Pakistani given 86 years for firing at US troops

[Khurdi]

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S.-trained Pakistani scientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. agents and military officers in Afghanistan was sentenced Thursday to 86 years in prison after she called on Muslims to resist using violence and said she loves American soldiers.


Aafia Siddiqui, 38, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Manhattan by Judge Richard M. Berman, who said "significant incarceration is appropriate."

"Don't get angry," Siddiqui said in court to her supporters after the sentence was announced. "Forgive Judge Berman."

Berman responded, saying: "I wish more defendants would feel the way that you do."

The sentencing capped a strange legal odyssey that began two summers ago, when Siddiqui turned up in Afghanistan carrying evidence that — depending on the argument — proved she was either a terrorist or a lunatic.

In February, she was convicted of grabbing a rifle and trying to shoot U.S. authorities in Afghanistan while yelling, "Death to Americans!" The conviction touched off protests in Pakistan that resumed Thursday as hundreds chanted "Free Aafia!" at a rally in Karachi. Others demonstrated outside the Manhattan courthouse.

During a rambling statement to the court Thursday, Siddiqui carried only a message of peace.

"I do not want any bloodshed. I do not want any misunderstanding. I really want to make peace and end the wars," she said.

Siddiqui said she was particularly upset by overseas reports that she was being tortured in a U.S. prison. She said she was actually being treated well.

"I am not sad. I am not distressed. ... They are not torturing me," she said. "This is a myth and lie and it's being spread among the Muslims."

Prosecutors said Siddiqui is a cold-blooded radical who deserves life in prison.

In court papers, they cited threatening notes Siddiqui was carrying at the time of her detention. They directly quoted one as referencing "a 'mass casualty attack' ... NY CITY monuments: Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge," and another musing how a dirty bomb would spread more fear than death. They claimed the notes, along with the fact that she was carrying sodium cyanide, showed she wasn't an accidental menace.

"Her conduct was not senseless or thoughtless," prosecutors wrote. "It was deliberate and premeditated. Siddiqui should be punished accordingly."

The defense had asked the judge for a sentence closer to 12 years behind bars. Her lawyers argued in court papers that their client's outburst inside a cramped Afghan outpost was a spontaneous "freak out," born of mental illness not militancy.

I'm glad Pakistan did something about this... i am British living near London also in the military and i have been to Afghanistan i support the good guys in this (US, Britian, and allies) anyone who fires apon our troops should die by the hands of the defenders

Edit: everyone heard of the "Don't fire intill fired apon" correct? that is why i'm saying it

[Jingoist Hippostan]

I'm glad to see that Pakistan takes civilians firing upon US troops as seriously as the United States takes troops firing on civilians.

[Khurdi]

I'm glad to see that Pakistan takes civilians firing upon US troops as seriously as the United States takes troops firing on civilians.

The US never fired apon innocent civilians take it from someone who has been to Afghanistan twice.

[Lackadaisical2]

I'm glad Pakistan did something about this... i am British living near London also in the military and i have been to Afghanistan i support the good guys in this (US, Britian, and allies) anyone who fires apon our troops should die by the hands of the defenders

Edit: everyone heard of the "Don't fire intill fired apon" correct? that is why i'm saying it

Doesn't sound like Pakistan did anything about it, she was sentenced in a US court.

[Khurdi]

I'm glad Pakistan did something about this... i am British living near London also in the military and i have been to Afghanistan i support the good guys in this (US, Britian, and allies) anyone who fires apon our troops should die by the hands of the defenders

Edit: everyone heard of the "Don't fire intill fired apon" correct? that is why i'm saying it

Doesn't sound like Pakistan did anything about it, she was sentenced in a US court.

True but that is justice if i had it my way anyone firing at ARMED TROOPS should be shot

[Lackadaisical2]

Doesn't sound like Pakistan did anything about it, she was sentenced in a US court.

True but that is justice if i had it my way anyone firing at ARMED TROOPS should be shot

eh, well they don't seem to be detailing how she was caught, maybe they did shoot her

[Jingoist Hippostan]

I'm glad to see that Pakistan takes civilians firing upon US troops as seriously as the United States takes troops firing on civilians.

