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| Iraq |
| U.S. Probes Photos of Marines Burning Corpses in Iraq |
| 2014-01-16 |
| [An Nahar] The U.S. Marine Corps has launched an investigation into photos released Wednesday that purport to show troops burning corpses in Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperityor a really nice place to raise your kids... Iraq, a front man said. The probe was focused initially on verifying if the images were genuine, after the gossip website TMZ, known for its coverage of celebrities, posted eight grisly photos online. "We are conducting an investigation into it right now," Captain Tyler Balzer told Agence La Belle France Presse. "At this point it's just to really determine the veracity of the photos and what the circumstances depicted in them are, and, if possible, whether we can identify the service members involved," he said. The TMZ site said it had 41 photos and were told the images were taken in Fallujah, the scene of heavy fighting by Marines nearly ten years ago and where al-Qaeda-linked forces of Evil recently took back control. In the photos, an American Marine appears to be pouring fuel or other flammable liquid on two corpses. Then other pictures show the remains on fire. In other pictures, a U.S. Marine smiles for the camera as he kneels next to a corpse, and another soldier appears to search the pockets of the clothes on a corpse. TMZ wrote that it handed over the photos to the U.S. Defense Department. A Pentagon front man said the photos do not appear to show a war crime, but the troops in the pictures possibly violated military rules that prohibit the mishandling of remains or inappropriate photos on the battlefield. "Based on our initial discussions with our legal team, there's been no law of war violations here," Colonel Steven Warren said. In some cases, torching corpses can be permitted under military rules for "health and hygiene," Warren said. If military authorities conclude there was wrongdoing, the individuals involved could be prosecuted under the military code even if the incident occurred several years ago, Warren said. If the troops have since left the military, they would have to be ordered back to duty to face charges, which is extremely rare, he added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 Ya know, I remember a book my family had when I was a kid. It was Time (or Life) "WWII in Pictures". One of the pictures was of a Japanese tanker who couldn't get out of his tank when it brewed up. It was hard to tell it was a human head, unless you squinted and filled in some gaps. So was that pic a war crime? And who the hell cared? |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2014-01-16 21:49 |
| #8 One of the only two stories my father told me about his service in WWII as a Seabee was bulldozing and burning corpses of soldiers, women & children that committed suicide after the fall of Saipan. It pretty much scarred him for life and it wasn't until I was 24 and he was drunk that he told me that much. War is hell pretty much no matter how you slice it. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-01-16 13:53 |
| #7 Anguper Hupomosing9418 2014-01-16 09:51 Smoked for "word" that broke the page formatting. Sorry, but it messed up the page. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2014-01-16 11:33 |
| #6 Note that the "news release" comes days after the NYT article about Marines' reactions to the fall of Fallujah. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2014-01-16 11:28 |
| #5 The story is worthless and a load of crap. Intended to stir up the left or the muzzies? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2014-01-16 10:44 |
| #4 It's rare to find a news article with so many deceptive and manipulative, but unstated, presuppositions and assumptions in it. What a load of CRAP! |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2014-01-16 09:53 |
| #3 |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2014-01-16 09:51 |
| #2 In some cases, torching corpses can be permitted under military rules for "health and hygiene," Has been for several thousand years, ask Patroclus. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-01-16 09:24 |
| #1 ..who knew that pig urine was flammable..? |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2014-01-16 08:48 |