As a direct result of the Kandahar massacre, the Army needed to prove to Karzai and others that civilian casualties would not be tolerated. Any soldiers found to have inflicted civilian casualties would be dealt with severely. Clint Lorance would become the Army’s first chance to make a point. Lorance would become a sacrificial scalp for the Army to hand to Karzai to prove how tough it would be on soldiers whose orders caused civilian deaths.
