American leaders joined Afghan President Hamid Karzai in expressing outrage and condemnation of a one-minute YouTube video that appears to show four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of three dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered an investigation into what he called an “utterly deplorable” act by the Marines. “I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
The video shows the Marines standing over three bodies, one of which appears to have suffered a severe chest wound. One of the men can be heard saying, “have a great day, buddy,” and then laughing while urinating. The caption on the video reads “Scout sniper team 4 with 3rd battalion 2nd marines out of Camp Lejeune peeing on dead talibans.” The team, from North Carolina, is no longer in Afghanistan.
Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, who is the head of the international security force in Afghanistan, was ordered to “immediately and fully investigate the incident,” Panetta said.
Warning: Graphic content</div> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”> “This conduct is entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military and does not reflect the standards or values our armed forces are sworn to uphold,” Panetta added. “Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent.” </span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”> Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she felt “complete dismay” upon viewing the “utterly deplorable behavior” depicted on the video. </span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”> Investigators were questioning two of those believed to be on the video, military officials said Thursday. All four of the men are members of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, as the caption on YouTube said, according to military sources. </span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”> The video was posted on the Internet Wednesday and quickly ignited a firestorm. The military did not immediately release any details on when the video was made, but a spokesman for the NATO coalition in Afghanistan said the Marines “apparently are no longer serving in Afghanistan.” </span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”> The swift and universal condemnation of the video and the vow of a thorough investigation appeared to be an effort by top American officials to prevent the video from inflaming already strong anti-American feelings in Afghanistan and Pakistan. One military official expressed the fear that the video would be the kind of defining image of Americans in Afghanistan that the photographs of U.S. Army soldiers humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib became during the Iraq War. </span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”> Panetta spoke early this morning by phone to Karzai regarding the video, according to a Pentagon spokesman. Karzai called the conduct “completely inhumane” in remarks televised in Afghanistan.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”> The video has sparked a backlash from members of Karzai’s High Peace Council, who have been trying to negotiate with the Taliban. Arsala Rahmani, Afghanistan’s top negotiator said it will have a “very, very bad impact on peace efforts,” according to reports from Afghanistan. </span></p> <span class=”BodyCopy”/> <span class=”BodyCopy”/> <p><span style=”font-style:italic;” class=”EndEmailTag”>Sara A. Carter is The Washington Examiner’s national security correspondent. She can be reached at <i><a href=” mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected]</a></i>.</span></p>
