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Subscribe to RSSAn American staff sergeant is in custody after allegedly killing 16 civilians, including nine children, in a shooting spree in Afghanistan. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
Updated at 7:24 a.m. ET: A U.S. soldier's shooting of 16 Afghan civilians deepened questions on Monday about what the United States can accomplish in Afghanistan before it withdraws, as Washington rushed to contain the damage from the startling rogue attack.
President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke to Afghan President Hamid Karzai by telephone and offered condolences for the attack, in which a U.S. soldier left his base in southern Afghanistan and began a middle-of-the-night shooting spree that local officials said killed nine children, three women, and four men.
"This incident is tragic and shocking," Obama said in a statement.
Reports of the attack remain confused. U.S. officials say only one soldier was involved, while villagers and other Afghans said it was a group of soldiers. But the Obama administration vowed a rapid investigation and promised to hold whoever was behind the violence fully responsible.
Retired General Barry McCaffrey, an NBC News military analyst, talks to TODAY's Matt Lauer about what could have possibly driven a U.S. soldier to killed 16 civilians, including nine children, in Afghanistan.
The soldier suspected of being responsible has been detained but has yet to be identified. However, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to NBC News that he is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Tacoma, Wash.
LIVE Chat: Ask NBC's Afghanistan correspondent your questions about the attack 12:00-12:30p.m.ET
While U.S. officials rushed to draw a line between the shooting and the ongoing efforts of a U.S. force of around 90,000, the incident is sure to infuriate Afghans already suspicious of a Western military presence now over a decade old. The incident may provide ammunition to those in Washington advocating for an accelerated exit from a long, costly and inconclusive war.
'American savages'
NBC News reported that there were no signs of demonstrations early Monday.
In a statement Monday, the Afghan Taliban pledged to "take revenge" against the "sick-minded American savages," according to the AFP news agency.
"The American 'terrorists' want to come up with an excuse for the perpetrator of this inhumane crime by claiming that this immoral culprit was mentally ill," the Taliban statement added. "If the perpetrators of this massacre were in fact mentally ill then this testifies to yet another moral transgression by the American military, because they are arming lunatics in Afghanistan who turn their weapons against the defenseless Afghans without giving a second thought."
Last month, the burning of copies of the Quran on a NATO military base triggered violent protests across the country and a spate of insider attacks against Western soldiers.
Afghan suspect's base has recent history of controversies
$500 billion war bill
Sunday's attack may harden a growing consensus in Washington that, despite a troop surge, a war bill exceeding $500 billion and nearly 2,000 U.S. lives lost, prospects are dimming for what the United States can accomplish in Afghanistan before it pulls most troops out by the end of 2014.
Obama's surge of 33,000 troops has beaten the Taliban back from some areas of Afghanistan's south, but serious doubts remain about whether an inexperienced local military and wobbly central government can keep a resilient insurgency at bay.
Pete Souza / White House via Reuters
President Barack Obama talks on a phone with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai from his vehicle in Chevy Chase, Md., on Sunday.
"These killings only serve to reinforce the mindset that the whole war is broken and that there's little we can do about it beyond trying to cut our losses and leave," said Joshua Foust, a security expert with the American Security Project.
Afghans haven’t traditionally responded with violence or widespread protests to civilian deaths, the Christian Science Monitor reported, as many view such behavior as a byproduct of war.
Report: Suspect is Iraq veteran, married father of two children
But, Abdul Rahim Ayobi, a member of Parliament from Kandahar told the Monitor, “it gives us the message that the American soldiers are not under the control of their generals and these American generals have failed to manage them.”
If the incident triggers retaliatory violence against Western troops, it may well help shape ongoing deliberations within the Obama administration about how quickly U.S. soldiers should be withdrawn, possibly strengthening the case of those surrounding the president who back a more decisive drawdown.
Obama and other NATO leaders are expected to define their plans for gradually trimming Western forces and putting Afghan troops in charge of security when they meet at a NATO summit in Chicago in May.
'The house of cards is falling'
Most Western combat troops are expected to be gone by the end of 2014, but some U.S. soldiers could remain beyond then, likely focusing on targeted strikes on militants and supporting local forces, who will need outside help for years to come.
"This is terrible timing for people who either want to stay through 2014 or even extend the U.S. presence there," Foust said. "Though the overall number of (similar) incidents remains pretty low, there is a broad and growing perception that now both sides are dysfunctional and committing murder, or the house of cards is falling."
