Post date: Mar 26, 2012 5:33:47 PM
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 26, 2012) (POOL) - U.S. Marine Corps General John Allen, the top ISAF commander in Afghanistan, said Monday (March 26) that an investigation is underway into the killing of 17 Afghan civilians this month, which has led to the arrest of U.S. Army Sergeant Robert Bales.
U.S. Marine Corps General John Allen, the top ISAF commander in Afghanistan, says an investigation is underway into the shooting incident that killed 17 Afghan civilians and led to the arrest of a U.S. Army staff sergeant. Allen also said inside attacks against ISAF forces should be expected as part of warfare in Afghanistan.
Bales, a decorated 38-year-old veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was charged last week with 17 counts of murder for killing eight adults and nine children and six counts each of assault and attempted murder for attacking two other adults and four children.
"First, in the case of Staff Sergeant Bales, I extend once again, my sincere condolences to the loved ones, family members and friends of those who were killed and injured in that senseless act of violence. I also extend my deepest sympathies to the Bales family, who are going through a great deal right now. They, too, deserve our support as they come to grips with the inevitable and drastic changes that will cause change in their lives.
Charges, as you know, have been preferred against Staff Sergeant Bales. Compensation payments to the family -- the families of the victims, in keeping with cultural norms, have been paid. And both the criminal investigation, as well as an administrative investigation, continues. I'm sure you can understand that because these investigations are ongoing and jurisdiction has been passed to officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, I will not be able to go into more detail about this case today. But I can assure you that the investigators have and will retain my full support to let the facts take them where they may. We must let the investigative and judicial processes play out in their own time, in accordance with our own regulations. Speculation in the media and through anonymous commentary serves no one's purpose in our interest and in our earnest desire to see justice done here," General Allen told reporters at briefing in the Pentagon.
Allen also spoke of one of the latest "insider" attacks by rogue Afghan personnel against Western troops. An Afghan army soldier killed two British troops at their headquarters in southern Afghanistan on Monday, Britain and NATO officials said. The attacker was shot dead by NATO soldiers, the alliance said.
"I'm not saying things are perfect, and much work remains to be done. But for every bribe accepted, and for every insider threat or what is known as a green-on-blue incident - and I think you're aware that, tragically, we had one overnight, as two young British soldiers were killed in the Helmand province - for every one Afghan soldier that doesn't return from leave, I can cite hundreds of other examples where they do perform their duties, where the partnership is strong, the confidence of the Afghan forces is building, and where the trust and confidence we have in them and that they have in themselves grows steadily."
The general said that while efforts are made to prevent "inside" attacks, they should be expected.
"We experienced these in Iraq, we experienced them in Vietnam. And -- and on any occasion where you're dealing with an insurgency and where you're also growing an indigenous force, which will ultimately be the principal opposition to that insurgency, the enemy's going to do all that they can to disrupt both the counterinsurgency operations, but also disrupt the integrity of the indigenous forces that develop. So we should be - we should expect that this will occur in counterinsurgency operations, and as we saw it in Iraq and as we've seen it in - in - historically in counterinsurgencies, but also in Vietnam. It is a characteristic of this kind of warfare," General Allen said.
Insider attacks have mounted recently as tension between Afghanistan and its foreign backers rises over a series of incidents, including the burning of Korans at a NATO base and the massacre of the 17 villagers.