" is cowardly SCUM and should be executed..."
So tell us, what is it that you really stand for? You are a walking contradiction if there ever was one LOL
"and how much combat has you seen ,? you liberal pc of @!$%#."
I completely agree. I also believe that you should not speak out against death camp guards if you yourself never served at a death camp. Sound logic, right?
Again more proof that the Americans are PIGS...
ur an @!$%# coward, bet u never served
In fairness, I should point out that serving three combat tours, being on your fourth, and your family having financial problems could mess with your head.
Damn coward.
How about that Muslim in Texas? When is he going to trial for Murdering all those soldiers at the Army base?? They are delaying the trial because this Muslim doesn't want his beard shaved off. Of all the Stupid Idiotic things I have ever heard of. Our Government doesn't want to hurt his Muslim feelings. Political Correctness to the Extreme. Crazy. Wake the HELL UP Government.
Warren: Don't like America? Get the Hell out then. Nobody is keeping you here. I hear Afghanistan or Pakistan is nice this time of year.
Shame on you, NBC News reporter. Twice in this article, you used the phrase "decorated US soldier", but you never tell us which ribbons he has received.
Moreover, you've obviously never been in the military. **EVERY** soldier is decorated (there's a ribbon simply for years in service).
Please stop trying to manipulate the emotions of your readers and just report the news. Thank you.
Att,
Unless you've been in combat , dont judge this soldier. all you arm chair liberals need to keep your mouths shut. You dont know @!$%#.4 tours for what ?, a bunch of @!$%#in towelheads who hate us . Let him go with counseling for PTSD . its ok for obama to judge americans who kill them, but not them for killing our kids . Our gov can go @!$%# itself, a disabled USMC vietnam combat vet
Again more proof that the Americans are PIGS...
Att, www.humorwx.com
Its strange that some are calling this man a hero (4 tours) who was only doing what he was sent there to do. Others are jumping for immediate trial (he killed civilians in cold blood) and execution. Doesn't anyone else see a connection in the fact the there was video footage of his rampage, (damning evidence) and the video footage released by Pvt. Manning to Wikileaks showing a gunship crew begging to open fire on a group of people because they thought one of them might be armed. (A Reuters reporter was carrying a news camera) In both cases innocent civilians were killed. We heard about the Bales case shortly after it happened. We heard that a Reuters news team had been killed shortly after it happened. Would we have known that our own troops had done this if that footage had not been released by Manning? Were the men in the helicopter heroes only doing what they were sent there to do? Was Manning a hero for making sure that the world found out? His trial should also be very interesting.
When this story broke a few months ago, several circumstances also were let out. The individual(s) who sent Sgt Bales back to Afghan are the ones who really should be on trial instead of Bales. While home from his last tour, Bales underwent phycriatric(?) evaluation and was found incompetent to go on another tour. He, his family and his doctor did everything they could to prevent his deployment based on his mental condition. They knew that something like these killings could and would happen but the military would not listen. Ergo, Bales should not be indicted and should receive the care he should have gotten in the first place and the military types who sent him back should be court martialed.
Thank you, Bob Ramos.
I was wondering about the military training soldiers receive. Aren't they taught to kill? I would guess that after 3 deployments, ANYBODY in this situation would be subject to "losing it."
It is simply mind-boggling to see all the self-righteous judges that seem to have all the answers when the only battles they have to personally deal with amount to getting a parking place at the mall before someone else does.
socpage,
From an old Marine, we were not taught to kill, but we were taught how to kill when necessary. We need to keep that distinction clear. And, we were taught to know the difference between necessary and not.
No one survives prolonged combat, even if they come out alive. These are the demons we inflict on our troops, they will live with them the rest of their lives. The changes are profound and we've barely begun to understand them. A single tour of such impact, and the lines between morality and mortality begin to blur. By the third tour, they no longer exist. It's been over 40 years and my experiences still come to mind daily.
So yes, anyone would be subject to "losing it". There is help, and there is hope, but it has to sought out in an environment that encourages the seeking. Our military is just starting (in relative terms) to know this and it will take years before it is common practice and standard procedure.
I'm waiting for the trial of the soldiers in the helocopterwho videotaped themselves shooting on unarmed Afghanis also, and they shot again when a van came to take the injured to a hospital. Ground troops discovered a child was in the van, and they carried her through the streets to the hospital. This was what Bradley Manning is in the brig for exposing. This was the Wikileaks was shut down for.
most likely this murderer will get demoted at most becuase the military doesnt care care about these horrible crimes, just like that other who shot families huddled in closets. It amazes me that people applaud or forgive what this guy did just because he is a vet. Being a vet doesnt mean you get a free pass to commit crime. I hope that if he is found guilty he will be imprisoned for life but that is unfortunately not going to happen. He should be held by the people of afghanistan anyway - you do crimes in another place, you get punished by them.
