I get your point Beth and I agree :) Lead by example

Urinating on their corpse or grave is a release of anger and some form of satisfaction against the soldiers hate for their enemy. What release does of Military provide for these soldiers to be rid of their anger in the field. What would the military do if the Marines had kissed those corpse. Article 15? Sounds like a lose lose situation. A double sided sword. Thank you soldiers for serving our Country.

As long as we are claiming to fight for what is "right" and freedom while claiming moral superiority, we should act like it. It is not acceptable to desecrate corpses... especially not acceptable to video tape it for the world to see. It is not helping their mission of winning over hearts and minds of the afghan people.

Beth,

Im sorry if I assume too much here regarding your comment but every civilian on Newsvine takes it upon themselves to armchair quarterback this one. Almost as if existing day to day in a war-zone with a combat MOS in a place like Helmand province where a soldiers life expectancy is something like 1 in 7 is akin to planning out your afternoon in Manhattan getting to and from work.

People need to realize the magnitude and crushing stress of the threat and op tempo in this region. They need to realize its the birthplace of the Afghani Taliban and how locals would rather martyr themselves by taking several NATO/ISAF forces down (Inshallah) than live peacefully with their families in their mud huts. Civilians have to come to grips that the Marines in the region would rather go down fighting these tribesman than take the risk of capture and face certain torture. That the Taliban can simply throw down their AKs and pick up a hoe and the Marines have to simply look the other way in compliance with the ROEs.

Give them some slack. Im sure they would give you some if you had the worst day of your life and came home and yelled at your kids without provocation.

Urinating on the enemy may be instinctive that normally isn't detected in a civilized society. We see that daily with animals that mark their territory. War is NOT normal circumstances.

For those of us sitting in our comfortable chairs reading this article we can't imagine doing such at thing, but then nobody is thinking about the wars that rage across the world that are unending and IMO will worsen considerably in the future when food shortages become worse.

If anyone thinks the Taliban have not done far worse to their victims, I've got some oceanfront property in Montana that I'll sell real cheap! This and the so called Quran/verses burning are political pandering and correctness to Afghanistan by the current administration at it's best. Disgusting! Our troops deserve a lot more from our government than to throw it's people under the bus. Disgusting!

riley: You are correct. The armchair quarterbacking that goes on with these stories just proves how ignorant our reporters, and the general public, are to living day to day in these hostile environments. Our Marines are trained killers with one purpose in life; neutralize the enemy by whatever means necessary. And thank God, they are the best at what they do. They live almost every minute of everyday under stressors NO ONE whose never been in combat can appreciate; including the judge who will decide their fate under these charges. So they pissed on a couple of corpses; bad taste yes but considering the brutality of the enemy to kill anyone at will, this is nothing to get "pissed off" about.

"Our Marines are trained killers with one purpose in life; neutralize the enemy by whatever means necessary."

Why do so many people buy into this blatant falsehood? It's simply not true that the Marines are tasked with killing the enemy however they see fit. They are professionals. This means that they are expected to follow the orders and regulations that govern their conduct. Why can't you grasp this?

Hey, they're just trying to clean up the bodies. What's the problem?

It amazes me how many Morons there are in the US and how many of them tout American Exceptionalism yet cheer "us" at our worst.

This isn't rocket science. We aren't fighting all of them and these actions do nothing to help our cause. This is a case, one of 100's or even 1000's, where a small percentage of US soldiers act badly and make the country they are supporting look bad. It really is hard to claim a moral highground when you see so much of this. It has always happened I'm sure but we have cell phones and the internet and the world is a different place now.

officials in Afghanistan were bracing for public demonstration over what might be viewed as lenient punishment of the troops.

----------------------lenient punishment? There should be no punishment for either occurrences. These are the same folks who are killing our troops by posing as friendly police/military.

Beth-440386

Or are you advocating we lower ourselves to that level of behaviour?

What I advocate Beth is this: either we lower ourselves to their standards and beat them or we get the heck out of there? Preferably get the heck out. When you are fighting an enemy who fights by no rules you can't tie your troops hands together. We did it in Vietnam and lost and we're doing it here.

LevTolstoy2

Why do so many people buy into this blatant falsehood?

You're funny. I was in the Infantry when I was on active duty in the Army and I was trained to kill. Pure and simple. I was taught many differnent ways to accomplish that task. When I retired in the Reserves I was in the Cav, a Bradley Commander. Again, I was trained to kill. Anything you can do to get the upper hand over your enemy, ie, cutting off ears, physcological advantages, etc. mean you'll win and your enemy will lose.

Do unto others as you would want done to you... all the machismo aside, it was a stupid thing to do, and even 10X stupider to make a video of it.

Honestly, are we worried about offending the Muslims with this one?

Maybe the question should be whether or not we're worried about offending fellow Americans, regardless of whether they are soldiers or civilians.

As an American Army wife, I'm offended by what these Marine's did. If you're not just as offended, then maybe you are a lot more like the Taliban than you think.......just a thought.

Im sure those Taliban fellows didn't mind!

Unless you have been there, have had to survive there in that type of combat with all of the ROE, then you liberal bleeding hearts can shove it. You just don't know what it is like to be in combat.

Compared to what the Taliban have done to the bible, anyone caught with a bible and the dead bodies of our people what these soldiers did was nothing. We should give them all medals then send them back there to do it again.......... This political correctness stuff is B.S. , Anyone that believes we won world war 2 by being politically correct needs to wake up. There was an American "take no prisoners" policy in many parts of Europe and most parts of the Pacific theater The best way to fight terror is with terror otherwise the enemy just laughs at your weakness.

During the cold war you never heard stories about Russians being attacked by Islamic terrorists like Americans were. The reason for that is whenever any Russian was threatened or even killed the KGB would hunt down the perpetrator kill them, soil the body with excrement, wrap the body in pig skin and dump the it in the desert for scavengers to eat. The Russians also filmed the whole thing for the Islamists to see..... Sounds barbaric doesn't it, but guess what it worked; the Islamic terrorists never messed with the Russians because they knew they would not be excepted into paradise in that condition.............. When you go to war you MUST be more brutal than your enemy if you intend to win.......... People have forgotten that real war is not a video game...... I know many people will disagree with this but actual war is reality not idealism...... Idealism comes after you win.

