The Patriot Post® · Soldier Who Massacred Afghans Should Rot

With President Donald Trump’s actions in the cases of Eddie Gallagher, Mat Golsteyn, and Clint Lorance, United American Patriots and the “Justice for Warriors” caucus did some excellent work in addressing likely injustices. Now, however, they risk undermining those same efforts with their latest cause.

According to a report by the Army Times, the group is now taking up the case of Robert Bales. It is a huge mistake on their part, and this will wreck the efforts to defend our warriors in the future. It’s unreasonable that someone in a cubicle or office can take hours or days to review a life-or-death decision that an American serviceman had seconds to make.

Here is what Bales did on March 11, 2012: He left his base and killed 16 Afghan civilians in two separate attacks. He wantonly killed women and children, including a three-year-old girl. He admitted to taking steroids, drinking (forbidden in the combat theater), and taking sleeping pills. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty.

This was premeditated murder. This was a for-real war crime (as opposed to the false claims made against those who got Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-ranking terrorists to talk). There is no excuse or rationale that can justify those acts. There was no imminent danger to Bales or his fellow troops.

This is no hero who was wrongly accused. Bales admitted his acts, and he made the guilty plea. He does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Golsteyn, who took out a Taliban bomb-maker whose expertise and knowledge were weapons that were wielded against American troops in a workshop. It is an insult to compare him to Lorance, who made a life-or-death decision where getting it wrong meant his troops could be dead, and who was cast as a murderer by those who had far more time to second-guess him under much safer circumstances than he had to make.

Furthermore, we have no clear evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in this case. The Navy prosecutors who sent the malware-ridden emails to Gallagher’s lawyers and the Navy Times engaged in clear misconduct — and Gallagher was ultimately acquitted of almost all charges. President Trump showed restraint in not issuing a pardon the day after the prosecutorial misconduct became news.

That said, it should be noted that this announcement may not entirely be a surprise. The fact is, the Army did allow Lorance to serve years in prison for actions motivated by a desire to protect his troops. The Army did act in a very prejudicial manner toward Golsteyn. After those two instances, it should come as no surprise that other cases will be questioned, even when it is as open-and-shut as this one is.

This is why accountability for government misconduct is extremely important. When Americans get a sense that the system is unfair, they will not trust the results — even when the government gets it right.

(Edited.)