Tequila:

If it were to be done, the point of handing him over to the locals would not be to assuage Afghan rage, the points would be condign (another first in word use, two in one night!) punishment for the individual and the dissuasive effect it would have on anybody else who felt like having fun with the locals, the Black Heart and Kill Team types. A well functioning local justice system is not needed to accomplish those two purposes.

I can see how Afghans no longer distinguish between murder and other mistaken or not so mistaken killings. If it isn't that helo incident it is another, if not that it is the Marine spec ops unit shooting up the countryside for who knows why, or it is a night raid gone bad faking evidence etc etc etc for years and years. And nothing much happens beyond the standard apology and money paid. This is just another in the string. I think it was Kilcullen who said that each one of these incidents should be treated as a friendly fire incident and handled with the same rigor and seriousness. They aren't. If we had done that or at least made a good try, the Afghans may have been willing to cut us some slack. It is probably too late now though.