U.S. probes video of Marines urinating on dead Taliban

Urinating = bad. Killing = okay. How ironic.

DJbooth

Let's see how USNinjapan replies to this. Oh that's right he is US military so would not respond to an article showing US service men in their true light.

Nonsense, I'm happy to disappoint you. I'm certain all five Marines (including the one filming) will be identified, and once the footage is authenticated, will be prosecuted to the extent of the UCMJ. At least that is what I hope happens. This is disgusting, disrespecting and conduct that is unbecoming of a Marine or any uniformed service member. I'm ashamed that these bastards are in the sister service of the Navy. Unfortunately for you though, most of my fellow service members feel as I do about appalling acts like this one, which doesn't quite concur with your belief that offenders like these Marines are our true nature.

America DOES have the moral high ground. As do the other countries involved in the Afghan mission. Or do you think it belongs to the Taliban

You're not getting it. The moral high ground is compromised when these supposedly 'moral' soldiers laugh and pat each other on the back before collectively pissing on the bodies of people they've just killed.

Side with the guys who are trying their best, but sometimes screw up a bit? Or side with the guys who want to return the world to the 7th century bathed in blood.

This is the kind of black and white thinking that Americans are notorious for. 'You're either with us or against us.' I'm certainly not on the side of the Taliban, but neither am I on the side of soldiers who gladly and happily piss on the bodies of people they've just killed. That kind of depraved act is not simply 'screwing up a bit'.

Barbarian is barbarian, whether wearing or not wearing uniform.

This is the kind of behavior that compels American leaders to have to go on "apology tours." Whatever high moral ground can be claimed thru this will come from the identification and punishment of these dishonorable soldiers.

These soldiers should definitely be punished. They're violating the Geneva convention concerning conduct in warfare.

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But y'know, the Taliban would've done the same thing to them. But then, the Taliban never signed the Geneva.

There would be a lot less issues like this if the Americans would just stop claiming the moral high ground. Just play level.

The Taliban, of course, will treat any killed Americans with the utmost respect. Ahem.

Shock wave is spreading all over the world. It is very inconsistent against American values. These marines are now in a subject of court marshall. If convicted, they will be sentenced to go to a prison for a LONG TIME. Hope they will. They violated our high values and I am very angry.

"If authenticated, the images—which conjure up previous abuses committed by U.S. troops during the decade-long war—could spark deep anger and resentment in Afghanistan and the wider Muslim world."

Of course They are American soldiers.

We should have been out of Afghanistan long ago. We could've been out if Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld etc. had not gotten us into the Iraq War.

But no, we'll continue to fight in Afghanistan/Pakistan for at least a few more years, wasting hundreds of billions more and lives on all sides...to what end?

Oh, I forgot! Some sort of Afghan army will police the country and everyone will toe the line to build a better, unified Afghanistan.

Just like the Sunnis, Shias, Kurds in Iraq will...oh, never mind.

Anyway, the actions of the guys in the picture will cause even more trouble for all "coalition forces" left in country.

Images of dead Taliban sure to spark anger in the wider Mohammedan world? I certainnly can't condone what these marines did, and while in uniform, but we are constantly told that the Taliban do not represent Islam and are in fact a tiny,tiny minority.

Do you really think this sort of behavior has never happened before in all armies and all conflicts throughout history? How naive! When you put young men in highly stressful situations, all sorts of a abhorrent behavior begins to appear.

So you're trying to justify this by saying it's happened many times before. OK

The only difference between then and now seems to be this idiotic compulsion to record every facet of the misdeed for posterity. That in itself may also be a symptom of the aberration.

Or it could be a symptom of people just coming face to face with these brutalities and being rightfully disgusted and wanting to learn from them so they should not happen again. Not a symptom of any 'aberration' at all.

