U.S. marines in Afghanistan pose with SS flag

[~Spectre]

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02134/ssFLAG_2134019b.jpg


A photograph leaked onto the internet showed the heavily-armed troops crouching in front of the banner as it hung below the American flag.
The lightning symbol, once worn by the unit tasked with the extermination of Europe's Jews, sparked immediate outrage and put the Marines back on the defensive just weeks after an online video showed troops from a different unit urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters.
The photograph was reportedly taken in September 2010 by members of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion at a base in the Sangin district of Helmand province.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/9073459/US-Marines-posed-with-banner-of-Nazi-SS.html

On CNN, one of the excuses given was, "this isn't sanctioned, but it's just common".

[ВАЛТЕР]

Disgusting...fucking disgusting...

[RedSonRising]

Wouldn't be surprised if there were several white-power-like sub-groups forming within segments of the Marines.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Wouldn't be surprised if there were several white-power-like sub-groups forming within segments of the Marines.
The military is a hotbed of reactionary ultranationalism ... a few of my friends that have joined up remain sane, but the prevalence of these views among the lower-ranking military is disturbing.

[Prometeo liberado]

Why am I not surprised?

[rylasasin]

Why does this not surprise me anymore? I should be flabbergasted, appalled, shocked...

... But I'm not. I'm really not. No amount of Douchebaggery from the US military really surprises me anymore, really. To me, its more like "Well well, looks like they've finally decided to just come right out and show their true colors instead of hiding behind this "A global force (more like "farce", amirite?) for good" BS.

(Yes I know that's the navy's advertising line, but hey, they pretty much all claim the same thing)

Global force for good, huh? Good for who exactly?

Edit: Lol jbeard you pretty much read my mind before I could post.

[Susurrus]

It seems to me they're just idiots who don't know the history, rather than actual nazis.

[Red Noob]

I'm skeptical.

[Ocean Seal]

Its bad enough they had to stand in front of a flag which is currently raping the third world, but they had to add a Nazi flag for shock value.

[DaringMehring]

Trust me, I've been on enough forums for various interests, to know that this is no accident. Besides the people who are economically compelled, there are many who join the military in order to be able to kill brown people and Muslims -- and be considered heroes for it.

That doesn't mean every marine pictured is a Nazi. Some may think SS is simply for Scout Snipers and be ignorant of the significance of the letters and design. However, it is a sure thing that some of them "get it," and take enjoyment from it. They know they can always hide behind the Scout Sniper excuse. Nazis love stuff like that.

"88 is my cousin's year of birth and I finished 14th in the state tournament"

That design didn't happen by accident.

[Krano]

To be honest i find the US flag to be more offensive.

[Comrade Samuel]

What's with the sudden spike in extremely unsettling acts and gestures carried out by U.S soldiers? It's not enough they are forcing their beliefs on the world that clearly rejects our glorious capitalist ideals but it's all ok right? I mean we do call it national defense rather than correctly calling it shameless imperialism.

But on to the current topic seeing the american flag side-by-side with Nazi symbolism is like foreshadowing in a novel, after all is fascism not the highest form of capitalism?

[Marquess]

I saw a program on something like this on NatGeo. Marine snipers tattoo and use the SS logo because they claim it gives them good luck since the SS apparently had the best known snipers of any military.

But I agree with Susurrus, it just seems like they're idiots who don't know what who SS were instead of being actual Nazi's themselves.

[gorillafuck]

they don't understand what that is? are you guys serious?

what kind of person from the United States poses with an SS flag not knowing any of the connotations?

[Susurrus]

I saw a program on something like this on NatGeo. Marine snipers tattoo and use the SS logo because they claim it gives them good luck since the SS apparently had the best known snipers of any military.


Lolwut. They really don't know their history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipers_of_the_Soviet_Union

[DaringMehring]

Lolwut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipers_of_the_Soviet_Union

SHKjOl9ocR0

[Marquess]

Lolwut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipers_of_the_Soviet_Union

That's what they said.

