Should read ... "overblown, media-hyped scandal..."
Sorry but these POSs don't want to play by the rules then neither should we. They did the same thing in Desert Storm, fake surrenders and fake deaths. They need to be eradicated from the face of the earth.
At the end of Desert Storm, my squad was taking prisoners every time we went out on patrol. It got to where we would load up a few cases of MREs for this very contingency. On one of these patrols we came up on a group of Iraqis who wanted to surrender.
We went to get them and the dropped and opened fire on us, wounding one of my men. Specialist Bishop manning our turrent mounted SAW on our Hummer provided covering fire for us. After a brief firefight, the Iraqis thought better of their actions and came out to surrender. We promptly shot a couple of them where they stood. The rest ran out into the desert tossing weapons and equipment as the went. We shot these in the back.
When I reported this to my commander, I told him simply that we were ambushed. I had a wounded soldier to prove it.
It is very easy for someone who has never been there to understand the thought process of a warrior in combat. Even the best officers and NCOs have trouble reeling their men in when the adrenaline is flowing and the blood runs hot.
I am pretty sure I know what these Marine's thoughts were. I don't blame him one bit.