Was Bales alone?
Jeff sends us a link to MSNBC who tries to muddy the waters surrounding the SSG Robert Bales discussion with the testimony of a child witness who charges that there were twenty or so soldiers with Bales when he committed murder in the Afghanistan village a few weeks back;
“One man entered the room and the others were standing in the yard, holding lights,” Noorbinak said in the video.
A brother of one victim told Hakim that his brother’s children mentioned more than one soldier wearing a headlamp. They also had lights at the end of their guns, he said.
“They don’t know whether there were 15 or 20, however many there were,” he said in the video.
Army officials have repeatedly denied that others were involved in the massacre, emphasizing that Bales acted alone.
A child’s testimony is virtually useless, since they’re more likely to talk about their impressions of the events and their impressions are distorted by their lack of experience in realty. Afghanistan children are habitual liars, according to people I’ve talked to in regards to this instance. They often repeat lies that are spoon-fed to them by adults.
But what makes me disbelieve the story most is that Bales’ lawyer would have said something about it by now since he’s seized on every other excuse for his client in the last week or so.
Category: Terror War
As a guy that dealt with Afghan culture on a daily basis while he was there, Afghans LOVE to embellish everything, worse than Arabs do. If there was one tank in reality, they will say that there were 5-10, to make themselves seem more heroic. Afghan kids are even worse, the little Fuckers will lie right to your face if they think it means baksheesh!!!!
I can vouch for that Lucky. The little brats have a mouth on them and will say whatever you want them to for a dollar.
I’m just a civilian, so I may not know a thing, but do our troops have headlamps on their helmets and lights on their weapons? In civilian law enforcement, I might buy that, but military in a combat zone?
@3 – Yes……in many units, mostly SOF……..helmets can have side rails for surefire lights, camara’s, etc….
I’m disappointed guys. Afghan children are habitual liars? I actually laughed at this. John, I believe you meant children are habitual liars. Part of the childhood condition is being impressionable, let’s not pretend it’s geographic.
@1 & 2, how many of our kids here in America have grown up around foreign troops conducting combat ops? You create those little monsters when you pay them to say and do ridiculous things. Children who lie and exaggerate?! No… Way… Some kids don’t grow out of it, and move on to bigger and better bullshit. Yes, even here in America… Even in the military http://valorguardians.com/blog/?cat=30
I’m disappointed guys. Afghan children are habitual liars? I actually laughed at this. John, I believe you meant children are habitual liars. Part of the childhood condition is being impressionable, let’s not pretend it’s geographic.
@1 & 2, how many of our kids here in America have grown up around foreign troops conducting combat ops? You create those little monsters when you pay them to say and do ridiculous things. Children who lie and exaggerate?! No… Way… Some kids don’t grow out of it, and move on to bigger and better villager. Yes, even here in America… Even in the military http://valorguardians.com/blog/?cat=30
I would think they wouldn’t want lights on their heads if they are trying to go unseen. I know the Army issue flashlight my dad had back in the day had a clear red disk to help disguise its use. What’s the solution these days?
I’m disappointed guys. Afghan children are habitual liars? I actually laughed at this. John, I believe you meant children are habitual liars. Part of the childhood condition is being impressionable, let’s not pretend it’s geographic.
@1 & 2, how many of our kids here in America have grown up around foreign troops conducting combat ops? You create those little monsters when you pay them to say and do ridiculous things. Children who lie and exaggerate?! No… Way… Some kids don’t grow out of it, and move on to bigger and better villager. Yes, even here in America… Even in the military
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?cat=30
White lights have their purposes, such as site exploitation of a cleared and secured area at night…but IR lights are also used to spotlight with NVDs.
Same for rail mounted lights/lasers on weapons.
Don’t forget the guy in the grassy knoll as well. Oliver Stone will rewrite this one as well.
I tend to disbelieve. The US already paid the bloodprice, so by sharia, Bales is now innocent. But – accuse others of participating in order to extort more cash? That’s the Chicag… Afghan Way!
Boy if Bales’s lawyer would just keep his mouth shut the defense would write itself. There is too many conflicting stories going on as it is. All the prosecution has going for it is the ‘confession’. Hell if they don’t have the evidence to back it up then its no good.
I tend to believe Bales acted alone on the grounds of simplicity. IMO, 15 or 20 people going bonzo and committing mass murder is simply a lot less likely than one guy snapping. And large groups tend not to keep secrets all that well.
I dunno, I think the lawyer is now claiming some sort of super super bombshell evidence ‘suppressed’ by the gubmint. MSM might have given him a few loony ideas.
Tman: I personally can’t much fault Bales’ lawyer if he goes there. He’s got to do everything he can – short of outright lying to the court – to either (1) create reasonable doubt in the minds of the court-martial panel, or (2) lay a foundation for claims of mitigating/extenuating circumstances so that his client doesn’t get the death penalty.
We don’t have to like it, but it’s what the legal system requires him to do for his client.