Karzai dismisses evidence of “single shooter” in Bales massacre
McClatchy interviews 14-year-old Rafiullah, a shooting victim in the SSG Robert Bales shooting incident. Rafiullah, who was shot at least three times by Bales that night in his grandmother’s home, claims that he saw and heard only one shooter;
Rafiullah told McClatchy that Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, phoned him in the aftermath of the attack and U.S. authorities later interviewed him while he was in the hospital. “Two times they talked to me,” he said.
A day or two after the massacre, he also spoke to the man Karzai had appointed as his chief investigator into the killings, Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, the Afghan army chief.
“To all of them I said the same thing,” Rafiullah said. “I saw only one shooter.”
Curiously, Karimi later backed the “multiple attacker” theory, which was also advanced by Karzai, although Karimi subsequently acknowledged in an interview with McClatchy that Rafiullah and Sadiqullah had told him otherwise.
Curiously? Really? The Karzai government smells a big pay off…what’s curious about that? they want to cleave to theory that there are several more shooters out there, but they can’t bring themselves to admit that green-on-blue attacks are part of a strategy, despite the scores of incidents this year.
A tall man with a graying beard and gnarled face, who gave his age as “between 50 and 60,” Naim said he felt abandoned by the Afghan government after the massacre. No government official had been to see him or to ask about his welfare.
“They care only about themselves,” he said.
Yeah, but wait until you get your sack of money from the US government, Naim, you’ll get more attention from the Afghan government than you want.
Category: Terror War
Karzai sounds like he would fit in and make a fine senator up on Capitol Hill.
Sadly this incident happened in my AO. That area will never be the same. However why do you need to report the truth when the spin is so much better. This is yet another example of the horse we backed setting himself up for the end game. Can you really blame him? Karzai’s the best of our bad options so we can’t switch leaders near the finishline, but he knows that to retain even a small piece of the power that he has after we pull out of here, Karzai must slowly begin to distance himself from the very nation that put him into power. Announcing a pull-out date sounded the death knell for his presidency unless he can pander to the rest of the country. (On a side note, I like the idea of a scheduled victorious departure. We should have tried that in our other wars. Just check a day on the calender and slog till the end. 2014 V-A Day!) Sadly Green on Blue attacks are skyrocketing across Afghanistan and everyone is still briefing that we’re right on track (ref my previous posts), but unfortunately the media only gets ahold of the numbers when there’s a successful killing. They don’t get briefed about the times ANSF have turned their guns on Americans only to be cut down by sharp-eyed soldiers before they could start step 1 of the spray and pray drill favored by third world soldiers everywhere. Or when they manage to only wound a few of us before they’re killed. Once again this post has turned into a ramble and I apologize. Long day, late night.
Anyone check the Grassy Knoll?
Would someone please explain why they would continue to insist on more than one shooter, when even the victims indicate there was only one? Do they get more money for more shooters, or save more face, or what?
PN – yes – they get more money under Sharia.
“The Karzai government smells a big pay off…”
Natch, anybody surprised? Young 14-year-old Rafiullah has more integrity and honor than Karzai.