Terrorists convicted of murdering and maiming U.S. service members are being released by the hundreds, yet an American is being treated as the enemy.
None of the arguments made against SSG Robert Bales justifies the U.S. Government violating the Rights of a U.S. Serviceman.
The U.S. Government:
- DID NOT afford Bales the presumption of innocence – President Obama instructed the military to “prosecute the case aggressively” and Defense Secretary Panetta said Bales could face the “death penalty,” prior to any charges or investigation.
- DID NOT challenge allegations the Afghan’s made against Bales, a U.S. Soldier.
- DID NOT examine the bodies nor conduct autopsies/forensics to confirm allegations. No one saw the bodies, other than those in the village (Taliban?). Not even Afghan CID saw the bodies. They came under fire and had one Afghan Soldier killed when attempting to investigate the allegations.
- DID NOT confirm if those killed were enemy combatants via biometrics, despite the prosecution collecting DNA evidence.
- DID Threaten Bales with the death penalty to coerce an inaccurate/incomplete confession.
- DID have Taliban enemy combatants as witnesses at Bales’ Article 32 hearing.
- DID NOT prove their case in a trial. Went straight to sentencing after the confession.
- DID fly in Taliban enemy combatants, with aliases, to testify against Bales at sentencing.
- DID not appropriately evaluate bales’ “mens rea” (mindset/intent for murder).
- DID not disclose the army administered bales “mefloquine” – an anti-malaria drug with psychotic effects, but stopped administering it to soldiers after Bales’ incident.
Still, the government convicted Bales of sixteen counts of murder and sentenced to him to life without parole while Taliban are being set free.
Consistent with the President’s vow to end the “endless war” in Afghanistan and in light of recent negotiations between the US and the Taliban which led to the freeing of thousands of Taliban prisoners, 150 of whom are on death row for heinous “war crimes,” UAP is respectfully requesting the President of the United States disapprove the findings and the sentence, provide a full and unconditional pardon, or commutate SSG Bales’ sentence to 20 years.
