if it's real, it's a new low. Few bad bastards making everyone look bad, as usual.
The US Marine Corps said it is investigating a video depicting what appears to be four Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters.
The Pentagon said today it had no information so far that casts doubt on the authenticity of a video showing what appear to be Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban in Afghanistan.
"We don't have any indication that it's not authentic," Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby said. "It certainly appears to us to be what it appears to be to you guys . . . troops urinating on corpses. But there's an investigation process ongoing. We need to let that work its way through to determine all the facts of the case."
In a statement, the Marine Corps said it has not verified the origin or authenticity of the Youtube video. It also said the actions portrayed are not consistent with Marine values.
If verified the video could create a strong backlash in the Muslim world and beyond for the disrespectful actions it portrays.
A defence official said the case will be referred to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Navy’s worldwide law enforcement organisation.
The Council on Islamic-American Relations, a prominent Muslim civil rights and advocacy group based in Washington, quickly condemned the video.
“We condemn this apparent desecration of the dead as a violation of our nation’s military regulations and of international laws of war prohibiting such disgusting and immoral actions,” the group wrote in a letter faxed to Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
“If verified as authentic, the video shows behaviour that is totally unbecoming of American military personnel and that could ultimately endanger other soldiers and civilians,” the letter said.
Marine Corps headquarters at the Pentagon said: “The actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps. This matter will be fully investigated.”
A Marine Corps spokesman added: “Allegations of Marines not doing the right thing in regard to dead Taliban insurgents are very serious and, if proven, represent a failure to adhere to the high standards expected of American military personnel.”
It is unclear who shot the video and who posted it online.
The Nato-led security force in Afghanistan says the military personnel seen in the video are no longer in the country. The International Security Assistance Force released a statement calling the actions in the video “inexplicable and not in keeping with the high moral standards” expected of coalition forces.
ISAF says the actions “appear to have been conducted by a small group of US individuals, who apparently are no longer serving in Afghanistan”.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... king4.html
