Perry: Marines in video are 'kids,' not criminals
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful, Texas governor Rick Perry, is accusing the Obama administration of "over-the-top rhetoric" and "disdain for the military" in its condemnation of a video that purportedly shows Marines urinating on dead bodies in Afghanistan.
No one has been charged in the case, but officials in the U.S. and abroad have called for swift punishment of the four Marines.
A military criminal investigation and an internal Marine Corps review are under way. The Geneva Conventions forbid the desecration of the dead.
Perry tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he thinks the Marines involved should be reprimanded, but not pursued with criminal charges.
Perry said "18, 19-year-old kids make stupid mistakes all too often and that's what's occurred here."
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Yeah, I totally believe for even a second that Perry wouldn't raise hell over foreign troops pissing on dead Americans. Hell, he'd call the National Guard if an American peed on his $1000 shoes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful, Texas governor Rick Perry, is accusing the Obama administration of "over-the-top rhetoric" and "disdain for the military" in its condemnation of a video that purportedly shows Marines urinating on dead bodies in Afghanistan.
No one has been charged in the case, but officials in the U.S. and abroad have called for swift punishment of the four Marines.
A military criminal investigation and an internal Marine Corps review are under way. The Geneva Conventions forbid the desecration of the dead.
Perry tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he thinks the Marines involved should be reprimanded, but not pursued with criminal charges.
Perry said "18, 19-year-old kids make stupid mistakes all too often and that's what's occurred here."
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Source
Yeah, I totally believe for even a second that Perry wouldn't raise hell over foreign troops pissing on dead Americans. Hell, he'd call the National Guard if an American peed on his $1000 shoes.
This. They're only "kids" when the military has to explain away the stupid, offensive stuff that they do. The rest of the time, they're adults - which, being over 18 years old, they are - and the military can keep going around, condemning the countries who use actual child soldiers.
STFU asshole.
So kids can't be criminals. Ok
How old may those kids be please?
If they're old enough to be soldiers and carry a gun around they're old enough to be able to know the difference between right and wrong.
They're old enough to know about the Geneva Conventions
They're old enough to take resposabilities
Here you go op:
If you're in the military you need to conduct yourself like a professional AND THIS ISN'T REALLY A BIG SECRET IT GETS DRILLED INTO YOUR HEAD FROM DAY 1
They knew what they were doing and they knew it was wrong and they SHOULD have known that they could get into big trouble for it.
I don't remember ever pissing on corpses when I was 18 OR 19. I don't remember ever wanting to piss on corpses when I was 18 OR 19. I don't think I ever had a single thought in relation to pissing on corpses when I was 18 OR 19. To the best of my knowledge, I don't know anyone who at that age pissed on a corpse and I certainly hope that they wouldn't have done it or thought of it even if presented with a corpse.
So.
This in no way excuses them from committing a disgusting act of desecration. If they were old enough to train and become members of the Marines then they should at least show some manner of professional conduct. Taliban or not, the people they desecrated where human beings and I can sure as hell guess that if the tables were turned, the Marines in question wouldn't find it so funny or proper if it was one of their colleagues/friends. They shouldn't let them go without any fear of being punished for their actions, because then it just makes it okay for others to do it.
/endrant
Either way, fuck him.
And that's the guy who wants to be your president, folks. Have a nice day.
Edited at 2012-01-15 07:09 pm (UTC)
A "stupid mistake"? No. A stupid mistake is wearing mismatched socks to an important interview. What those adult soldiers did? That was a disgusting act that they had to have known was wrong. Additionally, I have a feeling that actual children might be more hesitant to piss on dead human beings.
he thinks the Marines involved should be reprimanded, but not pursued with criminal charges.
First off, "thinks" and "rick perry" should never be used in the same sentence. Second, THEY BROKE THE GENEVA CONVENTION. GUESS WHAT, THAT GETS YOU PUNISHED, YOU DUMBASS. If they didn't want to get in trouble, they shouldn't have done it, and they for DAMN sure shouldn't have POSTED IT TO FACEBOOK. They deserve to be punished for being fucking stupid, if nothing else.
Then again, it's ironic that we've spent the last 50+ years suddenly "refining" what was, is, and shall always be the inherent dehumanizing nature of warfare. So when a few soldiers revive old school barbarian behaviour as far as rape, pillaging, and desecration goes, we clutch our pearls because we've been so sheltered from even the sanctioned, sanitized methods of grim warfare.
Edited at 2012-01-15 08:05 pm (UTC)
They're not kids. They're soldiers. Or as my grandfather said of his time in Korea, "I was a trained killer." That's not a "kid". Fucking moron.
And quite frankly, any person whose conceptualization of of warfare/foreign policy can simply be paraphrased as "[HOLDS UP INDEX FINGERS AS TOY GUNS] POW-POW! PEW! PEWWWWWWWM! [PAUSES TO TURN PAGE OF FAVE COMIC BOOK] PEW-PEW-PEWWWWMMM!" should be automatically barred from running for high office. Fucking idiots.
Edited at 2012-01-15 08:18 pm (UTC)
Edited at 2012-01-15 09:33 pm (UTC)