"This is my rifle, this is my gun;Rick Perry wants to minimize the disgraceful actions of marines caught on video urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters, while we are in negotiations in Afghanistan to end the war there.
One is for fighting, one is for fun."
I don't believe that this kind of behavior has ever been acceptable in any of the conflicts in which our military has engaged. Certainly there have been incidents in the past; some were more tolerated than others. In the Vietnam War, it was common for the Vietnamese and the Viet Cong alike to be referred to by American soldiers by derogatory terms like Gooks, inferior human beings.
This is in the same dehumanizing that the right wing justifies towards others, towards those they see as different, those they see as not conforming, especially those who believe in other religions. It is no different from Perry's fellow ultra-conservative religious right-winger, Michele Bachmann objecting to zero tolerance for bullying gay students on the grounds of that kind of bully is justified, even encouraged, by Christianity. It is the same dehumanizing that we see the 2nd Amendment gun nuts use in calling the people they want to shoot Goblins.
Gooks. Goblins. Fags. Rag heads. Different names, different people, but it's all the same hatred. All of it dishonors us, all of that disrespect for other human beings shames us. Shame on Perry for his stupidity about the Geneva convention; he clearly lacks the knowledge he needs to run for the office of President. And shame on these American soldiers in Afghanistan; they should know better than to behave like this. I'm sure he would find it unacceptable for Taliban fighters to do this to dead American soldiers. These kids are criminals; these kids stupidly think that shooting people is entertaining, or that it signifies winning. This isn't winning; this is losing. Their ignorance, their lack of humanity and lack of understanding of what makes people civilized jeopardizes their fellow soldiers, and our national security and foreign policy.
From the Guardian:
Four US marines identified by the military as the soldiers filmed urinating on corpses in Afghanistan are likely to face a court martial after an American military commander said such actions are a "grave breach" of the laws of war.
The Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) has interviewed two of the soldiers featured in the video laughing and making snide remarks as they urinated on the bloodied bodies of three Afghan men, who have not been identified. It is not clear if the men were members of the Taliban.
In attempt to dampen the growing diplomatic storm around the abuse, the commanders of US forces in Afghanistan on Friday ordered American troops to treat the bodies of killed enemies and civilians with "appropriate dignity and respect".
The soldiers were members of a sniper unit that completed a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan's Helmund province in September and returned to Camp LeJuene in North Carolina where the video was passed around. The two others are believed to have left the military.
The nature of the charges are unclear although desecrating bodies is a crime under US military law and the Geneva conventions.
The deputy commander of US forces in Afghanistan, lieutenant general Curtis Scaparrotti, said in a message to troops on Friday that "defiling, desecrating, mocking, photographing or filming for personal use insurgent dead constitutes a grave breach" of laws governing armed conflict. He said it also violates "basic standards of human decency, and can cause serious damage to relations with the Afghan government".and in an earlier Guardian article:
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said she believed the men may be guilty of a war crime.
At least two of four US Marines shown in a video appearing to urinate on Taliban corpses have been identified, a Marine Corps official has told the BBC.
The BBC's Steve Kingstone says the official would not confirm the Marines' whereabouts, but reports suggested the unit involved was based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina - a major military base.
US media reported that the unit belonged to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told the BBC that this was not the first time Americans had carried out such a "wild action" and that Taliban attacks on the Americans would continue.
But a different Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the video "is not a political process, so the video will not harm our talks and prisoner exchange because they are at the preliminary stage".
However Arsala Rahmani, a senior member of the Afghan government's High Peace Council, told Reuters the video would "leave a very, very bad impact on peace efforts".
We are better than this; well, most of us are.
From MSNBC.com
Perry: Marines in video are 'kids,' not criminals
By ANNE FLAHERTY
updated 2 hours 25 minutes ago WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry on Sunday accused the Obama administration of "over-the-top rhetoric" and "disdain for the military" in its condemnation of a video that purportedly shows four Marines urinating on corpses in Afghanistan. Perry's comments put him at odds with Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who said the images could damage the war effort.
"The Marine Corps prides itself that we don't lower ourselves to the level of the enemy," McCain said when asked about Perry's position. "So it makes me sad more than anything else, because ... I can't tell you how wonderful these people (Marines) are. And it hurts their reputation and their image."
No one has been charged in the case, but officials in the U.S. and abroad have called for swift punishment of the four Marines. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last week that he worried the video could be used by the Taliban to undermine peace talks.
A military criminal investigation and an internal Marine Corps review are under way. The Geneva Conventions forbid the desecration of the dead.
Texas Gov. Perry said the Marines involved should be reprimanded but not prosecuted on criminal charges.
"Obviously, 18-, 19-year-old kids make stupid mistakes all too often. And that's what's occurred here," Perry told CNN's "State of the Union."
He later added: "What's really disturbing to me is the kind of over-the-top rhetoric from this administration and their disdain for the military."
Later appearing on the same show, McCain said he disagreed.
"We're trying to win the hearts and minds" of the Afghanistan population, he said. "And when something like that comes up, it obviously harms that ability."
