Condemning U.S. troops but not Taliban troops...

Last week, the video of three Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan caused quite a stir in Washington, DC.  Speaking for the Obama administration, the Secretary of Defense called the Marines' behavior "utterly deplorable" while the Secretary of State expressed her "total dismay."

Cataloging the denunciations, condemnations, lamentations, and apologies, William Kristol blogged in the American Standard:

Give me a break.  More importantly, give our troops a break.  Yes, the Marines who appear to have done what they did should be reprimanded or punished, as they would have been in the normal course of things once their deed came to light.  I will even grant that some higher-ups might have felt it prudent to deplore what happened, based on realpolitik considerations of depriving our enemies of excuses to whip up sentiment against us in the region (though I'm doubtful the effort to do this isn't more counterproductive than not).  But the administration's reaction is over the top.  And it smells of cheap self-righteousness and moral posturing from an administration that, to be honest, hasn't devoted a whole lot of time to thanking our troops for what they've been doing in very difficult and dangerous circumstances

The Motley Monk couldn't agree more with Bill Kristol on this matter, as apparently do most of the 20k+ people who participated in a Washington Post poll.  The question: "What was your reaction to the video that appeared to show Marines urinating on three Afghan corpses?"  The responses:

• It's an unacceptable desecration: 11%
• It's an embarrassment: 7%
• It's not surprising---things like this happen in war: 82%

Kristol went on to chide Republicans---especially those running for the GOP's presidential nomination---for not defending the commonsense point that this incident needs to be put in the context of the admirable behavior of 99% of the nation's troops 99% of the time.

The Motley Monk fave and retired Army lieutenant colonel, Representative Allen West (R-FL), took Kristol's bait, writing in an email published in the American 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.

The Motley Monk thinks in this matter (as in most) that Representative West is absolutely correct.

What those 1% who have decried the contents of the video seem not to get is that war exacts its toll on both sides of the battle lines.  Yes, there are behaviors in which professionals must not engage and for which there are sanctions.  Those who engage in those proscribed behaviors should be punished.  But, to express outrage only when "our side" engages in prohibited behavior signals "cheap self-righteousness and moral posturing" that denigrates the 99% of those who serve in the nation's Armed Forces.

The point Representative West makes is further validated in the beheading of Daniel Pearl.  Many on the political left were vociferous in condemning his executioners.  President Obama wasn't quite so judgmental, simply noting that the execution "captured the world's imagination...reminded us of how valuable  a free press is...."

Not a word of condemnation when that valuable free press reports the torture and murder of American military personnel.


Let the discussion begin...



To read Bill Kristol's blog, click on the following link:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/silence-republican-candidates_616690.html
To read Allen West's email, click on the following link:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/allen-west-marines-incident-shut-your-mouth-war-hell_616699.html

To read the Washington Post poll, click on the following link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-user-polls/post/should-these-marines-be-punished/2012/01/12/gIQA65CctP_blog.html