I'd be lying if I said I knew shit on who had the best snipers ever. I just remember a Marine talking about it, then they cut to another Marine with his face blurred out showing a modified SS tattoo on his bicep.

[Krano]

Lolwut. They really don't know their history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipers_of_the_Soviet_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

[Susurrus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

They said best snipers, not best sniper.

[Krano]

They said best snipers, not best sniper.
Im sure many considered him to be many snipers in one man since hes name was ''White Death'' afterall.

[Zealot]

People are surprised, as if those two flags don't belong next to each other. In fact, for a lot of people in the world, they are synonymous.

[Luc]

late reply to Kranos and Surrsurus err slow ass Netbook

and white death's still not SS :lol:

and after a very quick search It seems the major German snipers were part of the Heer and not the Waffen-SS

[RevSpetsnaz]

Ignorance was their excuse, and terrible one at that.

[Princess Luna]

they don't understand what that is? are you guys serious?

what kind of person from the United States poses with an SS flag not knowing any of the connotations?
A lot of people seem to view the totenkopf and the SS insignia as symbols of rebellion, with out knowing about those symbols association with the Nazis

[GPDP]

A lot of people seem to view the totenkopf and the SS insignia as symbols of rebellion, with out knowing about those symbols association with the Nazis

Yeah, much like how many Southerners view the Confederate flag as a symbol of rebellion, and not a symbol of racist white supremacy and slavery, correct?

[Ostrinski]

Damn, scottfree.
http://news.yahoo.com/marines-spared-punishment-posing-nazi-flag-001645517.html


SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The commander of a group of U.S. Marines who were photographed in Afghanistan with what looks like a Nazi SS flag concluded they were acting out of ignorance rather than bigotry and decided not to punish them, a Marine Corps spokesman said on Thursday.
Outrage over the 2010 photo ricocheted around the Internet and threatened to snowball into the latest war-zone scandal for the Marine Corps, and at least one anti-discrimination group called for a Pentagon inquiry of the incident.
Master Gunnery Sergeant Mark Oliva, a Marine spokesman at Camp Pendleton in California, said the commander of the elite sniper team involved had investigated the matter and decided no disciplinary action was warranted.
"They didn't realize that they were associating themselves with something that was racist, fascist," Oliva said. "This was a chance to educate our young Marines about" the history of the Nazis and "the power of symbols."
The picture shows 10 armed and uniformed Marine snipers flanking an American flag above a dark-blue banner depicting in white the "lightning bolt" double-S symbol of the Schutzstaffel -- the Nazi paramilitary group that helped Hitler come to power and carried out some of the worst atrocities of the Holocaust.
"They saw 'SS' and associated it with 'scout sniper' rather than the Nazis," Oliva said.
The photo was apparently taken in the southern Afghan town of Sangin in September 2010 and came to the attention of the Marine Inspector General's office last November.
It was not clear how the Corps first became aware of the picture, but by then the commander of the Marines in the photo -- from the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force -- had decided to use the situation as a teachable moment.
"All Marines in the unit were reminded that any such behavior would not be tolerated and further display could result in punishment," the Marine Corps said in a statement.
Still, with the Defense Department already investigating a video that came to light last month of Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban soldiers, furor over the SS photo could linger.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an independent watchdog group that targets discrimination in the Armed Forces, called for Marine Corps Commandant General James Amos to order an investigation of the photo's origins.
"The fact that United States service personnel were caught proudly posing with the emblem of the Nazi SS, which symbolizes the vile ideology of Hitlerian fascism, sends a menacing signal to religious minorities within the United States Armed Forces," foundation President Michael Weinstein said.
"If these photographs are what they appear to be, we demand that you take all necessary action to see that they are removed from the Internet and that everyone associated with the matter, including anyone who condoned it, be the subject of immediate and public court-martial proceedings," Weinstein wrote in a letter to Amos, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

[Princess Luna]

Yeah, much like how many Southerners view the Confederate flag as a symbol of rebellion, and not a symbol of racist white supremacy and slavery, correct?
I have met several people who love the confederate flag, but have no clue what the confederacy was. And when I say "have no clue what the confederacy was" I don't mean they just don't know what the Confederacy stood for, they literally don't know what the confederacy was. Never underestimate people's capacity to be stupid.

