Community | October 02, 2010 | 46 comments

Photos Show U.S. Soldiers Posing with Afghan Corpses | Photos | Video

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39465612/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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EthicalVegan
MSNBC


Photos show U.S. soldiers posing with Afghan corpses
Troops allegedly passed around grisly images like trading cards



Cpl. Jeremy Morlock is among five Stryker soldiers charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder.

By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
updated 10/1/2010 7:03:55 PM ET



SEATTLE — Those who have seen the photos say they are grisly: soldiers beside newly killed bodies, decaying corpses and severed fingers.

The dozens of photos, described in interviews and in e-mails and military documents obtained by The Associated Press, were seized by Army investigators and are a crucial part of the case against five soldiers accused of killing three Afghan civilians earlier this year.

Troops allegedly shared the photos by e-mail and thumb drive like electronic trading cards. Now 60 to 70 of them are being kept tightly shielded from the public and even defense attorneys because of fears they could wind up in the news media and provoke anti-American violence.

"We're in a powder-keg situation here," said Eugene R. Fidell, president of the National Institute for Military Justice and a military law professor at Yale University.

Since the images are not classified, "I think they have to be released if they're going to be evidence in open court in a criminal prosecution," he said.
Story: Afghan killings, body parts at center of inquiry

Maj. Kathleen Turner, a spokeswoman for Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Seattle, where the accused soldiers are stationed, acknowledged that the images were "highly sensitive, and that's why that protective order was put in place."

She declined to comment further.


At least some of the photos pertain to those killings. Others may have been of insurgents killed in battle, and some may have been taken as part of a military effort to document those killed, according to lawyers involved in the case.


Among the most gruesome allegations is that some of the soldiers kept fingers from the bodies of Afghans they killed as war trophies. The troops also are accused of passing around photos of the dead and of the fingers.

Four members of the unit — two of whom are also charged in the killings — have been accused of wrongfully possessing images of human casualties, and another is charged with trying to impede an investigation by having someone erase incriminating evidence from a computer hard drive.

"Everyone would share the photographs," one of the defendants, Cpl. Jeremy Morlock, told investigators. "They were of every guy we ever killed in Afghanistan."

After the first slaying, one service member sent urgent e-mails to his father warning that more bloodshed was on the way. The father told the AP he pleaded for help from the military, but authorities took no action. A spokesman said Friday that the Army was investigating.


The graphic nature of the images recalled famous photos that emerged in 2004 from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Those pictures — showing smiling soldiers posing with naked, tortured or dead detainees, sometimes giving a thumbs-up — stirred outrage against the United States at a critical juncture. The photos were a major embarrassment to the American military in an increasingly unpopular and bloody war.

In a chilling videotaped interview with investigators, Morlock talked about hurling a grenade at a civilian as a sergeant discussed the need to "wax this guy."

Morlock's attorney, Michael Waddington, said the photos was not just shared among the defendants or even their platoon. He cited witnesses who told him that many at Forward Operating Base Ramrod in Kandahar Province kept such images, including one photograph of someone holding up a decapitated head blown off in an explosion.

That photo had nothing to do with Morlock, he said. It's not clear whether it's among the photos seized in the case.

On Sept. 9, Army prosecutors gave a military representative of the defendants, Maj. Benjamin K. Grimes, packets containing more than 1,000 pages of documents in the case. Included were three photographs, each of a different soldier lifting the head of a dead Afghan, according to an e-mail Grimes sent to defense lawyers.

Later that day, before the documents could be shared with the defense lawyers, the prosecutors returned to Grimes' office and demanded to have the packets back, Grimes wrote, according to a copy of the e-mail first reported by The New York Times.

The prosecutors cited national security interests and a concern that the photos could be released to the media.



Grimes said his staff initially refused to return the photos, but the next day, the Army commander at Lewis-McChord who convened the criminal proceedings, Col. Barry Huggins, ordered them to do so. They complied.

At a preliminary hearing in Morlock's case Monday, Army officials confirmed that the number of restricted photos is 60 to 70. The investigating officer said he would view the photos in private.

