The mass killings by an American soldier over the weekend are reprehensible, and--I haven't done any research and don't know what it would look like, but I think that we ought to try this soldier in Afghanistan and allow the Afghan people (as represented by their gov't) to somehow be involved in his prosecution. That being said, I couldn't help but think about recent events in that country related to destruction by American troops of contraband (which included previously-defaced-by-Muslims copies of the Qu'ran). The violence and protests were incredibly disproportionate to any purported offenses, but this paragraph stood out in the article about the apparent murders over the weekend:
The Associated Press: Afghan youth recounts US soldier's rampage:
Still the public response to the shootings so far has been calmer than the six days of violent protests and clashes that erupted after Qurans were burned at Bagram Air Field. There were no signs of protests Monday.
I think the only difference in the response is related to the fact that any protests or grand responses in that country are driven by Taliban types . . . and terrorizing and killing civilians (even women and children) in the night is nothing new to them.
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