U.S. pays $860,000 (in TOTAL) to families of Afghan shooting victims, officials say - "It's not comp - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The United States gave $860,000 to the families of people in Afghanistan killed or wounded in a shooting rampage that is being blamed on U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, two Afghan officials said Sunday. The money includes $50,000 for each of 16 people who were killed, as well as $10,000 for each of six who was injured, the provincial council members said. A U.S. official confirmed Sunday that a payment had been made on Saturday. "I can't comment on the figure, but I can say that it reflects the devastating nature of the incident," said the official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation. Military investigators now believe Bales committed the shootings during two separate trips off his base, a separate U.S. official told CNN Sunday. "We believe the shooter went to one village, came back and went to a second village," the official said. The official, who would not speak on the record because the investigation is ongoing, said the conclusion was based on factors including interviews and the overall investigation. [B]The American official who handed over the money to the families said it was not compensation, but the U.S. government offering to help the victims and their families, Kandahar provincial council member Haji Nyamat Khan said. But a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Col. Gary Kolb, said the money was compensation. It was not immediately clear if the word used to describe the payment had legal significance in Afghanistan, where "blood money" can replace a trial or punishment of a killer.[/B] Afghans are insisting that the suspect be returned to Afghanistan to face trial, with villagers and lawmakers questioning the U.S. military's account of what happened. But a military official in Afghanistan has said that Bales will be tried in the United States. Khan, the local official, said the money was paid in Afghan currency and handed over in Kandahar city. He did not name the American official involved in the meeting. Bales has been charged with 17 counts of murder, and could face the death penalty if convicted of any of them. Authorities say Bales left a remote outpost in Kandahar province's Panjwai district early March 11 and went house-to-house, gunning down villagers. U.S. and Afghan officials initially said 16 people died in those attacks. But Kolb, the ISAF spokesman, said Friday that investigators assigned to the case felt they had evidence to charge Bales with 17 counts of murder. The charge sheet accuses Bales of killing four women among 17 victims, while initial U.S. and Afghan reports listed three women among the 16 dead. Afghan government officials in Kabul have said they have no record of another death. Afghan officials say nine children, three women and four men from at least four families were killed in villages in Kandahar province on March 11. They were Mohammad Dawood Abdullah, Khudaidad Mohmmad Jama, Nazar Mohammad Taj Mohammad, Payendo, Robina, Sahtarina Sultan Mohammad, Zuhra Abdul Hameed, Nazia Doost Mohammad, Mosooma Mohammad Wazir, Farida Mohammad Wazir, Palwasha Mohammad Wazir, Nabia Mohammad Wazir, Asmatullah Mohammad Wazir, Faizullah Mohammad Wazir, Esa Mohammad Mohammad Husain, and Akhtar Mohammad Murad Ali. Four children, one woman and one man were wounded in the attacks, according to the charge sheet against Bales. Two of the wounded were released from the hospital Thursday, according to Ahmad Javed Faisal, a Kandahar government information spokesman. Bales, who was returned to the United States last week, is being held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It is not clear whether he will now face a military procedure known as an Article 32 hearing, at which military authorities would determine whether to proceed with charges against him, or whether he will go before a group of experts to determine whether his mental health may be a factor in his defense. If and when the case comes to trial, Bales' lawyer, John Henry Browne, said, it is going to be "extremely difficult" for the prosecution. "They have no murder scene, no forensics," the lawyer said Thursday night outside his Seattle office. "I'm going to make them prove every claim." Military law experts acknowledge that proving the case may be difficult, especially given that there are no autopsies to help prove the cause of death -- in part because those killed were buried quickly, in accordance with Islamic tradition -- and difficulty in getting witnesses to testify. Gary Solis, a former U.S. Marine Corps lawyer and current Georgetown professor, told CNN that any bullet rounds recovered from the scene could be matched with Bales' weapon -- assuming it was "immediately seized" -- which would serve as "powerful evidence for the government."[/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/25/world/asia/afghanistan-killings-money/index.html?hpt=hp_t1[/url]

Nothing like letting this make news. Wonder how long until the Taliban demand their cut of that money from the families involved. [editline]25th March 2012[/editline] Brilliant move, really.

world police edit: welp i guess this was a failed attempt at e-sarcasm

No amount of money is going to fix having to see most of your family slaughtered. But it's better than nothing

[QUOTE=Gabe Newell;35289380]world police[/QUOTE] yeah man ttly world police xD FUCK THA POLEESE XDDDDDDDD

Compensation for killings is actually required in that part of the world. Look up "Diyya"

It works out at around $47,000 per dead person. That is pitiful considering if the cops kill someone in America the family gets $millions in compensation. It is almost like American lives are worth more. Surely they deserve more money than that? Atleast it is better than nothing I suppose.

Wow. What if they only did it to avoid a trail in Afghanistan? But yeah, these people deserve this money. It's going to help pay for the funeral and all that.