Defense attorneys will also be allowed to see them if they visit the criminal investigations office on base, but they cannot have copies — an arrangement that did not satisfy Grimes. The defendants have been detained and cannot travel to see the photos to assist in their own defense, he noted, and most of the defense lawyers are based out of state.

Michael T. Corgan, a Vietnam veteran who teaches international relations at Boston University, said it should be no surprise that, even after Abu Ghraib, some soldiers take gruesome pictures as war souvenirs.

"They're proof people are as tough as they say they are," Corgan said. "War is the one lyric experience in their lives — by comparison every else is punching a time clock. They revel in it, and they collect memories of it."
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46 comments // Photos Show U.S. Soldiers Posing with Afghan Corpses | Photos | Video

  • Tyr
    • 0
      Tyr  

    • When I was 19 and in Vietnam I found it difficult to understand the odd take that the U.S. has on war....I was in the 196th Inf. brig. 5th mech Div. and we saw our share of engagements with the V.C as well as regular NVA. Now if we had targeted a village as a haven for the enemy, surrounded it and opened fire, killing men women and children indiscriminately , we would have been brought up on charges much like Lt. Calley was with the My Lai incident...however if we were instead a crew aboard a B52 and dropped 5 tons of bombs on the same village and the bombs killed just as indiscriminately... there would be no charges and no outcry of how inhumane it is to kill in that fashion. It's just odd to me how the lines of right and wrong are drawn concerning the way you kill people in war..to me, dead is dead no matter how you get there. So you can blow a mans intestines out with a burst of automatic fire...but it becomes a crime if you take a picture of it? Think about that..We teach our soldiers to use every devise we can come up with to kill people,. develop strategies to maximize the amount of people killed in an engagement...then get outraged if after the killing is over they take pictures and brag about how deadly their platoon is. Then to say that it inflames the enemy, well I have some breaking news for you, they are already inflamed, and at this point it's just a matter of who will prevail...and the ones who do prevail get to write the history books and define who was right and who was wrong.

    • 1 year ago
  • ArmyJuggalo
    • 0
      ArmyJuggalo  

    • There's a good clip out, on youtube its called generation kill (I know this is also an HBO series). Pretty much talks about how unlike other armed conflict in our past, the soldiers seem to go to war pre-desensitized to violence. Goes on to say that this generation produces more effective killers on the battlefield.

    • 1 year ago
  • kurutonio
    • 0
      kurutonio  

    • add what they did in Viet-Nam, Japan, Etiopia, and everywhere else they have been;
      why bring the troop at home, their country can't hold such criminals, that's why the make them go ... in a uniform;

      why do not send them all ....

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
    • +1
      bailey78  

    • Ok first off this is nothing new it has been happening sense the invention of the camera. So I see nothing for anyone to get upset about. Yes it's morbid but to say it's wrong well thats just wrong. This is the one way the truth is surpressed. in the future they can white wash it anyway they want but if somebody has prints it's just that much harder to lie about.

    • 1 year ago
  • eden49
    • +3
      eden49  

    • ...the sooner we bring all the troops home from this toilet, the better...Australia brought home another 150 a few days ago; small amount, I know, but 150 saved...these young men and women have to slot back into some sort of semblance of civilised society...by sending them to this area, we have de-sensitized the crap out of them...sigh...

    • 1 year ago
  • Sheeva
    • +2
      Sheeva  

    • Wow, where are their minds when they come home? There should be some type of de-warring for them to help return to normal living. Shell shock is no joke let's not forget that.

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • mr_tibbles
  • UtopianSky
    • +5
      UtopianSky  

    • This is the simple fact that war is an absolutely disgusting, repulsive act.
      To send young men and women- still not emotionally mature- into that kind of environment will cause damage.

      This is what we are doing to our children in the name of politics, oil and religion.

    • 1 year ago
  • ArmyJuggalo
  • UtopianSky
    • 0
      UtopianSky  
    • ArmyJuggalo:

      That's a false average.
      If you combine a whole bunch of 18 and 19 year olds with a few officers in their 30's and 40's, handful of 50 and 60 year old generals, you get a nice average of 30.

      In theory, you don't need even one person between 25-35 to end up with an average of 30.