In a post on Twitter, Pentagon spokesman George Little said the incident would not change the U.S. mission. "The recent tragedy in Afghanistan will not deter us from pursuing our fundamental strategy. We've come too far with our Afghan partners."
Sunday's shooting may dispel the goodwill created by an agreement reached on Friday on control over military prisons in Afghanistan, which had been one of the remaining stumbling blocks to reaching a deal governing future U.S.-Afghan ties.
MSNBC military analyst Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Ret.) says the alleged shooting of Afghan civilians by a US soldier is a 'further unraveling' of relations between the US and Afghanistan.
Andrew Exum, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and former Army Ranger, said the shootings come at a sensitive time in negotiations on that deal, which the White House wanted to unveil by the May summit.
"One wonders whether or not internal political pressures in Afghanistan will constrain the options of Afghan negotiators on subjects ranging from U.S. basing rights to night raids," Exum said.
Some U.S. officials told the New York Times that the Taliban hard-liners could be emboldened by the incidents. “The fear,” one U.S. official told the Times, “ is that all these incidents, taken together, play into the Taliban’s account of how we treat the Afghan religion and people.”
Election impact?
The shootings may complicate things for Obama ahead of November's presidential election.
While jobs and the economy will likely remain the focus of the presidential race, the White House has hoped to point to a series of foreign policy successes, such as the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, to shore up Obama's support.
The recent tumult in Afghanistan may increase the pressure Obama faces in coming months from fellow Democrats who favor a more rapid drawdown.
Family loses 2 sons in Afghanistan
While many Republicans have warned against pulling out too quickly, conservative presidential candidate Newt Gingrich voiced a very different view.
"There's something profoundly wrong with the way we're approaching the whole region and I think it's going to get substantially worse, not better. And I think that we're risking the lives of young men and women in a mission that may frankly not be doable," Gingrich said on "Fox News Sunday."
He said Washington should consider pulling out of Afghanistan and reconsider its role in the entire region.
Qais Usyan / AFP - Getty Images
More than a decade after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.
"I understand the anger and the sorrow," said John McCain, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who like many other Republicans has warned a hasty withdrawal will undermine U.S. security in the long run.
"I also understand that we should not forget that the attacks on the United States of America on 9/11 originated in Afghanistan, and if Afghanistan dissolved into a situation where the Taliban were able to take over, or a chaotic situation, it could easily return to an al-Qaida base for attacks," he said on "Fox News Sunday."
UK mourns four 20-year-olds killed in Afghan attack
Further complicating the matter is the limited patience many of Obama's top supporters have for Karzai, who has demanded an explanation for Sunday's shootings, which he called "intentional murders."
"The great weakness in Afghanistan is Karzai," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "Nobody seems to trust him or like him. And the idea of turning it over to the Afghan forces is the right way to go, but that's a major question mark: Karzai."
In the meantime, U.S. officials in Washington and on the ground appeared to be bracing themselves for a backlash.
The U.S. Embassy, on its Twitter feed, said the movement of U.S. personnel in southern Afghanistan would be restricted and warned that "anti-American feelings and protests" may be ahead.
Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution, said the quick, conciliatory statements from senior American officials were wise, but added that it might not be possible to staunch Afghan fury that may be unleashed by the killings.
"I don't know that a lot can be done," he said.
NBC News, msnbc.com staff, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
And what about all the innocent People who had nothing to do with the terrorist on September 11TH !! Was that not a savage act!! They dress their women with bombs, who is a savage now??
You don't kill sleeping women and children. That's just crazy, and this guy will probably be responsible for the loss of US troops.
No, those that kill US troops will be responsible for killing US troops.
This murderer was responsible for the deaths of 15 civilians, and will be held accountable, either by a US Military tribunal of the Afghan legal system.
Actually, Obama's apology will more than likely endanger troops, since he is Commander in Chief, and as far as the Taliban is concerned, the director of ALL US Military personnel, including the nut-bag soldier that slaughtered fifteen civilians.
Rener,
Keep drinking the nice kool aid U are being served & don't fprget to ask the nurse for more of that yummy liquid. We want our kool aid... lol KLOWN
Haven't read or heard much said about the atrocity at FT HOOD. How many apologies did we receive. The soldier just lost it, period. Bring em all home and stop trying to change the world. Man please, you really think things are gonna change because of us? Not our business, get the hell out.
Shelia,
Do U mean to imply it's OK to shoot sleeping men?
