Karilyn Bales, Robert Bales' Wife, Issues Statement On Afghanistan Shooting Incident

This Friday, March 16, 2012, file photo, shows the home of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians, is shown in Lake Tapps, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The wife of the U.S. soldier who is suspected of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan offered her condolences to the families of the victims.

In a statement released on Monday through a Seattle lawyer, Karilyn Bales said her family "and Bob’s extended families are all profoundly sad. We extend our condolences to all the people of the Panjawai District, our hearts go out to all of them, especially to the parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents of the children who perished."

Bales said she had little information on what happened on the night of March 11 in Afghanistan. "What has been reported is completely out of character of the man I know and admire," she wrote. "Please respect me when I say I cannot shed any light on what happened that night, so please do not ask."

Karilyn Bales and her two children are currently staying on a military base in Washington State, ABC News reports.

Army staff sergeant Robert Bales is suspected of having crept away from his army base on March 11 and shooting 16 Afghan civilians -- including 9 children. 11 of the victims belonged to one family.

Robert Bales is being detained at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. According to CNN, his lawyer said the sergeant is likely to be charged with homicide on Thursday.

Read Karilyn Bales' full statement below.

Statement by Karilyn Bales — March 19, 2012

What happened on the night of March 11 in Kandahar Province was a terrible and heartbreaking tragedy.

My family including my and Bob's extended families are all profoundly sad. We extend our condolences to all the people of the Panjawai District, our hearts go out to all of them, especially to the parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents of the children who perished.

I know that all good people around the world, regardless of nationality, religion or political values, join me in grieving that such a terrible thing could happen.

Our family has little information beyond what we read and see in the media. What has been reported is completely out of character of the man I know and admire. Please respect me when I say I cannot shed any light on what happened that night, so please do not ask.

I too want to know what happened. I want to know how this could be.

I have no indication that my family's own safety is at risk, but I appreciate the efforts that have been undertaken to protect us. I hope there will soon be no reason for protection of families, whether here or in Kandahar Province, or anywhere, because the pain inevitably inflicted in war should never be an excuse to inflict yet more pain. The cycle must be broken. We must find peace.

I know the media has a right to pursue and report news. As you do your jobs, I plead with you to respect the trauma that I and my extended family are experiencing. Please allow us some peace and time as we try to make sense of something that makes no sense at all.

All I can do now is emphasize my sadness and my condolences to the families in Panjawai for their terrible loss. The victims and their families are all in my prayers, as is my husband who I love very much.

Comments

[esavoie]

02:44 AM on 03/27/2012

I have very had time beleiving that a single person can just walk our of a base shoot 16 people and then walk back to base like nothing happened. I think the american people are being lied to and making this sergent the scape goat. I beleive that they shot their own people and saying we did it to get more support to get our troops out of their land. I wish we would this area. My son spent a year in afghanisthan and he will never be the same again and he is only 22years young.

[huffposter07]

09:47 PM on 03/26/2012

Weird, how we never seem to accuse the right person of horrible murders. Not one time has law enforcement pointed at the correct person. Not if you ask the accused's family. Karilyn Bales owes a heavy debt to JERRY SANDUSKY'S wife and lawyer. They came up with the "he's a big kid himself" bit of PR. Credit where credit is due, Karilyn! (But then again, she probably finds it unbelievable that an arbitrator found that Bales had swindled an elderly couple out of their life savings. Bob loves old people!)

[Parapraxis]

08:54 PM on 03/24/2012

She's started a legal defense for the guy now, and all the sanctimonious intellectual giants at home waiting for deployed hubbies are jumping to support her. Poor thing! She had two kids w/a white collar criminal who stole from the elderly and hits on other women whom she met online. Both kids were born when he wasn't even in the country -- deep long-term relationship .. . This must be the "good" welfare queen model? But god forbid a single African American woman have a child -- she might feel entitled to government assistance for luxuries like education! Or healthcare! (Or an all expense paid life in Hawaii? A 280,000 house minute away from the unpaid for starter home she abandoned when it became inconvenient? Sense of entitlement anyone?)

How about a legal defense fund for women groped by and men punched by this man. Apparently Afghanis don't count, but these were Americans . . .

[Alex Wood]

07:06 PM on 03/22/2012

Why did you show a pic of their home you sick ****?

[Marliss]

08:11 PM on 03/22/2012

They'll probably want to start digging up the garden there - who know how many could be buried back there.

