Staff Sgt. Bales is currently being held in a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He will have his psychological condition examined in a standard procedure in such cases known as "board 706" (a.k.a. the "sanity board"). After that has occurred, the military justice system requires a preliminary hearing, known as an "Article 32" hearing, to establish whether there is a strong enough case to proceed to a court martial. Bales is likely to remain in Leavenworth due to security concerns.
In all probability, the American people will never be informed of all of the details behind what really happened on March 11 in Afghanistan. It is also quite possible that Bales' attorney will never get all of the facts. What few facts that are released will be released slowly, over time. That, unfortunately, is the norm with incidents that occur in war zones shrouded in secrecy.
Whether or not Staff Sergeant Bates acted alone, the blame will almost certainly fall on him and for that he may face the death penalty. Blaming one man, however, not only suppresses the horror of what routinely happens in all wars, but also mitigates the responsibility of those all the way up the chain of command to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Panetta, and President Obama.
Read more, see video here: Madison Independent Examiner: Obstruction of Afghan Massacre Investigation
Sources:
Reuters- Lawyer says U.S. blocks investigation of Afghan massacre
Russia Today- US obstructing investigation into Kandahar massacre?
Madison Independent Examiner-- Afghan massacre: Reports in U.S. and overseas media vastly different
Russia Today- Up to 20 US troops behind Kandahar bloodbath -- Afghan probe
Russia Today- Karzai blasts US over massacre probe: "I'm at the end of the rope'
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