      (70 + 18 + 18 + 18 + 18 ) / 5 = 28.4

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
  • ArmyJuggalo
    • -1
      ArmyJuggalo  
    • UtopianSky:

      That's a false stereotype.
      I'm 26 and one of the youngest in my squad. And the only officer is one of the younger ones(23). Please do not talk about what you do not know shit about.

      There isn't one 18-19 year old in my whole company.

      (you+all other people ignorant of the military) / 5 = a lot of ignorant people

    • 1 year ago
  • bking74
    • +1
      bking74  
    • ArmyJuggalo:

      I just returned from BNCOC/WLC and learned that after ten years with the 1-89th/2nd BCT/10th Mountain (Fort Drum) I will be heading to the 16th Cav/ 194 Armor Brigade (Fort Knox) to train the next generation of 19D's. This CONUS duty station re-assignment happened without warning and a mere eight months after I re-enlisted for another four year enlistment. (They blinded me with a large re-enlistment and critical MOS signing bonus) and I was assured that there was plenty of open slots for promotable Staff Sergeants within the 1-89th.
      I have found the average age to be a bit younger then what your MA National Guard unit represents. With the average age of non-NCO's being between 19-23, junior and senior NCO's anywhere between 26 and 36 (with an average service record of 6-10 years and at least Combat tour.) I believe the reason your unit is slightly older is the fact you are in the MA National Guard.(By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.") I grew up in Dorchester and my father had a long career serving with the 101st engineer battalion after his initial enlistment during Vietnam. My experience is that most National Guardsmen are former soldiers, who have completed four years of Active Army service or college students. (That 100% state tuition is an amazing benefit and something I should have thought before my latest re-enlistment.
      The military labor force is significantly younger than the civilian labor force: The armed forces place a premium on youth over experience,
      The military work force is highly concentrated in the younger age groups, in sharp contrast to the civilian labor force, which includes a large share over age 50
      Enlisted personnel tend to enter the military after high school or a year of college, and they leave the service after just a few years, accentuating the young age structure among enlistees. Most officers complete at least four years of college before
      entering the service, and they remain in service longer—giving them an
      older age profile.

    • 1 year ago
  • ArmyJuggalo
    • 0
      ArmyJuggalo  
    • bking74:

      So that doesn't go against what I said at all. 42% of the army is younger then 25...Of coarse the civilian labor pool would be older, don't need a bunch of geriatrics running around in a combat zone. The marine thing makes sense also, because they are known to advance younger people faster then other branches. All I'm saying is that I have been in Afghanistan for 8 months now, and the majority or our forces seem to be late 20s to 30 somethings.

      Good job copying and pasting though. Your computing and researching skills are top notch.

    • 1 year ago
  • bking74
    • 0
      bking74  
    • ArmyJuggalo:

      You have me dead to rights on the copying and pasting portion of my comment. Lazy, maybe? but still fairly accurate. I do believe we basically agree on the average age of today's U.S Military. I was only mentioning my experience with a large number of younger non-NCO's with less then two years of active service in the last few years as large numbers of enlisted soldiers return to the civilian world after the end of their of their initial four or six year enlistment. We simply aren't seeing the same number of re-enlistments as the Army scales back it's re-enlistment bonuses and the Senior NCO slots fill up.
      What part of the Graveyard are you stationed. I never thought I could hate a place as much as I hated the Logar and Wardak provence. Have a safe and quiet deployment. Is your unit stationed for the standard 12 months deployment or a 15 months extended tour? I fcuking hate the fact I have to leave the 1-89th after all this time. That 100% state tuition seems extremely appealing right about now.

    • 1 year ago
  • ArmyJuggalo
    • 0
      ArmyJuggalo  
    • bking74:

      I am in Kabul, cakewalk compared to where you were. Not too found of this country though, tried to give it a chance. We have a 12 month deployment, including 2 months mob. in Atterbury and Polk. Yeah in my guard unit its extremely hard to get e-5 and above advancement. The slots are over filled as it is. I'm sure it's a lot different in the active component. The state tuition is a great incentive to go guard, as I plan on taking advantage of it when I am finally home. If you decide to go home and serve your state, you'll see that we're not as jacked up as the active guys make us out to me. ( In Massachusetts anyways)

    • 1 year ago
  • EmperorThan
  • vixxxen618
  • ayipis
  • EmperorThan
  • JosephJinx
    • +3
      JosephJinx  
    • ayipis:

      "Just goes to show that HURRRRRRRR DURRRRR ADERP HERP DERP HURRDURR."

