US Marines insult dead Taliban fighters; urinates on them

Washington, Jan 12: In a matter of grave insult to the dead, a video has emerged that shows American forces in Afghanistan urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters. The video has sparked rage and horror across the globe with the US Marine Corps ordering a probe into the incident.

The video was posted on Youtube and some other websites as well. It shows four men in camouflage Marine combat uniforms doing the despicable act of urinating on the dead bodies. One of them also jokes in the video and says, “Have a nice day, buddy.” Another man jokes about giving a shower. [UPDATE: Guilty Identified, Obama ashamed]

The US Marine in a statement said, “While we have not yet verified the origin or authenticity of this video, 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."

Two US military officials commented on conditions of anonymity that at first glance it looked like the video was authentic. The Council on American-Islamic Relations in a letter stated, “Any guilty parties must be punished to the full extent allowed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and by relevant American laws.”

A US-based Muslim civil rights group condemned the incident on the alleged desecration of corpses and wrote a letter to the Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta.

Not the first taint on US armed forces deployed in Afghanistan, this recent episode could hamper the peace achieved after a decade of war. The US military had earlier prosecuted soldiers from the Army's 5th Stryker Brigade over charges of killing unarmed Afghan civilians while deployed in 2010 at the Kandahar province.

The timing of the release of this video is crucial as the US have slowly started withdrawing troops in an effort to bring peace back to the region. Captain John Kirby from the Pentagon said that the defence department was "deeply troubled" by the video. He added, “Whoever it is, and whatever the circumstances - which we know is under investigation - it is egregious behaviour and unacceptable for a member of the military.”

OneIndia News