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Decorated Green Beret major is charged with tracking, murdering, Afghan bomb maker he suspected was responsible for the deaths of two Marines in his command – after his release from service

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Maj&period; Mathew Golsteyn charged with tracking down and killing Afghan man known as Rasoul on February 22&comma; 2010<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Golsteyn a decorated Green Beret is charged with murdering the Afghan bomb maker who he suspected was responsible for the deaths of two Marines&comma; in his command&comma; in 2010<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Golsteyn suspected that Rasoul was a bomb maker who manufacture the device that  killed Marine <strong>Sgt&period; Jeremy R&period; McQueary&comma; 27&comma;  and Lance Cpl&period; Larry M&period; Johnson&comma; 19 <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Army report said the Golsteyn previously confessed to burning Rasoul&&num;8217&semi;s body at the base <&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Case first came to light in 2011&comma; when Golsteyn admitted to the CIA during a job interview that he killed the Afghan <&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Army Criminal Investigation Command looked into the incident&comma; but could never find anyone to corroborate Golsteyn&&num;8217&semi;s claim <&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">In 2016&comma; Golsteyn appeared on a Fox News special and told host Brett Baier he killed the Afghan because letting him go would have led to additional problems <&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">Despite the lack of corroboration&comma; investigators said &&num;8216&semi;Golsteyn committed the offenses of murder and conspiracy based on the interview provided by the CIA&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;">The former <strong>commando was awarded the Silver Star after fighting in Afghanistan in 2010&comma; but under a cloud of the investigation&comma; he was later stripped of the medal and ejected from the Special Forces <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Never charged with a war crime&comma; because the 2015 Army board of inquiry didn&&num;8217&semi;t attempt to establish whether he actually killed the Afghan&comma; the panel instead considered whether he should be retained as an Army officer based on a reprimand in his personnel record<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div id&equals;"articleIconLinksContainer" data-preferred-shared-network-enabled&equals;"">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"share-count"><&sol;div>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"share-count"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-302608" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;12&sol;Mathew-Golsteyn&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Mathew Golsteyn&period;JPG" width&equals;"733" height&equals;"483" &sol;><strong>Former Green Beret Maj&period; Mathew Golsteyn &lbrack;right&rsqb;&comma; has been charged with murder for allegedly tracking down and killing a suspected Afghan bomb maker known as Rasoul on February 22&comma; 2010<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div><&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"share-count">A former decorated US Army commando has been charged with murder for allegedly tracking down and killing a suspected bomb-maker in Afghanistan in 2010 after the man was released from custody&period;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Army Lt&period; Col&period; Loren Bymer said in a statement Friday that Maj&period; Mathew Golsteyn is charged with killing the Afghan during his 2010 deployment to Afghanistan&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Bymer said Golsteyn&&num;8217&semi;s commander determined there was sufficient evidence to charge the former Army Green Beret with the crime&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Golsteyn&comma; who was leading a team of Army Special Forces troops at the time&comma; believed that the bomb-maker&comma; known only as Rasoul&comma; was responsible for an explosion that killed two US Marines &&num;8211&semi; Sgt&period; Jeremy R&period; McQueary&comma; 27&comma; and Lance Cpl&period; Larry M&period; Johnson&comma; 19&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The new charges will be reviewed to determine if the case should go to trial&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Golsteyn case has been bounced around since 2011 when he told the CIA during a polygraph test in a job interview that he had shot and killed the man in February 2010 in Marjah&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"splitRight">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mobile-gallery-icon"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-302613" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;12&sol;Sgt&period;-Jeremy-R&period;-McQueary-27-left-and-Lance-Cpl&period;-Larry-M&period;-Johnson-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Sgt&period; Jeremy R&period; McQueary&comma; 27&comma; &lpar;left&rpar; and Lance Cpl&period; Larry M&period; Johnson 1" width&equals;"725" height&equals;"518" &sol;><strong>Major Golsteyn&comma; who was leading a team of Army Special Forces troops at the time an exploding device killed two US Marines &&num;8211&semi; Sgt&period; Jeremy R&period; McQueary&comma; 27&comma; &lbrack;left&rsqb; and Lance Cpl&period; Larry M&period; Johnson&comma; 19 &lbrack;right&rsqb;&period; The Afghan bomb-maker&comma; known only as Rasoul was responsible&comma; it was believed&comma; for that device<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div>The Army Criminal Investigation Command&comma; acting on information from the CIA&comma; looked into the incident&comma; but could never find anyone to corroborate Golsteyn&&num;8217&semi;s claim and couldn&&num;8217&semi;t find any remains of the Afghan national&comma; possibly because they were burned in a trash pit&period;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">According to an Army investigation report&comma; Golsteyn buried the victim in an unmarked grave&comma; then dug up the corpse&comma; carried it back to the base and burned it in a trash pit&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;CID&comma; however&comma; concluded the soldier committed the offenses of murder and conspiracy based on the interview provided by the CIA and moved to reprimand him&comma; according