Video shows US marines urinating on dead bodies

[Princess Luna]

The US marine corps has said it would investigate a video showing what appears to be American soldiers in Afghanistan urinating on corpses.

The video, which was posted on YouTube and other websites, shows four men in camouflage combat uniforms urinating on the three bodies.

One of them jokes: "Have a nice day, buddy." The other makes a lewd joke about a shower.

"While we have not yet verified the origin or authenticity of this video, the actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the marines in our corps," the corps said in a statement on Wednesday. "This matter will be fully investigated."

A Muslim civil rights group in the US condemned the alleged desecration of corpses in a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

"Any guilty parties must be punished to the full extent allowed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and by relevant American laws," the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in the letter, a copy of which was sent to media organisations.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/01/201211123554869701.html

[Krano]

Scum.

[Misanthrope]

Not surprising.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Fucking savages...but like Luke Shapiro said, it really isn't surprising anymore. At this point I can only imagine what sort of things happen that aren't reported.

[Renegade Saint]

How can any humane person not want these guys strung up? Oh, but it is a human life we're talking about.
Execution? For defiling an already dead body? Seems like overkill.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Now look at this from the view of an Afghan. Even one that isn't sympathetic to the Taliban. They see or hear about things like this and their reaction is a normal one. They go out, get a rifle and fight the occupier. Thus a new "terrorist" is created. The problem is things like this are promoted amongst the troops, maybe not directly by their superiors, but their superiors are probably not very quick to punish them over actions such as these. They probably do shit like this and all have a big laugh about it when they get back to base.

Then again, dehumanizing the enemy is standard procedure in times of war. A person will be much quicker to kill a person if they look at them as being beneath them.

[Renegade Saint]

Now look at this from the view of an Afghan. Even one that isn't sympathetic to the Taliban. They see or hear about things like this and their reaction is a normal one. They go out, get a rifle and fight the occupier. Thus a new "terrorist" is created. The problem is things like this are promoted amongst the troops, maybe not directly by their superiors, but their superiors are probably not very quick to punish them over actions such as these. They probably do shit like this and all have a big laugh about it when they get back to base.

Resisting an occupying army with force is much different than imposing the death sentence for defiling a corpse.

[#FF0000]

How can any humane person not want these guys strung up? Oh, but it is a human life we're talking about.

so hey do you just want to make every thread into a circus of how wrong you are or

[ВАЛТЕР]

Resisting an occupying army with force is much different than imposing the death sentence for defiling a corpse.

Oh, I wasn't reffering to your comment at all. I was just commenting on the story in general.

[Ocean Seal]

And you can't be against the individual soldiers because it might be bad as an entity but all of the individual soldiers are good. And you can't be against the military because its always just a few "bad apples" who cause trouble. The ultimate check mate circular logic.

[Renegade Saint]

Oh, I wasn't reffering to your comment at all. I was just commenting on the story in general.
Makes sense. I actually agree with you. This will definitely piss off more people and lead to more hatred of the occupying forces.

[Le Rouge]

How can any humane person not want these guys strung up? Oh, but it is a human life we're talking about.

Kill these guys? Why? You wanna to pee on them?

[Ostrinski]

w.e. :closedeyes:

[Arlekino]

seems scaring these picture as well. Is that real?
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/396301_2102351857906_1818761911_1360367_837733428_ n.jpg

[Bronco]

seems scaring these picture as well. Is that real?
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/396301_2102351857906_1818761911_1360367_837733428_ n.jpg

That's from this case here http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/11/kill-team-calvin-gibbs-convicted


Gibbs was convicted of murder for inciting two soldiers to kill 15-year-old Gul Mudin as he worked in a field. The platoon commander gave a grenade to one of the soldiers, Jeremy Morlock, who threw it at Mudin. A second soldier, Andrew Holmes, then shot the boy. Gibbs played with the corpse of the teenager "as if it was a puppet", Morlock told the trial...

...Gibbs and other soldiers collected fingers, teeth and other body parts as trophies. They also took photographs of themselves posing next to their dead victims. In one of the pictures Morlock is seen lifting Mudin's head by its hair for the camera and smiling. The soldiers also took ghoulish pictures of themselves with dead combatants

He got a life sentence in November

[Threetune]

If Gaddafi an Assad are held responsible for all the actions of their troops and police by the ‘lefts’ on Revleft, why are the same ‘lefts’ not now “condemning” Clinton and Obama for war crimes? It is they who are continuing the war and putting their deranged and brutalised troops into Afghanistan. They are the terrorists and need to be defeated in Afghanistan and everywhere else. In the absence of a communist force capable of that who else will do the job. Don’t condemn the Taliban etc, condemn the failure of revisionist communism for its retreat and self liquidation.

