"An Afghan elder who lives in Zangawat, a village near the base, said U.S. soldiers threatened residents with retaliation after an American vehicle hit a buried bomb three days before the shootings. " (LA Times)

The massacre of 17 civilians in Panjwai, Kandahar is in high cover-up mode here in the United States. Even the roadside bombing which cost the leg of an as-yet unidentified US service member cannot be "confirmed" by the US military:

"A spokesman for the U.S. military declined to give any information on the bombing or even confirm that it occurred, citing the investigation of the shootings. He also declined to comment on the allegation that U.S. troops threatened retaliation." (AP)

According to the massacre suspect, Sgt. Robert Bale's lawyer, a fellow US service member lost a leg in that attack. What happened next was predictable, and it foreshadowed the massacre that would follow:

U.S. soldiers "took people out of their houses and threatened them," Sayed Mohammad Azim Agha, the tribal elder, said in an interview. "They said, 'If there are IEDs, you will bear the consequences'..." (LA Times)

If so, then this is a premeditated act of terrorism as well as mass-murder.