“Sgt. Slaughter”: The Shocking Tale of Robert Bales and the Kandahar Massacre

In the early morning hours of March 11, 2012, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales shot and killed 16 Afghan civilians and wounded several more. These tragic killings have come to be known as the Kandahar Massacre

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Depiction of Robert Bales (Image generated via Midjourney)

Background

In the early morning hours of March 11, 2012, one of the ugliest incidents in a very ugly war occurred. Two shootings committed by United States Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales left sixteen civilians, including women and children, dead and six others wounded.

The shootings happened during a time when relations between Afghan civilians and U.S. troops and their allies were already strained. The killings created an international incident and were an embarrassment for the United States military and President Barack Obama.

Afghan investigators accused the United States of attempting to cover up the truth of the shootings…