[JASCHA H]

04:03 PM on 03/22/2012

A very sad situation and much sufferings for the family of this soldier, and the other people killed. I do wish it never took place because the right word for this act is no less than MURDER. Mass murder, and NOTHING CAN JUSTIFY HIS ACTIONS. The human mind is a wonder not yet fully understood by the medical world. We can come up with many assumptions to explain what this unfortunate soldier did and yet we still only guessing.

He should be confined in a cell for the rest of his life-- in a capital punishment we will be doing what he did--killing a man because he killed others.. death should not be considered a punishment at all. it belongs to the same LAW that regulate births, and in a cell it will be far worse punishment. Humanity still is living in the medieval times when adopting capital punishment.

[Selac]

02:18 PM on 03/22/2012

The general opinion is that he snapped. So what if he didn't and this was a planned and calculated move?

[kepowell5]

03:55 PM on 03/22/2012

Hopefully the truth will all come out right?

[JASCHA H]

04:06 PM on 03/22/2012

SNAPPED ????????????????????????????WISHFUL WORD TO EXPLAIN A MURDER.

[Jodi StewartMoore]

07:46 PM on 03/22/2012

He can be a man who snapped, and it can still be murder. He can be 100% responsible for his actions, and yet we can still consider that fact that some people are not equipped to deal with the trauma of war and should not be sent time and time again into these horrific situations. This is sad for everyone. I'm sure he will receive justice. It will take an act of God for these families and for his own family to ever find peace.

[Texplaygrl]

09:35 AM on 03/22/2012

Peace will never prevail as long as man walks the earth...never has and never will, sadly.

[JASCHA H]

04:08 PM on 03/22/2012

YES, PEACE WILL PREVAIL WHEN HUMAN BEINGS BETTER CULTURE THEIR MINDS AND BETTER UNDERSTAND THE LAWS OF GOD.

[okokok]

07:07 PM on 03/22/2012

People are hating/fighting/killing in the name of God and the laws of religion. Better think again.

[Bill Davis1]

11:36 PM on 03/22/2012

That wont happen unless, somehow we evolve into something else. As it stands today, humankind will and always will be vindictive as long as you have different set of groups out there. I.E., religion. Religion in it's small form helps people in the time of need, religion as a whole will go down as our greastest downfall, because it ostracizes people outside it's group sometimes unknowingly.

[Texplaygrl]

09:36 AM on 03/22/2012

So very true...no one apologized for all the killings of US troops

[pathologiq]

09:12 PM on 03/22/2012

There's a huge distinction between soldiers killed in battle and women and children gunned down in their homes at night.

If you can't see the difference, there's nothing I can say to you.

[ciberquill]

05:53 AM on 03/22/2012

..Very sad situation which bespeaks about the world in general; a soldier who has lost his way; not a hero; just a man...a mortal....and if it took God to battle Satan..what hope do we mere mortal men have fighting wars between flawed humans here on earth....Peace on Earth is truly a Christmas card sentiment...

[Texplaygrl]

09:37 AM on 03/22/2012

All the troops sent over in those places far from home to fight for our freedom are heros!

[funcrusherplus]

02:07 PM on 03/22/2012

They are not fighting for "our freedom." They should be home. This war is/was a mistake.

[Marliss]

08:12 PM on 03/22/2012

LOL! You're brainwashed.

[danno1400i]

05:36 AM on 03/22/2012

he is INNOCENT untill proven guilty. just ask OJ'S lawyers

[Ossit]

05:34 AM on 03/22/2012

Whoops! Pardon me, I forgot the Spanish-American War before WW1. There are so many wars I forgot to list this. Yeah right! I feel so much safer with this loose cannon soldier!

[Texplaygrl]

09:40 AM on 03/22/2012

Pleanty of "loose canons" here in the US running the streets...It was his job to protect and ill and he snapped...which no one in the media nows the REAL FACTS...media reports are "opinions" until this is fully investigated and even then...maybe will never be made public. The military does not have to give details in a time of war.

[Ossit]

05:33 AM on 03/22/2012

The Revolution was the only war that meant anything because we won our Freedom from England.

Let's see. Civil War. WW1, WW1, Korea, Bay of Pigs, the entire Cold War, Viet Nam, Faulkin Island War, Bosnia, the continuing wars in Israel. Beirut, Lebanon. Russian-Afghan War. Gulf War. Darfur. Somalia. We got involved in Guatemala with the Sandinistas. Iran/Contra War. Hostage taking in '79 in Iran. Gulf War. Iraq. Afghanistan. People demanding war with China and Iran again. We haven't touched Korea-yet-again.

Tell me, people. How has any other war, other than the American Revolution has really made a difference other than to a Military that has to start, join in, continue, conflict. How has life changed here! Do you really sleep well at night when you hear gun fire down the street? Are your children any safer from shooters? Have your finances improved? Has Unemployment changed? Have all these wars made Government stop being your nanny?

Like I said. I don't need to be in the Military to see how war changes nothing!

[emeathead45]

06:05 AM on 03/22/2012

So you don`t think stopping Hitler made a difference? WOW!

[Ossit]

03:44 AM on 03/23/2012

No one really stopped Hitler. He shot himself, emeathead.

[Ossit]

05:25 AM on 03/22/2012

I've been living with war my entire life in this country. I lived through, though don't remember Viet Nam as a child until '73 when I was 14 when it really started to be noticed. In Elementary School Israel was fighting against someone. In '70 there was the Russian-Afghan War where bin Laden was fighting. In '81 there was Beirut. There's been Bosnia, Faulklin Islands, Gulf War. War in Iraq, Afghanistan. People want to war with China and Iran.

We've been to Somalia. There's fighting in Darfur that no one ever publicized, and for what!

Have all these wars lowered your gas prices, lowered food prices? Has it ever stopped Recessions? Does it prevent foreclosures? Has soldiers going overseas solved the homeless problem? Has it stopped our homicide rate? Has it stopped school shootings? Have our wars solved education problems, fed our hungry, improved the lives of Poor? Has it fixed health care? Have our wars made dangerous neighborhoods safer?

We have apologists making excuses for this unstable man. Vets have nightmares? They've got it easy compared to children being beaten and sexually abused every day and no shots were ever fired.

I don't need to ever be in the Military to know one thing. War is profitable to politicians, and it changes nothing here.

[Parapraxis]

08:57 PM on 03/24/2012

It changes things -- it makes things much worse here, and everywhere. Our civility and decency and respect for life and human rights erode, guns and stupidity and brutality proliferate and Dick Cheney and friends make more money to funnel to lobbyists to buy more senators.

[Ossit]

02:44 AM on 03/25/2012

What I mean by war doesn't change things, Prapraxis, is that it doesn't stop new woars. Dick Cheney and friends make more money to funnel to lobbyists to buy more senators? Excuse me, it's the voters who elect those senators. Even when there's a breather between wars, our civility is long gone, our decency continues to warp, and there's no respect for life because parents don't teach their kids not to respect life and violence has become the problem solver.

Wars don't change things in that the war is perpetuated and too many people believe the propaganda that war is great until it become too expensive or inconvenient to them because we like to win.

[my3geez]

05:21 AM on 03/22/2012

There are not adequate words to express how badly I feel for this soldier and his family. Had just ONE DOCTOR at that base had the guts to speak truth to power and say --- he IS NOT fit for deployment ... this would have never happened. I extend my heartfelt condolences to those who lost their family members in this attack ... that includes the wife of THIS SOLDIER!

I would not be surprised to find out that they put him on CHANTIX or CYMBALTA or something like that ... as it is NOT UNCOMMON for the 6 week in --- to bring on a psychotic break. Our family experienced this first hand with a family member ... very dangerous stuff --- messing with brain chemistry without fully informed consent .... and Ambien ... don't even get me started on that nightmare of a drug in sheeps advertising ...!!!

[Weas832]

05:18 AM on 03/22/2012

What this man did is terrible wrong. He is not a hero to me, I have a son who has done 4 tours in Iraq before he got out of the marine corps. You don't shoot innocent woman and children. Please stop making excuses for this man, he was a soldier just like everyone around him. Do you people who think of him as a hero have any idea what the consequences maybe for OUR POW the Taliban have? This man snapped and was out of it but could ask for the best defense lawyer in Washington State before he was even sent back to the states!!!

[Parapraxis]

08:59 PM on 03/24/2012

And a white collar criminal who swindled the elderly and hid out from repaying his debts by enlisting and cloaking himself in self-righteous patriotism. And a drunk who a record of drunken assaults who made racists comments casually on FB.