[Drosophila]

This is a good way to improve relations with the 'enemy'. Fuck the US military.

[Renegade Saint]

If Gaddafi an Assad are held responsible for all the actions of their troops and police by the ‘lefts’ on Revleft, why are the same ‘lefts’ not now “condemning” Clinton and Obama for war crimes? It is they who are continuing the war and putting their deranged and brutalised troops into Afghanistan. They are the terrorists and need to be defeated in Afghanistan and everywhere else. In the absence of a communist force capable of that who else will do the job. Don’t condemn the Taliban etc, condemn the failure of revisionist communism for its retreat and self liquidation.

Since when has a failure to condemn Clinton and Obama been a problem on revleft?

[piet11111]

Since when has a failure to condemn Clinton and Obama been a problem on revleft?

Obviously we will have to resort to posting our entire unabridged worldview in our posts from now on where the actual responses are limited to small nigh undetectable changes in the big block of text that we can spend hours on trying to find.

[Lord Testicles]

I think David Swanson on Russia today said it best:

“My outrage in particular is in the fact that these soldiers have apparently murdered these people and the scandal is that they are urinating on them. The hatred that is necessary to get people to do such a thing is necessary to motivate soldiers to fight in a war that has no other credible rationale. The war itself is an atrocity, and so we pick out these particular atrocities and we get outraged. But we don’t look at the underlying fact, and we end up with this incredibly bizarre phenomenon of being upset that someone is peeing on a body that he has killed.”

[00000000000]

One of the many many reasons I loathe war, those who choose to fight in them and the institutions / organisations that promote and proift from them.

[Princess Luna]

That's from this case here http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/11/kill-team-calvin-gibbs-convicted



He got a life sentence in November
According to the article he will be elgible for parole in 10 years, hardly a "life sentence"

[Bronco]

According to the article he will be elgible for parole in 10 years, hardly a "life sentence"

That's what his conviction is; a life sentence, just with the possibility of early parole, I am aware that a life sentence doesn't literally mean life

[Threetune]

Since when has a failure to condemn Clinton and Obama been a problem on revleft?

Well, the first fifteen interventions on this story made not a mention of the lead part of imperialism in all war. Now you watch the next, or any past stories about some third world nationalist violence and the threads are crammed with “condemnations” of “the dictator” etc. However when the psychotic killers of imperialism get caught in the act all we get is a stream of gossip, moralising, tasteless jokes, snide wisecracking etc. Stick around you’ll see what I’m talking about.

[Leftsolidarity]

I shared this video on Facebook. It was deleted and Facebook has blocked me from posting anything for 7 days.

[Firebrand]

Well, the first fifteen interventions on this story made not a mention of the lead part of imperialism in all war. Now you watch the next, or any past stories about some third world nationalist violence and the threads are crammed with “condemnations” of “the dictator” etc. However when the psychotic killers of imperialism get caught in the act all we get is a stream of gossip, moralising, tasteless jokes, snide wisecracking etc. Stick around you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I think that if you're here its pretty much taken as a given that you are aware of and dissaprove of imperialism. The reason you actually get people criticising third world dictators is because in some cases certain people on the left will support them on the basis that they block western imperialism. There is no point in making a statement if you are almost certain everyone else already agrees with you.

[Firebrand]

I shared this video on Facebook. It was deleted and Facebook has blocked me from posting anything for 7 days.

Nice to know they believe in freedom of speech:rolleyes:
I actually gave up on facebook, its too annoying and fake, but you can't delete your account only deactivate it. Now is it just me or is that a bit sinister.

[MarxSchmarx]

I think David Swanson on Russia today said it best:

“My outrage in particular is in the fact that these soldiers have apparently murdered these people and the scandal is that they are urinating on them. The hatred that is necessary to get people to do such a thing is necessary to motivate soldiers to fight in a war that has no other credible rationale. The war itself is an atrocity, and so we pick out these particular atrocities and we get outraged. But we don’t look at the underlying fact, and we end up with this incredibly bizarre phenomenon of being upset that someone is peeing on a body that he has killed.”

I agree.

The only way I can make sense of it is that the majority of people upset about this are under the assumption that the soldiers killed those people in a situation of kill-or-be-killed. Whether that's at all an accurate assumption, I don't know. I suspect Hillary Clinton does, and in the view of the Pentagon and State bureaucracy they have to take that approach to be at all credible.This makes, in their world-view, the urination angle is the gratuitous part, kind of like mowing down surrendering soldiers.

