U.S. Army Gives ‘Condolence Payment’ to Family of Taliban Commander Killed by U.S. Forces

On the back of an Afghan army truck, U.S. officials paid $40,000 in Afghan currency to representatives of the 15 people killed – $2,500 for each death plus $500 for two wounded men and $1,500 for village repairs. Lt. Col. Steven Weir, a military lawyer who helped oversee the payments, said the payments were not an admission by the U.S. that innocents were killed. “It’s a condolence payment,” he said. “The villagers said none of them were in the Taliban, just peaceful individuals from the village. So by this payment they will understand it’s not our goal to kill innocent people. This may help them understand we’re here to build a safer and more secure Afghanistan.” When asked if the U.S. was paying money to relatives of people that the U.S. had wanted to kill or capture, Weir said: “If we did accidentally shoot someone, we want to make that right, and if we have to pay money to someone who didn’t deserve it … it’s kind of like it’s better to let nine guilty people go free than to jail one innocent person.”