thedrifter
05-08-07, 11:24 AM
Army apologizes for alleged Afghan shootings
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 8, 2007 12:01:52 EDT
U.S. military leaders in eastern Afghanistan today apologized and made condolence payments to families of civilians killed by spec ops Marines after a suicide bomber struck their vehicle convoy.
The March 4 incident in Nangarhar province left 19 civilians dead and 53 wounded, said Army Col. John Nicholson, commander of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, which is winding down its deployment following 16 months away from home.
“We came here to help the Afghan people and the Afghan government, not to hurt you,” said Nicholson, re-reading for Pentagon reporters via satellite the statement he gave to the families of the victims. “So I stand before you today deeply, deeply ashamed, and terribly sorry, that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people.
“We are filled with grief and sadness at the death of any Afghan,” Nicholson continued. “But the death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor, and on the deaths of the many Americans who have died defending Afghanistan and the Afghan people.
“This was a terrible, terrible mistake,” Nicholson said. “And my nation grieves with you for your loss and suffering. We humbly and respectfully ask for your forgiveness.”
Nicholson said such events “do set us back with the population, and they have to be addressed very directly and forthrightly with the Afghan people.” The families’ response, he said, was “very positive. Showing them the appropriate respect is culturally significant. And seeing the genuine remorse we have for incidents such as this is important in terms of keeping them with us.”
The “solatia” payments — so described because they were made to express condolences rather than a “legal claim per se,” Nicholson said — varied with the type of loss a family suffered. If a family member was killed, he said, the family was paid 100,000 Afghani — the equivalent of about $2,000, he said.
The incident took place when a Marine platoon mistakenly believed it had come under small-arms fire following the bomb attack and began returning fire. But according to The Washington Post, a preliminary Pentagon investigation found no evidence that this took place, citing a lack of telltale brass casings at the scene.
The Associated Press reported that injured Afghans said the Marines fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as the convoy fled the attack site. And Maj. Gen. Frank H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Central Command, told the Post that investigators had gathered testimony from Marines “that is in conflict with unanimous testimony from civilians at the sites.”
AP also reported that U.S. forces later deleted the photos of a photographer and the video of a cameraman, both working for AP, who recorded the aftermath of the attack.
The incident remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which is interviewing “well over 100” individuals who may have been involved, Nicholson said.
Ellie
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 8, 2007 12:01:52 EDT
U.S. military leaders in eastern Afghanistan today apologized and made condolence payments to families of civilians killed by spec ops Marines after a suicide bomber struck their vehicle convoy.
The March 4 incident in Nangarhar province left 19 civilians dead and 53 wounded, said Army Col. John Nicholson, commander of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, which is winding down its deployment following 16 months away from home.
“We came here to help the Afghan people and the Afghan government, not to hurt you,” said Nicholson, re-reading for Pentagon reporters via satellite the statement he gave to the families of the victims. “So I stand before you today deeply, deeply ashamed, and terribly sorry, that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people.
“We are filled with grief and sadness at the death of any Afghan,” Nicholson continued. “But the death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor, and on the deaths of the many Americans who have died defending Afghanistan and the Afghan people.
“This was a terrible, terrible mistake,” Nicholson said. “And my nation grieves with you for your loss and suffering. We humbly and respectfully ask for your forgiveness.”
Nicholson said such events “do set us back with the population, and they have to be addressed very directly and forthrightly with the Afghan people.” The families’ response, he said, was “very positive. Showing them the appropriate respect is culturally significant. And seeing the genuine remorse we have for incidents such as this is important in terms of keeping them with us.”
The “solatia” payments — so described because they were made to express condolences rather than a “legal claim per se,” Nicholson said — varied with the type of loss a family suffered. If a family member was killed, he said, the family was paid 100,000 Afghani — the equivalent of about $2,000, he said.
The incident took place when a Marine platoon mistakenly believed it had come under small-arms fire following the bomb attack and began returning fire. But according to The Washington Post, a preliminary Pentagon investigation found no evidence that this took place, citing a lack of telltale brass casings at the scene.
The Associated Press reported that injured Afghans said the Marines fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as the convoy fled the attack site. And Maj. Gen. Frank H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Central Command, told the Post that investigators had gathered testimony from Marines “that is in conflict with unanimous testimony from civilians at the sites.”
AP also reported that U.S. forces later deleted the photos of a photographer and the video of a cameraman, both working for AP, who recorded the aftermath of the attack.
The incident remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which is interviewing “well over 100” individuals who may have been involved, Nicholson said.
Ellie