Today criminals (especially in mobs) seem obsessed with recording beatings, rapes, riots without the slightest notion that this in itself will lead to swift apprehension and prosecution

This isn't new, there are multitudes of photos from war dating throughout the entire 20th century. It's important to record it, whether it be film or photography, so we can continually be reminded what people are capable of and not become complacent. Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable, or ruins your image of what you want things to be. Tough.

As awful as urinating on dead bodies may be, it's not the worst crime that could have been committed by this group. I would be far more upset if they were taking out there vengeance on the living.

This doesn't make sense. You're trying to absolve them of the act by creating a worse act in your imagination that never happened. It's like if someone was raped and people tried to defend the rapist by saying, 'oh well, at least he didn't kill her.'

I don't know what's more disgusting: what the soldiers did to these DEAD Taliban soldiers or the fact that some of the readers here defend this act of barbarism. No matter what, a dead person deserves some respect. Yes, they are fanatics and they might deserve to die but NOBODY has the right to treat a dead person like that.

But really, the hysterical over-reaction here is silly.

No, I think the reaction is perfectly proportionate.

The Taliban are not a normal enemy in the conventional sense of the word. They are not a military organization, they dont represent any government. They are misogynistic homophobes who use children as suicide bombers.

No need to enlighten us. Most of us are aware of how depraved and evil the Taliban are.

This is nothing to do with the "moral high ground". The fact that the US is undergoing such hand-wringing and self abasement is proof that the moral high ground is in no danger.

Self-abasement? No. People are responding in kind to the repulsive act which is on display for all to see.

Can you imagine the Taliban undergoing such self reflection and worrying about showing honor to their enemies? Give me a break.

No, but America likes to act like it has the moral high ground, that's what's making people angry. The hypocrisy is disgusting. One rule for Americans and another for everyone else? OK.

What idiots! Never the less, it's telling that some people think it's worse that the guys peed on their bodies than to have killed them in the first place. Well, I guess this must be just another one of President Obama's nonsensical military policies. They were probably just following orders.

The saying goes, once a Marine, always a Marine. For once, I'm ashamed to repeat that.

Is it acceptable behavior? Of course not. Is it representative? Of course not.

It is not representative of the military as a whole, but it is representative of something that is worth looking into.

I wouldn't describe Afghanistan in 2012 as anything remotely resembling Buchenwald or Bataan.

'The people dragged Ab dul Illah's body into the street like that of a dog and tore it limb from limb.' Then the mobs burned the body."

Sounds like a good, old-fashioned American lynching.

The kicker! - if you know next to nothing about the the history of the regions you like to talk about and the supreme cultural influence there - the religion.

It is the supreme cultural influence that would cause a majority of the people there to find the actions by a relative few to be repellent. Just as many Americans find the actions of these soldiers who desecrate the bodies of fighters to be repellent -- and would not try to rationalize it away.

Just disgusting! The Americans claim the high moral ground but these incidents keep happening. Then there is the bullying in their forces. This comes from the American position of "might makes right".

“Have a great day, buddy,” one of them says, giggling.

I think in this case the last word is spelled with a "j."

And americans cant yelling so called HUMANITY.

"The Taliban, of course, will treat any killed Americans with the utmost respect."

Ha ha!

Let's put things in perspective here, shall we? The Taliban, an absolutely awful, disgusting organization, has killed and tortured thousands of innocent people, and caused untold misery for millions of Afghans and Pakistanis.

A few Marines who have put their lives on the line fighting the Taliban and other terrorists, urinate on a few dead Taliban who without doubt caused misery for others. This is what we have here. Of course the Marines should not have urinated on the corpses. They should have buried them at sea and let the fish eat them, like Obama had the SEALS do with Osama.

Talikng about putting things in prespective. After us invaded Afghanistan. ''Terrorism'' exploded in south asia.its US to blame more than taliban.if someone still cant see what us govt done in the region are living fairy tale.

But y'know, the Taliban would've done the same thing to them.

How would you know?