We need to turn him over to their gov/village and let them dispense justice. He has admitted to being guilty so let the Afghan people decide his punishment. After all If he did the crime here in the US we would demand the criminal stand in our courts and face our judgments.. they (the Afghan people) deserve the same right to justice. I feel sorry for the families he murdered and for his own family who he has hurt if not out destroyed forever. Granted he is a solder but other solders didn't go out and slaughter people in their sleep. This was a thought out and planned execution of civilians, not soldiers.
I understand slho1 why you feel that way, but you don't understand a soldier is never turned over to civilian authority, he will be prosecuted by the military, and sentenced by the military. Not condoning what this soldier has done, but the atrocities the taliban has done against its own people gets no headlines. Unless you have ever been a combat soldier at war, its hard to explain what war can do to any man, or woman. I served in Vietnam in the 68, the attrocites that the Vietcong, and NVA regulars did to people was shock and awe, The Military has to take the blame of this individual doing 4 tours in Afganistan, and re-entering him back to combat, probably with signs of PTSD, they are as much as fault as the soldier. Again I am not defending him, but war can make people do things that civilians would never come to grips with. War makes monsters of us all. I feel aweful for this happening, it is a real tragedy, no sane man would of done this. This soldier was probably I nice guy at one time, with a family, childeren, something clicked and he went running and gunning.
John-353509 THANK YOU for serving this country in Vietnam, I totally hear what u r saying about untill u have served during war time u haven't a clue what a person goes through. I hope u r doing well Amen.
They call us savages?? ONE soldier goes berzerk and commits these terrible murders and ALL Americans are now targets for beheading??? Isn't that kinda like if we freaking nuked your entire country off the globe because of the 911 attacks in New York. Our soldiers are in Afghanistan to protect your innocent people from the Radical elements in an attempt for you to create a governing body capable of policing them yourselves. Don't take the actions of one as an indication of our mission. Every soldier that steps foot on Afghan soil has a family at home that misses them but understands the sacrifice that must be made in service to the innocent...
We should with draw quickly, it won't make a difference if its today, or two years from now, if the people of aftganistan cannot over throw the taliban, and I don't believe they can, then this is all a wash. The United States should not get involved in the Middleeast, we are not liked, we are the west, and they think were all evil. We should just let these countrys know right up front if a terrorist attack happens that spring boards from thier country, we will make a parking lot out of it. I think they can understand that. While our country is reeling from our financial delema's we should not further erode our system to help a country that really doesn't want the help. the taliban is in trenched in Pakistan, our only true friends that exist in that area of the world is Israel and we all know how hated they are. We have the technological ability over our adversaries right now, but in a few short years, they will have the ability to cause a global meltdown, and possibly the next and final war this country will have to fight in. It only makes common sense that we think this way, because in all reality, the enemy's of our country are thinking this way.
write the President via e-mail @ the White House
and tell him to bring all of our troops home
or we wont vote for him
he wont know if we are really goning to vote for him or not and tell ur friends to do the same and pray for our military so that they all come home safe and sound, mind, body and spirit amen
Will be interesting to see what happens in the next 6 months to an year in the region, after this incident.
GUESS war's like Safe Sex! DON'T Shoot your Load before you PULLOUT!
what kind of war can we wage without ground forces
put me in charge and I'll show you a real stone age hell
no bureaucrats marching around in circles saluting each other
wrap muslims in pig skins and win
http://www.snopes.com/rumors/pershing.asp
has ANYBODY noticed that all we have done in 10+ years
is make a new enemy and lose many American lives
Tell me if I am wrong!
ever been to a gov meeting?...concerted waste of time
If we leave, Karzai will already be seated on the first flight OUT
write the President and tell him to get our people out
or u wont vote for hm and tell ur frends to do the same
its time we tell the government that we have had enough
we have children but none to spare
one single pigskin will do the trick if advertised properly
OH HECK...if we pull out how will Halliburton make any money
hmm Taliban...defenseless Afgans??? What about all the defenseless Americans you killed in plane crashes in New York!! I don't condone the murder of those innocent people, but how dare the Taliban say something like that. They are notorious for killing innocent people. It's only different because it's their people.
ConcernedCitizen22, I don't know what's your point. That American soldiers murdering defenceless Afghan Civilians are better than Arab wahhabbis murdering scores of immigrants, mostly non-Europeans, in New York, while the US government looks the other way?
Good! I hope the Taliban pays the American soldiers back with interest!
Afghanistan is twice as hopeless as Viet Nam
until you look at this link
http://www.snopes.com/rumors/pershing.asp
Talibs are idiots. This is the 21st century. They should sue the Justice Department.
