US Sgt. Accused of 'Unspeakable Cruelty' in Afghanistan

Nation
US Sgt. Accused of 'Unspeakable Cruelty' in Afghanistan




Lauren Frayer Contributor
AOL News
(Nov. 10) -- The alleged ringleader of a rogue U.S. Army unit accused of killing Afghan civilians for sport and collecting body parts as souvenirs used his natural leadership ability to lure junior soldiers down a "dark path" to "unspeakable cruelty," an Army prosecutor said at a hearing.

Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs is accused of leading a conspiracy to target and kill random Afghans, of stealing teeth and fingers as kill trophies and of intimidating other soldiers to join the spree or keep quiet about it. The 25-year-old made his first appearance Tuesday in a military courtroom in Washington state for an Article 32 hearing, where a judge will decide whether there's enough evidence to send him to court-martial, where he could face the death penalty.
Peter Millett / AP
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs is shown in this courtroom sketch Tuesday in a military courtroom in Washington state, where he faces an Article 32 hearing on charges that include murder, dereliction of duty and trying to impede an investigation.


Gibbs is charged with premeditated murder in the killings of three unarmed Afghans last winter and spring near Kandahar, in one of the most serious war crimes cases to date involving American troops in Afghanistan. Four other soldiers from the same unit, the U.S. Army's 5th Stryker Combat Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, also face murder charges.

Most of them have described Gibbs as a ringleader who planned and executed killings, coerced others to participate and in one instance beat up a fellow soldier who objected. A dozen soldiers are charged with a variety of offenses including murder, drug use and conspiracy, but Gibbs faces the most charges and the most serious ones.

As ringleader, Gibbs lured trusting, younger soldiers to join his "kill team" and commit "acts of unspeakable cruelty and indifference," Capt. Andre LeBlanc, a military prosecutor, told the court on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post.

"When he arrives at this platoon in November of 2009, that's when things start going south," LeBlanc was quoted by The New York Times as saying. "That's when people start getting killed, and that's when Sergeant Gibbs forms this team of trusted junior soldiers and he's leading them down the dark path."

In a sworn statement, another soldier charged in the same three murders, Spc. Jeremy Morlock, described Gibbs' behavior. "He bragged to the platoon about having fingers from the guys that had been killed," Morlock testified, according to court documents excerpted by The Seattle Times. Morlock has already been referred to court-martial for his own alleged role and is cooperating with prosecutors by testifying against Gibbs.

In his closing argument Tuesday, Gibbs' defense lawyer, Phillip Stackhouse, lashed out at Morlock, saying that the soldier has admitted to using hashish in Afghanistan, and that as a drug user, his statements are "inherently" unreliable. Morlock and others have been charged with drug use in Afghanistan, though Gibbs has not.

"It is just as likely that Morlock was responsible for all these [alleged murders]," The Seattle Times quoted Stackhouse as saying.

Another witness, Army investigator Anderson Wagner, testified by telephone from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, describing how members of Gibbs' platoon told him they used hashish frequently while deployed. He also testified about how at least one soldier admitted to helping Gibbs plant weapons on dead Afghans to make it look as if they'd died in combat, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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But more than a dozen other witnesses that Army investigators had asked to testify against Gibbs on Tuesday invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and remained silent.

Gibbs, a Montana native who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and another one in Iraq, wore his Army uniform and sat next to his lawyers during Tuesday's hearing, where he could be seen scribbling into a notebook occasionally. His wife was among those in the spectators' gallery. When asked if he understood the charges against him, Gibbs responded, "Yes, sir," in a clear voice.

Stackhouse sought to cast doubt on statements made against Gibbs, saying they were made by soldiers trying to implicate him in order to protect themselves. He also said "storyboards" that the Army creates to document combat deaths could provide "an alternative explanation to what happened," The New York Times reported. But the storyboards weren't shown in court.
Filed under: Nation, World, Crime, Afghanistan

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