Unprofessional conduct is all it is. Kid stuff. Unacceptable behavior from a professional soldier. It may be your job to kill, it is not your job to demonstrate hate; that's for the propaganda end of the news media.

The troops piss on dead corpses and our government $hits on the rest of US. They should have put pig testicles in their mouths and covered them with pig blood. I for one support the troops. We can't bring these afghans out of the 5th century if they don't want to catch up to the rest of the world.

I notice that no one here is denying that what these soldiers did was wrong, only that "it's not as bad as the taliban is!". Well f@#$ you guys. It should be a damn cold day in hell when we ever have to compare our military to the Taliban, and if you have to do that to justify your actions, you've lost the moral high ground.

Also, Tom M. - go to hell. Not much else needed to say.

I can tell you from personal experience (Vietnam 67-68, among other places) that these are not the kind of people you want at your side or at your back in battle. You want the people who know and follow the rules. The mavericks will get you and themselves killed. You can't trust the kind of people who would urinate on a corpse or take pictures of the act. They were either poorly trained or not trained at all or they thres their training in the crapped and peed on it.

I haven't been in Iraq or Afghanistan, haven't been in combat. So I asked a close family member who served 2 tours in Iraq for his opinion. His thoughts were that although it might be understandable, it was extremely disrespectful, countermands the "winning hearts and minds" aspect of their mission, and should be punished not only because it was wrong, but also to send a message to other military personnel that this can't be tolerated. He also thought that, given the recent incidents of green on blue attacks, the marines got off lightly since it's this kind of disrespect shown by these marines that can prompt green on blue attacks; you never know who's related to whom and looking to get some revenge. So that's my Lt. Colonel's opinion.

My thought is that it doesn't matter what the Taliban does or how these people live (cook their food over camel sh!t -- like that should determine how you act?), we need to live up to our own standards. You wouldn't accept an "everyone else is doing it" excuse from your kids, right? No, you'd expect them to live up to the standards you've taught them. Same thing here.

If A is true then B must be true as well. Thou who pisses on one's enemy may piss on all their enemies. And the enemy shall piss on them in retaliation. I don't see any respect here. War is what it is. 1 side dehumanizing the other. Nothing is what it should be and hate is the only thing left for either side. As much as i hate dehumanization of any such body, it is a cruel fact for any war and cannot be understated or transmuted into a simpler meaning.

As unprofessional as this was, I still find it distasteful to punish these men. On the other hand, if we bandy around that we are better or at least professional, then this is the distasteful reality of what has to be done.

We are not there so sow the seeds of hate. Urinating on a corps and photographing it is exactly hate motivated.

I'm with Chris-749391 on this one, even if his handle is rather unimaginative. :-)

Did anybody whining about the poor muslims read or hear bout the incident where the Taliban stormed into a private house party and beheaded people because the two sexes mixed and danced together at this party??? These are the kind of peope your feeling sorry for??? The pos murder their own that don't fall in line with the Taliban rule. They HATE each and every American alive and breathing and that includes your kids and grandkids. They'd slit your throats, rape your women, beat you half to death, trash your bible and a whole lot more before murdering you if they had the opportunity. Pissing on this filth is mild compard to what they have done and will continue to do to their "enemies the infidels" us!!!! Obama the apolgist in chief needs to stop worrying about offending these sick bastards and show some respect for America and our troops. Oops!!!! forgot Obawawa is a muslim too!!!!

They should all have received commendation medals....Our military brass is a bunch of pussies led by a skunk.

Ripley, now that you've told us all what we need to know, I'll add my two cents worth...

If only these 9 Marines were over there experiencing all that pressure, then okay, they made the call, right or wrong. But they're not there alone, they're there with other soldiers who may have personal and professional integrety and not thought it necessary to desecrate the dead, and THAT is who these guys put into harm's way. Revenge is a horrible thing, but the world is electronically connected, and the enemy saw those photos. This has crap to do with 'the high ground' or 'winning the hearts and minds', and more to do with protecting the buddies who are serving there with them.

If you don't want us to mistreat you don't make us. Otherwise get out of our way. If you don't like the way we treat you give us what we want and we will go home. You sotp the BS we stop.

The Taliban now has another recruiting poster. If you need a release shoot another one.

I am soooo thankful my daughter is getting out of the Army soon. Our military command staff is innudated with moronic *ssholes.

@ Beth440386

"I'm waiting for the instantaneous collapse -- as no one up here seems to get the point."

Which point are you arguing? The Marines were wrong to urinate on the dead Taliban fighters? No. Their mistake was putting it on video. Leading by example doesn't work when those following hate you.

As far as burning the qurans, I agree with that 100%. The prisoners being detained were passing notes and info by wrinting in these qurans and passing them around to one another. Ok folks here how it works in a prison. By writing in and using the qurans as note pads the detainees made these books contraban. Standard operating procedure in any prison to collect and destroy contraban. Had the qurans not been written in in the first place they would have never been burned. How about just one muslim with a spine stand up and take some of the responsibility for this. Also, is writing in the quran not disrespecting your holy book? It's ok if a muslim does it but not an American? You ok with the double standards Beth. I'm not. Offending muslims? Yea, so what? They offened me when they burn our flag and chant death to America. They offend me killing innocent people with their coward suicide bombers. They offend me when their military personnel, that we trained and paid for, kill American soldiers and then defect to al-Quada.

They're offended by what the Marines did and the solders burning qurans? So phuckin what? I'm certain they'll GTF over it.

Big Al, you might want to question the real effectivness of the Russian approach. They LOST. Despite being utterly merciless they lost and bankrupted themselves in the bargain.

And for all of you touting the "take no prisoners approach" you need to look at history. The Crusaders tried that way. It united a disorganized enemy. The Spanish conducted a brutal sack of Amsterdam and, again, united the opposition. The Nazi's tried it against the Russians (insert irony) and made the Russians so blood mad they were willing to sacrifice everything to defeat them. German women paid a particularly heavy price. And when a German Panzer commander executed several American P.O.W.'s during the Bastogn battle Allied commanders made sure every US soldier knew about it. Surrenders by Americans nearly stopped and a "fight to the death" attitude came to be.