[Susurrus]

Damn, scottfree.


Well, I can utterly believe that some American soldiers are dumb enough to not know what the ss were, so perhaps not "Damn" for that. "Damn" them when they kill innocents and kill gleefully for the rulers, not for their ignorance.

[Prometeo liberado]

I saw a program on something like this on NatGeo. Marine snipers tattoo and use the SS logo because they claim it gives them good luck since the SS apparently had the best known snipers of any military.

But I agree with Susurrus, it just seems like they're idiots who don't know what who SS were instead of being actual Nazi's themselves.

Wasn't it a Soviet sniper that killed like 80 nazi officers?

[Yazman]

Did they actually specifically get this flag or was it something they just found and thought was a cool curio?

[Bostana]

They're three explanations here.

1) They could be racists
2) They could just be Stupid.
3) It could just be a Fail Photo

[artanis17]

To be honest i find the US flag to be more offensive.

Or let's say US flag is enough offensive anyway :thumbup1:

[Bostana]

To be honest i find the US flag to be more offensive.

:laugh:

[gorillafuck]

A lot of people seem to view the totenkopf and the SS insignia as symbols of rebellion, with out knowing about those symbols association with the Naziswow, oklahoma must be pretty weird.

I don't buy into the idea that someone would know about the SS without knowing that they were a nazi organization.

[tachosomoza]

It seems to me they're just idiots who don't know the history, rather than actual nazis.

The Nazi oriented Swastika and the SS runes are probably the two most recognizable symbols of the Third Reich. They knew exactly what they were implying and representing.

I'm not surprised in the least, though. Remember, Timothy McVeigh came out of the US military, as have many other reactionary types. There are also reports of white nationalist and gangs having their members join the service to gain training in weapons, discipline and form contacts for the movement/gang. It's extremely concerning.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Too many reactionaries...too little IEDs...

They knew full well what they were getting at with the SS symbolism. Everybody knows what the SS stands for, it is impossible not to know. I sincerely hope that as many bullets as possible come their way.

[Veovis]

You know, some of the guys in that photo probably have grandfathers or great-grandfathers who fought in Europe. I'm sure they'd love to see their grandsons standing in front of that particular banner.

[tachosomoza]

Too many reactionaries...too little IEDs...

They knew full well what they were getting at with the SS symbolism. Everybody knows what the SS stands for, it is impossible not to know. I sincerely hope that as many bullets as possible come their way.

Not everyone who serves in the military is a reactionary. Poor kids from the inner city and rural areas sell their lives to the bourgeois in the hopes of getting money to go to college, and improve themselves. There are many comrades on this very forum who are proud military. Don't call down death on them. Remember, the Taliban that they are fighting are as reactionary and hateful as any KKK member or Neo-Nazi fascist. I wish all victims of capitalism who have been essentially forced to enter the military well.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Not everyone who serves in the military is a reactionary. Poor kids from the inner city and rural areas sell their lives to the bourgeois in the hopes of getting money to go to college, and improve themselves. There are many comrades on this very forum who are proud military. Don't call down death on them. Remember, the Taliban that they are fighting are as reactionary and hateful as any KKK member or Neo-Nazi fascist. I wish all victims of capitalism who have been essentially forced to enter the military well.

I've met plenty of US military servicemen and women. They are for the most part extremely reactionary, with a "holier than thou" attitude, and have a feeling that they are entitled some respect. I don't like them, I don't respect them, and I am disgusted with them.

I know that there are plenty of poor kids in the military, and I know there are some genuinely good people there. However, for these guys in this photograph, I wish death on them, whether it be from an IED or a car crash it makes no difference to me.

The Taliban, as bad as they are, at least aren't imperialistic.

Maybe I have a bias against them since when I did live in the US, I lived in an extremely right-wing reactionary state. I only got to see the worst of these people. I as an individual am extremely violent, hostile, and vindictive at times, (probably my worst trait that I am trying my best to control). So maybe my words seem harsh, however seeing these images really upsets me.

