"US soldier admits to sport killing"

[Xicano]

A US military court has spared an American soldier from an early discharge from the US Army after he admitted to shooting unarmed Afghan civilians for fun.

Staff Sergeant Robert Stevens, 25, an Army medic from the State of Oregon, was only sentenced to nine months in prison on Wednesday for killing Afghan civilians, after pleading guilty.

He confessed to opening fire on two Afghan farmers in March 2010 for no apparent reason. He and other US troops were acting on orders from a squad leader during a patrol in March, Reuters reported.


http://presstv.ir/detail/153539.html

[MattBaggins]

1. WTF

He commits murder and gets nine months and no discharge from the military? What the hell happened to the Army I spent 10 years serving?

This is outrageous.

[bobbolink]

2. It's what happens in war. EVERY war.

"Support our troops".

This is a large part of why so many vets suffer from PTSD. They see shit like this, and it scars them.

Worse, they participate in it because going along to get along is much easier.

They pay the price later.

[Xicano]

4. On top of everything else, notice his occupation? He's a "Medic".

Back when I was an infantryman in the Army (1980's) I was taught it was forbidden for medics to carry or use any offensive weapons. By law they are only allowed to handle defensive weapons (side arms/hand guns).


{Edit} Spelling correction.

[Aristus]

5. Medic? Fuck no. He's a thug.

If "First, do no harm" means nothing to a person, then that person has no connection whatsoever to the medical community.

[Xicano]

7. Exactly!

n/t

[CC]

13. "What the hell happened ...

...to the Army I spent 10 years serving?"
Bush/Cheney & company.

Going to take a long time to clean up the messes left behind. If we get the chance to even try the clean up.

[qazplm]

3. he got a deal because

basically he was the one who came forward about a slew of murders.

The deal seems very light but not surprising that the whistleblower so to speak gets the light deal to testify against the others.

[Xicano]

8. The article also says: "soldiers charged with other crimes, including mutilating bodies and keeping.

...body parts as trophies."

[Angry Dragon]

6. They must have been potential terrorists

[NuclearDem]

9. Disgusting

I went over there to protect Afghans from the Taliban and al-Qaeda who did this...now our own people are doing it? :cry:

[Xicano]

10. Welcome to the DU NuclearDem.

Glad to have you aboard.

:hi:

[JohnyCanuck]

11. K&R n/t

[maryf]

12. K&R nt

[cali]

14. utterly despicable.

[Jumping John]

15. At one time soldiers in the US Army got away scot free for murdering babies. They're improving.

[Ahpook]

16. I've been curious about internet use for soldiers.

I would frequent a forum dedicated to a certain rock band. One particular poster would write in occasionally with updates from that region.

Anyway, he made a couple posts about "taking out" mostly anyone they wanted. Apparently his superiors could care less as long as they were "cool" about it.

He may have been one of the freeps acting large, but everyone responded favorably.

Sickening if true!

[GSLevel9]

17. not surprising. Every population has it's nuts

some go into High Schools with guns and propane tanks and kill people, some go into colleges and some fly planes into buildings.

There's no institutional bloodlust for killing innocents in the military... but you WILL have the bad apples.

[Xenotime]

18. Sick. How can we support these killing 'robots'

[xocet]

19. Do Other Sources Confirm the Press TV Reporting...?

I have qualms about blindly accepting reporting. I just posted to my journal (http://journals.democraticunderground.com/xocet) a collection of other articles that relate to this OP. The Iranian Press TV reporting is false if the other reports are to be believed. Do you know of any other articles that specifically attribute a murder or murders to Staff Sgt Stevens? I would appreciate those links if you know of any. Thanks.