War Is Hell

A video has recently been published showing U.S. Marines in Afghanistan urinating on Taliban corpses.  Our Secretary of Defense called the Marine's actions as not just deplorable but "utterly deplorable" and our Secretary of State said she felt not just dismay but "total dismay".  I would hope that cool heads prevail and that these Marines are not dishonorably discharged from the service.  

Here is the right reaction.

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a former Army lieutenant colonel, sent an e-mail to "The Weekly Standard" giving the proper response to the actions of the Marines...

“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.”