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Handout / Reuters
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, (L) 1st platoon sergeant, Blackhorse Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, is seen during an exercise at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, in this August 23, 2011 DVIDS handout photo. Bales, charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians in cold blood was due in court on June 5, 2013, for a court-martial proceeding in which he is expected to plead guilty under a deal with military prosecutors to avoid the death penalty.
By Mike Taibbi and Tracy Connor, NBC News
A U.S. soldier charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians ?? many of them women and children ? pleaded guilty to premeditated murder Wednesday and said he couldn't explain why he did it.
"I've asked that question a million times since then, and there's not a good reason in the world for why I did the horrible things I did," Staff Sgt. Robert Bales told a military judge.
Bales, who appeared in a Washington state military courtroom in uniform, said he aimed to kill during two rogue raids on family compounds in Kandahar province in March 2012.
"I formed the intent as I raised my weapon," he said.
He recounted grappling with an older woman as he entered one compound.
"Upon completion of that struggle, I did form the intent to kill anyone in that compound," he said.
Asked whether the woman was armed in way way, Bales replied, "No, sir, she was not.'
Bales, who struck a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty, spoke in a clear, emotionless voice as he went through each of the 16 killings, describing how he left his base, went to the village and systematically gunned down defenseless civilians.
He ended with confession with the statement, "This act was without legal justification."
He said he did not remember setting a compound on fire, but did not dispute it.
"There was a kerosene lantern in the room, and based on the evidence ... that lantern was used to set those people on fire," he said.
"I remember there being a lantern in the room, remember there being a fire, remember there were matches in my pocket," he added.
Anja Niedringhaus / AP, file
Mohammed Wazir, seen here with his only surviving son, Habib Shahin, 3, lost 11 family members in the attacks by Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday.
"But to say I remember throwing it on those people I don't recall that, but I have seen pictures and it's the only thing that makes sense, sir."
The judge asked if Bales believed he was "authorized or justified or acting in self defense" when he shot and burned the civilians.
"No sir," he replied.
His recounting of the atrocities came after he pleaded guilty to 16 counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and seven counts of assault. He pleaded not guilty to a charge that involved a stolen laptop.
In August, a military jury will determine if his life sentence will include the possibility of parole. Bales requested that one-third of the panel be comprised of enlisted members, not just officers.
Bales' lawyers have said the married father of two suffered from PTSD and brain injury after four combat deployments and was under the influence of drugs and alcohol the night of the raids on family compounds in Kandahar province.
Prosecutors have said the slaughter ? in which many victims were burned ? was preplanned and that Bales was angry about an explosion near his outpost.
This story was originally published on Wed Jun 5, 2013 12:29 PM EDT
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