Thursday, September 9, 2010

US sergeant charged with murdering Afghan civilians kept body parts

US soldiers in AfghanistanNew documents released by the US Army say a staff sergeant charged in a conspiracy to murder civilians kept Afghan body parts and threatened subordinates.

Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs is the most senior of five Fort Lewis-based Stryker soldiers charged in the deaths of three Afghan civilians earlier this year. His lawyer says he denies being part of any conspiracy and that the deaths were all "appropriate engagements."

In charging papers released Wednesday, prosecutors say Gibbs and others in his platoon also beat up a soldier who reported drug use in the unit, said they'd kill him if he kept talking about it and threatened him by showing him fingers that had been cut from an Afghan corpse.

Hearings in the case are expected to begin this fall.

via gulfnews : US sergeant charged with murdering Afghan civilians kept body parts.

Remember that scene in Herold and Maude where Herold, to get out of joining the army, pretends to like the idea of killing a little too much?  He asks his one armed Uncle Victor if he would get to keep "souvenirs" like hands, feet, privates, or perhaps ... a shrunken head?

Harold with his Uncle Victor, General MacArthur's ex-right-hand man.

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