Pass ME the Korans please - I'll burn them in my backyard with the leaves that have fallen on my lawn.

As far as these soldiers urinating on the Taliban soldiers - they should have krapped on them first.

Zathrose - The military command staff bows to Washington bureaucrats. Washington bureaucrats bow to Washington leadership. Washington leadership is the 'commander in chief and staff' (insert insult here).

Korans are Holy to the Commander-in-Chief, they must be respected and Christian Bibles must be burnt as trash.“ ‘"The decision was made that it was a force protection measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims,’ Wright told CNN on Tuesday. [¶ ] ‘Troops at posts in war zones are required to burn their trash,’ Wright said.”
CNN (May 22 2009) “Military burns unsolicited Bibles sent to Afghanistan.” Retrieved Apr. 10, 2011 from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/20/us.military.bibles.burned/

Introducing the New World Order, Americans. Foreigners tell our country what to do from now on.

standingwave, I agree,pointless in the long run for us, but look at how we handled the phillipines ,viscious works for us, but I say its China's turn, they can do their 10 years of babysitting. As to the subject at hand . the soldiers should never have filmed themselves showing our animal side. War brings out the primitive , and its better than PTSD. Don't war if you don't like war. We needed a staging area in our unspoken war with Iran, we , through our allies , have bases in Iraq and Afganistan to stage if we need against Iran and her republican guard.

As for burning the koran, I worship God , believe in the teachings in the Bible, and I would dispose of a damaged copy best by burning it. Those Korans were desecrated by the inmates and were being destroyed in a manner that would ensure the rotting process would never alow it to be seen in a state of disrespect or decomposition.

It is a shame these soldiers should suffer from this, but unfotunately they happen to serve while Barak Hussein Obama happens to be the CIC! In a different time the punishment would be fair.

I'll say what I've been saying all along. If they are going to do stuff like that, then make sure no one has their cell phones handy to take pictures or videos.

Myself I have no complaints about what the soldiers did. After what has been done to our men over there...too bad on them.

.It's amazing how many people feel urinating on a corpse is somehow justified because the enemy "has done worse." So, what you are basically saying is that our military folks should take the moral low road, completely discard any shred of humanity they have and lower themselves to the level of the Taliban?

How does that make us better than them?

The "do what we want to do and to he!! with everyone else" attitude is going to get us nowhere.

What if their religion required them to urinate on a koran?

It is a fantasy book, no better than the bible.

If they were just smart enough not to video tape it! Article 15 a little much, should have been a letter of reprimand. The military is in shambles, we've 4 star generals who care more about kissing obama's ass thne take care of the troops. I hope they have a mass exodus of soldiers and get left with the DADT wankers!

Time to take the Taliban to court for burning the American flag and decapitating then hanging bodies from the bridge.

And how about taking the Taliban to court for murdering 17 people because of LOUD MUSIC.

Etc....etc....etc.

Doesn't matter what the enemy would do, as a Soldier of 15 years I know that I am held to a higher standard then the enemy, I'm a professional Soldier and will conduct myself in a manner that brings glory to my country. Those being punished for pissing on the enemy are getting what they deserve, we kill. not for fun, not for religious, but because its our profession, that's what separates us from them.

ok, so the urinating was wrong, but burning the quran? They desecrated their own books by writing jihad messages in them but God forbid we offend the muslims. This is nothing but SHOW! If our POTUS cant stand behind our military, then he should get out of the way!

So the USMC teaches these people how to be the species known as "Jar Heads." They beat those people down so low that they don't have a clue. All that matters is the are MARINES!. It time that this @!$%# stops. The military is totally out of line in so many areas of the law, morals, and decency. What happened to command? Urinating on the body of another human being---hum. They do produce the finest<sarcasm>

As a former wife of a 'jar head', I'm still atheist. I know a christian that says that when children die it's gods way of killing off the evil that could have been. Is that right? No. But it is what she believes and nothing I could say will change that. I think that everyone forgets that some of the major religions share the same god, but the prophets differ by region. Your words are the spokesmen for your religion. When you spout hateful @!$%#, it will be preprinted so that they will know what you feel towards them, even if you're only a handful. The Taliban wants you to hate them, they know how you react, what you will say, but only part of it will get through to the average citizen there. Burning their bible is a way to incite and sadden the people of the region, but you're only making the Taliban happy. The more you hate them, the more people they will gain to their cause.

Judging by some of the posts here, no wonder that Muslims hate you, I hate you too and I am American Cristian.

m sorry if I assume too much here regarding your comment but every civilian on Newsvine takes it upon themselves to armchair quarterback this one.

@ Riley ... yes you assume too much. I can point to many of the professionals here that actually DID get my point.

Which point are you arguing? The Marines were wrong to urinate on the dead Taliban fighters? No. Their mistake was putting it on video. Leading by example doesn't work when those following hate you.

@ Aboxofrocks ... I'll simply direct you to mike's post (1.44) -- HE, as well as other (obviously professional soldiers) get the point.

Beth - You keep living in your B.S. fairytale world about being a good little soldier with proper manners in warfare etiquette and see how far that will get you. In fact, why don't you invite some of these filthy dogs over for dinner and show them how to eat properly with a fork and a knife. You're an idiot who wants to fight these pigs via Marquis of Queensbury Rules in your land of freaking OZ. If you going to fight a war you have to be as ruthless as the enemy - read your damn history fool! You prefer to serve them milk and cookies and be polite. I want their head on a freaking pole in the middle of the town square. You can't revolt if you're dead! People of the Middle East respect only brute force. Perhaps you forgot how the Mongols dealt with them in history. They don't respect weakness they kill it. That is what the problem today is in modern warfare versus guerrilla warfare. They do not play by the rules and you want our troops to be good little Boyscouts and fight according to the Geneva Convention which they did not sign.

i wonder how many Korans burnt when the Taliban burnt all those mosques

It's time to call it a day in Afghanistan and has been since we lost focus on the original mission and went after a nation that did not represent a dire enough threat to the U.S. or our interests to justify military intervention, something that is the fault of BOTH political parties (no matter how hard amnesiac Democrats try and spin it otherwise). We have reached a point where our Afghanistan "partners" need to be turned into Barney Fife (they can't even have the single bullet in their pockets) because they can't be trusted with firearms and that's nowhere to be after a decade.

