Major Mathew L. Golsteyn is a United States Army officer who served in the War in Afghanistan. He was charged with murder after killing an Afghan civilian in Marjah, who he claims was a bomb maker for the Taliban. Golsteyn's case came to prominence after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would review Maj. Golsteyn's case. Golsteyn was pardoned on 15 November 2019, causing controversy.
Golsteyn graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2002. He was commissioned into the army as a second lieutenant and later attended Special Forces Selection. He served in the 3rd Special Forces Group. In 2011, then Captain Golsteyn was awarded a Silver Star, for actions in February 2010. In 2013 the Army reopened an investigation into Golsteyn resulting in the award being revoked in 2015 for a violation of rules of engagement for an incident dating back to 2010.
Killing of alleged Afghan bomb-maker
In 2010 Golsteyn was part of Operation Moshtarak, a campaign to liberate the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, from the Taliban. In February, a bomb killed two Marines who had been working under Golsteyn's command. Golsteyn and his team searched the nearby village for the bomb-maker, whom they believed was a local named Rasoul. A tribal leader alleged that Rasoul was a member of the Taliban. According to the Army, the leader did not want Rasoul released and feared that if he was released, he would kill the tribal leader. He allegedly admitted to the killing as part of a lie detector test taken during a CIAjob interview in 2011. It was also reported that in the interview with the CIA, Golsteyn claimed that another soldier had later taken the alleged bomb-maker off base, and then shot and killed him, and Golsteyn later helped burn the body. After this revelation, the Army investigated the case, but closed it with no charges in 2013. In November 2016, Golsteyn was a guest on a Fox News show. Asked by host Bret Baier if he had killed the suspected bomb-maker, Golsteyn responded "yes". Golsteyn's admission led to the Army reopening the case.
Golsteyn made national news when U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would review Golsteyn's case. On November 15, 2019, President Donald Trump signed a pardon for Golsteyn; it resulted in the dropping of all charges. The following month, Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, denied a request by Golsteyn to have his Special Forces Tab reinstated. The service will next have an administrative panel determine whether it should reinstate the Special Forces Tab and a Distinguished Service Cross, and expunge a letter of reprimand Golsteyn received.