Another post of truth revealing: Taliban was created as anti-intervention squad (guess who was intervents). But then, they just overworked and transformed into thing we have now.

Then, we can ask them to once again put their lives on the line to fight the Taliban and protect our freedom. And they probably would. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

That's the same for armies all over the world. Not just America.

My question is, why blur their faces with a mosaic? I realize that when it comes to American troops, as opposed to 'enemy dead', they want to blur the faces or disallow images of coffins or what have you, but these men are a disgrace, and should be seen in their full light. Take off the mosaic blurs -- show the men for whom they are. If they felt compelled to do what they did, surely they can take what's coming to them.

But seriously... what charges will they face (and they will be identified)? NOTHING compared to the gravity of what they've done? Hope they don't mind too much if a Taliban insurgent (or civilian... it's not clear) kills one of them and does the same. They can thank themselves for it.

There was a time, and not so many years ago, when the military would not have behaved like this, or mistreated prisoners.

It's a lack of empathy for the people and / or their culture. If the people you are fighting have the same features and culture as you then you tend to treat them as fellow warriors. If they aren't then you treat them as subhuman. That makes it a lot easier to kill or torture without remorse. Then there's peer pressure and stress...

Whatever the cause this is just plain stupid and can't be condoned.

This is nothing new. The only thing new is the video and the person that "leaked" it. It's time to bring everyone home and focus on the domestic issues. Close up shop and let someone else be the world cop.

No one is defending the soldiers, but it is fair to stand up to those who want to pretend that all soldiers behave this way.

Serrano

You can't judge them in relation to the Taliban. The only standards by which you must judge them are the standards to which all of us in the US Armed Forces are held and which many have died upholding. We can't in good conscience excuse despicable actions like theirs simply because the enemy does worse things. The conduct of these Marines is inexcusable under any circumstance in any conflict against any foe. Yes, these men are a disgrace.

Actually the Taliban have never beheaded a NATO soldier, they have beheaded Afghanis working for NATO. But never a NATO soldier.

He actually never claimed exactly which captured soldiers were beheaded, just that the Taliban have beheaded captured soldiers and then gave examples of possible forces that have been beheaded by the Taliban.

But the US has signed the Geneva convention and the US is always proclaiming itself as the moral highground over these uneducated heathens. Yet its the US that has the history of treating prisoners and war dead with disrespect

The US maintains that moral high-ground when it punishes those within its ranks that would do actions that violate the Geneva convention. The only time the US loses that moral high-ground is when it doesn't punish those that violate the Geneva convention.

And still the US military doesnt learn. How often do we hear about or see images of US service personal acting just as badly as those they are their fighting. Yet imaging the outrage if it where a US serviceman dead on the ground being urinated on or dragged through the streets. When it comes to the US they seem to want the moral high ground but these images show they are no where near it. And l bet for every one of these types of releases how many more escape public attention.

The soldiers should be tried for stupidity for letting the images out of their possession.

The Taliban, of course, will treat any killed Americans with the utmost respect. Ahem.

So? America likes to think it has the moral high ground, so lowering themselves like this just proves what hypocrites they are.

Absolutely disgusting, this kind of repulsive boorish behaviour is why so many people dislike America. Worst living standards in the developed world, not even a nation, just a huge corporation. A country where millions believe free health care = communism. WTF? Jesus Christ, what a mess.

USNinJapan2, yes very well said. There is always a very small group of people who do bad things. I prefer to think of the Marines handing out aid like in Operation Tomodashi. The vast majority of the US troops are good people. I am positive they will be caught and prosecuted.

There is always a very small group of people who do bad things

But you said yourself these incidences keep happening????

