Officials from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and the U.S. military issued strong condemnations on Wednesday as the Los Angeles Times released a set of photos that appear to illustrate U.S. troops in Afghanistan posing with the remains of suicide bombers. It was an American soldier who released the photos to the California newspaper to “to draw attention to the safety risk of a breakdown in leadership and discipline,” the Times said. The article, published on the paper’s website at 7:30 a.m. EST, has two photos. One photo illustrates a member of the U.S. military in front of the body of an insurgent and the other photo shows the insurgent’s head and what may be his hand on the soldier’s shoulder.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was among those who condemned the photos on Wednesday. Pentagon spokesman George Little said, “These images by no means represent the values or professionalism of the vast majority of U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan today.” He continued and said, “An investigation that could lead to disciplinary measures is under way. Anyone found responsible for this inhuman conduct will be held accountable in accordance with our military justice system.” In the article published by the LA Times, Editor Davan Maharaj said, “After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission in Afghanistan, including the allegation that the images reflect a breakdown in unit discipline that was endangering U.S. troops.”
