I am now seeing reports of people saying he was there too long and people seem to be putting blame on the Military. What about the integrity of our good soldiers? Should we have just handed him over to the Afghanistan Government? I don't think there is any excusable reason for what he did and I personally think he should be executed. What do you think?
kenoplayer
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Actually, according to survellence cameras, he made two trips to the villages. This indicates that he was fully aware and deliberate in his actions. So, yes he should be executed.
Frankenstein
I've been to the Mid East but for not even a fraction of the time Bales was there. A lot of people crack from their experiences there but most don't run to the local village and start randomly killing people. Some wait to get back to the U.S. before doing that. I think this is definitely an insanity case. If his mind is half as screwed up as I think it is, he probably doesn't care either way what they do to him. I would recommend life in prison with continuos mental care and treatment. He served his country well until he snapped.
Christine H
A survey conducted after WW2 found that soldiers who had endured battle and had had to shoot to kill were deeply traumatised by their actions-those who weren't already sociopathic that is.
The conclusion drawn then and probably still valid today is that long term combat situations would drive 98% of men insane to some degree.
And that would seem to be the crux of the matter. He wasn't an armchair warrior or someone whose weapon of choice was a joy stick far far away form the seat of the action. Integrity does not come into it.
Soldiers are often trained imperfectly, then thrown into action time and time again- often with faulty equipment or info and expected to perform like the Universal Soldier.
No, he does not deserve to be executed; although maybe those who brought him to that state of mind do.
Tamara M
When was the last time you got off your lazy self righteous @$$ and deployed multiple times to a hostile area to defend everyone else's freedom? If as I suspect you haven't done it even once, you need to stop trying to cast the first stone, because you have no clue what it's like. I got back from my second deployment last year and subsequently got out of the Army.
You think these civilians are all angelic? They're not. His buddy's leg got blown off in that village, and I'd bet MY leg that at least some of those civilians knew the attack was coming--they always do. And they just sit there and avoid the area because they only care about themselves. Lazy, worthless, cowards that only look out for themselves and wait for another country to send in the cannon fodder so they can sit on their asses and drink chai, and you're perfectly okay with it as long as you're not the one to raise your right hand. Must be nice.
Veritas
Of course he should not be turned over to the Afghanistan government. ( To be tortured, burned and his body desecrated)
He should be treated in a facility for his physiological disorder that was brought on by his numerous deployments
Some say he is a hero and should be treated as such.