Trump plans to pardon soldiers accused or convicted of war crimes: Report

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Mathew Golsteyn

Mathew Golsteyn

Press TV
May 19, 2019

US President Donald Trump has asked for immediate preparation of paperwork required to pardon several American troops convicted or accused of war crimes – including premeditated murder, attempted murder and desecration of a corpse, a report reveals.

The requests are for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of the Navy SEALs, who is facing a trial in the coming weeks on multiple charges of shooting dead unarmed civilians and killing an injured enemy captive with a knife while deployed in Iraq, The New York Times reported Saturday.

According to the report, the requests are also believed to include the case of a former Blackwater security contractor recently found guilty in the deadly 2007 shooting of dozens of unarmed Iraqis; the case of Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, the Army Green Beret accused of killing an unarmed Afghan civilian in 2010 and the case of a group of Marine Corps snipers charged with urinating on the corpse of a dead Taliban militant.

Citing two unnamed US officials, the daily reported that the requests suggest that Trump is considering pardons for the American war criminals “on or around” the upcoming Memorial Day later this month.

The White House sent requests on Friday to the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, which alerted the military branches, according to one senior military official cited in the report.

Pardon files include background information and details on criminal charges, and in many cases include letters describing how the person in question has made amends.

The official added that while assembling pardon files typically takes months, the Justice Department emphasized that all files would have to be complete before Memorial Day weekend, because the president planned to pardon the men then. A second official confirmed the request concerning Chief Gallagher.

The daily noted that most of the criminal troops who are positioned for a pardon have been championed by conservative lawmakers and media organizations, such as Fox News, which have portrayed them as being unfairly punished for trying to do their job. Many have pushed for Trump to intervene.

The report also cited legal experts to point out that “pardoning several accused and convicted war criminals at once, including some who have not yet gone to trial, has not been done in recent history.” Some worried that it could erode the legitimacy of military law and undercut good order and discipline in the ranks.

Young Girls Gang-raped by ‘Taliban Militants’ in Faryab

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Taliban militants (file photo)

Taliban militants (file photo)

Ariana: Parents of two young girls from Andkhoi district of Faryab province on Sunday claimed that Taliban militants have gang-raped their daughters. The family has moved to the capital of Jawzjan province, seeking justice from the government. Mother of the victims told Ariana News that two of the culprits were living in their neighborhood in Faryab province. Click here to read more (external link).

US, Taliban Blame Each Other for Acting Against Afghan Peace

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peaceAyaz Gul
VOA News
May 19, 2019

ISLAMABAD — Taliban and American military officials have taken to social media to accuse each other of acting against peace building efforts in conflict-torn Afghanistan.

The spar between the two adversaries via Twitter comes as American and representatives of the insurgent group are engaged in a months-long dialogue to try to bring an end to the Afghan war. But the talks have failed to deter the Taliban from ceasing or reducing battlefield hostilities. Deadly battles between Taliban insurgents and U.S.-backed Afghan security forces in recent days have killed and wounded hundreds of people, including civilians.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted late Saturday that Washington, and not his group, is opposed to peace efforts. He reiterated the Taliban’s traditional stance that the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan is to be blamed for the 17-year-old war.

“So long as you occupy our country through forces & and plots, no true Afghan will seek peace but will want to force you out,” the insurgent spokesman tweeted. He was responding to reported remarks by U.S. military spokesman Col. Dave Butler that the Taliban is hurting Afghans who want peace in the country.

Mujahid urged Butler to speak only for the Americans and “think about ways of ending your occupation” rather than trying to represent Afghans.

“You know this not true. The Afghan people know this is not true. You have the opportunity to reduce violence but you chose not to,” Butler responded. “The Taliban is choosing to ignore the will of the people and bring harm to this country. Peace is the right way,” he added.

Butler’s comments prompted Mujahid in a subsequent tweet to ask the U.S. military spokesman whether it was not true that American forces were “forcefully” based in Afghanistan and dropped “countless bombs” and imprisoned thousands of Afghans.

