JoeB131
Diamond Member
Why shouldn't Bales be tried in Afghanistan?
Because he is subject to the USMJ, not your imaginary rules.
The acronym you are looking for is UCMJ (Uniform Code of MIlitary Justice) and that really wasn't the question.
If you commit a crime against a host country's citizens, in MOST cases, the host country has first crack at prosecuting you. If it's minor enough, they'll just ask that you get that fugnut the hell out of our country.
For instance, when three servicemen on Okinawa raped a teenage girl, they were handed over to the Japanese justice system and served about 8 years in a Japanese prison. Then the military got them back and gave them dishonorable discharges. (one of them came back in to the states and raped and killed an American girl, before thankfully killing himself.)
We aren't going to turn this guy over because Afghanistan doesn't have a justice system we trust to do justice. So we will prosecute him ourselves, give him the death penalty, and maybe in five years, commute that to life in prison.