The US never fired apon innocent civilians take it from someone who has been to Afghanistan twice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/world ... fghan.html

While there are numerous, numerous other cases, I only need to post one to demonstrate that you are incorrect.

[Khurdi]

True but that is justice if i had it my way anyone firing at ARMED TROOPS should be shot

eh, well they don't seem to be detailing how she was caught, maybe they did shoot her

I doubt they did we use "Don't fire intill fired apon" while on patrol if they did they would get thrown in one of the prison camps

[Chrobalta]

I'm glad to see that Pakistan takes civilians firing upon US troops as seriously as the United States takes troops firing on civilians.

The US never fired apon innocent civilians take it from someone who has been to Afghanistan twice.

I seem to remember a massacre that involved bullets being dug out of victims, drone strikes killing hundreds, etc.

[South Lorenya]

I'm glad to see that Pakistan takes civilians firing upon US troops as seriously as the United States takes troops firing on civilians.

The US never fired apon innocent civilians take it from someone who has been to Afghanistan twice.

Then how come 12 soldiers are on trial for doing exactly that?

[Khurdi]

The US never fired apon innocent civilians take it from someone who has been to Afghanistan twice.

While there are numerous, numerous other cases, I only need to post one to demonstrate that you are incorrect.

that site has bullshit all over it I know for a fact they didn't

[L3 Communications]

The US never fired apon innocent civilians take it from someone who has been to Afghanistan twice.

I seem to remember a massacre that involved bullets being dug out of victims, drone strikes killing hundreds, etc.

Sucks to be them. |:

[Khurdi]

The US never fired apon innocent civilians take it from someone who has been to Afghanistan twice.

I seem to remember a massacre that involved bullets being dug out of victims, drone strikes killing hundreds, etc.

ya that my friend is because the pussy Taliban were hiding behind innocent civilians


Edit: which is why we have to move much slower and have to pay attention more (which makes us sitting ducks) i ran into a few spots that the Taliban were using innocent civilians as human shields

[Jingoist Hippostan]

While there are numerous, numerous other cases, I only need to post one to demonstrate that you are incorrect.

that site has bullshit all over it I know for a fact they didn't

No, you know for a delusion they didn't. It is a fact that the US military has fired upon and killed innocent civilians over the course of the War In Afghanistan. Claiming they did not because it does not agree with your worldview is denial.

ya that my friend is because the pussy Taliban were hiding behind innocent civilians

So you admit we shot innocent civilians? So you were lying when you said we hadn't?

[Khurdi]

that site has bullshit all over it I know for a fact they didn't

No, you know for a delusion they didn't. It is a fact that the US military has fired upon and killed innocent civilians over the course of the War In Afghanistan. Claiming they did not because it does not agree with your worldview is denial.

ya that my friend is because the pussy Taliban were hiding behind innocent civilians

So you admit we shot innocent civilians? So you were lying when you said we hadn't?

I'm British man..... one question have you been to Afghanistan? or Iraq? have you seen the shit ? if so i would respect you for it if not no you do not understand what these soliders are going through over there

[Jervak]

She was angry at the occupation and rightly so. This is only what's going to happen if it keeps up.

[Khurdi]

She was angry at the occupation and rightly so. This is only what's going to happen if it keeps up.

There is no occupation..........

[Militsia]

Like he would ever spend 86 years in jail. His family will bribe someone and get an early release after a few months, that is how they do things in the third world.

[Jingoist Hippostan]

I'm British man..... one question have you been to Afghanistan? or Iraq? have you seen the shit ? if so i would respect you for it if not no you do not understand what these soliders are going through over there

Irrelevant. You claimed we had not fired at civilians. Now you admit we had. You are now attempting to justify something you said never happened. You're very, very bad at lying.

She was angry at the occupation and rightly so. This is only what's going to happen if it keeps up.

There is no occupation..........

So what do you call all those troops in Afghanistan?

