As the cameraman said, these wounded had already surrendered 24 hours before.
In fact, if a prisoner is severely wounded or unconcious, then there's no need for him to indicate surrender to be considered hors de combat. Breathing is allowed...shooting for that is not justified.
Part of me suspects the Marines did not pay any attention to the cameraman (who had been there the day before and was telling the Marines that these insurgents were wounded and previously captured) and didn't realize that these insurgents had already been captured (and searched?).
The Marine probably did not realize that the one he shot had already been captured, and therefore thought he was playing dead to attack him. I'm betting it was a mistake born of confusion. That doesn't mean we should try to justify it.
Who is justifying anything? War is hell, and I despise
war worse than most. So, you have been in a war? And you,
of course, did it all right. You were in combat, I assume,
and always did it all right. Or maybe you just studied
theory. - You sound all too ready to hang our men at
sunrise. - I suggest this Marine take an early out and
leave the fighting to perfect soldiers like you. When
enough soldiers and Marines take early retirement from the
military, perhaps the DU geniuses can be drafted. This
should be interesting.
What if he is breathing and possibly holding an IED, which is what happened the day before. This soldier saw one of his friend's get wasted while operating under the system you espouse. What would YOU have done under the same circumstances, if you were in that Marine's shoes? That's right, you would have shot the guy, as we all would have.
A firefight is an occurrance where a man has the rare chance to see what he is made of, and to see what he will do at the drop of a hat, when his life and the lives of his fellow soldiers are at stake. A firefight is no place for a soldier to contemplate "what-if's."
After watching a buddy die and being himself shot in the face, do you really think that a Marine would stop and wonder whether or not a target is breathing? That Marine was trained to eliminate ALL potential threat, and "potential" is the key word here.
Your naivete is stunning....