This month, the global community was shocked at the news that an American soldier had mindlessly killed 16 Afghani civilians. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was not known to be overly violent, yet he allegedly went on a rampage and expressed his rage in violence. According to an article published by The New York Times yesterday, Bales was charged on Friday with 17 counts of murder and 6 additional counts for attempted murder and assault. Furthermore, nine children and four women were among the casualties. Obviously, there would appear to be a mismatch between the death toll of 16 and the 17 counts brought against Bale, but as of now this inconsistency has not been explained.
Due to these catastrophic events, the American military has been considerate in taking responsibility for the loss of innocent lives. In order to express their sympathy and aid those who lost loved ones, the U.S. has given $50,000 to families for each of the victims. In addition, those wounded received $11,000 in compensation. The money was received as an “assistance” payment. Of course, officials were quick to distinguish what these payments were intended to be. They were not a way to ensure the incident was forgotten, but were intended to express American compassion.
However, this assistance comes with certain controversy. Handing out monetary compensation to these victims, while admirable, sets an alarming precedent for future administrative decisions. Should another event this tragic occur, would the American government spend thousands of dollars in compensation once more? Furthermore, amidst an economic climate that is so unstable, these decisions could receive negative attention in light of the nation’s enormous debt. Giving financial compensation to families that are still enduring a grieving process could also be portrayed as insensitive. On the other hand, should American officials have done nothing to help these families, there would have been uproar as to why they were being neglected in a time of need.
The fact that Bales will stand trial for the murders indicates that this case will not be swept away due to these payments. However, the line between assistance and attempts to place a value on human life is increasingly blurry in this situation. Should the debate over whether one can quantify human life ensue, it could unravel into a whole host of other issues.
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