Breaking: US paid close to $50,000 per shooting spree death, American official tells NBC

[Logical]

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The Unites States paid close to $50,000 in compensation for each Afghan killed in the shooting spree attributed to a U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan, a U.S. official told NBC News on Sunday.
The official, who asked not to be named, would not say exactly how much was paid to the families, but added the amount was "significant" and "substantial."

"The amount reflects the extraordinarily devastating nature of the incident," he said.

Average annual income in Afghanistan is $425, according to the BBC.

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused of sneaking out of his base before dawn on March 11 then creeping into the houses of two nearby villages and opening fire on sleeping families within. The U.S. military has charged Bales with 17 murders.

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http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/25/10851849-us-paid-close-to-50000-per-shooting-spree-death-american-official-tells-nbc

[obxhead]

1. Now they need to turn the soldier over to Afghanistan for prosecution

by their government as they see fit.

It was a crime of terror on Afghans in Afghanistan. If the positions had been reversed we would be demanding they turn him over to us.

[Logical]

2. I 100% agree!

[Nye Bevan]

3. Yep. The US soldiers who raped a girl in Japan in 1995 were handed over to the Japanese.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Okinawa_rape_incident

So the Afghans could justifiably ask why the same thing is not done in this case.