US Army ‘kill team’ in Afghanistan posed with photos of murdered civilians

Commanders brace for backlash of anti-US sentiment
that could be more damaging than after the Abu Ghraib scandal

A degenerate, hypocritical society commanded by a global plutocratic mafia with current HQ in Washington, DC., taps a vast reservoir of mostly poor, brainwashed, or deformed human beings to do its dirty work, use them as cannon fodder or foreign oppressors, and the results are as predictable as they are ugly.

Jon Boone
The Guardian, Monday 21 March 2011

Long before Vietnam, American soldiers used in imperial adventures engaged in shameful practices, frequently covered up by the media (and history books) but known to the troops themselves. Many decent souls revolted against these crimes. (Photo: Der Spiegel)

Der Spiegel to the images of US soldiers abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib in Iraq which sparked waves of anti-US protests around the world.

They fear that the pictures could be even more damaging as they show the aftermath of the deliberate murders of Afghan civilians by a rogue US Stryker tank unit that operated in the southern province of Kandahar last year.

Five of the soldiers are on trial for pre-meditated murder, after they staged killings to make it look like they were defending themselves from Taliban attacks.

Other charges include the mutilation of corpses, the possession of images of human casualties and drug abuse.

All of the soldiers have denied the charges. They face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.

An investigation by Der Spiegel has unearthed approximately 4,000 photos and videos taken by the men.

The US military has strived to keep the pictures out of the public domain fearing it could inflame feelings at a time when anti-Americanism in Afghanistan is already running high.

The lengthy Spiegel article that accompanies the photographs contains new details about the sadistic behaviour of the men.

In one incident in May last year, the article says, during a patrol, the team apprehended a mullah who was standing by the road and took him into a ditch where they made him kneel down.

The patrol team later claimed to their superiors that the mullah had tried to threaten them with a grenade and that they had no choice but to shoot.

In addition to the threat from the publication of the photographs, security has been heightened amid fears the Taliban may try to attack Persian new year celebrations.

Tomorrow could also attract attacks because Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, is due to make a speech declaring which areas of the country should be transferred from international to Afghan control in the coming months.