Staff Sgt. Robert Bales gets life sentence for mass murder in Afghanistan [Archive]

Cidersomerset

23rd August 2013, 19:07

In the wake of the Manning trial, heres a real war crime with appropriate sentence.

http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.48.3/desktop/3.5/img/blq-blocks_grey_alpha.png

23 August 2013 Last updated at 19:47

Afghan massacre soldier Robert Bales gets life sentenceBreaking news

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02651/robert-bales_2651259b.jpg

The US soldier who murdered 16 Afghan villagers last year has been sentenced to
life in prison without the possibility of parole.Staff Sgt Robert Bales, 39, opened fire
on men, children and elderly women during a shooting spree in Kandahar province
last March.He had pleaded guilty to the massacre in June to avoid the death
penalty.He apologised for the massacre during his sentencing hearing on Thursday,
calling it an "act of cowardice".

Bales had been making a case for why he should one day be eligible for parole,
which would have meant he could potentially have been released in 10 years.

But on Friday the military jury of six ruled against him.

During the court martial, nine Afghans, who were flown out by the US Army,
testified about how the attack had changed their lives.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23820790

http://www.news10.net/images/640/360/2/assetpool/images/121219030537_robert-bales.jpg

ABC World News with Di... : Afghan Massacre: Video From Shooting Scene

ixJuWakHsDw

Tesla_WTC_Solution

23rd August 2013, 23:20

The Mefloquine Kill Pill

The sad thing about this case is the possibility that the anti-malarial drug "Mefloquine" caused enough brain damage to this man to alter his judgment.

Please read about lives lost because of Mefloquine-damaged brains in the US military.

http://www.ageofautism.com/2012/04/the-kill-pill-malaria-mefloquine-and-the-armys-nightmare-drug.html

By Dan Olmsted

It’s great that the military, the VA, and the mainstream media are giving more attention to the awful mental health problems plaguing soldiers and veterans. What's not so great -- in fact, awful -- is their continuing failure to recognize the role played by the military’s own toxic anti-malaria drug.

Until that occurs, the toll will continue to rise.

The federal government has a long and sorry record of ignoring, suppressing, and covering up the truth about the drug, called mefloquine and also known by the brand name Lariam. You can almost hear the silence as the Pentagon holds its collective breath in hopes that Sgt. Robert Bales, who allegedly went on a rampage last month in Afghanistan, killing 17 villagers and setting some of them, including children, on fire, was not prescribed the drug.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mefloquine

Mefloquine hydrochloride (Lariam, Mephaquin or Mefliam) is an orally administered medication used in the prevention and treatment of malaria. Mefloquine was developed in the 1970s at the United States Department of Defense's Walter Reed Army Institute of Research as a synthetic analogue of quinine. The brand name drug, Lariam, is manufactured by the Swiss company Hoffmann–La Roche. In August 2009, Roche stopped marketing Lariam in the United States. Generic mefloquine from other manufacturers is still widely available. Rare but serious neuropsychiatric problems have been associated with its use.[1]

http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=202491.0;wap2
**letter to general tacket wv about human experimentation on troops**

Members of my former unit, the 130th AW, served in Kuwait in the early summer of 2004. If memory serves, after serving approximately one month in Kuwait, we were moved to Karshi Khanabad (K2) in eastern Uzbekistan, an abandoned Soviet base occupied and run by the U.S. Army until American forces were asked to depart the country in 2006, if I understand things correctly. While at K2, members of the 130th AW were restricted from leaving the base; we were told at the time that this was due to local politics and true concerns for safety outside our perimeter. It did not seem to be such a big deal, as there was plenty to do if one chose to be social or exercise. However, there were concerns at the time about the cleanliness of the local environment, the placement of troop temporary housing, and the grade of the decontamination job which had been accomplished prior to setting up American equipment on it. We were also advised about mosquitoes carrying diseases such as malaria, and ordered to avoid mosquitoes by wearing long sleeves at night, remaining in uniform when possible, and retreating indoors when swarms were present. Most people did comply with these orders, but to be honest, many nights there were few or no mosquitoes. Also, the only source of mosquito larvae in sight of housing at the time was a small water-filled dirt-embanked pit near a perimeter wall, which should have been covered or filled by contractors but was left mysteriously open.

Due to this situation, the troops of the 130th and presumably the Army personnel as well, were put in a position to believe that they were at risk for malaria. The 130th members were actually lined up prior to departure during the weeks I was there, and made to sign medical waivers at the medical building to the effect that "we had not been exposed to harmful elements" at K2. This was made mandatory and key to outprocessing. Next, we 130th members were taken to Command HQ and put in a circle of chairs. We were given ziploc bags containing two types of pills, and were told that they were Mefloquine (Lariam) and Doxycycline in 15 day doses.

http://endtimesandcurrentevents.freesmfhosting.com/index.php?topic=1729.0;wap2

Neurologic and psychiatric[edit source | editbeta]
Neuropsychiatric effects are reported with mefloquine use.[2] The FDA product guide states it can cause mental health problems, including anxiety, hallucinations, depression, unusual behavior, and suicidal ideations, among others.[8] Some have reported severe central nervous system events requiring hospitalization in about one in 10,000 people taking mefloquine for malaria prevention, with milder events (e.g., dizziness, headache, insomnia, and vivid dreams) in up to 25%.[9] When some measure of subjective severity is applied to the rating of adverse events, about 11-17% of travelers are incapacitated to some degree.[4]
In July 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a black box warning regarding neurologic and psychiatric side effects.[10]
Neurologic side effects of mefloquine can include dizziness, loss of balance, ringing in the ears, convulsions, and insomnia.[11] These effects can occur at any time during drug use, and can last for months to years after the drug is stopped or can be permanent.[12]
Psychiatric side effects can include anxiety, feelings of mistrust towards others (paranoia), seeing or hearing things that are not there (hallucinations), depression, suicidal ideas, restlessness, confusion, and behavior that is unusual.[11] These psychiatric problems may last for years after the patient stops taking the drug.[1]

“A startling pattern of violence and suicide by America's most elite soldiers has followed their use of a controversial anti-malaria drug, an investigation by United Press International and CNN has found.

“The government already warns that the drug, called Lariam, might cause long-term mental problems -- including aggression and suicide."

In response, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said: "The Department of Defense, and all other government agencies that give this drug to their employees, should immediately reassess their decision to use Lariam and look for alternatives that can protect our troops without causing dangerous side effects."