[Lackadaisical2]

Like he would ever spend 86 years in jail. His family will bribe someone and get an early release after a few months, that is how they do things in the third world.

er... she was sentenced in the US, I know the recession hit us hard, but third world is a bit harsh.

[Khurdi]

I'm British man..... one question have you been to Afghanistan? or Iraq? have you seen the shit ? if so i would respect you for it if not no you do not understand what these soliders are going through over there

Irrelevant. You claimed we had not fired at civilians. Now you admit we had. You are now attempting to justify something you said never happened. You're very, very bad at lying.

There is no occupation..........

So what do you call all those troops in Afghanistan?

We never fired at a innocent civilian usually try to find ways around to get the Taliban also the troops are in Afghanistan to try and protect them from all the years the Taliban hurt, torture, and killed.. When i was over there i met this Afghani civilian who volunteered in the army he made this Video one day http://www.youtube.com/user/MyAfghanHome with the help of a few of my other friends

Edit: War is hell i heard about from the other soliders they sometimes picture an enemy but it was nothing so that is prolly why that happens look at every war that stuff happens it does not happen by choice

[Militsia]

Like he would ever spend 86 years in jail. His family will bribe someone and get an early release after a few months, that is how they do things in the third world.

er... she was sentenced in the US, I know the recession hit us hard, but third world is a bit harsh.

My bad. How did I miss that.

[Jervak]

Irrelevant. You claimed we had not fired at civilians. Now you admit we had. You are now attempting to justify something you said never happened. You're very, very bad at lying.



So what do you call all those troops in Afghanistan?

from all the years the Taliban hurt, torture, and killed..

You've never done that have you?

US soldiers killed Afghan civilians and kept fingers, skull as trophies
By Patrick Martin

10 September 2010

American soldiers murdered Afghan civilians for sport and kept finger bones, leg bones, a tooth and a skull as grisly trophies, according to documents released by the Pentagon on Wednesday. The case is the worst such atrocity yet revealed in Afghanistan. It underscores that just as in Iraq, the US military intervention is a brutal colonial war in which the entire population of the country is a target.

The official charge sheets released by the US Army greatly expand the case initially brought against five soldiers charged in June with premeditated murder and beating a fellow soldier who was threatening to inform on them. A total of 12 soldiers now face 76 charges, with multiple counts of drug abuse, mutilating corpses, filing false reports, lying to military investigators and acts of violence against fellow soldiers. (See “The twelve soldiers charged in atrocity and cover-up”)

All 12 soldiers are from the same company of the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington. The brigade recently returned from a year-long deployment near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.

Six of the soldiers face charges of keeping body parts from Afghan corpses, while three are charged with taking or possessing photographs in which US soldiers posed with the bodies of their victims. One is charged with stabbing a corpse.

The highest-ranking soldier in the group, Staff Sgt. Calvin R. Gibbs, is allegedly the instigator of the atrocities, and faces a total of 16 charges. According to the official documents, after the brigade was deployed to Afghanistan last year, Gibbs began to boast of conducting similar actions with impunity during a previous deployment in Iraq. He egged on fellow soldiers to take part, telling them how easy it was to “toss a grenade at someone and kill them.”

Gibbs helped organize a “kill team” that targeted Afghan civilians randomly and then cut off the fingers of their victims as trophies. This grisly celebration of murder was widely practiced during the Vietnam War, and the tradition has apparently been handed down to the current generation of American “warriors.”

Gibbs is charged with possessing “finger bones, leg bones, and a tooth from Afghan corpses.” He is also accused of showing the severed fingers of one Afghan victim to another soldier as a way of intimidating him and covering up the crimes. According to the charge sheet, Gibbs participated in the May 5 beating of a fellow soldier and threatened “to kill him if he spoke about hashish use within the platoon.”
The three murders were committed during a four-month period earlier this year.

On January 15, Gul Mudin was killed “by means of throwing a fragmentary grenade at him and shooting him with a rifle,” an action carried out by Spc. Jeremy Morlock and Pfc. Andrew Holmes under the direction of Gibbs. Morlock allegedly told Holmes, 19 and on his first tour of duty, that the killing was carried out for fun.