      This is all I hear from you. Your comment has absolutely nothing to do with this story.

      Please go troll somewhere else for your boner-inducing negative attention. I hear there are these places called S&M clubs where you can actually pay someone to be spanked and humiliated! True story.

    • 1 year ago
  • bailey78
  • bailey78
  • bailey78
  • Wolfspade
    • +5
      Wolfspade  

    • How much more "Anti-American" could the Violence possibly get? Is there anyone who does not yet understand that this is just a portion of these kinds of incidents? Hey, pay attention, WE ALL SUCK AS A SPECIES!

    • 1 year ago
  • ArmyJuggalo
    • +2
      ArmyJuggalo  

    • This is what happens when serial killers go army. Or did the army go serial killer? The world may never know. Blame video games and rock and roll! All I can vouch for is that I hate Afghanistan more every day I'm here.

    • 1 year ago
  • iamaman
    • +3
      iamaman  

    • thats what happens when a person is actually fighting in a war. they seek to further desensitize the shock of Psychological trauma as a defense mechanism.

      the same things happen to women and children when suffering from abuse.

    • 1 year ago
  • jimbones2045
  • ThatdBMe
    • +3
      ThatdBMe  
    • jimbones2045:

      I think the basic idea of what Iamaman saying is correct. It's often noted that people who abuse were abused as children. There is some sort of desensitizing that happens. Same goes for troops that witness bombings every day, or cleansing of villages, or are in high fear for their safety 24/7. I'm not saying PTSD or anything like that is an excuse, nor is it the excuse for every situation. But, I'm sure being in situations like war for a long time does cause a lot of trauma which manifests in unhealthy ways.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
  • ThatdBMe
    • 0
      ThatdBMe  
    • Vierotchka:

      I agree. I'm sorry if my previous post made it seem like I was saying all children who were abused become abusers themselves. I know not all become abusers and not all abusers were abused.

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
  • ayipis
    • -5
      ayipis  
    • JanforGore:

      this just shows that liberals do not understand human nature at all..from behind your pampered existence and sheltered reality..this is and was happens during warfare...nothing new...i can pull all kinds of incidents FROM BOTH waring parties..from the beginning of recorded history.

      and if this war is lost....trust me you will loose your pampered existence and your sheltered reality...what? they never told you that there is a possibility you or your descendant might be wearing a burka?

    • 1 year ago
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • ayipis:

      I don't have a pampered existence nor am I a Liberal you brainwashed tool. Geez, can I EVER post here without one of these trolls up my butt? This site is getting unbearable to post on.

    • 1 year ago
  • EmperorThan
  • eden49
  • Vierotchka
  • eden49
  • Radical_Centrist
  • ArmyJuggalo
  • Radical_Centrist
    • +3
      Radical_Centrist  
    • ArmyJuggalo:

      Try Piss-Off This ONLY serves to embolden the Taliban and make more people want to join. I mean this would be a great affront to the dignity of anyone not just Muslims. Things like this make some of the moderate Muslims think maybe these SOB's are as savage as the Taliban say they are.

    • 1 year ago
  • artemis6
  • RojoGatto
  • ThatdBMe
    • +2
      ThatdBMe  
    • RojoGatto:

      I agree, to some extent, about the "nice army". ROEs are different for every person/situation/country/war. That's like bringing a knife to a gun fight and crying foul because you're outgunned. Nobody's going to play by the rules and fight fair.

      I am, by no means, speculating about the pictures.

    • 1 year ago
  • artemis6
    • 0
      artemis6  
    • RojoGatto:

      We could once have beat them , by playing Decent , well disciplined army . That was our only real chance and we blew it . This war will go on forever because each side feels justified . Is that what you wanted ?

    • 1 year ago
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