“The people you claim you’re fighting for want peace. You know the truth. You are not even in this country but sending Afghan sons to die while you attack the pride of the people — the Afghan Security Forces. You claim to fight us but only attack Afghans,” Col. Butler responded in a tweet early Sunday.

He did not elaborate but Afghan and American officials have long alleged Taliban fighters use sanctuaries in Pakistan to orchestrate cross-border insurgent activities. Officials in the neighboring country reject the charges and blame Afghan refugee populations near the border areas for serving as hideouts for insurgents.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to dislodge the Taliban from power for sheltering al-Qaida leaders blamed for plotting the 9/11 attacks on American cities.

Related

Three children killed in roadside blast in western Afghanistan

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heratprovinceAl Jazeera: Three children were killed when an explosive device attached to a motorbike went off in a market in Afghanistan’s western province, an official said. Another 20 people were wounded in the incident on Saturday, which took place in Herat province’s Oba district, according to provincial governor spokesman Jelani Farhad. Click here to read more (external link).

More Security News

Officials: Coalition Airstrike Kills 17 Afghan Policemen in Helmand

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helmand_aq_mapAyaz Gul
VOA News
May 17, 2019

ISLAMABAD — A foreign military airstrike in Afghanistan’s embattled southern Helmand province has mistakenly killed at least 17 government forces and wounded 14 others.

A local security official requesting anonymity Friday confirmed to VOA the casualties, saying the deadly strike occurred just outside the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah where police forces were battling Taliban insurgents.

Attaullah Afghan, head of the provincial council in Helmand, told VOA a highway police battalion commander was also among those killed in the friendly fire.

Earlier the Afghan Interior Ministry had said in a statement that the clashes killed at least eight policemen and injured 11 others, noting an investigation was underway to determine whether an airstrike or insurgents inflicted the casualties.

The ministry said the U.S.-led Resolute Support military coalition carried out the air raid at the request of Afghan partners to assist in fighting off a large-scale Taliban attack in Nahr-e-Saraj district and noted Afghan forces had also inflicted heavy casualties on the insurgents. The coalition has not yet replied to a VOA request for comment.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, in a statement claimed that shortly after its fighters assaulted the police base west of Lashkar Gah, an American airstrike struck the installation, killing 35 security forces. Ahmadi said four senior Afghan police commanders were among the dead.

The insurgent group’s battlefield claims are often inflated.

The Taliban controls or influences most of the districts in the largest Afghan province where American military routinely conducts airstrikes in support of local forces battling to regain lost territory.

Stepped up insurgent attacks across the country during the past week have reportedly killed around 90 pro-government forces and dozens of Afghan civilians. The Taliban has also captured new territory, including Shamulzayi district in the troubled southern Zabul province.

The United States is holding direct negotiations with the Taliban to bring an end to the war and to try to encourage the insurgents to engage in an intra-Afghan peace dialogue. But Washington has so far not reported any significant progress toward ending years of hostilities in Afghanistan.

Court Verdict Still To Be Implemented On Two New MPs

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scales_of_justiceTolo News: The verdicts of two primary courts are yet to be implemented on two new lawmakers in the Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House of the Parliament, who have been sentenced to prison on graft charges.

Mirza Mohammad Katawazi, an MP from Paktika, was sentenced to five years in prison by a primary court of Kabul in 2015 on charges of forging car silence and vehicle number plates. He was not in the court when the verdict was announced.

Major Gen. Ahmad Zia Yaftali, former head of the Afghan National Army’s Health Department and an MP from Badakhshan, was sentenced to six months in prison last week by the Anti-Corruption Criminal Justice Center’s primary court. He was also absent in the hearing.

Click here to read more (external link).

Related

ISIS Expands Across South Asia Casting Doubt on Effectiveness of Anti-Terror Efforts

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ISIS in Afghanistan

ISIS members in Afghanistan – photo by PBS

Michael Hughes: ISIS appears to be growing stronger and expanding across South Asia in a bid to transform itself into a global terror operation after losing its territorial caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Meanwhile, in Washington the political class is spending time and resources on all the wrong “security” issues while the governments in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan also appear to be asleep at the switch. Click here to read more.