1515: Siri

[Curt]

What these guys did was incredibly stupid and provocative. Every Taliban will have this video and spend time showing it to every villager they can to show that the 'devil' Americans will piss on and desecrate the dead. It will act to create more support for the Taliban while we are trying to get them into peace talks. It also puts every service member serving over seas at risk to retaliation.

These marines should be court-martialed, thrown in the brig for a good long time and dishonorably discharged.

What they did put others at risk for more attacks and ruined whatever good will has been built up in the region.

[starscream]

Originally Posted by Curt

Every Taliban will have this video and spend time showing it to every villager they can to show that the 'devil' Americans will piss on and desecrate the dead. It will act to create more support for the Taliban while we are trying to get them into peace talks. It also puts every service member serving over seas at risk to retaliation.

Man, I kind of hated the Americans before for killing my mother and my sister, but now that you've shown this video of them pissing on them afterwards, now I am ready to sign up for terrorism. Thank you so much for helping me make up my mind, Taliban recruiter person.

[knucklehead32]

they absolutely DESERVE to be pissed on. its not a question of whether its ok or not, i think its a travesty when one of them DOESNT get pissed on. fuck those towel heads!

[zappbrannigan]

Originally Posted by knucklehead32

they absolutely DESERVE to be pissed on. its not a question of whether its ok or not, i think its a travesty when one of them DOESNT get pissed on. fuck those towel heads!

...Okay.

If the poll question was "was the dragging of American soldiers' bodies through the streets of Mogadishu acceptable or barbaric?" or "was the decapitation of prisoners on camera by Taliban members acceptable or barbaric?" What the fuck would your answers be?

Yeah these soldiers are trained killers, but that's no justification. There's a reason we have the Geneva Code. There's a reason we (the Western world) don't use terrorism and torture (obviously there have been breaches of these rules over the years).

You wanna talk about the difference between the Western world and these countries that you "shouldn't bother going to" and how we're so much more civilized than them? Yeah, maybe our women don't wear veils, but we still desecrate the bodies of our enemies.

Am I more than a little naive, sure, but I think whether or not it's alright to piss on the bodies of the dead or not (regardless of who it is) should be a no-brainer.

[starscream]

Originally Posted by zappbrannigan

There's a reason we have the Geneva Code.

Yes. To make us feel better about feel better about doing barbaric things. I guess it's working on you.

This ought to be in the Geneva Code:

Originally Posted by Cretaceous Bob

Don't shoot people you wouldn't piss on.

[zappbrannigan]

Originally Posted by starscream

Yes. To make us feel better about feel better about doing barbaric things. I guess it's working on you.

Shut the hell up. You completely misread what I said.

EDIT: This isn't about "is it relatively understandable that a soldier in a high-stress situation (i.e. WAR) would piss on a dead body. This is about is it acceptable behaviour and if the answer to that question if it were an enemy pissing on a dead American was no, then it should be no if it's an American pissing on an enemy.

[Zomniac]

Let's be absolutely clear... there are thousands of videos showing various middle-eastern factioned soldiers and mercenaries perpetrating horrible beheadings, torture, spitting on, pissing on, and defecating on living captives as well as corpses, brutal rapes of women and men some with implements like knives and swords on anyone who they deem their enemy, so this video showing American soldiers pissing on corpses should not be taken as the first of this kind, nor should it be accepted as fact that these American soldiers are the ONLY ones to have done this.

Having said all that, it is still reprehensible.

I am not going to get into a no-win debate about whether or not we should be over there (I have my opinion), but if we are supposed to be liberators and taking preventative measures against terrorism, or at the very least representing what freedom means, pissing on corpses, videoing it and uploading it to YouTube detracts from that in the most horrible way possible, let alone tarnish the already thin reputation of the US military (i.e Abu Ghraib). Remember, our fighting forces are not only supposed to be the best in the world, but also the most above reproach of any military in the world. Every branch of the US Military has words to that effect in the oaths taken by the recruits.

Integrity and Honor, this incident is not, but it is undeniably the fuel enemies of the US, or more broadly- the world, will use for further rage against the United States of America.

[starscream]

Originally Posted by zappbrannigan

Shut the hell up. You completely misread what I said.

Write it better then?

[Keith]

Why are people saying how wrong it is to videotape this and let it get out? Who thinks this is a good thing?

I so know this is tainting this show's science...

[zappbrannigan]

Originally Posted by starscream

Write it better then?

Alright.

The entire point of the Geneva Code, as I understand it, is that it understands that war is a necessary evil that should only be used to fight enemies who cannot be negotiated with (i.e. Nazis, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, etc). However, we're not going to stoop down to the level of the enemy and torture people, kill innocents, desecrate dead bodies, etc. You can't call yourself better than the enemy if you're going to behave as they do.

However, obviously I understand that killing people is still killing people and that it will mess with someone's mind. I agree with you guys that this stuff is going to happen, but that doesn't make it right. If it's wrong when the enemy does it, it's wrong when we do it.

I have NO idea what war is like and I'm sure if I did I might end up doing some terrible things, but that doesn't make it right.