And another bunch of fools making themselves look worse than they have to. While nobody really condones what they've done (this is the society that makes people like this, if you don't believe me just watch your local news if you're in the US...) its always going to be at the forefront of the news when people behave badly. Taliban are no better, but acting stupid on purpose just shows how much wisdom is lacking in many of the people allowed to enlist in the military now. There are gang members, and then your average dumb gun joe that are put in just to fill a recruitment quota which helps lead up to epic fail moments like these. Thanks for making a video of your idiocy guys... I'm sure many of your comrades would love to help re-educate you on proper conduct, dead corpse or no.

protect our freedom

You have no freedom anymore, "thanks" to NDAA.

SuperLib

No one is defending the soldiers, but it is fair to stand up to those who want to pretend that all soldiers behave this way.

Ah but in your first comment you where more offended at the fact that the video was released rather than what was on the video. And while ALL soldiers do not carry on this way there have been quite a few cases of US and other soldiers doing the wrong thing in both Afghanistan and Iraq. And it has happened in pretty much every conflict, the big difference now is everyone has a camera and more cases come to light. While not every soldier is like this it only takes a few to ruin it and make it hard for the rest.

Stupid is not the word for this and as stated they maybe from a Eite sniper team so now their cover is busted. This type of thing has happened tima and again.

This is not about being a US Marine, these IDIOTS just happened to be Marines, but they happened to be doing very immoral, disgusting, idiotic actions that will soon have their consequences, not just for Americans, but for any people who may look like Americans, just give this some time and let AL Jazeerah put it up 24/7 all over the Arab tv world, it is going to blow up in the face of the USA.

Comparing Hindus/Muslims?? Sorry Donald, talk to any Indian and pick one Hindu and pick another Muslim and anyway, if I need to explain anymore I must be wasting my time, Americans in the Muslim world are seen as Christian infidels, now pissing on dead Muslims?? Very, very bad, time for some heads to roll and asses to be kicked and throw these fools in federal prisons, or heck send them to Guantanamo, Cuba I am sure those Muslim prisoners would love to chat with these infidels, right??

American Marines are better than terroists and compairing them to the Taiban is not right.

The Taliban definitely treat their prisoners and kills worse. Peeing on them would be like a kindness from them.

But the Marines invade and occupy more countries without need or cause.

Both kill a lot of civilians and I see little difference between doing it intentionally and calling it collateral damage when you have intentionally occupied a country you did not need to. There is no proof those dead guys were not civilians.

Score looks even to me.

But y'know, the Taliban would've done the same thing to them.

How would you know?

Taliban have beheaded captured soldiers before, whether NATO or Pakistani.

Taliban are allied with Al-Qaeda's ideologies. Al-Qaeda in Iraq had dragged dead soldiers on the street and hanged them upside down on a bridge.

Let me reiterate again: they have never signed the Geneva. Their perspective of religion does not prohibit such acts against infidels. There is nothing that they are beholden to from doing such acts. It's just accepted as regular warfare. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just put yourself in Muslim shoes, if you see Christian infidel soldiers invading Muslim countries, right or wrong, and now not just killing but pissing on dead Muslim bodies?? This is going to come back and haunt Americans/Nato etc..for a long, long time. Killing off Osama bin laden was cool, kind of like something out of a movie, but this?? Pissing on DEAD Muslims?? This is just plain stupid! Why did they even think it was ok to do this?? Some people will need to be in federal prisons for a long, long time to kind of drive it into the heads of other soldiers, you kill be the Taliban etc..want to kill you first, so you need to kill them first, simple, need to take a piss, crap, go behind a tree, do that in PRIVATE and have more pride in your job as a soldier, not doing this kind of crap that is down to the level of common street thugs, which makes me wonder....maybe these fools where already thugs before they decided to join the Marines??

I did not read all the comments, but why bother. The America haters of course will hold this as true and just evidence that America and its military forces are evil demons, blah, blah, blah.

