US soldier 'warned dad of Afghan deaths'

[G_j]

Source: AP

US soldier 'warned dad of Afghan deaths'

Gene Johnson
September 10, 2010 - 10:34AM

AP

The father of a US soldier serving in Afghanistan says he tried nearly a half dozen times to pass an urgent message from his son to the army: troops in his unit had murdered an Afghan civilian, planned more killings and threatened him to keep quiet about it.

By the time officials arrested suspects months later, two more Afghans were dead.

And much to Christopher Winfield's horror, his son Adam was among the five Fort Lewis-based soldiers charged in the killings.

Read more: http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/us-soldier-warned-dad-of-afghan-deaths-20100910-153tc.html

[McCamy Taylor]

1. Charging whistleblowers with a crime is the government way to silence them.

[G_j]

5. and of course, lying about it

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said on Thursday he had no information about the man's claim.



(highly questionable)

[WheelWalker]

2. Kick.

[burrowowl]

3. Damn, blame the whistleblower!

[OnyxCollie]

4. K&R. nt

[Enrique]

6. fortunately they seem to have plenty of proof

now the Winfield parents, and the AP, should expect some retaliation for daring to make this public. Maybe Gates will come out and denounce them and say they have blood on their hands?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ifw7ZiXQ5YR3y3cPAiHa_MKJSXSAD9I4NB680

(...)

"I'm not sure what to do about something that happened out here but I need to be secretive about this," their son wrote them in a Facebook message. The couple gave the AP copies of the Facebook messages, Internet chats and their phone records.

Winfield, 22, of Cape Coral, Fla., didn't immediately provide more details, and over the next month he had little contact
with his parents. They said they checked constantly to see if he was online.

On Feb. 14, he told his parents what happened in a lengthy Internet chat: Members of his unit on patrol had killed "some innocent guy about my age just farming." He said he did not witness the killing.

But, he wrote, those involved told him about it and urged him to "get one of my own."
He said that virtually everyone in the platoon was aware of what was going on, but no one seemed to object.

"If you talk to anyone on my behalf, I have proof that they are planning another one in the form of an AK-47 they want to drop on a guy."

He added that he didn't know whom to trust and feared for his safety if his comrades learned he was talking to authorities.

"Should I do the right thing and put myself in danger for it. Or just shut up and deal with it," he wrote his parents. "There are no more good men left here. It eats away at my conscience everyday."
In statements to investigators, at least three platoon members said Gibbs directly threatened Winfield. Morlock added that Gibbs devised "scenarios" for Winfield's death, one of which involved Gibbs dropping heavy weights on him as he was working out.

(...)

[Downwinder]

7. And we wonder what happened to Pat Tillman.

[G_j]

8. yes, it appears so

why do I still feel pessimistic?
:shrug: