Robert Bales Deleted From Internet? Report Claims Military Scrubbed References To Accused Soldier

In this Aug. 23, 2011, file photo Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System photo Sgt. Robert Bales takes part in exercises at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. It is still not known if Bales, who allegedly massacred 16 Afghans was ever diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder _ but even if he had been that alone would not have prevented him from being sent back to war. (AP Photo/DVIDS, Spc. Ryan Hallock, file)

A report released Wednesday by McClatchy Newspapers claims that the United States military tried to remove references to Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the soldier accused of shooting 16 civilians in Afghanistan, from its websites.

"Protecting a military family has to be a priority," an anonymous official told McClatchy. "I think the feeding frenzy we saw after his name was released was evidence that we were right to try."

Despite the alleged efforts to wipe Bales information from the Internet, cached websites and images remained accessible, McClatchy reports, including published photos, a battle account and excerpts from his wife's private blog.

A senior military official identified Bales as the alleged shooter on Friday, March 16, five days after the incident, and the Army provided basic information about the soldier.

As details about Robert Bales, his life, and his family emerged, those who knew him grappled with understanding how Bales could allegedly massacre Afghan civilians. On Wednesday, Karilyn Bales issued a statement offering her condolences to the families of the victims.

The military claims it knew the online information about Bales would continue to be available, but a second anonymous official confirmed to McClatchy that a delay in releasing Bales' name stemmed from first wanting to remove his Army service history from the Internet.

The publisher also proposes that the military may have tried to scrub the Web in anticipation of a military trial. Bales is currently being held in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., awaiting charges in the Army's maximum-security prison.

Read McClatchy's full report here. See photos from the incident below:

Loading Slideshow

• A mourner cries over the bodies of Afghan civilians, allegedly shot by a rogue US soldier, seen loaded into the back of a truck in Alkozai village of Panjwayi district, Kandahar province on March 11, 2012. An AFP reporter counted 16 bodies -- including women and children -- in three Afghan houses after a rogue US soldier walked out of his base and began shooting civilians early Sunday. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said it had arrested a soldier 'in connection to an incident that resulted in Afghan casualties in Kandahar province', without giving a figure for the dead or wounded. (Getty)

• Map locates Panjwai in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

• A villager points to a spot where a family was allegedly shot in their residence by a rogue US soldier in Alkozai village of Panjwayi district, Kandahar province on March 11, 2012. (Getty)

• The bodies of Afghan civilians allegedly shot by a rogue US soldier are pictured in the back of a van in Alkozai village of Panjwayi district, Kandahar province on March 11, 2012. (Getty)

• Anar Gul gestures to the body of her grandchild, who was allegedly killed by a U.S. service member in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, March. 11, 2012. (AP)

• An Afghan man sits in the back of a bus with the body of a person who was allegedly killed by a U.S. service member in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, March 11, 2012. (AP)

• The bodies of an elderly Afghan man and a child are pictured in Alkozai village of Panjwayi district, Kandahar province on March 11, 2012. (Getty)

• US soldiers keep watch at the entrance of a military base near Alkozai village following the shooting of Afghan civilians allegedly committed by a rogue US soldier in Panjwayi district, Kandahar province on March 11, 2012. (Getty)

• Afghan men gather for a service ceremony at Mohammad mosque in Alokozai village of Pajwai district in Kandahar province on March 13, 2012. (Getty)

• Afghan men offer prayers during a service ceremony at Mohammad mosque in Alokozai village of Pajwai district in Kandahar province on March 13, 2012. (Getty)

• Afghan men gather for a ceremony at Mohammad mosque in Alokozai village of Pajwai district in Kandahar province on March 13, 2012. (Getty)

• An Afghan youth mourns for relatives, who were allegedly killed by a U.S. service member in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, March. 11, 2012. (AP)

Comments

[thilllf]

10:00 AM on 03/23/2012

wonder if his police record is still on line or the people he ripped off. You type in his name he is everywhere...military can try to protect criminals but hey they are the ones that let a criminal in the military in the first place....all they are doing to trying to cover their behinds...not protect the family rather protect themselves....

[metalsmithgirl71]

06:52 AM on 03/23/2012

i'm glad they did. who knows if any jihadists would have gone after his family soon after. his wife and children don't deserve to pay for his craziness.

[bcwms1963]

04:00 AM on 03/23/2012

mission gone awry... he is getting the short end ...if we let public opinion rule... scapegoat on ice...

[bcwms1963]

03:54 AM on 03/23/2012

so many bullets, so many enemies... hope he didn't waste any by hittting a koran(sic)...we need out of there....they will find any reason to do same to us and not even sweat it....

[malcomnator]

02:53 AM on 03/23/2012

Bales says he doesn't remember a thing , sounds like the Sirhan Sirhan case. will they use the brainwashing defense?

[Marliss]

08:23 PM on 03/22/2012

Title of this article is ironic - how heavy handed the moderators are today. Censorship!

[dino020467]

01:32 AM on 03/23/2012

See everybody!?!? Post like this one prove it. People like "marliss" continue to prove that there are IDIOTS among us! Something bad happened, and "marliss" wants to think with his/her crotch

[Marliss]

01:54 AM on 03/23/2012

Hey, I'm not the one whose crotch got into criminal trouble - that was Lil Bobby Bales. If anybody is an idiot, it's people like you defending a mass murderer who has a criminal history which includes assault, drunk driving, hit and run, fraud ... and who knows what else. It'll all come out over the next weeks ... and you can bet I'll be posting it! ;-O

[Parade Keegan]

06:44 PM on 03/22/2012

The only positive out of the attempted military "scrubbing" is they were unsuccessful. Oddly, that they were unsuccessful is comforting for me.

[Steve-o-k]

06:39 PM on 03/22/2012

When can we hear from the parents of the 9 children slain. I would like to here that perspective also.

[hannav270]

11:14 PM on 03/22/2012

there were at least 9 children slain in the us. do you want to hear their perspectives as well or are you limited in what country they come from and whether or not an american soldier did it.

[kamiemd]

12:52 AM on 03/23/2012

Exactly. hannav270.

[Steve-o-k]

12:54 AM on 03/23/2012

So it is head in the sand for you... Got it. Lame, but got it.

[dino020467]

01:34 AM on 03/23/2012

Why? what do you want to hear? If this soldier did it, he's F**ked,,,,if he had some fellow soldiers along,,he's F**KED. If a drone hit them,,He's F**KED

[Don Mathews]

11:41 AM on 03/23/2012

What didn't you get? Steve wanted to hear from the victim's parents - likely to hear whether or not they held a grudge against Americans as a whole or whether they understand that this was the act of one person. Steve wasn't asking about the soldier (who isn't the victim here by the way) and it's a reasonable question - what you wrote is not.

[The Sullyman]

06:14 PM on 03/22/2012

In response to the news clip, the casualty here are the 16 Afghans that were murdered. She and the military failed him.

[JewishPhysician]

06:14 PM on 03/22/2012

Theres nothing like not being held accountable. Scrub the evidence of any history so that the future is more understood!

[jaye4412]

06:11 PM on 03/22/2012

Wow, now this is unreal.. Trying to make him invisible.. There's a lot more going on here folks... Personally, I still think that there was more than one shooter... Time frames and the damage inflicted don't add up...

[dknyc00]

10:34 PM on 03/22/2012

One single DRUNK shooter couldnt have done all this damage alone.

Plus, ALL witnesses have reported they saw more than one soldier.

Interesting how the media is not doing anything to uncover the truth...it makes one wonder.

[hannav270]

11:20 PM on 03/22/2012

you are absolutely right here. impossible. and if you read more of the reports the witnessess who saw more than one have now changed their stories after obama and karzai had talks. just the simplicity of how they describe the whole situation says no way--there is no way in that area that no noise was heard either. no one screamed, no one yelled, no one tried to take this one soldier down, and no one missed him at all from his own group. at the beginning of these events, he was described in several hp as a nato soldier by witnesses. shortly after he then became an american soldier. i have a feeling that what happened he may have been working with a nato group . stryker unit is a kill unit and i am not knocking them at all, but i think that a nato group got their orders messed up and a big mistake was made and i think it is being covered to protect nato at all costs by our own gov. it wont be the first time nato has messed up on their missions and it wont be the last. what is missing here folks is the total truth and i dont think we will ever know,

[Tolms]

05:39 PM on 03/22/2012

And this story is stuff in the world section where no one sees it.... *shakes head*

[David Olend]

05:30 PM on 03/22/2012

Something stinks about this entire affair.

[hannav270]

11:23 PM on 03/22/2012

right on david, it surely does and that makes everything much worse. i have someone who boarded a plane to come home yesterday and i am thankful that he is not there anymore. i do wish they would tell the truth and i hope his attorney is able to expose more of the facts about the whole thing. as you said, something stinks here for sure.

[Joshua Nykamp]

05:27 PM on 03/22/2012

So many lives destroyed over a war with no purpose it is time to leave.