to an Army memo&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Army revoked Golsteyn&&num;8217&semi;s Special Forces designation and the Silver Star he was awarded for heroism during a Taliban attack on his base in Helmand Province&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Two years later&comma; Golsteyn appeared on a Fox News special called &&num;8216&semi;How We Fight&comma;&&num;8217&semi; in which he told host Brett Baier that he killed the Afghan because letting him go would have led to additional problems&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;He said&colon; &&num;8216&semi;You realize quickly that you make things worse&period; It is an inevitable outcome that people who are cooperating with coalition forces&comma; when identified&comma; will suffer some terrible torture or be killed&period;&&num;8217&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mobile-gallery-icon"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-302606" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;12&sol;Mathew-Golsteyn-2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Mathew Golsteyn 2" width&equals;"706" height&equals;"559" &sol;><strong>Decorated Green Beret&comma; Mathew Golsteyn&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; was awarded the Silver Star after fighting in Afghanistan in 2010&period; Under a cloud of a murder  investigation Golsteyn&comma; was later stripped of the medal and ejected from the Special Forces<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div>Golsteyn&&num;8217&semi;s interview on Fox News breathed new life into the case and reportedly prompted the CID to reopen the investigation&period;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">According to testimony and documents&comma; Golsteyn led about 80 troops in a four-hour firefight in the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in February 2010&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;He repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire as he helped evacuate a wounded Afghan soldier and directed airstrikes against the Taliban&comma; which earned him the Silver Star medal&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The murder charge was brought in the  case seven years after Golsteyn disclosed the killing during a CIA polygraph test&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Golsteyn was applying for a job with the security agency when he admitted to fatally shooting the man who he said was a suspected Taliban bomb maker&comma; military officials said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In November 2011&comma; about two months before being promoted from captain to major&comma; Golsteyn told the CIA during a polygraph test that on February 22&comma; before that medal-winning battle&comma; he shot and killed the bomb-maker whom he blamed for the explosion that killed the Marines&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;He recounted that the day after that explosion in a bazaar&comma; two Afghan men walked up to the US military compound with a third&comma; bound Afghan who they said was responsible&comma; according to testimony&period; Rasoul was released when no bomb-making material was found&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Soon after&comma; the alleged bomb-maker was shot while walking along a path in Marjah&comma; according to testimony&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The disclosure led to the Army Criminal Investigation Command &lpar;CID&rpar; launching a probe into Golsteyn in late 2011&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In April 2014&comma; Golsteyn received an official reprimand for his actions&comma; but no formal charges were filed at the time due to a lack of physical evidence&comma; military officials said&period; Army Secretary John McHugh revoked Golsteyn&&num;8217&semi;s Silver Star&comma; the third highest award for valor in the military&comma; and took away his Special Forces tab&comma; a patch awarded to soldiers after completing one of the elite Special Forces schools&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mobile-gallery-icon"><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-302607" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;12&sol;Mathew-Golsteyn-3&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Mathew Golsteyn 3" width&equals;"775" height&equals;"410" &sol;><strong>Former US Marine major Mathew Golsteyn&&num;8217&semi;s case has been bounced around since 2011&comma; but was reopened in 2016 after he appeared on a network &lbrack;Fox News&rsqb; and stated that he killed the Afghan <&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div>While the Army&&num;8217&semi;s Criminal Investigative Division&comma; acting on the CIA&&num;8217&semi;s tip&comma; could find no one who corroborated Golsteyn&&num;8217&semi;s claim to have killed the bomb-maker&comma; nor could it find any cremated remains of the Afghan&comma; however investigators concluded &&num;8216&semi;Golsteyn committed the offenses of murder and conspiracy based on the interview provided by the CIA&comma;&&num;8217&semi; according to the September 29 memo&period;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Golsteyn was never charged with a war crime&comma; and the 2015 board of inquiry didn&&num;8217&semi;t attempt to establish whether he actually killed the Afghan&period; Instead&comma; the panel considered whether he should be retained as an Army officer based on a reprimand in his personnel record&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The board determined he was guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer and he was discharged&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Speaking to <a class&equals;"class" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;nbcnews&period;com&sol;news&sol;military&sol;green-beret-charged-murdering-afghan-man-n947586" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow noopener">NBC News<&sol;a> on Thursday&comma; Golsteyn blamed the Fox News interviews for his new legal troubles&comma; but he stood by his comments to Baier&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;He also insisted that he did nothing wrong on that day in February 2010 in Afghanistan&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;I have had commanders look me in the face and tell me I have done nothing wrong&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Golsteyn said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;

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