For the past 6 or 7 years, I’ve kept an increasingly fat folder labelled “Atrocities.” It contained reports of abuses by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan so egregious that even the military couldn’t ignore them. I retitled it “A Few Bad Apples” when it became clear that those who got caught had to be portrayed as anomalies so as to avoid the central question of what the hell they’re doing there in the first place.


Thursday, January 17, 2013

little pee in punishment

The punishment for Staff Sgt. Edward W. Deptola, one of four Marines who videotaped themselves pissing on three dead Afghans in July 2011, will probably amount to all of his being bumped down a rank.  The military judge in the case apparently wanted a stiffer sentence after Deptola pleaded guilty on 16 January 2013, but he had copped a plea and the judge had to abide by the agreement.  Another ssgt. in the case, Jospeh W. Chamblin, also got a demotion and a small fine last month, while three other Marines got only administrative punishments; i.e. bad marks on their record.
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