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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Marines investigating video

UPDATE
Jan 12, 2012 1:24

I just watched the video and it is real. The shadows I was questioning moved. Maybe I just didn't want to believe it was real.



What were they thinking doing this in the first place and putting it up on YouTube afterwards? Did they think about the other Marines still there and how this would make them hated by a lot more Afghans?

That is not what bothers me the most about this. Look at the picture and see what is wrong with it.


Unless there are two suns in Afghanistan, this doesn't make sense.  Two shadows go toward the left, but two go right.  The other odd thing is there is a shadow with an arm up but it does not match the figure.  Either this is a twisted idea of a photoshop stunt or I'm seeing things.

UPDATE from CNN

ISAF: Video appears to be work of 'small group of U.S. individuals'
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 7:55 AM EST, Thu January 12, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: NCIS is the lead investigative agency, a senior military official says
NATO says the U.S. individuals are no longer in Afghanistan
It is a "reasonable conclusion" the video was taken in Afghanistan, an official says
The story was made public after videos surfaced on TMZ and YouTube

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- NATO-led forces in Afghanistan denounced a video purporting to show a Marine sniper team urinating on dead bodies, saying Thursday the actions appear to be the work of "a small group of U.S. individuals" who are no longer in the country.

The statement appears to indicate that military officials believe the video is real, even though the Marine Corps says it is still working to verify its origin and authenticity.

"A video recently posted on a public website appears to show U.S. military personnel committing an inappropriate act with enemy corpses. This disrespectful act is inexplicable and not in keeping with the high moral standards we expect of coalition forces," the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said in a statement.

"ISAF strongly condemns the actions depicted in the video, which appear to have been conducted by a small group of U.S. individuals, who apparently are no longer serving in Afghanistan."
read more here

Speechless.

Marines investigating video allegedly showing troops urinating on Taliban corpses
By LEO SHANE III
Published: January 11, 2012

WASHINGTON – Marine Corps officials said they are investigating a YouTube video that allegedly shows four servicemembers urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters.

The video, posted Tuesday on YouTube , shows four men in U.S. military uniforms standing above the corpses, joking and making references to relieving themselves on the dead men.

Capt. Kendra Hardesty, a spokeswoman for the Corps, said officials have not verified any details of the incident but added, “The actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps. This matter will be fully investigated and those responsible will be held accountable for their actions."
read more here

1 comment:

  1. UPDATE
    Unit Commander Among Marines Urinating on Corpses
    Add a Comment
    February 02, 2012
    Mclatchy -Tribune News Service|by Nancy A. Youssef
    WASHINGTON -- One of the Marines shown urinating on three corpses in Afghanistan in a widely distributed Internet video was the unit's platoon commander, two U.S. military officials have told McClatchy, raising concerns that poor command standards contributed to an incident that may have damaged the U.S. war effort.
    Even before the unit deployed to southern Afghanistan last year, it suffered from disciplinary problems while the troops were based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., the officials said.
    As Pentagon officials investigate the incident - the latest in a string of high-profile cases of U.S. troops abusing Afghans and Iraqis on the battlefield - the revelations renew questions about whether the U.S. military will hold commanders responsible when their troops misbehave or commit crimes.
    Despite U.S. military doctrine stating that commanders ultimately are responsible for their units' behavior in combat - and Geneva conventions barring the desecration of dead bodies - the Pentagon rarely has charged commanders in cases where troops have knowingly killed, injured or mistreated Afghans and Iraqis. Instead, lower-ranking troops or those directly responsible for crimes have been charged while commanders have only faced administrative penalties, like dismissal or demotion.
    Experts say that the U.S. military hasn't made the treatment of locals on the battlefield a priority for commanders. However, the military in Afghanistan has found that coalition troops' behavior toward Afghans, including such acts as urinating in front of them, is a contributor to what one U.S. report last year called "a crisis of trust and cultural incompatibility" that has sometimes led to Afghan Soldiers turning their weapons on their coalition partners.
    read the rest here
    http://www.military.com/news/article/unit-commander-among-marines-urinating-on-corpses.html?ESRC=eb.nl

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