Both the Quran burnings and urinating on corpses are a factor in the current murders of Coalition Soldiers by their Afghan counterparts, so the Service Members involved in these incidents have blood on their hands, something that while I would hope was not their intention should be a factor in the punishment they receive !! I can't believe NO ONE in the unit knew what a f*ck up burning a Quran is, especially any members who had previously deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. As for pissing on corpses, that qualifies as conduct that is NEVER appropriate and should be dealt with harshly by the appropriate authority, as in a General Courts Martial !!

War isn't some sort of chest-thumping contest people. I'm a vet, and desecration of corpses is the bottom of the barrel behaviour for any of our soldiers and marines. It's unprofessional, immature, and flies in the face of everything we stand for. "They do it too" is not an excuse, I mean really... wtf... are you 12 years old? If these men, or you, cannot act in a professional manner and maintain to the military standards outlined for you - then maybe you shouldn't be a soldier?

As for the Koran burning, I could care less that it's a holy book. The fact of the matter is that it was a boneheaded move given the circumstances, and that 2-seconds of critical thought would have informed those in charge that it was a stupid-ass idea to do it in front of locals. Want proof that it was stupid? IT STARTED A RIOT. I'm sorry, but inciting riots is not a military objective and it jeapordizes operations - you adolescent pissing contest wannabes don't seem to realize that.

brth-440,

"Or are you advocating we lower ourselves to that level of behaviour?" That view maybe the "ideal" that we aspire to but in reality "lowering ourselves to their level" in this world is what is necessary because that is all these people understand today.

Would they piss on the Bible? You can bet your a$$ they would and they wouldn't apologise to anyone.

Take the case of the schoolyard bully - plead for mercy and you will get pounded into the ground. Stand up to him/she and that will end their aggression against you. Real life, not some textbook solution.

Business as usual...if you don't like it, don't start a war.

These are young men we are talking about. What the Marines did was distasteful at the very least. But why should they be punished for the rest of their careers for a moment of bad judgement? Civilians can commit crimes against other people and not have it affect them as much. I personally feel that our military personnel are rightfully held to a higher standard, but come on! First strike and they have a permanent black mark? A bit much.

As far as book burning - just don't do it in front of the locals next time! Or don't give the detainees books, pens, paper or anything at all beyond what is necessary to keep them alive. They don't need any religious texts to live. They exploit the nature of the Americans to try to be the good guys, and that needs to stop. There is a long way from special treatment to mistreatment. I think we need to get a little farther away from special treatment.

Ok the bad thing is it was recorded, taliban does same atrocities too but not recording anything since it's a sin to own a recording device and taliban practices taqiya all the time and denied their misdeed/atrocities. Remember taliban does not espouse entertainment or modernity Their type of entertainment is killing, yes killing people who does not want to follow their rule. Just a group of backward stone age 7th century dweller in a 21st century that can't and will not adapt. Also taliban only knows rote memorization of their spec book koran, never was educated, properly schooled always illiterate. Their cleric or imams are same never educated always brainwashing does not allow individual thinking and also an instigator. Although i do not condone what the soldiers does is still are more civilized than those stone age backward taliban who does not not allow individual rights

It is clear we have two obvious sides on the Newsvine on this issue:

The "war is hell" A-team and the "fight with a code" honor guard. It's just two extremes of an argument; which is poetic considering that the story is about the same. "Civilized and organized American troops" against the "uncivilized and disorganized Taliban forces".

IMO, both sides should read "Warfighting" a book by the US Marine Corps. It's a short read and it breaks down very succinctly how to fight a war on multiple levels. Whether your motive is to demoralize politically or destabilize economically, there is a code you follow and way to fight a war. In summary: there are no tools off limits in a time of war; however, be certain your actions support your higher purposes.

To bring that into the topic at hand. If the military's chief aim is to demoralize an entire country than let the pissing begin and use that to your tactical and strategic advantage. But if you just have a group of renegade, pissed off soldiers that take their sense of retribution out on the enemy then you have a problem. The military should be designed to fight, move, think and act like one being. That's where it's strength lies and it's superiority comes from. Fractured cells of rogue soldiers will cause failures on multiple levels and in the end prove to be a danger for everyone involved.

Yes, the enemy may treat people sub-humanly and they may defecate en masse on our soldiers; however, it is not these single acts that win wars. Study the Civil War, it is when soldiers allow themselves to break rank and go vigilante that loses wars.

imwhitewolf,

Cutting off ears. You sound like you were in Vietnam. I agree, Marines are trained to kill. The DIs, PMIs, MCMAP instructors do not train Marines to capture or injure the enemy, they train many, many different ways to kill.

"One Shot, One Kill"

They also train (teach) a Marine respect. So...

Personally, pissing on a corps, any corps serves no purpose that could result in a positive result. Video taping it was just a stupid thing to do.

Professionals do not pee on corpses period. Those of you defending this action are wrong-period. There have been thousands of soldiers and marines over there and, shockingly, most of them seemed to have gotten out of there with out pissing on dead bodies. We are supposed to be better than that and it certainly does not help the cause-whatever that is at this point.

Really we just need to get the hell out of these places then there will be no more corpse pissing.

"pissing on a corps, any corps"

Should read "corpse", not my CORPS.

SEMPER FI

Again, no one seems to have said that pissing on corpses is allright, just that the Taliban are worse.

None of you defending this make sense. If the military wishes to lead by example, it needs to set the example. It needs to be better than its enemy, not bring themselves down to their level.

You reasoning (or lack thereof) is astonishing.

Horrible, glad I wan't there

Travis, then why do so many Libs "lower" themselves to the level of intolerant hating bigots....?

