Peter1469
03-30-2015, 05:03 AM
This is a Military Times (http://www.militarytimes.com/longform/military/2015/03/27/task-force-violent-part-4/24310087/) series about a Marine Corps SoF company that was railroaded over political correctness in war. Links to the previous articles inside.
Marine SoF convoy hit by suicide bombers- 5 KIA. Marines kick ass. Afghans bitch because civilians also got killed. US caves and treats heroes like dirt. What sort of pencil necked geek would fault warriors for killing civilians after being trapped in a complex ambush? That is why the enemy placed the ambush where they did.
It felt like an interrogation. The room was small, poorly ventilated and bare: only a desk, two chairs and endless questions. One by one, all 30 members of the patrol cycled through to meet with the investigator.
Two days prior, on March 4, 2007, the Marines were in a fight for their lives along a treacherous stretch of highway in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. Now, a senior Air Force officer sent from Qatar was picking apart what transpired after their convoy was hit by suicide car bomber. Local Afghans alleged the Marines went berserk, killing and wounding more than two dozen innocent civilians. The Marines, members of an elite commando force, said they were caught in a complex ambush, using precise, measured and justified force to suppress the threat and escape the kill zone.
The Air Force officer eventually sided with the Afghans. After several weeks in theater evaluating evidence, interviewing purported witnesses, and conferring with military explosives experts, Col. Patrick Pihana concluded that four Marines should be charged with committing negligent homicide. Three others, including the unit's commander, Maj. Fred Galvin, would face related charges.
Marine SoF convoy hit by suicide bombers- 5 KIA. Marines kick ass. Afghans bitch because civilians also got killed. US caves and treats heroes like dirt. What sort of pencil necked geek would fault warriors for killing civilians after being trapped in a complex ambush? That is why the enemy placed the ambush where they did.
It felt like an interrogation. The room was small, poorly ventilated and bare: only a desk, two chairs and endless questions. One by one, all 30 members of the patrol cycled through to meet with the investigator.
Two days prior, on March 4, 2007, the Marines were in a fight for their lives along a treacherous stretch of highway in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. Now, a senior Air Force officer sent from Qatar was picking apart what transpired after their convoy was hit by suicide car bomber. Local Afghans alleged the Marines went berserk, killing and wounding more than two dozen innocent civilians. The Marines, members of an elite commando force, said they were caught in a complex ambush, using precise, measured and justified force to suppress the threat and escape the kill zone.
The Air Force officer eventually sided with the Afghans. After several weeks in theater evaluating evidence, interviewing purported witnesses, and conferring with military explosives experts, Col. Patrick Pihana concluded that four Marines should be charged with committing negligent homicide. Three others, including the unit's commander, Maj. Fred Galvin, would face related charges.