Marines and Honour

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/w...ior-is-a-risk-of-combat-experts-say.html?_r=1

Talk to almost anyone who has fought in combat, and chances are they can tick off a string of reasons why the YouTube video showing four Marines urinating on the bodies of dead enemy fighters in southern Afghanistan is horrible. Horrible for America’s image around the world. Horrible for its strategy of winning support from the Afghan people. Horrible for a professional military that believes its troops behave with the utmost decorum, even in the heat of battle.

And yet, their outrage often also comes with a caveat. Reprehensible behavior, combat veterans and military experts say, is an ever-present risk when troops in their teens and early 20s are thrown into nerve-racking battle for months at a time. And if there are weaknesses in their leadership or breakdowns in discipline, that behavior can easily spill over into acts that might be considered war crimes.

“The degree to which a squad or platoon in combat becomes calloused toward the enemy that they are facing is almost always high,” said Andrew M. Exum, a former Army officer who did combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and is now senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington policy group. “There is always, always, always the temptation to abuse a detainee or pose for a picture with some dead fighter. And that’s why noncommissioned officers and commissioned officers have to be extra vigilant.”

Ahhh....now here perhaps an arguement could be made that combat soldiers
need to be a minimum of 50yrs of age or older, eliminating this issue. A bunch
of pissed-off old guys with sore backs, and not in the mood for taking **** from
anybody, at any time, for any reason. :lol:
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
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Once you leave the womb, conservatives don’t care about you until you reach military age. Then you’re just what they’re looking for. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin

If it requires a uniform, it’s a worthless endeavor. - George Carlin
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
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Seems to me I recall you claiming to be a firefighter. Seems to me even you know how long it will be before the arsonist is out there getting jollies again. I'm assuming you're bright enough to figure out the rest

I guess I'm not.

Once you leave the womb, conservatives don’t care about you until you reach military age. Then you’re just what they’re looking for. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin

If it requires a uniform, it’s a worthless endeavor. - George Carlin

Aside from being unfunny, George never struck me as being too bright. Never did get the fascination with him.
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
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Allen West on the Marines Incident: 'Shut Your Mouth, War Is Hell'.
Congressman Allen West

Regarding the video of alleged Marines urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban fighters that went viral Thursday, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) had some intense words for anyone criticizing the military.

Here’s an email he sent to The Weekly Standard:

“I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah.

“All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq?

“The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.

“As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.”

West is a former Army Lieutenant colonel.

Now you know the rules and the law. Dismissed.
Congressman Allen West is ignorant and wrong. His statements indicate he doesn't know his geography, history or that these incidents involved different adversaries.

Congressman Allen West: I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu.

eao: I do recall self-righteous indignation after this event. In fact the American general public were so righteous and indignant, that pressure from the American public forced the Clinton Administration to end their mission in Somalia. Also, the images of these soldier's bodies being desecrated were immortalized in the movie "Black Hawk Down". That movie is full of righteous indignation. The Congressman also doesn't appear to be able to differentiate between one group of Ragheads and another, even though Somalia is thousands of kilometers away from Afghanistan and the people responsible were Somalis (not the Taliban) and don't even speak the same language.

Congressman Allen West: Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah.

eao: As I recall, these "contractors" were hired mercenaries which allegedly interrogated and tortured Iraqi civilians and insurgents alike. These "contractors" did things that the US military isn't allowed to do to their prisoners. Also, before the US led Iraq invasion, the residents of Fallujah were more or less hostile to Saddam Hussein. Fallujah was run by the locals. When the US military showed up, the locals as per their culture made a show of force. Due to a cultural misunderstanding the US leaders interpreted that show of force as a threat and ordered soldiers to fire into a crowd of mostly unarmed civilians. The dead were mostly women and children. That's when Fallujah became hostile to the US. Eventually the Fallujah insurgency forced the US military to retreat. A few mercenaries never made it out and were captured. The locals tried the mercenaries for their "crimes" and executed them according to their code of justice. Their corpses were strung up on a bridge at the entrance to the city as warning and set on fire. In response, the US bombed Fallujah (a densely populated city) with high explosives and white phosphorus. After a series of "shake and bake" operations which killed most of the city's residents, the town was pacified. Only a few residents survived the brutal massacre which included orders to shoot anything that moved and captured prisoners. BTW, Fallujah is in Iraq, not Afghanistan and the Ragheads in this case were Iraqis, not the Taliban.

FYI, I don't defend the actions of anyone involved in either of these incidents. My point is only that the Congressman's statement was both ignorant and wrong.

As far as I know, the Taliban do lots of crazy assed ****.... but I don't believe their code allows for the desecration of dead bodies or disrespect for their adversaries. However, I'd like to see someone post something which proves that statement wrong. Its possible that they have done this and I am unaware of it. However if the Taliban did something like the US Marines did, it would have made our news. I'm also fairly certain most Americans would have been rightfully outraged and self righteous as the Afghan people are.
 
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Cliffy

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Due to a cultural misunderstanding the US leaders interpreted that show of force as a threat and ordered soldiers to fire into a crowd of mostly unarmed civilians. The dead were mostly women and children.

Seems to me that both Iraq and Afghanistan were the result of colossal misunderstandings. It happens when you think you are the center of the Universe. Americans need to learn that they are not the center, Toronto is.
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
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Regarding the incident where US soldiers fired indiscriminately into a crowd of unarmed civilians:

The 18-page report, "Violent Response: The U.S. Army in al-Falluja," challenges the U.S. military's assertion that its troops came under direct fire from individuals in the crowd of protesters on April 28. Human Rights Watch found no conclusive evidence of bullet damage on the school where the soldiers were based. In contrast, buildings facing the school had extensive multi-caliber bullet impacts that were inconsistent with U.S. assertions that soldiers had responded with "precision fire."
Iraq: U.S. Should Investigate al-Falluja | Human Rights Watch

Until that incident, Fallujah was not strongly anti or pro US.

Fallujah - The Hidden Massacre
Veteran admits: Bodies melted away before us
Fallujah - The Hidden Massacre: Video -
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
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Too bad. Did someone amputate your funny bone or were you born without one?

I have a funny bone. That's probably why I'm not a fan. I used to be when I was a kid but grew out of it. It's low brow humour. That always seems to be popular.