War is brutality. What these Marines did was undisciplined. I doubt the corpse cared, however, acts like this are certainly signs of P(is it post if it's real time)TSD among the troops. Other soldiers who witnessed this might ask themselves what the mental state of the people who did this is. Do they have their back? Lack of discipline can get people killed. What, emotionally, do these GI's bring back with them and how does it manifest here in peacetime. As far as blaming the CIC for this is, well stupid people are entitled to their rants. We take them for what it is. The American military is held to a higher standard, because they are worthy. That being said, when the hell are we getting out of that sh..thole?

Islam should be outlawed in the United States and not be recognized as a religion but as an organization of hate! Anyting associated with islam at that point should be destroyed. Including that piece of @!$%# quran. I get sick of hearing how American soldiers are always being brought up on some sort of charges based on that f8#$ing quran and that terrorist organization know as islam. The military or the US government shouldn't even consider charges against military personel based on the quran or islam. This is the reason I won't let me son enlist.

Zathrose - The military command staff bows to Washington bureaucrats. Washington bureaucrats bow to Washington leadership. Washington leadership is the 'commander in chief and staff' (insert insult here).

It might just be time for a coup d'états....

damn shame they didn't get more before they were caught.

BigAl, you have it correct 100%! I could not have said it better! We need to adopt the Russian approach. Our generals did this in the Philippines after WWI, and we had no more problems from Muslims! That is the exact way to handle the situation! The men involved in these matters should all be given medals! BigAl, if I were president, I would offer you a commission as a general!

EK The Russians left Afghanistan with their tails between their legs even after all their brutality.

denver bill 2....really...you would hang these guys for expressing the horror they see daily inflicted on their own and civilians?? Too bad you are not in their shoes....

Thatzzz why willy-BOY wuz DELETED from MY viwable comments LONG AGO. He is such an idiot.

They should be beheaded in accordance to Taliban law since it occurred there..

And every time they burn a bible we should drop a cluster bomb.. Would that make sense?? Maybe we could replace them with shiny new bibles..

War is an atrocity. Anybody who doesn't know that has not walked outside the wire. You don't approve of your sons & daughters engaging in atrocities?? Don't send them to war!! These soldiers are in a hostile, barbaric environment & doing what all soldiers do to survive & win - That is to say 'adapting & assimilating'. This 11Bravo will judge these soldiers when he can look them in the eye. And this 11Bravo will judge them thus -- get some, GET SOME!!! And when you come home, go to Dick Cheney's residence & Charlie Mike (continue the mission, for all you REMFs).

I can understand gettin a reprimand for takin a leak on a son of b!tch, but for burning a book? Cmon folks, whats this country coming to?

MrBinkie,

If you can't can behind our troops, please stand in front of them.

That is

If you can't stand behind our troops, please stand in front of them.

Agreed. In WWII dead Japanese were intentionally placed in shallow trenches in front of Marine positions to rattle any live ones that might attack these positions. The Japanese soldiers were as ruthless (or maybe not) as these Moslem terrorists in "patriots" garb and that was how the Marines handled them after they got to know what they were really like. Give them hell. Just no pictures please.

You're up for some of that yourself judging by your picture.

DUDE! Loose the photo. It's not helping you at all. You didn't get them round lips from square meals.

... I'm thinking to spray my screen with disinfectant.

Tvar, why waste a good crap on them....Just shove a pork chop in their mouth....

I'm a Marine and wish that those other Marines had not performed that act. It dishonors the uniform and affects all of us Marines. With that said, I will not condemn them for it because we do not know the situation that lead to them performing the act and that combat puts a lot of stress on people and there needs to be a lot of leeway in handling that. I know too many of my brethren who have come back messed up from their time in the sandbox and they all need our support.

I was never a U.S. Marine but I have a lot of respect for them. Was Army and personally I don't think any of us came back with a full deck of cards. Thanks for your service Casey.

Right up the alley I was going to pursue. I've seen these pieces of filth stepping on the heads of US citizens while sawing through the necks of Americans with a Bowie, hearing the gurgling of blood in the open windpipe of someone trying to scream in pain until they are bled out and the spine is cut. No sympathy from me, in fact urination is too good for them, a dump is much more appropriate.

We actually sound be force feeding these terrorist scumbag terrorists raw bacon, pig entrails or any single portion of pork rather than waterboarding etc..

give them chitterlings (@!$%#terlings)

I'd piss on those @!$%#s too and wipe my ass on their face after @!$%#ting down their necks. They decapitate anyone who doesn't bow to their religious zeal. screw them and this bull@!$%# trial. Our men were there to fight them for a reason!

I'd give each one of them the medal of honor and a higher rank, good job jarheads, to bad your leaders are so darn dumb and your commander-in-chief a taliban islamist idiot feel they have to bow to these terrorist.

Oops, did we forget we had bacon for breakfast? Our bad...

Isn't military protocol that you do EVERYTHING the way your superiors ORDER you to do it, maybe unless they conflict with orders from an even higher rank (at trial at least)? Isn't the whole idea of military service that you might be asked to DIE for something (right or wrong), not just run around in the field trying to "save your own ass"?

The correct term is GUNG HO

Thats a good recruiting tip for recruits, we are not going to support you unless you just kill these rock apes in an appropriate manner.....crazy

No such thing as a former marine

FormerMarineSgt - So many Americans scream bloody murder when our enemies and terrorists do anything that we consider to be desecrating our war dead, yet they sit here saying 'good job' when our Marines do it to our enemies...

Plus the teabaggers who are defaming Muslims and applauding corpse desecration seem unaware that our allies in Afghanistan are Muslim too.

Marine Sgt let me start by saying thank you for your service. Next let me say I agree with you. People do not understand that as members of the U.S military we have a creed that we must follow and values we must live up to. In the Army, of which I have been a proud member for 20 years, we have our core values; Duty, Honor, Selfless Service, Personal Courage, Loyalty, Respect, and Integrity. What these Marines did does not reflect any of the Army Values.. not one! And I'd bet money their actions do not reflect the core values of the Corp either.