Meanwhile the FT. Hood case is still in lingo after three years yet this is going forward a little after 7 months how strange and this was on Foreign Soil.
There should be no trial or hearing for Sgt. Bales. There should only be a Heros Parade for doing what he was sent to Afghanistan to do, Protect America and hunt down anyone who hates America. He did his job, now he deserves High Recognition and praise. I dont know WTF is the matter with people who want this Soldier or ANY other Soldier Prosecuted for Anything. In War, everyone and every thing is game. We cannot have Rules if we go to war with Anyone.
And guys like you call "them" uncivilized savages...
I'm pretty sure his "job" wasn't to kill women and children. How does that "protect America"?
And yes: there are Rules in war. International conventions and rules of engagement from the chain of command. This isn't a video game where you can run around killing anything that moves without consequences.
Mifo, guys like me call them Great Soldiers, obviously you have never been in the Service and are just an armchair redneck @!$%#, This guy is an American Hero, even if people like you convict him of something. People who feel as yoou do should be the next people on the front lines, I really think that you would change your mind. Any one who has not served can have no opinion on war. Until you go to war , STF up.
I question what "service" you've done as well. If you had, you'd hopefully remember that following orders and the rules of engagement are critical qualities for being a professional serviceman.
For the record, I think he should have a fair trial - and that there may be questions about what happened. And the fact that he was deployed (again) is shameful. But if he did what he's accused of, then he should be punished appropriately.
People like you would have gleefully rounded up the German children after WW2 and happily marched them into the ovens. After all, it was their "job" to kill the enemy, right?
Use your freakin' head.
Mifo, I will tell you that I served many years in the U. S. Army during the Vietnam Fiasco. I can assure you that we were aware of the Rules and regulations that are put in place by War Mongers who have never served one day of service. You or no one else who has not been in the service should not be allowed to judge a Service person. You and the War Mongerers do not have a clue. I stated that there SHOULD be no rules, and there shouldnt be.
wascigarman
I agree. What the heck is all this terms of engagement, gentlemen's war crap. All is fair in love and war. Whatever it takes for our troops to do whatever they were sent there to do and still make it back home safely.
President Bush did what he felt was necessary and was condemned for it, even though he was the one that came up with the ideas that resulted in the capture of osama bin Laden, that Obama still relishes taking credit for.
Your argument about people that have not served not being able to have an opinion is such an old tired one. Have an opinion on abortion? Have an opinion on gay marriage? Have an opinion on medical marijuana? Well unless you are a pot smoking lesbian with cancer, than you have no opinion, sound about right? Our tax dollars are funding this war and all of the soldiers that have volunteered for it. Some of us have lost friends, family, or loved ones in this war. It is not a light little joke to us. Yes, people that have not served are allowed an opinion. Isn't it "freedom" that soldiers fight for? Shame on you if you think volunteering for war gives you a free pass for murdering woman and children and then telling the majority of the country that we have no opinion on the matter.
“We are not at war with the Afghani people, and we are not at war with Islam, which most Americans respect as a religion of peace.” — George W. Bush, 9/16/01
Mifo. George bush is a liar and a crook. He and his whole gang belong in prison. If Robme gets elected, you can sign up for the Wars that we will have in Syria and Iran. These will be the next Two countries that the United States will attack when the War Mongering Republicans take over. Oh, by the way Mifo, good luck with all of the RULES and REGULATIONS you will have to abide by.
wascigarman - dude. I agree with everything you're saying. I'm NOT a war-mongering Bush fan - I was pointing out the disparity between what was said then vs. now.
I was the (one) guy back in 2001 that was saying ground troops in Afghanistan was a mistake and I was called a traitor, terrorist, blah, blah. The Soviets spent two decades fighting there, but we figured it would all be cleaned up in a few weeks?
The only place you and I disagree is with respect to military codes of conduct and war crimes. And no: I don't think the "rules" should be made by politicians and academics sitting behind desks. But putting the decision-making in the hands of individual soldiers makes just as little sense. The chain of command and discipline are pretty central to the whole military structure.
Execute him. He's a serial killer. He murdered children. No excuses.
I said this to the wack jobs who praise him, and I will say it to you: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth until we are all blind and toothless. Your world in a nut shell.
CLPL
We will send you over there to take his place. I'm sure you will love it.
Maybe he's innocent. Let's not jump to conclusions here people. He might not have even done anything wrong at all.
Furthermore- This could just be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were in a country that is in a state of war.
