Specialist Jeremy Morlock goes before a military hearing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State to learn if there’s enough evidence to proceed with his court martial. Along with four other soldiers from the a platoon of the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Morlock allegedly murdered three Afghans in Kandahar, where they deployed from the summer of 2009 until earlier this year. Allegedly, Morlock was part of a “Kill Team” that the platoon created to execute Afghans: he supposedly threw a grenade while an Afghan man passed by as a pretext to open fire. The team’s motive has yet to be established.

So far, there haven’t been reports of major protests in Afghanistan in reaction to news of the killings. The aborted plans of a Florida pastor to burn the Koran earlier this month appear to have attracted more popular outrage so far — perhaps the only mitigating factor for the U.S. in this ugly incident. And the Army is taking steps to keep it that way.

A colonel at Lewis-McChord, Barry F. Huggins, has ordered that images of “casualties or detainees” that might be used as evidence in the case can’t be publicly disclosed. Yes, that’s right: apparently there’s photographic evidence of the team’s kills. A lawyer for one of the defendants affirmed in an email last week that he discovered “photos of three dead Afghans with three different soldiers posing, holding up the decedent’s head. (Each photo was one Afghan, one soldier.),” the New York Times reports.

Release of the images would likely inflame Afghans and put U.S. troops in danger, Huggins wrote in a memorandum last week: “[T]he risk of potential prejudice to the substantive rights of the accused, as well as negative impact on the reputation of the armed forces, associated with the potential public dissemination of these images outweighs minimal hardship upon the accused as a result of this order.” With high-profile security operations to push the Taliban out of Kandahar already underway, it’s easy to understand Huggins’ decision.

That’s not to say it won’t be controversial. President Obama infuriated civil libertarians last year by blocking the court-ordered release of photographs taken between 2002 and 2004 detainees abused in Afghanistan and Iraq. It remains to be seen if the decision not to disclose the Kandahar photographs will face legal challenges.

Morlock faces charges of murder, assault, conspiracy to commit murder, substance abuse and more. As the Seattle Times reports, should a judge decide to move forward with his military trial — a decision expected by Tuesday — Morlock could end up serving life or even sentenced to death if convicted.

The other “Kill Team” soldiers who face murder charges — Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, Specialist Michael S. Wagnon, Specialist Adam C. Winfield and Private First Class Andrew Holmes — are expected to face their own pre-trial hearings later this week. Twelve others face lesser charges as part of the conspiracy. Should a judge deem them fit to stand trial, it’s unclear when the actual hearings will proceed.

Something else to watch: notice that Huggins seeks to prevent the release of photos of “casualties or detainees.” Does that mean that the team abused detainees in their custody?

Photo: Specialist 2nd Class Johansen Laurel / U.S. Army Special Operations Command News Service

See Also:

• How To Spot A Whitewash In Army’s Death-Squad Inquiry
• Petraeus Tells Troops: We’ll Kill Insurgents and Protect Afghans …

Authors: Spencer Ackerman

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