The people who cheer these Marines should be ashamed! These Marines, and other military members like them, are a disgrace and embarrassment to all those who choose to serve honorably. We have this ridiculous idea that if they do it to us we should do it to them. There is nothing honorable or courageous about stooping to a lower level. Is it not enough that we are sent to kill an enemy who is just following orders like we are?

I think these Marines got off easy and should be thankful for that. I would like to think they learned a lesson here, but I doubt it.

Thank you Sarge, for the rational input from a professional soldier.

I fear that its wasted on these swine however, who are far worse than the Taliban who sacrificed their lives for what they believed in. Even if we don't agree with their philosophy, they died with more honor than these particular Marines will ever have.

You "professional soldier" people need to just throw that junk out the window. There is nothing professional about combat, it is the opposite of the boardroom and HR department. If you think everything on the battlefield is symmetrical and predictable, you are dead if you go to one. Those moments in the staging area, on the tarmac and during long ruck marches dreaming up the worst of humanity will keep you alive. Pissing on the dead corpses of the enemy is exactly what should be done as it makes the enemy think twice about attacking and the supremacy of our troops in theater. Sorry, know it is wrong but that is the point.

Mjolnir....screw you buddy, those Taliban are scum and although the Marines made a slight error in judgement, you have no business calling them swine, who the hell do you think you are?

I fear that its wasted on these swine however, who are far worse than the Taliban who sacrificed their lives for what they believed in.

Worse than people who kill school-aged children for having an American dollar in their pocket? Worse than the people who beheaded others for their religious beliefs? Worse than the people who beheaded others for dancing? Get a grip, troll.

Back in mommy's basement child . No Marine ever says former.

nycguy, you misunderstood my comment. Its you, and those that think like you that are the swine, sorry for the confusion.

Please try to understand, most people feel that urinating or defecating on another person is a vile act, proving nothing but the low character and lack of dignity of those who engage in it. Of course, if it's something you're used to in your daily life, I can understand where your confusion comes from.

Maybe we should have a "Hug a Taliban" day .

mjolnir you encompass all that is wrong with the USA.

@ Mjolner, post your specs. Where does your experience come from and why do you feel qualified to teach? Nobody in their right mind actually likes violence and indecency. In my opinion, everything is circumstantial and random outside the confines and safety of the USA. Americans are bombarded daily with the image that Muslims don't really want to hurt us and are peaceful, yet the truth trickles down in the acts (no pun intended) of Muslim extremists. Everything from harsh treatment of POW's to attacks on Christian churches in the Middle East and terrorist attacks in the USA contributes to a double standard. How would you fight a war?

All you IDIOTS who stick up for the ENEMY must be MUSLIM or married to one and should go and live with those DIRTY LOWLIFE SCUMBAGS and KISS THEIR ASSES!! All those LOWLIFE POLITICIONS and MILITARY BOSSES should be PISSED ON!!

Mjolner......your mother didn't seem to mind the Cleveland steamer, last week.....

You 'there is no such thing as a former Marine' clowns are funny because you clearly can't read for comprehension. I AM a Marine - and when you put together the entire phrase 'Former Marine Sgt'. What you should get is "I am no longer active duty or reservist and when I was, I was a Sgt.'. If you can't figure that out, you shouldn't be making comments about 'there is no such thing as a former Marine'.

I'm damm proud of my Marine corps and damm proud of my time served.

And for anyone to shout down differing opinions or condemning others because they aren't defining the enemy with the same vitriol and hate as you are: YOU are the one with the problem. I was a Marine to insure that they could say thier words. How dare you shout them down - even if you or I disagree with them.

HOWEVER many of you still don't get it. Whenever we mistreat the enemy (dead or alive) we get that mistreatment back a dozen times over. When you demand that we mistreat the enemy, you are blatantly and intentionally causing OUR OWN MEN AND WOMEN to be mistreated and/or killed. I hope you're damm proud of yourselves for causing our own people to be hurt or killed because of your support for our Marines and Soldiers behaving no better than the enemy does.

If we stand for what you say that we do - the righteousness of this world, then we CANNOT stoop to the low levels that you fools are advocating.

Yes, when necessary, we must fight and kill our enemies. No - we cannot lower ourselves to thier level while we're doing it.

If you want to stand for what this country stands for - then you stop telling the world that it's ok to do to our enemy what you won't allow them to do to us.

FormerMarineSgt - Whenever we mistreat the enemy (dead or alive) we get that mistreatment back a dozen times over. When you demand that we mistreat the enemy, you are blatantly and intentionally causing OUR OWN MEN AND WOMEN to be mistreated and/or killed.

Exactly right.

Hey Sarge...chill out....but there is no documentation that the enemy will ever treat our troops any differently if we respect their dead or we piss on them....I was a sargent too, only about 40 years ago, and no matter how nice we tried to be "charlie" always tortured and killed our troops....the N. koreans did it, the germans and japs did it, the germans did it in ww1, we did it to each other in the civil war, the british did it to us during the revolutionary war, the indians did it to the first white men who came over on the boat, the indians did it to each other....and it will happen in every conflict in the future...its just human nature....You can whine about it as long as you want but thats the way it is....vae victus.

and is suppose your MOS was 1369...dip@!$%#

Yo Sarge - in your 20 yrs. did you ever hear the phrase 'Semper Fidelis'? Who are you 'always faithful' to? The suits that started these SNAFUs? Certainly not fellow marines. When this sh!tstorm began I bet a necklace of ears that VN would become our 2nd longest war - and won. Afghanistan is our ally - spare me the jive. 2000+ Americans dead for one man & some political PR. You are obviously too young to remember when osama bin laden was "our ally", when saddam hussein was "our ally", when manuel noriega was "our ally" (no capitalization is intentional). All of them collected CIA paychecks. BTW, I thought 'mjolnir' meant 'hammer of God' Que Macho!!! (girl scout cookie)

Even this former Marine understands that - it would seem alot of you don't.

you said it right there.

I think that you mistaking military non-judicial punishment for an official application of "foreign policy" speaks volumes to how dumb people are becoming. You should thank yourself for proving your own point.

Better to shroud them in bacon for the after life than cleanse them with urine.