Is it acceptable behavior? Of course not. Is it representative? Of course not. Keep in mind the war has lasted ten years; more incidents of this nature happened in a far shorter period of time in the last World War. Part of military training is to desensitize young people to kill each other. That some of them stray from what is acceptable should not be surprising in the least. To make a blanket statement about the morality of US troops based upon these few incidents is hardly fair. Once 'ordinary men' became guards at Buchenwald or lopped off American heads on Bataan, the list is endless. War is a stupid, horrible, disgusting thing. When you are trained to kill and surrounded by those trying to kill you all day, the niceties of the word outside of theirs might seem to become somewhat gray. Again, that's not to condone it. But until you've humped a bunch of miles in their boots and packs, it's a little more easy to pass armchair judgement, and a little to easy to over exaggerate the scope of such behaviors. Just my thoughts.

"Cletus" :

Oh but heres the kicker where did the Somali's and Iraqi's learn to do that. Maybe they saw the photos of the US troops dragging dead Viet Cong behind their APC's in Vietnam

The kicker! - if you know next to nothing about the the history of the regions you like to talk about and the supreme cultural influence there - the religion.

When the Iraqi gov't was toppled in 1958 and the royal family shot by Iraqi soldiers, the crown prince's mutilated corpse (disinterred from its grave no less) was dragged through the streets of Baghdad.

Don't take my word for it though; here is the report from the state-controlled media of the region's biggest hero of the day:Egypt's Gamel Abdel Nasser. His Middle East News Agency gleefully described what happened to Iraq's Crown Prince Abdul Illah:

'The people dragged Ab dul Illah's body into the street like that of a dog and tore it limb from limb.' Then the mobs burned the body."

The corpse of Iraqi leader of the day, Prime Minister Nuri al Said , was also dragged thought the streets.

Afghanistan ? The mutilated, castrated corpse of Najibullah, the Soviet-backed dictator of Afghanistan, was dragged through the streets of Kabul in '96 when the Taliban took power.

Is it acceptable behavior? Of course not. Is it representative? Of course not. Keep in mind the war has lasted ten years;

Its the ten year war that is unacceptable behavior and every foreign soldier, American, Canadian ,German, or other, currently or formerly in Afghanistan is guilty and " just following orders " did not work at Nuremberg.

You are right that peeing on freshly killed suspects is not representative, but how does that compare with killing men in their own country in the first place? It doesn't.

I did not read all the comments, but why bother. The America haters of course will hold this as true and just evidence that America and its military forces are evil demons, blah, blah, blah.

TigermothII, you should have read all the comments. I bet you would classify me as an America hater even though its the American government and military I hate (I love so much about the country though).

I don't think any country could have conducted this war any cleaner than America, despite this and other disgusting behavior. But the reason why all other countries look better is because they are not at the heart of conducting this futile war.

Of course you didn't even get what I was saying Yabits. Go figure. What a bloody know it all. Typical liberal.

Let's see how USNinjapan replies to this. Oh that's right he is US military so would not respond to an article showing US service men in their true light.

This is very, very bad, death penalty for this idiot marines, they are a disgrace to good marines all over the world.

Nice work, guys.

whats the big deal? a dead terrorist is a good terrorist

Well said USN.

A handful of idiots and a mobile phone has put back all NATO efforts a few years and further stained the reputation of the tens of thousands of other soldiers there that are risking their behinds to carry out their job. War maybe hell, but what a bunch of a££holes.

ha no surprise the soldiers are all pawns used by the gov. The gov and soldiers don't care about civilians or you..well maybe some soldiers care but don't expect any kind of compassion from these guys, they're all fake or hypnotized killing machines. it's because of the nwo.

oginome suppose it is human nature that there are always a few bad ones. The good thing is this is happening less and less as time goes on. My question is "how did they end up dead?" With the low moral values they are showing it is very possible they were murdered for no reason.