I remember reading something about how in the Middle East it's customary to pay a certain amount of money to the family, or the family will seek revenge So it must be more accepted there, like a cultural thing or something (I'm not saying killing them is okay or anything)

Is it wrong if I get the feeling that $50,000 can go a loooooooong way over there?

[QUOTE=Mythman;35293157]It works out at around $47,000 per dead person. That is pitiful considering if the cops kill someone in America the family gets $millions in compensation. It is almost like American lives are worth more. Surely they deserve more money than that? Atleast it is better than nothing I suppose.[/QUOTE] turns out 3rd world country's have different perspectives and values on money

Well out of those 16, 11 were related to one guy. Mohammed Wazir, pictured below, lost his mother, all his daughters and sons, a nephew and his brother in the shooting. His entire family. [IMG]http://ap.mnocdn.no/incoming/article6792475.ece/ALTERNATES/w780c169/FS00021297.jpg?updated=250320121202[/IMG] Sure, that adds up to half a million dollars if you don't count the nephew, but the man lost everyone close to him, I feel terrible. No amount of money can make that better.

[QUOTE=Clementine;35293329]turns out 3rd world country's have different perspectives and values on money[/QUOTE] A life is a life is a life. Why is an American life worth more than an Afghan one in real terms? If a life is worth $1 million (for example) then surely the family should get that no matter where they live?

CNN are dumbfucks for letting this get out into the open, the Taliban are going to see it and go waltzing in there "asking" them to give them the money.

That's equal to 41,512,200.00 AFN (Afghani). Also, apparently many live off dollars a week, and [url]http://www.irinnews.org/Report/76870/AFGHANISTAN-Bread-price-hike-affects-millions[/url] In 2006, an average family of seven could earn around $1.14 a day in Kabul, if the head of the family was fortunate enough to have a job. It would need $0.63 to buy 21 loaves of bread. In many cases over 60 percent of a family’s income is now being spent on bread alone, the appeal said. I by no means say any amount of money can replace a life, however, they are pretty well hooked up regardless of our intentions.

[QUOTE=JeffAndersen;35293642]That's equal to 41,512,200.00 AFN (Afghani). [/QUOTE] I didn't realise it was that bad. My principle stands but I understand the practical reasons for the low sum of money. Atleast they will be given some money as some form of 'compensation' (despite what the USA government claims, it is compensation).

[QUOTE=Keyblockor;35293597]CNN are dumbfucks for letting this get out into the open, the Taliban are going to see it and go waltzing in there "asking" them to give them the money.[/QUOTE] Maybe they planned for this and want to make the best of the situation by making a trap of sorts, draw them in with something they want, removing it from oneself by giving it to victims in this case, and capture or kill the ones which try to collect whatever they were wanting.

Ok we gave them money now lets continue our brave and heroic mission for democracy.

[QUOTE=Keyblockor;35293597]CNN are dumbfucks for letting this get out into the open, the Taliban are going to see it and go waltzing in there "asking" them to give them the money.[/QUOTE] or worse start trying to frame coalition soldiers of murder or EVEN worse use civilians as human shields etc.

[QUOTE=News]They were Mohammad Dawood Abdullah, Khudaidad Mohmmad Jama, Nazar Mohammad Taj Mohammad, Payendo, Robina, Sahtarina Sultan Mohammad, Zuhra Abdul Hameed, Nazia Doost Mohammad, Mosooma Mohammad Wazir, Farida Mohammad Wazir, Palwasha Mohammad Wazir, Nabia Mohammad Wazir, Asmatullah Mohammad Wazir, Faizullah Mohammad Wazir, Esa Mohammad Mohammad Husain, and Akhtar Mohammad Murad Ali.[/QUOTE] Holy shit. That's a lot of Mohammads.

[QUOTE=Sir_takeslot;35296521]Holy shit. That's a lot of Mohammads.[/QUOTE] It'd be one big censorship bar on TV.

[QUOTE=Sir_takeslot;35296521]Holy shit. That's a lot of Mohammads.[/QUOTE] That name is basically like "John" in English countries. Everyone is named it.

Shut up money, I bet.

Money to compensate the familiies of people that have been killed either by accident or design is nothing new. Shit's been going on since the middle ages at least, and that's all over the world. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_money_(term)[/url] And aside from getting the people responsible and paying them, I'm not sure there's a whole lot the U.S. can do, unless DARPA funds some of that money into a resurrection machine. [QUOTE=Keyblockor;35293597]CNN are dumbfucks for letting this get out into the open, the Taliban are going to see it and go waltzing in there "asking" them to give them the money.[/QUOTE] I doubt the Taliban gather all their tactical info off of CNN.

[QUOTE=Sir_takeslot;35296521]Holy shit. That's a lot of Mohammads.[/QUOTE] Which one of them is the most Mohammad though? Obviously this guy: [quote]Esa Mohammad Mohammad Husain[/quote] He's so Mohammad he's got TWO Mohammads in his name