A decorated US special forces soldier has been charged with an Afghan man’s murder, which he reportedly admitted while applying for a job with the CIA.<\/p>\n
US Army Green Beret Major Matthew Golsteyn allegedly shot someone he described as a suspected Taliban bomb-maker during his 2010 deployment.<\/p>\n
Maj Golsteyn also subsequently spoke about the incident during an interview with Fox News.<\/p>\n
He denies the charge and maintains he did not violate rules of engagement.<\/p>\n
US Army Special Operations Command spokesman Lt Col Loren Bymer said in a statement: “Major Matthew Golsteyn’s immediate commander has determined that sufficient evidence exists to warrant the preferral of charges against him.”<\/p>\n
Maj Golsteyn’s lawyer, Phil Stackhouse, told US media he would be “relentless” in defending his client from the charges, which he was notified of on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“Major Golsteyn is a humble servant-leader who saved countless lives, both American and Afghan, and has been recognised repeatedly for his valorous actions,” Mr Stackhouse said.<\/p>\n
He was a captain during his 2010 deployment when his heroism won him a Silver Star,\u00a0the Army Times reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n The award was later upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest award for valour.<\/p>\n During Major Golsteyn’s time there, two Marines from his unit were killed by a booby-trapped bomb.<\/p>\n In 2011 he took a routine lie detector test during an interview process for a job with the CIA.<\/p>\n He allegedly told interviewers that on 22 February 2010 he and another soldier had taken an alleged Taliban bomb-maker off base, shot him and buried his remains,\u00a0reports NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n The admission led the Army Criminal Investigation Command to investigate Maj Golsteyn in 2011.<\/p>\n In April 2014, he got off with an official reprimand because of lack of evidence.<\/p>\n Two years later, Maj Golsteyn spoke on a\u00a0Fox News special report, titled “How We Fight”<\/a>, about how he killed the suspected bomb-maker.<\/p>\n He told the anchor he shot the man because he was concerned he would kill Afghan informants if released.<\/p>\n A congressman sided with Maj Golsteyn, writing a letter to the Army secretary to complain about the investigation.<\/p>\n Duncan Hunter, a California Republican, called for an end to the “retaliatory and vindictive” inquiry into “a distinguished and well regarded Green Beret”.<\/p>\n Maj Golsteyn was placed on leave, but has since been recalled to active duty, according to Army Times.<\/p>\n He is charged with premeditated murder, which carries a possible death penalty.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"