Donald Taylor, American Marines are better than terroists and compairing them to the Taiban is not right. Once you accept the fact that if they can do something wrong than it gives me the right to do wrong. A people or country lose the moral ground and become thugs and terroists. This was the action of a few bad Marines. I asked my guy and he thinks they violated artiles 92 and 134 of the UCMJ. The Geneva Convention prohibits the desecration of bodies of people killed in war. US Marines are good people and this action stains their good reputation. Know a lot of the gentle readers think I am anti USA but it is not true. I stand behind the Marines on this issue. I read that the Secatary of Defense is doing a full investigation and that maybe 2 of the thugs have been indentified. I do not expect for it to take long. The US Government is going to destroy the lives of these 4 thugs and perhaps murders. Jail time and an dishonorable discharge will be a lesson to other potential thugs.

lostrune2

Taliban have beheaded captured soldiers before, whether NATO or Pakistani.

Actually the Taliban have never beheaded a NATO soldier, they have beheaded Afghanis working for NATO. But never a NATO soldier.

Taliban are allied with Al-Qaeda's ideologies. Al-Qaeda in Iraq had dragged dead soldiers on the street and hanged them upside down on a bridge.

Actually pre the US invasion they werent and it was Iraqi insergents that dragged the dead soldiers through the streets as did the Somalis when the US went around kidnapping and killing them. Oh but heres the kicker where did the Somali's and Iraqi's learn to do that. Maybe they saw the photos of the US troops dragging dead Viet Cong behind their APC's in Vietnam. Thats right your troops have been doing this longer than the Iraqi's and Somali's l guess its ok to do it to your enemy but look out if they do it to you.

Let me reiterate again: they have never signed the Geneva. Their perspective of religion does not prohibit such acts against infidels. There is nothing that they are beholden to from doing such acts. It's just accepted as regular warfare. Nothing more, nothing less.

But the US has signed the Geneva convention and the US is always proclaiming itself as the moral highground over these uneducated heathens. Yet its the US that has the history of treating prisoners and war dead with disrespect.

"Sounds like a good old-fashioned American lynching"

It does not.

I support our troops even if they do pull some politically incorrect stunt like urinating on some dead Taliban

The sadder part is that you support them even when they allow themselves to be shipped off to start wars in foreign countries that never attacked America. I more Americans refused to support soldiers who willingly engage in wars of aggression, America might not currently be in this mess of lost lives, lost money, and lost prestige.

@Madverts - I've got my history right, I never said another country attacked us, I said simply we were attacked, and we went after those responsible. The Taliban were sheltering Osama and his al-Qaida network. So we kicked them out of power in Afghanistan.

"Both places are in serious turmoil"

Oh sure, the wackos are still setting off a few bombs, but otherwise Iraq is pretty stable compared to just a few years ago. Afghanistan is still a mess, but hey, Obama the commander-in-chief is doing a bang-up job there and it should be a virtual paradise by the end of his second term, lol.

You can't judge them in relation to the Taliban. The only standards by which you must judge them are the standards to which all of us in the US Armed Forces are held and which many have died upholding.

I reposted this because I thought it was the smartest thing said on this thread. Well stated USNinJapan. When the standard by which we judge the Taliban is the same as that in which we judge the U.S. military, I'll burn my old uniform.

It shows Your American anger

America , You lost in Afghanistan...

So some see more of an issue with the fact that this video got out rather than the fact that the American troops again showed their true colors. Its common enough knowledge how US troops behave l guess this just confirms it beyond doubt. But l guess the true crime here in some peoples eyes is the posting of the video.

Uploading the video should be a FEDERAL CRIME!! More innocent Americans will die when many many Muslims start demanding revenge!!

USNinJapan2,

Well said.

I agree it was a stupid thing to do, and even stupider to record.

But really, the hysterical over-reaction here is silly. The Taliban are not a normal enemy in the conventional sense of the word. They are not a military organization, they dont represent any government. They are misogynistic homophobes who use children as suicide bombers.

If you saw a picture of Allied servicemen urinating on the dead bodies of German gestapo or SS troops, would you be so upset? Somehow I doubt it.

