Posted on 10/21/2005 4:34:10 PM PDT by blogblogginaway
The desecration of Taliban dead prompts outrage in Afghanistan
There simply wasn't enough room on the rocky hilltop above Gonbaz village in southern Afghanistan for the U.S. platoon and the corpses of the two Taliban fighters. The Taliban men had been killed in a firefight 24 hours earlier, and in the 90 degree heat, their bodies had become an unbearable presence, soldiers who were present have told TIME. Nor was the U.S. Army unit about to leave — the hilltop commanded a strategic view of the village below where other Taliban were suspected to be hiding.
Earlier, Lt. Eric Nelson, the leader of B Company, I-508 platoon leader had sent word down to Gonbaz asking the villagers to pick up the bodies and bury them according to Muslim ritual. But the villagers refused — probably because the dead fighters weren't locals but Pakistanis, surmised one U.S. army officer.
It was then that Lt. Nelson took the decision that could jeopardize his service career. "We decided to burn the bodies," one soldier recounts, "because they were bloated and they stank." News of this cremation may have remained on these scorching hills of southern Afghanistan, had the gruesome act not been recorded on film by an Australian photojournalist, Stephen Dupont. Instead, when the footage aired on Australian TV on Wednesday, it unleashed world outrage. A Pentagon spokesman described the incident as "repugnant" and said that the army was launching a criminal investigation into the alleged desecration of the corpses, which is in violation of the Geneva Convention on human rights.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Well .. thanks for that stupid reply ..??
Well .. whether somebody photographed it or not .. it still happened. Character is developed by what you do in secret - not what you can get away with in secret.
Nobody on our side did anything wrong. There's really nothing to hide except we all know that our detractors make mountains out of molehills and there no good end served by providing them with ammunition. If you think running politically correct army is a good thing then I think your priorities are wrong. We're there to kill our enemies not make them feel honored.
"If you think running politically correct army is a good thing then I think your priorities are wrong. We're there to kill our enemies not make them feel honored."
From everything I've said on this thread, how on earth could you come to that conclusion about me. I'm not a PC person - but we cannot allow our military men to be made into monsters - just because the enemy is made up of monsters.
I am not nor have I ever been a PC person and I really resent the fact that you couldn't do a little bit more homework before using the typical mantra that everybody who doesn't agree with you must be PC.
And .. I said that a military has 2 goals - kill people and break things. I don't think that's a PC attitude. But, burning bodies of people who are already dead - is not according to already established Army regulations - they're not MY regulations. And .. NOT burning them has nothing to do with honoring them.
Next time, read what I wrote and don't take for granted you have the right assessment of everything.
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