"Everyone just wants to kill people at any cost"

[kas125]

What Adam Winfield, one of the U.S. soldiers accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan, told his father
By Mark Benjamin

One of the five U.S. soldiers accused of murdering Afghan civilians in a grisly case now unfolding in Washington state sent Facebook messages to his father early this year in which he claimed to be mortified that his fellow soldiers had purposely killed a civilian. In the messages, Spc. Adam Winfield also indicated that the murder was an open secret among the members of his platoon, and that no one seemed to think it was a big deal.

Winfield wrote his father, Chris, on Feb. 14 about his concern that two members of his platoon had the previous month murdered "some innocent guy about my age just farming." The correspondence from that day illustrates the young soldier's horror at the murder, and also reveals a shocking indifference about the killing among the other troops in his platoon.

"Well, it was two guys who did it actually killed the dude (sic) but the whole platoon knew about it," Winfield wrote to his father. "Theres (sic) no one in this platoon that agrees this is wrong."

Winfield is one of five soldiers in an Army Stryker Brigade from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, that the Army has accused of being involved in the murders of at least three civilians in Afghanistan between January and May. Details have emerged about rampant drug use in Winfield's platoon of around 30 soldiers, and of troops posing for photos with corpses. Soldiers in the unit say the alleged ringleader in the murders, Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, severed and collected body parts, including teeth and fingers, apparently to make a necklace. Members of the platoon allegedly used drop weapons to cover up their crimes.

the rest is at - http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/10/01/facebook_messages_afghanistan/index.html

[mediaman007]

1. Get them out!

Its only the ego of the military brass and corporate America that keeps them there. The brass is worried about their resumes, while the corporate boards worry about World domination.

[Lorien]

5. And the politicians want to keep the pork barrel military industrial complex contracts

in their districts, instead of building schools, hiring teachers, building green energy plants, paving roads, providing low cost clinics, etc. etc. etc. etc. It's INSANE!

[Cal33]

7. You are right. Get our young men and women out of there. There

are too many psychopaths in positions of power who profit from these wars, and at
the expense of these young people who should never have been sent there in the
first place, as well as the horrible destruction of those small foreign countries.

This is what happens when greedy, conscienceless psychopaths are in power. The
whole thing is sick, and getting sicker!

[Doctor_J]

2. Cheney's going to smirk when he reads this

"accountability's for the little people"

[XanaDUer]

3. Right, and gays shouldn't serve in the military

:eyes:

[Lorien]

4. Everyone in America should be talking about this story

and asking what the f*ck we're doing over there. Instead it takes and hour even to get four recs on DU!!

[kas125]

6. It is sad that this isn't the top news story in this country. It should

be. It's another one of those things that if they don't talk about it, people won't know it's happening.

[Cal33]

8. Corret. That's how the 90% Republican-owned news media keep

the Republicans ignorant, and also keep them voting Republican.

Are Democrats really unable to do anything in this area except
to be resigned, and to let the Republicans do as they wish
without any reply? This is what has been happening for decades!

[Stuart G]

9. k and r