Military Seems to Be Worried That Afghan Corpse Video Is For Real

YouTube
Dino Grandoni 2,513 Views Jan 12, 2012

If the latest statements from U.S. military men are any indication, the Pentagon is pretty worried that that awful video of Marines peeing on killed Taliban Afghans is not a fake. This morning, a military spokesperson told Reuters that "We don't have any indication that it's not authentic." It's a funny double-negative that covers the Department of Defense's behind if the video eventually proves to be fake, but we suspect this means the military is coming to the conclusion that it is not. "It certainly appears to us to be what it appears to be to you guys... troops urinating on corpses," said the Pentagon, adding that the investigation is ongoing. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, for his part, reenforces that reading with his own condemnation today. "I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable ... Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent." We'd hope. Afghan President Hamid Karzai added he was "deeply disturbed" by the videos as well.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at dgrandoni at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Related Articles   More by Dino Grandoni

'Brown Out' May Have Caused Marine Helicopters to Crash

Neo-Nazis Are Using the Army as a Training Camp

No Discharge for Koran-Burning Soldiers, Corpse-Desecrating Marines

 

The Drudge Report Can Thank Obamacare for 45 Million Page Views

Jon Stewart Dines Out on Fox News and CNN's Supreme Blunders

Elsewhere on the Web

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App