Sigh. No, I'd say it placed them about equal, if you want the truth.

Sorry, I should have specified. Within the context of a political forum, that's the least respect for human life I've ever seen.

No, probably not. However, it is against the UCMJ as far as I know, and they got caught. Or is it OK to violate the UCMJ in special circumstances?

I agree, but UNTIL those rules are changed, they are STILL rules...

If you want to smoke a joint, great...But do not light up UNTIL the law says "It's OK to light up."...As long as the law says "It's illegal to light up.", the lighting up is a crime no matter how many support you or how strong your motivation is...

Dude...That's exactly what I said earlier...

Then it appears that military law is in conflict with military culture...Law wins until it's changed...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

It is probably against the UCMJ, and frankly, I don't have a problem with a mild punishment for what should be seen at worst as a mild offense. But I expect their punishment and disposition to be dictated by political concerns.

I also have an objection to rules and laws which place an unbearable burden on human nature. This is where benign neglect comes into play on the part of their superiors, and why they were stupid to take and lose control of the video.

(I have considered the possibility too, that this was a psyopps event, and that we're being told that the marines will be punished to maintain deniablity. I have read, but cannot confirm that some Muslim sects believe that a mishandled corpse condemns that former occupant to Hell. If that's the case, this may have all been staged to terrorize the terrorists. I merely speculate here.)

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“Quod scripsi, scripsi"

"Sometimes, the source of the beautiful dawning light that drives back the darkness, is your house burning"

I don't know what the punishment is, but I think they should receive it and no more. I really don't blame these guys.

Can't argue with that.

I don't see anything wrong with vengeance, and as a matter of fact, I feel good whenever punks get their butts handed to them.

Allen West has the best response:

I agree with everything but the last sentence.

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"The ultimate decision about what is accepted as right and wrong will be made not by individual human wisdom but by the disappearance of the groups that have adhered to the "wrong" beliefs."
-- F.A. Hayek

This kind of thing has been going for millenia with great effectiveness. Everything from lining roads with enemy's heads on stakes to using your enemy's bodies as torches. When you see the direct results of fighting against an enemy exhibited this way, it will either motivate you to stop fighting or motivate you to fight harder. Many here are assuming that this will ONLY motivate the Taliban to fight harder, but what if the opposite effect is seen?? What if because of this a whole bunch of people decide that having thier corpses pissed on by US Marines is not how they see their funeral?? I'm not naive enough to think that this will be the only response we see, but I'm also not naive enough to think that it won't have this result. So, my question is:
IF this act caused 100 Taliban fighters to quit fighting and go home and make babies with thier four wives and raise those children to be people of peace because those 100 men don't want thier children to see their corpes get pissed on by the USMC and don't want to see thier children's corpses get pissed on by the USMC, would it be worth it???

I know that one of the first answers will be "We can't lower ourselves to their level." or "The problem is that it would cause 200 more to join." or something similar, but PLEASE try to look at this objectively and directly. Also, I have little confidence that my scenario would really happen, but IF it did.....

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

Leftists and very small children don't seem to be able to understand that the Government isn't there to "fix" the economy, anymore than a tick is there to fix your dog.~Oftencold

And who, exactly, is Mark Levin?

And I think it's sick that they pissed on the bodies of dead men.

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The voice in your head that says "you can't do this" is a LIAR!!!

I welcome you to show any evidence on the claim of effectiveness.

Quite frankly, there is counter evidence regarding other action INFLAMIng the Taliban for higher recruitment.

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"Try to become not a man of success, but try rather to become a man of value."
Albert Einstein

Food for thought:
This isn't going to get used as much of a recruiting tool, since just about anyone who would join the Taliban because of this has most likely already joined, but what about the opposite effect?? What if this DE-motivates some people because they can't stand the idea of having their corpses be drenched in the urine of US Marines??? I think this is a disgusting thing to do, BUT I can also see how it could work to our advantage. Go back to old Vlad the Impaler. While barbarous in the extreme, the act of impaling his enemies probably saved the lives of a lot of people. When you see just how horribly you're going to die if you lose, your motivation to fight drops substantially. I despise the idea of using this kind of tactic, but from a purely objective POV, I can understand why it would be used. Vlad's impaling efforts were seen as incredibly cruel, but if they saved the lives of men and women who would have otherwise fought against him, this vicious act was actually less violent than the alternative.

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

Leftists and very small children don't seem to be able to understand that the Government isn't there to "fix" the economy, anymore than a tick is there to fix your dog.~Oftencold