American officials scrambled Thursday to respond to a video circulating on the Internet of four US Marines in Afghanistan urinating on the bodies of three dead Afghans, presumably members of the Taliban.
The video appears to show the US Marines urinating on the dead bodies of three men dressed in traditional Afghan clothing, one with a bloody torso. The recording was apparently made between March and September 2011, when the Marines’ unit was stationed in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. The video shows the men smiling, and one of them says: “Have a great day, buddy.”
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta termed the behavior “utterly deplorable” and called Afghan President Hamid Karzai Thursday, telling him that he has ordered a full and swift investigation into the matter. Several other top officials at the Pentagon, including General James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, issued statements denouncing the conduct of the four Marines.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a news conference Thursday in Washington that the videotaped act left her in “total dismay.” “It is absolutely inconsistent with American values, with the standards of behaviour that we expect from our military personnel and (which) the vast, vast majority of our military personnel, particularly our Marines, hold themselves to,” she said.
The video also drew swift condemnation in Afghanistan, where President Karzai called it “completely inhumane” and the Afghan Defense Ministry called it “shocking,” according to the Associated Press.
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Way to go stupid rednecks.
Posted by Den 
