The Pentagon is investigating the death of Lance Corporal Joshua Birchfield on Feb. 19 after he was shot to death in Afghanistan, allegedly by US-paid private security contractors. According to a fellow Marine, the contractors were Afghanis who were found high on opium and had been paid by the US as guards, Raw Story reports. "These men are armed to the teeth and supposedly here for our protection. We have been shot at by the contractors on several previous cases. We have been told to refrain from returning fire and attempt to identify ourselves as Marines so they stop shooting," he said.