Since when is pissing on corpses the job of our military? Btw, the soldiers had already done the job they're trained for. Hence the corpses.

Exactly! Had the damn media kept their stupid noses out of it, Hitler could've just had Poland and most of Europe.

Well said Deb! And very insightful for a woman (assumption by your handle). War is also psychological. On the perfume river, we tried to take snipers alive & put a Cav patch where their tongue used to be. It made the next sniper think before firing on a Cav-Man. Thinking causes hesitation & the one who hesitates, does not go home. Apologies for disclosing barbaric repugnant truths, but war is a barbaric, repugnant subject. And as current history shows, sooner or later, a war is comin' between these United Sovereign States & the Unistat Empire (i.e., D.C.). All you can do is cover your buddie's ass so he's there to cover yours. From the streets of New York, to the schoolyards of Paducah KY., to the theaters of Aurora CO., to South Central L.A., - we're all veterans, or soon to be unless there is a 180 degree turn in American mentality.

Of course it's more about PR, but A.) you can't let your own troops do what ever they want, in conflict with orders, and B.) I thought the USA was about having a higher moral character than much of the dregs of the world (well, at least I'd like to pretend it to be). $#it, if I was these troops, getting shot at by these guys, possibly having some of my buddies killed/wounded by them, I'd probably want to do more than take a little tinkle on them. No one said proving to the world (or our fellow countrymen, if you don't care about that), that we're in the "right" would be easy.

Have you ever served in a war think wise?????

If we were/are (???) 'better than them', we would teach by example. Like not starting wars, like not validating false flag operations by putting our young in harm's way, like punishing those who start illegal wars, - like not puckering & submitting to a minority because of the size of their wallet. You don't want war? Well & good - as it should be. You want war? Better - that's what my society & culture prepared me for.

As it is.

There is a code of conduct in war. Check out the accords and Geneva Convention, etc. We're better than that and don't have to lower our standards and go into the pig pen with others. Our soldiers are paid by We The People and not all of us approve of our image being smeared by those that can't live by the rules. It's war and there are codes of conduct. You can Google them.

"...they are trained to kill the enemy, but somehow they are supposed to "respect" the enemies dead bodies after they kill them???"

Why is it so difficult for folks to understand that the armed forces are not merely "trained to kill the enemy?" They are trained to follow orders and regulations instituted by their superiors for the sake of accomplishing broader objectives. These gentlemen violated those regulations. Why is that so hard to get your head around?

There is a code of conduct in war. Check out the accords and Geneva Convention, etc. We're better than that and don't have to lower our standards and go into the pig pen with others.

As far as I know, the international laws in place in regards to war are meant to serve as basic protections for innocent civilians and the treatment of living POWs. I don't believe that defiling a dead body would be considered a violation of any sort. If the Taliban soldiers were alive in this case, then obviously it would be a different story. Frankly, I don't have a problem with this and I know that millions of others around the country won't either. Our fine young men and women serving abroad deserve to right to piss on anyone they want as far as I'm concerned.

Obviously being better than them in war is getting us killed over and over again for NOTHING right now...I am so sick of just giving these POS's a target to slay. I know it is morally wrong...I am not say I would do it, ever. What I am saying is...These men and women are going through day to day life in war and there is a list of symptoms that war contributes too. Boredom being the worst. They are so amped up, nervous, and bored all at the same time. Psychologically and physiologically a BAD combo....They were venting all that and took pictures of how they were dealing at the time...Now, We the people are holding these people to a higher standard by forcing them to deal with this crazyness and not giving them the help they need....you can't expect 100% normal behavior 100% of the time from 100% of the population you put into that situation and then shame and punnish them in the public media...they have a hard enough time dealing with everything as is....

" I don't believe that defiling a dead body would be considered a violation of any sort."

That's nice that you don't believe it. Unfortunately for you, your "beliefs" are clearly contradicted by these things called facts.

Here you go:

"The remains of persons who have died for reasons related to occupation or in
detention resulting from occupation or hostilities and those or persons not
nationals of the country in which they have died as a result of hostilities
shall be respected..."

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts
(Protocol I), 8 June 1977.

Wow......who knew dead people had rights?

Thanks Lev, I try to learn something new everyday.

Queensbury rules is it? Very well then. Lets have tea & bisquits and discuss it. No kicking in the face or below the belt, no curse words and by all means, if the adversary should say "ouch" apologize & help him up. Sarcasm complete. War is barbaric. These soldiers acted in a barbaric fashion. I fail to see an issue or why these soldiers should be criticized. Seems to me, we should send some politicians & sensitivity counselors to helmand to teach the troops how to fight a kinder & gentler war. No sarcasm intended.

Stupid act, of course; yet that is a characteristic of Post Traumatic Stress. These young folks were asked to put themselves in danger and just finished a life or death battle and you expect them to rise above their emotions? Their hearts were probably still beating 170 bpm and they needed to release tension.

While we/they should act better, you have no idea the stress being in a close combat situation where each second and act may be your last your or you'd understand. Their displaced anxiety (on the corpses) was infinitly better than one or more of them bottling it up until they cmmitted suicide or worse.

I guess you're talking about "our" President who is 1/2 White by the way. He was brought up in Hawaii by his White grandparents. He's kept "us" safe over the last 3 1/2 years and orchestrated taking out BinLaden and AlQaeda #1, #2 and more. He doubled the drone strikes over Muslim countries like Pakistan since his predecessor. If your prejudice has consumed you so much, maybe you should think about therapy or leaving the country. We spoke on election day and if you're so upset, you'll have your chance to vote again in November. I hope you'll execute your most important right then and have your say in the proper place.

Strange you went where you did with out me even explaining what I meant...and won't you are too shallow to get it anyway. You know exactly where and what the problem is and are in complete denial and use the same fear and smear as your example...you are the one living the delusion and need help. The US will be out of the mire and moving forward soon...you will still be stuck with your fallen idol.