[tachosomoza]

I've met plenty of US military servicemen and women. They are for the most part extremely reactionary, with a "holier than thou" attitude, and have a feeling that they are entitled some respect. I don't like them, I don't respect them, and I am disgusted with them.

I know that there are plenty of poor kids in the military, and I know there are some genuinely good people there. However, for these guys in this photograph, I wish death on them, whether it be from an IED or a car crash it makes no difference to me.

The Taliban, as bad as they are, at least aren't imperialistic.

Maybe I have a bias against them since when I did live in the US, I lived in an extremely right-wing reactionary state. I only got to see the worst of these people. I as an individual am extremely violent, hostile, and vindictive at times, (probably my worst trait that I am trying my best to control). So maybe my words seem harsh, however seeing these images really upsets me.

You're stereotyping, and worse, you appear to have wished death upon members of the proletariat who were forced into the army if they were to improve their lives under this capitalistic system. I hope something happens to these specific wannabe fascist SS loons, preferably getting their legs blown off so they can live every day in pain and suffering, but to wish something horrible to happen to every single man and woman who has been forced to kill for the bourgeois interests is unspeakably callous and cruel.

[Marquess]

Damn, scottfree.
http://news.yahoo.com/marines-spared-punishment-posing-nazi-flag-001645517.html
>Is not surprised in the least.


Did they actually specifically get this flag or was it something they just found and thought was a cool curio?

I don't know if it says it on this one. But on another story they said it belonged to one of the people in the photo.

[Firebrand]

While soldiers caught urinating on bodies and posing with Nazi flags get a slap on the wrists, a mentally ill soldier is thrown in millitary prison for saying the war in afganistan is wrong http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8551245.stm
This tells us more about the sympathies of the people in charge of the army than the people in the army.

[Drosophila]

This is why I have no respect for anyone who joins/is currently in the US military.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

This is why I have no respect for anyone who joins/is currently in the US military.
Plenty of people join for purely economic reasons. I spent my teenage years in a poorer part of Atlanta. A few of my friends saw it as the only reliable way to make a living. When they look at the rest of us who didn't ... we're barely surviving, which only justifies their decision in their eyes. There's a perfectly logical rationale behind a lot of enlistments ... it's part of the reason the US military targets areas like mine. The people are vulnerable, and willing to enlist for the promise of a guaranteed income. I almost fell for it.

[Yazman]

http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/exclusive-marines-nazi-flag-whistleblower-talks

I thought this might be interesting to people in this thread, as it is an interview with the dude who initially leaked this.

[VivaCastro]

Whats the problem? Not like nothing is new here

[SHORAS]

I remember reading something ages ago about the dregs of society signing up with the military due to the recruiters finding it difficult to get workers to sign up. The harder it becomes to recruit workers the more reactionary and criminal elements will be allowed to sign up. We're not living in the times where people would flock to sign up to 'defend the nation' or 'defend democracy'. And this I think is part of the reason why there will not be a world war this century.

[The Cheshire Cat]

Why do people find this surprising? They have done many more things that were a thousand times worse. And they still are doing terrible things. We have all seen the video's of apache helicopters shooting up children. WikiLeaks published a couple of video's of unarmed civilians getting shot up from zero range by US 'kill teams'. Some soldiers cut the fingers of dead bodies as 'trophies'. They have massacred thousands of Taliban fighters who had surrenderd and put down there weapons (Dasht-i-Leili massacre).

The only thing I do find surprising, is that these war crimes seem to be commited mostly by US soldiers and mercenaries, and not by other countries. Just makes me wonder...

[yobbos1]

I can't believe anyone is shocked at this kind of thing coming out of the Fascist States of Hysteria anymore. These guys are nearly all dumb-as-dirt rednecks who think cheeseburgers, NASCAR and Budweiser are the height of culture.
They hate "teererists" and love "Jaysus" and the Stuporbowl.
That SS flag is there because it looks "badass" that's all. The proof of just how stupid these bastards are is in the very fact that they were dumb enough to photograph it in the first place.