[Princess Luna]

There a really good article on Gawker about this


A video emerges showing US Marines pissing on three Taliban corpses in Afghanistan. The outrage machine grinds into motion. The media bestirs itself from its slumber. Americans momentarily pay attention to the war in Afghanistan again. Politicians rush to add their names to the chorus of identical statements. All inflamed over the least bad thing that soldiers do in war.

Do you know what is worse than having your dead body urinated upon? Being killed. Being shot. Being bombed. Having your limbs blown off. Having your house incinerated by a drone-fired missile that you don't see until it explodes. Having your children blown up in their beds. Having your spouse killed. Having your hometown destroyed. Being displaced. Becoming a refugee. Having your entire life destroyed as a consequence of political forces far, far beyond your control.

War is horrible. War is sickening. Wars started for supremely righteous causes are just as horrible and sickening in their consequences as wars started for less than righteous causes. Politicians who sit in office chairs and start wars and wave flags as young men and women go off to kill and die and be psychologically and emotionally damaged for life are the most sickening of all. Politicians start wars and are rewarded with an appearance on weekend talk shows and Very Respectable Discussions with Very Respectable media figures and jokes at the White House Correspondent's Dinner and appearances on Leno and ghostwritten self-glorifying memoirs and lavishly catered fundraising parties with corporate executives. They should be rewarded with outrage. They should be rewarded with scorn. Starting a war is a monstrous, monstrous crime against humanity, as we know when it begins that no matter how cleanly it is conducted it will result in thousands upon thousands of bullets smashing men's skulls and arms and legs blown off by shrapnel and mothers and children incinerated by high explosives. And every extra day that a war is perpetuated unnecessarily is a crime anew.

And we as a nation could not be more bored by the unceasing industrial strength violence being carried out in our names in nations where none of us will travel, or vacation, or think about much at all as long as sports and American Idol and Downton Abbey are on TV. We skim past those stories of the latest bombing or drone strike or gunfight or civilian massacre. We joke about the personal foibles or funny accents or minor gaffes of the politicians who hold it in their power to stop war, but won't. We're bored and petulant and self-absorbed until that video of some soldier pissing on dead bodies comes along, at which point we can have an outrage contest and feel good about ourselves for being more outraged than the next completely uninvolved person, for a day or two, until the big game comes on.

Here's what else happened in Afghanistan this week: "The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of four Soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Jan. 6 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Killed were: Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger, 32, of Indianapolis, Ind.; Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr., 44, of Hamlet, Ind.; Spc. Christopher A. Patterson, 20, of Aurora, Ill.; Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt, 21, of Merrillville, Ind."

"The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Pfc. Michael W. Pyron, 30, of Hopewell, Va., died Jan. 10 in Parwan province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 25th Signal Battalion, 160th Signal Brigade, 335th Signal Command Theater, East Point, Ga."

"The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Pfc. Dustin P. Napier, 20, of London, Ky., died Jan. 8 in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from enemy small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska."

"The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of three airmen who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Jan. 5 in Shir ghazi, Helmand province, Afghanistan, when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. Killed were: Senior Airman Bryan R. Bell, 23, of Erie, Pa. He was assigned to the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.; Tech. Sgt. Matthew S. Schwartz, 34, of Traverse City, Mich. He was assigned to the 90th Civil Engineer Squadron, FE Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.; Airman 1st Class Matthew R. Seidler, 24, of Westminster, Md. He was assigned to the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo."

And all of the dead bodies on the other side. We just don't have the names.

Piss on that.
http://gawker.com/5875468/piss-on-war

[Threetune]

There a really good article on Gawker about this


http://gawker.com/5875468/piss-on-war

“And we as a nation could not be more bored by the unceasing industrial strength violence being carried out in our names in nations where none of us will travel, or vacation, or think about much at all as long as sports and American Idol and Downton Abbey are on TV. We skim past those stories of the latest bombing or drone strike or gunfight or civilian massacre. We joke about the personal foibles or funny accents or minor gaffes of the politicians who hold it in their power to stop war, but won't. We're bored and petulant and self-absorbed until that video of some soldier pissing on dead bodies comes along, at which point we can have an outrage contest and feel good about ourselves for being more outraged than the next completely uninvolved person, for a day or two, until the big game comes on.”



So what is this writer proposing instead?

Berating themselves and fellow citizens for their complacency, without offering the solution is just more pessimistic posturing at best. And hiding behind pacifistic indignation to reel off the imperialist’s casualty list as if there was some equivalence between the vast death machines of the combined imperial force and the puny but dogged resistance is just a huge diversion from necessary revolutionary understanding as the only solution to war. Sly.