I think the Country should re-start the draft again! All males and females 18-34 I say females because some want to be in Combat Arms SO bad. Then all the armchair self righteous hypocrites some which are hiding out on college campuses wasting there parents money can get a taste. Oh yeah politicians children should be at the top of the list they all can't run to Canada! Make a few deployments overseas and see how your mental state holds up!
Obama is giving the Muslim's 1.5 billion dollars.
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/obama-bypassed-congress-to-give-15-billion-to-muslim-brotherhood/question-3231945/
KNOW THE PERSON YOU ARE VOTING FOR
Frank Marshall Davis Bio - Barrack Obama's REAL father
Frank Marshall Davis (1905-1987) was a Communist Party USA (CPUSA) propagandist in Chicago and Hawaii, as well as a writer and poet. The FBI had Davis under investigation or surveillance for 19 years, compiling a 600-page FBI file. He was on the FBI's 'Security Index A', meaning he would be arrested in the event of national emergency.
In 1930's Chicago, CPUSA recruited journalists to help spread Soviet influence in American public opinion. Frank Marshall Davis was one of them. A graduate of Kansas State Journalism School, Frank Marshall Davis joined the Communist Party and began writing for The Chicago Star. He was a colleague of journalist Vernon Jarrett, father-in-law of Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett. Davis also taught at Chicago's Abraham Lincoln School, a Communist run training school run by CPUSA. Davis authored three major volumes of poetry, and later an autobiographical sex novel under a pseudonym.
In 1948, the Kremlin ordered CPUSA to facilitate a US withdrawal from the Hawaii as US naval forces were considered an obstacle to Soviet expansion in Asia. CPUSA assigned Frank Marshall Davis to Honolulu where he began writing for the Communist Newspaper, theHonolulu Recordin 1948. In his columns, Davis flawlessly mirrored official Soviet propaganda - he blamed American capitalism for starting World War II, denounced the Marshall Plan, preached wealth redistribution, nationalization of industry and government healthcare, while bashing Wall Street. Davis also helped organize the Communist controlled ILWU (union) in a failed effort to take over the Hawaiian government in 1949. The Hawaii NAACP chapter complained to its national office, "Comrade Frank Marshall Davis suddenly appeared on the scene to propagandize the membership with the purpose of converting it into a front for the Stalinist line." In 1956, Davis was subpoenaed by the Senate Subcommittee on Un-American Activities and pleaded the fifth. Dreams from My Real Father makes the case that on August 4, 1961, Frank Marshall Davis became the father of the future 44th President of the United States and indoctrinated him with a Marxist ideology during his formative years.
If Obama is re-elected, he will convert our country into a socialist country.
Save our country and keep it free.
Rangewolf,
Paranoid or just quit taking your lithium?
Intellect - NOT.
Because of fools like you we are in the situation we are in. Your dumb assed Messiah is the definition of evil and your ilk is supporting him. Total stupidity.
Apparently a little from A and a little from B. My question is this, what has the rant got to do with Sgt Bales?
Four years ago, these nutjobs promised that if Obama was elected our guns would be taken away, we would all be forced to become Muslam and our country would be socialist. They got nothing, so they are making the same promises again. Wack jobs!
Obama Leaks Top Security Secrets That are Getting Our Troops Killed.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/08/ex-military-group-hits-obama-on-security-leaks/1#.UIW9tm9QX4Q
The reason Obama would not provide security
before the 9/11 attack in Libya or send aid to our valiant Americans is because
he proclaimed "The War on Terror is over!" Apparently he is the only
idiot who believes this garbage. This is also why our security forces were not
allowed to carry live ammo, the right of self defense. Obama forced the removal of razor wire at our
consulate. He never wants to upset and make it difficult for the terrorist. After
the murders of four Americans, Obama lied" saying it was a spontaneous
combustion of our people"! He would not admit it was another Islamic
terrorist attack, since he thinks Muslims like himself are all peace loving and
the "War on Terror is Over!' He said it, so it must be true? Obama lives
in an alternate Islamic reality.
Our
ambassador in Libya begged for hours for our president to save him and the
other Americans. Hours went by and then the ambassador was caught, tortured,
raped, murdered and his lifeless body was dragged through the streets. Obama
just rolled over and went back to sleep. Hillary went back to her girlfriend,
Bill to the intern.
Obama thinks we were at fault in Benhgazigate. He
deems America as always guilty to other countries and peoples. That is why he
made the lying excuse of a video. Impeach, Today! Mr. Obama, please go on
another Muslim apology tour!
DUDE, say you are a muslim and grow a beard, and like Hassan they want have the balls to try you!
"He was shooting...he shot my Fathers dog first, and then he shot my Father in the foot, then he dragged my Mother by the hair".
"My mother was screaming, and he held a gun to her, and my father said "Leave her alone", and then he shot him right here" -*Points to chest