On February 22, Gibbs and Spc. Michael S. Wagnon allegedly shot the second victim, Marach Agha, and placed a Kalashnikov next to the body to justify the killing.

On May 2, Mullah Adadhdad was killed after being shot and attacked with a grenade. Spc. Adam C. Winfield and Gibbs were allegedly the perpetrators.
The military investigation was not triggered by any of the murders of Afghans, but rather by an incident May 5, when seven of the charged soldiers allegedly beat up at least one fellow soldier in an effort to keep him quiet. This soldier had initially complained to commanders about extensive illegal drug use, primarily smoking of hashish. After the beating, he also began talking about the murders, which were an open secret in the company.
The seven soldiers whose names were made public for the first time yesterday, are charged with participating in the beating and other efforts to cover up drug abuse and other offenses. But the Army is reportedly investigating other possible criminal actions against Afghan civilians, including a shooting involving six of the soldiers in March.

Staff Sgt. Robert Stevens is charged with lying to investigators about that shooting, telling them that the Afghans were a threat to the troops, and that one had been in possession of a rocket-propelled grenade, when he knew this claim was false.

The actual prosecution of the 12 soldiers promises to be a protracted and uncertain affair. Army officials told the press that the case is largely based on extensive statements given by one of the five charged with murder, Spc. Jeremy Morlock. His attorney says Morlock suffered traumatic brain injuries from IEDs in Afghanistan and was being treated with anti-depressants, muscle relaxers and sleep medication, while also using hashish and opium. Such comments are an invitation to a legal challenge to the credibility of Morlock’s testimony.

As with previous investigations into military atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan, the focus of the official investigation is entirely on the low-level perpetrators of particular war crimes, and not on the commanders in the field or their civilian superiors in Washington, whose policies are ultimately responsible for the violence.

This latest atrocity explodes the official pretense of the Obama administration that the war in Afghanistan is aimed at “fighting terrorism” and liberating the Afghan population from Taliban misrule.

It is the hallmark of colonial wars, waged for predatory purposes by imperialist powers against poor and backward countries, that the soldiers are systematically brutalized by the role they are assigned to play.

Given that the inhabitants of the targeted country naturally resent and oppose invasion and occupation, and that the insurgent forces fighting the occupation blend in with the local population, it is inevitable that the soldiers of the invading power will come to look on the people as a whole as the enemy.
This pattern has emerged over and over, whether with French troops in Algeria, British troops in Northern Ireland, or American troops in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Those soldiers involved in criminal acts of violence against innocent civilians should be tried and punished. But far more important is the prosecution of those whose political and military decisions made such atrocities inevitable.
The top officials of the Obama and Bush administrations, and their counterparts in the major NATO powers participating in the occupation of Afghanistan, must be brought to judgment before an international tribunal.

[Jingoist Hippostan]

We never fired at a innocent civilian usually try to find ways around to get the Taliban also the troops are in Afghanistan to try and protect them from all the years the Taliban hurt, torture, and killed.. When i was over there i met this Afghani civilian who volunteered in the army he made this Video one day http://www.youtube.com/user/MyAfghanHome with the help of a few of my other friends

Edit: War is hell i heard about from the other soliders they sometimes picture an enemy but it was nothing so that is prolly why that happens look at every war that stuff happens it does not happen by choice

This post is utterly nonsensical.

So, every time a civilian was ever fired at it didn't happen by choice? I assume you're aware of this because you are capable of reading the thoughts of every single soldier in Afghanistan who has ever discharged their weapon and hit a civilian, and thus knowing whether or not they intended to hit a civilian. Right?

[Khurdi]

from all the years the Taliban hurt, torture, and killed..

Never once i met, seen, or heard about any of that when i was in Afghanistan for two years but still you can't say one great nation is bad for one solider every nation has a bad solider but they are dealt with again like i said before the Heat is the main cause of this brings out the worst in people