[THS] US soldier admits killing unarmed Afghans for sport

[The Harder Stuff in news and commentary]

US soldier admits killing unarmed Afghans for sport
Jeremy Morlock, 23, tells US military court he was part of a 'kill team' that faked
combat situations to murder Afghan civilians

Paul Harris in New York

http://gu.com/p/2zxd9/tw/

An American soldier has pleaded guilty to being part of a "kill team" who deliberately
murdered Afghan civilians for sport last year.

Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, 23, told a military court he had helped to kill three
unarmed Afghans. "The plan was to kill people, sir," he told an army judge in Fort
Lea, near Seattle, after his plea.
The case has caused outraged headlines around the world. In a series of videotaped
confessions to investigators, some of which have been broadcast on American
television, Morlock detailed how he and other members of his Stryker brigade set up
and faked combat situations so that they could kill civilians who posed no threat to
them. Four other soldiers are still to come to trial over the incidents.

The case is a PR disaster for America's military and has been compared to the
notorious incidents of torture that emerged from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. This
week the German magazine Der Spiegel published three pictures that showed
American soldiers, including Morlock, posing with the corpse of a young Afghan boy
as if it were a hunting trophy.

Some soldiers apparently kept body parts of their victims, including a skull, as
souvenirs. In a statement issued in response to the publication of the photos the US
army apologised to the families of the dead. "[The photos are] repugnant to us as
human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States army,"
the statement said.

Morlock has told investigators that the murders took place between January and May
last year and were instigated by an officer in his unit, Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs. He
described how elaborate plans were made to pick out civilian targets, kill them and
then make their deaths look like they were insurgents. In his confession Morlock
described shooting a victim as Gibbs tossed a grenade at him.

"We identify a guy. Gibbs makes a comment, like, you know, you guys wanna wax
this guy or not," Morlock said in the confession.

Morlock now stands to be sentenced to at least 24 years in jail but with eligibility for
parole after seven years. That has come about because Morlock struck a plea bargain
that will see a lighter sentence in return for testifying against his fellow soldiers.