Army Clears Officers in Deadly Afghan Battle
Updated Dec. 29, 2010
In July of 2008,49 U.S. soldiers held off hundreds of Taliban fighters who tried to overrun their tiny outpost. Nine Americans were killed.
Initially, the military placed most of the blame on three senior commanders for leaving troops badly exposed.
But as David Martin reported below in June, the Army later changed that decision.
It its final report, the Army has absolved those top commanders and instead blames the deadly outcome on the confusing and unpredictable nature of war -- and on decisions made by the platoon commander who was killed in the battle.
June 23, 2010 -- The Battle of Wanat was an earlier turning point in the Afghan war in July of 2008.
An American outpost was nearly overrun. Nine soldiers had been killed.
Since then, the families of those nine killed have been demanding answers to why their sons were left exposed so deep in enemy territory, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.
"As a parent, you just want to be told directly exactly what happened, and not have it be cherry coated or be lied to," said Frankie Gay. "And I feel like I was lied to."
One investigation found no one at fault. Then a second found three officers negligent, even though one of them, Capt. Matthew Myer, was awarded the Silver Star for his fighting that day.
On Wednesday, the families of the fallen gathered in Atlanta to hear exactly how Myer and the other two officers would be punished for leaving gaps in the defenses around Wanat and for allowing shortages in such basic needs, such as water.
"It's not about revenge or wanting the army to suffer," says Charlene Cross. "We just want some accountability so that this sort of thing doesn't happen again. And I feel as though the Army will do the right thing."
But Charlene Cross and the other parents were in for a bitter surprise.
A senior Army general told them he had exonerated all three of the officers.
"I can only cry all the way here," said Gay. "I don't even know what to say. I'm so crushed."
Cross said she was just stunned.
"I thought the Army was going to have some integrity."
It had been concluded that the three officers had done the best they could - considering they did not have enough troops or equipment. The platoon at Wanat was part of a task force of 1200 soldiers spread over rugged terrain the size of Connecticut.
"We were outnumbered and outgunned. They had the high ground and the surprise," Sgt. David Dzwick said. "We held strong. Not only did we beat them, we routed them.
Dzwick, the senior enlisted man in the battle was surprised but not disappointed the officers above him were exonerated.
"We don't get to choose who lives and who dies but every single one of those soldiers did what they could to protect their buddies under a hail of gunfire," he said.
After two years of investigation, the bottom line on Wanat is that the United States asked too much of too few soldiers and too many died.
That could turn out to be the bottom line of the war.
