The US paid $50,000 in compensation for each villager killed in Afghanistan by gunman

[pwaldo]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74435.html

The United States paid $50,000 in compensation for each villager killed and $11,000 for each person wounded in a shooting rampage allegedly carried out by a rogue American soldier in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Sunday.

The families were told that the money came from President Barack Obama. The unusually large payouts were the latest move by the White House to mend relations with the Afghan people after the killings threatened to shatter already tense relations.

Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused of sneaking off his base on March 11, then creeping into houses in two nearby villages and opening fire on families as they slept.

The killings came as tensions between the United States and Afghanistan were strained following the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base in February. That act - which U.S. officials have acknowleged was a mistake - sparked riots and attacks that killed more than 30 people, including six American soldiers.

There have been no violent protests following the March 11 shootings in Kandahar province’s Panjwai district, but demands for justice on Afghan terms have been getting louder since Bales was flown out of the country to a U.S. military prison. Many Afghans in Kandahar have continued to argue that there must have been multiple gunmen and accused the U.S. government of using Bales as a scapegoat.

U.S. investigators believe the gunman returned to his base after the first attack and later slipped away to kill again.

That would seem to support the U.S. government’s assertion that the shooter acted alone, since the killings would have been perpetrated over a longer period of time than assumed when Bales was detained outside his base in Kandahar province’s Panjwai district.

But it also raises new questions about how the suspect could have carried out the pre-dawn attacks without drawing attention from any Americans on the base.

Bales has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and other crimes and could face the death penalty if convicted.

[theonedru]

Just hand over the murderer at let them do with him as they please, it's cheaper than paying them $ we do not have

[mrveggieman]

just hand over the murderer at let them do with him as they please, it's cheaper than paying them $ we do not have

+1

[ensbergcollector]

is no one bothered by the fact that, if this is reported true, the families were told the money came from president obama? Not the united states, not the us military, but president obama?

[mrveggieman]

is no one bothered by the fact that, if this is reported true, the families were told the money came from president obama? Not the united states, not the us military, but president obama?

Who cares? The gov't already lied about their reasons for war. Does a lie about who is giving the money really mean a hill of beans at this point?

[Star_Cards]

Who's claiming that they were told the money came from Obama? That seems very odd for them to be told that. If true it seems completely weird and really doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[habsheaven]

Highly unlikely that they were told the money was from President Obama. I would bet they have no idea who he even is. Their only context of America is the soldiers on the ground interacting with them every day.

[RenegadeLonghorn]

Sorry for your loss. Here's some money.

[bud7562]

is no one bothered by the fact that, if this is reported true, the families were told the money came from president obama? Not the united states, not the us military, but president obama?

we are paying for that, not obama?????

[ensbergcollector]

Highly unlikely that they were told the money was from President Obama. I would bet they have no idea who he even is. Their only context of America is the soldiers on the ground interacting with them every day.

this is an associated press release. any reason to think this is a lie?