Your poorly written response with errors has no credibility when you can't write. As I said, you can exercise our most important right on Election Day and vote. The article here is about the Taliban and not Our President. If you don't honor our country, our President, etc., you know your options. As far as living in denial, nothing of what I said is deluded it's all factual and you can research it. Maybe you gave the orders to go after BinLaden. Maybe it was you who doubled the drone strikes after Bush left office and you who took out AlQaeda's top leaders. Our President was behind this and those who believe otherwise are the ones you call delusional. Admitting your prejudice is the 1st step in admitting you have a psychological problem. Now, go and get help.

...oh, brother....another Obamabot who can't stand his boy being criticized, so it must be "racism".....grow up, please....

BobW said he was never prejudiced until 3 1/2 years ago. Do you think it's because our President is left-handed? Grow up? No, I think it's a matter of someone who admits their prejudice getting some much needed help. The same people who blast the current President are the ones who elected Bush for 8 years that caused this mess. The subject and topic here is about soldiers not acting properly and disobeying orders. I'm not getting into a dispute over something unrelated to the topic. Stick to the topic.

...it's because our President doesn't have a clue about getting our country back on track and the American people can no longer tolerate someone who talks a great game and does nothing.....but we sure like to be politically correct, don't we....

As a fellow New Yorker, you're in the minority because we in NYC are mostly Democratic and understand that a deadbeat President before Obama ran our country into the ground for 8 years. Do you remember that Iraq had nothing to do with 911 as pointed out by the 911 Commission? Do you remember Bush talking about WMD (weapons of mass destruction)? Do you remember statements such as "mission accomplished"? Most intelligent people can comprehend that the current President who said on his 1st campaign trail that 8 years of Bush couldn't be solved in one term. The President's list of accomplishment far outweigh any rhetoric that the Republicans are trying to throw at him. Our President who was fairly elected, does indeed have a clue and more about how to get the country back on track. The American people will speak on Election Day as they did before. There's nothing wrong about being politically correct, obeying the law or representing our country honorably. It shouldn't be hard to follow. Again, most New Yorkers are Democrats and luckily don't buy into your views.

Newsflash.......the sleazy Dumbocrat Party has destroyed New York's financial stability with their corruption and backdoor deals with the unions that cheat and abuse the taxpaying public......the numbers grow weaker every year and bankruptcy is not very far off without drastic cuts and reductions across the board.....but I guess you would'nt realize that with your head so firmly planted you know where......

You obviously don't stay up with the news or you would know the correct figures. Insulting me doesn't strengthen your senseless argument. It shows your weak points as well as inability to see the glass as 1/2 full as a pessimist. Rather than insult me or speak ill of our President, you should have gotten on the ballot when the Ryan position was available. If it's all doom, bring something valuable to the table or to the forum. Juvenile insults have no credibility in a debate or place of a learning exchange. Rather than think of ways to insult, do your research. Google doesn't care which party you belong to. Stick to the topic here. I don't want to bore the others with nonsense or taking time with someone who isn't on an intellectual level.

Have you seen the latest cover of newsweek think wise?? Go pick up a copy. Your buddy Obama is front and center and the article is right on about why Obama needs to get thrown out of office!!! I don't dislike him because he's half black. I didn't like him from the get go in 2008 because he has an ego the size of Mount Rushmore, is arrogant, has NO real leadership experience, NO experience in world affairs, He went to an anti-white, anti- American church until he got elected and then tried to back peddle and say he did NOT share the beliefs of his church, He is a Muslim who apolgizes to muslims for American soldiers doing their jobs and the list goes on and on and on!!!! BTW I was a Dem who did NOT vote for him and I recently changed my political affiliation from Dem to Independent. Don't love Romney either, think Ryan probably was a bad choice as VP but don't think 4 years with them will be any worse than Obamas stint!!!! Oh BTW have you seen the movie about your best bud????

Think Unwise........for not going to get off topic, your doing a fine job. How are you enjoying your welfare from your history breaking Welfare President ? Get a job. OH WAIT. You can't because your Welfare President can't create any Jobs. Well, maybe you can make a buck or two licking his shoes clean. Democrats !

It is amazing how we soon forget our own being beheaded and draged around naked and being burnt. The problem is the press we would ofbeat the @!$%# out of Iraq and Afgan if the political ran press was not around. But then again a General would land put his foot on the ground and get a 10,000.00 bonus for being in combat come on we are warriors not pussy's. If you don't like don't read about it or watch the news.

Cracks me up. Raggin' about which corporate whore is worse. If you vote for the lesser of two evils, you are still voting for evil. And when that vote is cast, it is no longer their fault - its yours.

thinkwise..."Insulting me doesn't strengthen your senseless argument."

"I don't want to bore the others with nonsense or taking time with someone who isn't on an intellectual level."

Hypocrite much?

Wow... Those scumbags over there burn US FLAGS, SOLDIERS BODIES, ANYTHING that they think will inflict duress.... and our PROUD SERVICEMEN/WOMEN ARE BEING PUNISHED, LET ALONE HAVING THEIR CAREERS ENDED BADLY because of something so F*#%ING WHOOPTY DOOISH..... I TRULY think that these stupid @!$%# even HATE to call them "leaders" of these HONORABLE Service Members need to pull their head outta their ASSES and get back to focusing on REAL ISSUES TO ASSIST AND SAVE THEM, NOT FURTHER ASSISTING THESE EXTREMIST COWARDS by CONSTANTLY DEFAMING OUR TROOPS PUBLICLY.... Our ENTIRE CHAIN OF COMMAND has gone straight to hell in a handbasket these last 4-5 years.. Running around the ENTIRE WORLD, giving hugs, bowing down to every other middle eastern nation, and BEGGING THEIR FORGIVENESS because we got a little "upset" because so many of our Great Heroes have fallen.... LOVE IT, OR LEAVE IT PANSY AZZEZ!!!!

Living with herpes is probably worse

No where near as infectiously foul as the Obama outbreak-- “ ‘"The decision was made that it was a force protection measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims,’ Wright told CNN on Tuesday. [¶ ] ‘Troops at posts in war zones are required to burn their trash,’ Wright said.”
CNN (May 22 2009) “Military burns unsolicited Bibles sent to Afghanistan.” Retrieved Apr. 10, 2011 from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/20/us.military.bibles.burned/

Pissonit. Well, trade places with them.