U.S. President Barack Obama says he is determined to ensure there is full accountability for the killing of 16 Afghan civilians Sunday, allegedly at the hands of a U.S. Army sergeant.
He told reporters at the White House Tuesday that the United States takes the incident “as seriously as if it were our own citizens and own children who were murdered.” He said the killing of innocent civilians “is outrageous and unacceptable” and does not represent “who we are as a country” or represent the U.S. military.
Mr. Obama said he met Tuesday with the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, and the top commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Lieutenant General John Allen. The president said he has extraordinary confidence in U.S. military leaders and service members stationed there. He repeated that despite the killings and public outrage, there will be no hasty U.S. retreat from the country.
