On Sunday one or more members of the US military murdered sixteen Afghan civilians, nine of them children. The US military claims the perpetrator is a lone staff sergeant who suffered a mental breakdown.

Some Afghan witnesses claim it was a group of drunken soldiers who shot civilians randomly.

Here is an excerpt from a Reuters report.

>>"They (Americans) poured chemicals over their dead bodies and burned them," Samad told Reuters at the scene.

Neighbors said they had awoken to crackling gunfire from American soldiers, who they described as laughing and drunk.

"They were all drunk and shooting all over the place," said neighbor Agha Lala, who visited one of the homes where killings took place.

"Their (the victims') bodies were riddled with bullets.">>

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/11/us-afghanistan-civilians-idUSBRE82A02V20120311

On the face of it the witness' claims sound plausible. Why would they lie?

Which version do you believe?

Which version is the more nearly correct one?

Let's start with a few objective facts.

Both versions are possible. It could have been a lone gunman suffering a mental trauma. Equally it could have been a drunken group of soldiers.

No one sitting in Melbourne can, at the time of writing, say with certainty which version is correct. At best we can say which version we believe is more likely to be correct.

For the time being I believe the US military's version of events for the following reasons:

--There would be many military witnesses so it is unlikely a group of drunken soldiers going on a killing spree could be covered up

--US military spokesmen can usually be counted on to tell the truth when they know there is a high probability of them implicated in a cover-up if they lie. In this case they must know it is unlikely they could suppress the truth.

What or who do you believe?

Why would Afghan witnesses lie?

Is Reuter's report of Afghan claims accurate. (Not the claims but the report of the claims.)

Did the Reuters reporter believe the Afghan claims?

Which version are most Afghans likely to believe?

Just a lttle while ago we had images of US soldiers urinating on dead Afghans.Humans on boths sides of this war have been used by the Military Industrial Complex to steal lithium for batteries,expand the heroine trade and get oil from Turkmenistan and set up bases to surround China.

Let them fight their own dirty filthy wars.Let the bankers of Wall St and Congress put their own bodies on the line.

>>Humans on boths sides of this war have been used by the Military Industrial Complex to ... expand the heroine trade...>>

Wow

The Military Industrial Complex is trying to muscle in on Hollywood's turf.

;-)

http://popconfidential.zap2it.com/2009/11/02/top-25-greatest-action-movie-heroines

Dear Steven,

As you say - it's hard to know who to believe in this case.

However the military of the US - tends to be an entity
governed by its own set of rules and laws.
We've got many historical examples. One that comes to mind
is the My Lai Massacre - which occurred
during the Vietnam War where the
mass murder of between 347 to 504 unarmed civilians by
US soldiers took place in South Vietnam - March 16, 1968.

Twenty two US soldiers were initially charged with criminal
offences but only one- William Calley was convicted. Although
he was given a life sentence he ended up serving only three and
a half years under house arrest.

As you said - why would the Afghans lie?
Who knows?
Why would the US military lie? Hmmmm - lets see ...
Isn't "image" part and parcel of the American way Steven?
They're the "good guys" aren't they?
At least that's what the world was told by John Wayne
in the movie - "The Green Beret."

cont'd ...

My apologies - the movie was called,
"The Green Berets."

Point is Lexi,

We know about My Lai. Calley's sentence may have been inadequate but we know the event occurred just as we know about Abu Ghraib.

In fact the worst things we know about the US we know from US sources. In general, in the US, cover-ups do not appear to work.

I also think it naïve in the extreme to assume some Afghan's would not lie about this. According to the Reuters report the massacre happened in Taliban territory. It would be in the interests of the Taliban and their supporters to paint the US in the worst possible light.

That's why for now my money is on the American version being the one that is most nearly correct. Not 100% correct; but most nearly correct.

However, while I would bet on the American version being (mostly) correct I would not risk a large sum. Not more than, say, $50.

As ever, time will tell.