Posted on Oct 22, 2015
Robert Bales claims his massacre of 16 civilians in Afghanistan is uniquely different from those mass shootings in the US. Agree?
144K
791
171
8
8
0
“I was so angry at these [Afghani] guys for putting their families in harm's way like that,” he said. “So I blamed them, but I took it out on [the women and children]. I was just raging.” Bales was an army staff sergeant aged 39 on his fourth deployment to a combat zone in 2012.
Military officials said he had been drinking before creeping away from base in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar, armed with a pistol, a rifle and a grenade launcher. Witnesses said he opened fire on sleeping families before burning some of dead bodies.
At one point he returned to tell a fellow soldier, “I just shot up some people.”
In the interview he said he been suffering from stress, non-stop anger – caused by guilt at failing to prevent an attack that maimed a friend when Bales was on sentry duty - and was using steroids, when he went into “autopilot” and launched his murderous raid. He said he thinks about his actions again and again.
“I can't take it back,” he said. “If I could, I would. Not just because I'm gonna be in prison for the rest of my life. Because of the cost. No conscious person wants war. No conscious person wants to kill people.”
But he also said he feels he let down his fellow troops.
“I want to say to those guys that I hurt—my guys, the patriot brotherhood—I want them to know I'm sorry,” he said. “I don't want nothing but good things for my soldiers. I hope that in some way they can understand how sorry I am. They're my family, and I love them.”
He also tried to distance himself from other American mass shooters such as James Holmes, who murdered 12 people at midnight screening of Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.
“It wasn't like I was looking to go into a school and open up on a bunch of kids,” he said. “That doesn't make it right. I'm not trying to make it right. I can't make it right. The difference between a soldier and a thug is authority, and I didn't have authority. But it's not the same as walking into a movie theatre and opening up on a bunch of people in a Batman movie.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/11947019/Robert-Bales-says-he-was-on-autopilot-when-he-massacred-16-Afghan-civilians.html
Military officials said he had been drinking before creeping away from base in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar, armed with a pistol, a rifle and a grenade launcher. Witnesses said he opened fire on sleeping families before burning some of dead bodies.
At one point he returned to tell a fellow soldier, “I just shot up some people.”
In the interview he said he been suffering from stress, non-stop anger – caused by guilt at failing to prevent an attack that maimed a friend when Bales was on sentry duty - and was using steroids, when he went into “autopilot” and launched his murderous raid. He said he thinks about his actions again and again.
“I can't take it back,” he said. “If I could, I would. Not just because I'm gonna be in prison for the rest of my life. Because of the cost. No conscious person wants war. No conscious person wants to kill people.”
But he also said he feels he let down his fellow troops.
“I want to say to those guys that I hurt—my guys, the patriot brotherhood—I want them to know I'm sorry,” he said. “I don't want nothing but good things for my soldiers. I hope that in some way they can understand how sorry I am. They're my family, and I love them.”
He also tried to distance himself from other American mass shooters such as James Holmes, who murdered 12 people at midnight screening of Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.
“It wasn't like I was looking to go into a school and open up on a bunch of kids,” he said. “That doesn't make it right. I'm not trying to make it right. I can't make it right. The difference between a soldier and a thug is authority, and I didn't have authority. But it's not the same as walking into a movie theatre and opening up on a bunch of people in a Batman movie.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/11947019/Robert-Bales-says-he-was-on-autopilot-when-he-massacred-16-Afghan-civilians.html
Warfare
Crime
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 42
1
1
0
He tarnished the brother/sisterhood the moment he pulled the trigger. This man ought to be sent to Gitmo, and let the terrorist prisoners deal with him.
I do not accept his justification, nor his apology. He has no honor.
I do not accept his justification, nor his apology. He has no honor.
(1)
(0)
SPC (Join to see)
PLease do a 12 month tour in combat before dispensing ignorance, yes he was wrong but that monster is in all of us.
(0)
(0)
1
1
0
He was wrong the court martial validated it at no point did I ever believe it would be right to kill unarmed women and children
(1)
(0)
CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
Yes, but what of Bales' attempts to make his massacre uniquely different than that of domestic mass murderers like the Aurora theater shooter by citing 'authority'?
(0)
(0)
(0)
(0)
1
1
0
Sounds to me like he doesn't want to take full responsibility for his actions.
(1)
(0)
CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
He attempts to distinguish his actions apart from those of domestic mass murderers but one thing these monsters all share in common--they fail to apologize to their victims and the families they destroyed (even if Bales apologizes to his fellow soldiers for disgracing the uniform). He was also attempting to obtain clemency.
(0)
(0)
1
1
0
Maybe he should have pled affluenza ( Not to make light of what happened, but more to expose the hypocrisy of the injustice system )
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
I think he is searching for reasoning in what he did. However I would like to know if he was on Mafloquine. He might have a better case with this defense approach. This plus roids plus any other mental health issues could be a toxic mix.
http://www.drugs.com/cdi/mefloquine.html
http://www.drugs.com/cdi/mefloquine.html
Mefloquine: Indications, Side Effects, Warnings - Drugs.com
Easy to read patient leaflet for mefloquine. Includes indications, proper use, special instructions, precautions, and possible side effects.
(1)
(0)
CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
Great post, thanks for the link: Mefloquine may cause mental or mood problems or problems with your body's nervous system that may last after mefloquine is stopped. Do not take mefloquine to prevent malaria if you have mental or mood problems. Tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of mental or mood problems (eg, anxiety, behavior changes, confusion, depression, hallucinations, paranoia, restlessness, suicidal thoughts or actions) or symptoms of nervous system problems (eg, dizziness, feeling that you or things around you are moving or spinning, loss of balance, ringing in your ears, seizures, trouble sleeping). Discuss any questions or concerns with your doctor.
Some people taking mefloquine have committed suicide. It is not known if mefloquine was the reason for those suicides. Discuss any questions or concerns with your doctor.
So many unknown factors but the outcomes are too sadly too obvious...
Some people taking mefloquine have committed suicide. It is not known if mefloquine was the reason for those suicides. Discuss any questions or concerns with your doctor.
So many unknown factors but the outcomes are too sadly too obvious...
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
I'm so sick of guys like this one saying ptsd induced "autopilot" somehow makes him not entirey responsible fuckouttahere are u really trying to suggest that ptsd is a disorder that makes one incapable of discerning righand wrong? bullshit you know what does make that difficult? Booze and steroids he negated any forward progress his unit or any other had made n that oa and now well the fallout that came from all of the insurgents that he converted and he their sl wasnt around to take care of them either guys a dick makes it hard to convicne folks were not what talib says we r when ssg roid rage stsrts smoking civilians
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
He saying all of this to cover his ass. You murdered people and you got what you deserve.
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
Absolutely nothing can make up for what he did, he dishonored his family, unit, and country. We were all put under mass stress as infantryman on multiple tours however it will never justify what he did. He violated the warrior ethos and what greater slap in the face to your soldiers and country is there than that?
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
Probably got the steroids from foreign military... polish used like crazy over there
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
He is equally responsible for his actions. No matter the situation, country and the state of mind at the time, it does not justify a massacre. The fact that he is one of our brothers should not blind us of his criminal actions. God bless his soul
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google