The latest on the SSG Robert Bales murder case

On the list of topics I wanted to talk about today, this one doesn't even make the top 25, but folks are emailing me constantly on it, so thought I should address.

I realize there is an email going around comparing the Bales case with that of Major Hasan.  Just some quick points on that...The pace of trials is not something that the military has a great deal of control over.  Both Major Hasan and SSG Bales are constitutionally obligated to get their day in court, and it will come when the defenses (and prosecutors) think that they have all the info ready to proceeed to trial.  I think it is horrid how long it has taken Hasan to get to trial, but it isn't like he is out enjoying himself at Disney World.  He's in jail, and is likely to remain there to the end of his days, no matter how soon that comes.  As for Bales, same thing.  The email makes mention that folks are calling for Bales to be tried, convicted and executed like yesterday....yeah, I have noticed that too.  Regardless of what he did or didn't do, he's entitled to due process, and he will get it.  I don't know why everyone is calling for his head when we don't even know fully what happened yet, but it is what it is.

With that caveat, here is some of the latest from the investigation.

The Daily Mail in England has a sort of odd article up:

The American soldier accused of massacring 16 Afghan civilians outside a military base told comrades that he had killed some local men, according to a senior official.  However, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales did not tell the other soldiers that he had also shot women and children, even though nine of those who died were said to be children.

When commanders took Bales into custody he refused to talk further without being accompanied by a lawyer.  Earlier reports, including from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, suggested that the soldier had confessed to all 16 killings when he was first apprehended at his base. Bales's lawyer has repeatedly claimed that his client does not remember what happened on the night of the alleged massacre.

USA Today looked at the wife and her appearance on NBC's Today Show:

The wife of a U.S. soldier accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians says her husband showed no signs of PTSD before he deployed, and adds that she doesn't feel like she'll ever believe he was involved in the killings....

The Washington state woman said her husband joined the Army after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to "protect his family, friends and country. He wanted to do his part," and added that her husband is "very brave, very courageous."

"He loves children, he's like a big kid himself," she said. "I have no idea what happened, but he would not … he loves children, and he would not do that."

Meanwhile, NBC also did a video about other military wives trying to help Mrs. Bales:

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Now, as far as I know, the Defense Attorney hasn't even come up with any defense, which is as it should be, since he hasn't even talked to his client yet, or at least had not as of two days ago.  I have no clue why someone would do this, and I doubt anyone else will either, so he's not going to come up with tactics until he gets a handle on what the facts in the case are.  And so far, all our facts come from sources I wouldn't trust if I had a client whose very life was on the line.

Nonetheless, I predicted a few weeks ago that a "Mefloquine defense" might make an appearance at some point, and Huffington Post came out with that one this morning, leading my buddy Jonn Lilyea to ask me if I was a seer.

Nine days after a U.S. soldier allegedly massacred 17 civilians in Afghanistan, a top-level Pentagon health official ordered a widespread, emergency review of the military’s use of a notorius anti-malaria drug called mefloquine.

Mefloquine, also called Lariam, has severe psychiatric side effects. Problems include psychotic behavior, paranoia and hallucinations. The drug has been implicated in numerous suicides and homicides, including deaths in the U.S. military. For years the military has used the weekly pill to help prevent malaria among deployed troops.

 

The U.S. Army nearly dropped use of mefloquine entirely in 2009 because of the dangers, now only using it in limited circumstances, including sometimes in Afghanistan. The 2009 order from the Army said soldiers who have suffered a traumatic brain injury should not be given the drug.