This is nothing to do with the "moral high ground". The fact that the US is undergoing such hand-wringing and self abasement is proof that the moral high ground is in no danger. Can you imagine the Taliban undergoing such self reflection and worrying about showing honor to their enemies? Give me a break.

Do you really think this sort of behavior has never happened before in all armies and all conflicts throughout history? How naive! When you put young men in highly stressful situations, all sorts of a abhorrent behavior begins to appear. The only difference between then and now seems to be this idiotic compulsion to record every facet of the misdeed for posterity. That in itself may also be a symptom of the aberration. Today criminals (especially in mobs) seem obsessed with recording beatings, rapes, riots without the slightest notion that this in itself will lead to swift apprehension and prosecution. As awful as urinating on dead bodies may be, it's not the worst crime that could have been committed by this group. I would be far more upset if they were taking out there vengeance on the living.

"these men are a disgrace"

As opposed to the brave, upstanding Taliban freedom fighters, right?

No country attacked America on 9/11 please at least try to get your own history right. Just like your victory and liberation delusions, one only has to watch the news once a week to see both places are in serious turmoil with no end in sight.

but otherwise Iraq is pretty stable compared to just a few years ago

When people were being killed by your troops every day? It's still far from stable.

Afghanistan is still a mess, but hey, Obama the commander-in-chief is doing a bang-up job there and it should be a virtual paradise by the end of his second term, lol.

Keep dreaming.

America DOES have the moral high ground. As do the other countries involved in the Afghan mission. Or do you think it belongs to the Taliban? Because those are your choices in the conflict. Side with the guys who are trying their best, but sometimes screw up a bit? Or side with the guys who want to return the world to the 7th century bathed in blood.

"Terrorism" exploded in south asia. its us ( U.S. ) to blame more than taliban"

Give me a break! The ones to blame are the wackos who set off the bombs!

@smithinajapn

My question is, why blur their faces with a mosaic?

They have not been proven guilty yet. The video needs investiagtion.

Papers and tv stations around the world put mosaics over the cartoon depictions of Mohammed i Danish papers because everybody knows we are pretending when we say Islam is not violent. The faces of these renegade marines are blurred for the same reason is what I guess. If they get indentified they get killed or threatended with death.

familienprobleme: "foreign countries that never attacked America"

You must have missed September 11, 2001. We suffered the worst terrorist attack on our soil, and we went after those responsible.

"willingly engage in wars of aggression"

You imply we invade and plunder. We liberate. We didn't start this war but we're going to win it.

OK, the soldiers who peed on the dead Taliban, who, without doubt, caused misery for many, should be punished. Then, we can ask them to once again put their lives on the line to fight the Taliban and protect our freedom. And they probably would. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

"these men are a disgrace"

These men, who "are a "disgrace," have been in combat and are putting their lives on the line to protect Afghanis' freedom and our freedom.

I say take them aside, teach them that this is not acceptable behavior, have them swear to never do it again, and, yeah, basically give them a break. Like Tigermoth said, until you've humped a bunch of miles in their boots and packs, it's easy to pass armchair judgement and over exaggerate the scope of such behavior.

The Taliban can publish videos of Americans being beheaded with a kitchen knife while the poor bastard screams (until his windpipe was sawed into) and the muslim brothers don't condemn that but let an American urinate on a dead Taliban and it is the worst evil they have ever seen. When the muslims condemn the murder of unarmed civilians I will condemn pissing on the dead bodies of terrorists until then I won't lose much sleep worrying about offending the muslim community. Did anyone see the bodies of the Americans who were drug through the streets in Iran and then hung from a bridge and set on fire by muslim terrorist? I guess that's not offensive to anyone because they were Americans. I think we should give these soldiers a medal. At least I can be sure that those terrorist will not be killing Americans or anyone else. BTW, urine is sterile and is sometimes used to clean wounds in combat situations. Some Hindus will wash in cow urine for health. I think they were being way too kind in using urine.