One thing I can say is that the news media reports too many US and Coalition movements in the news and the internet. I have been saying all the times that we are exposing our soldiers lives to be taken by the enemies. Certain things need to remain silent issues to protect the military involvement in Afghanistan. Our government, finanancial, educational and the militay systems are too widely open to the public, knowing that we have enemies right here in the US living with us. We are not super-human. We are an industrialize country. However, our military is strong due to equipments and technology, but not totally in combat. Too many US soldiers died in a single combat. Besides our equipments and technology advantage, we need to prepare our soldiers morally, physically, and the physical combat system. We got involved in many wars, but never really won a single one of them. People are scared of our military might because of our name and the humanitarian help we provided to others in time of natural disaster.
Get us out of there now, look what we did for Iraq and look what's going on there now... Lessons, people!!! How many more American Soldiers will lose their lives in the name of liberating Afgooonistan??? And for what? They will be as bad as they were before, if not worse, toward their own people. All in the name of peaceful Islam! What a joke.
write the President via e-mail
and tell him to get all of our troops out now!
or we won't vote for him
even if ur not a dem. he wont even know
You are right PBgeorgia99. We can never change these people mind. They have been like this even before the persian invasion in the regions in antiquity. Besides, who said that Islam was a better religion. And, if we really pay attention all wars took place in the name of religions. Religion is man made and it turns man to be stupid, murderer, ignorant, and selfish. So. We Americans do have a problem by staying in Afghanistan. We should have packed up and leave right after we killed Bin Laden.
The children (boys) that are being educated, are mostly taught to hate us, and any other country or group that doesn't go along with their sideways minds. I think we should have drug bin laden's tukus through the streets while alive and televised his beheading!!! Same way they do our captured soldiers, reporters, any westerner they can get their hands on. I have NO sympathy for them nor the children they are raising to replace them. Have any of you heard about the "dancing boys" over there? Young boys are taken from their parents and taught to dance and entertain men, in every sense of the word. Not all men take part, mostly the wealthy and their friends if that wealty man decides to "share" his trophy young boy. Sickening.
The Taliban states "sick minded American savages"-OMG, this comes from some of the most brutal, depraved sewer filth ever to take a breath of air. Unbelievable but so very predictable. I wouldn't be surprised if President Obama calls the leadership of the Taliban and apologizes.
As an American, someone better go in there and get our boy and BRING HIM HOME ALIVE! Damn it. No man left behind. Freeking A we should never have been there this long anyway and they to allow all the American's that have already lost their lives for what? Cause the government has special interest there? That some how money goes into their fat pockets while our kids gives their lives to protect this country!
SOME ONE, SPECIAL FORCES, MARINES, GO GET HIM AND BRING HIM SAFELY HOME NOW!
OH and Mr. President, get the rest of our military out of there right NOW, before they start killing our people in the middle of the night and we loose more American's over greed. Get the rest of our troops out NOW!
God please bless all of our military so that they all return home safe and sound, mind, body and spirit. Amen
Taliban vows revenge, like that is suppose to be a surprise? How many years was the USSR there with their full military might and they threw in the towel and left. Now we are trying to do the same thing. The people of Afghanistan have been the way they are since their beginning and we cannot change them period. A few may adopt the Western ways" but the majority just want to be left alone. We succeeded in are mission against the Taliban even though you cannot ever totally get rid of them. Time to come home they don't want us. When the military leaves so should the aid from the U.S. Some would say continue the aid to support the people whereas they would not need organizations like the Taliban. I say let the Taliban feed them and support their country. They cant so the point will be there. Time to leave
Taliban would kill anybody for any reason anyway. Whats the big deal. They use their children for human bombs and burn their women because they are angry, but get bent out of shape when their holy book is burned. A book is a book. It can be replaced. Its the contents and its application of a book that determine it's value. Time to leave these greedy people to themselves, pack up our troops, and bring them home where they are loved and appreciated.
This is a Taliban country when will the world learn this? Any and all Nations who have tried to establish some semblance of order here have failed. Past, present and apparently future. There are more deserving nations for our countries efforts. Maybe the one that China and Russia both voted against helping. I think wasting one more American life in the attempt to help this undeserving and openly hostile nation is a waste. Boycott and forbid travel to or from, cut off any and all American aid. Treat them as a real enemy and do what we did during the cold war, observe and interfere with any attempt to act outside their own borders. They'll probably come crawling to us in a couple years, if not so what their problem not ours.
Taliban seeking revenge...really ?
Must have been a slow news day...