May 20th, 2013
10:27 PM ET
Top U.S. Marine faces extraordinary allegation
CNN's Barbara Starr reports on an extraordinary allegation being leveled against the nation's top Marine, Gen. James Amos, stemming from that infamous video of Marines urinating on corpses in Afghanistan. The complaint against Amos was first reported by the Marine Corps Times.
Warning: the images contained in this piece may be disturbing.
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I have several family members who have, and are presently serving. But I won't pretend to know what is going on in their minds when they win against a group of talibands. Honestly, I don't think I would feel much respect for them either-not knowing what these men did and that they would've killed me if I hadn't killed them. I really don't have the experience or knowledge to be able to say if what those marines did was right or wrong, but I won't forget what they've given and done for me. That being said, regardless of your opinion on the actions shown in the video, it should not have been video taped- especially not shared.
Talking about whats fair in war, have you all not realized the war is here too. It was just in Boston, so just keep thinking that our men should play fair . Your living in a dream world ! If you have never been in the military or married to a military member you HAVE NO CLUE !!!!!!!!!!!
The second you become as evil as they are you let them win. It's not about playing fair It's about not letting them destroy what our country is about. Freedom liberty and justice for all. Hate dosnt win wars,intelligence,technology and last but not least good solders do.
Marie, I concur.
I am sick and tired of those who criticize our troops. If it wasn't for us volunteering your a** would have been drafter. So STFU and you are welcome
@ Chris - OOHRAH Brother! You've hit the beach with all weapons on full auto! There's one SOB, on here, that questioned my combat service - I'll bump my SRB's Combat History page with his any day.
As far as BS goes, it's really hard to read his 'writing.' I've got a seven year-old grandson that can spell and structure a sentence better than he's shown. IF (and that's a BIG 'if,') BS went to school, evidently it was to show up for the free lunches and then he left immediately, thereafter. Which is why BS is so full of BS.
You can suck my big dik too solder.
Btw,my father did recon in nam and he told me to tell you,kiss our brown a s s's. Bit ch
@ BS - LMAO... REALLY! LMAO!
You keep laughing,they tried to kill him in basic because he was black(through him the bouy 30 minutes late). He didn't let it stop him. Send me you email and I'll send you a picture of him back then.
Kill every last Arab and problems solved
Racist peace of sh it.
Could not agree more.
War on terror. War on drugs. Sounds like a Bugs Bunney cartoon. But this is real life. Seems like both could be won without firing a shot. Or wait, maybe, Bugs could bend Daffy' 's shotgun.
Why is this news now? I suspect it is not the story to be noted but the message, -a veiled threat- to any high ranking military member. Please, stop bickering amongst yourselves, and LISTEN to what the media is NOT telling you. Divided, we ALL fall.
Bush made those Marines do it !! Chuck Todd and Brian Williams said so .
Let's not blame this clown Amos for what those urinating Marines did. After all, they're just a mere product of the sick society that we all live in today. Evidently, people no longer instill morality in their children. That video is a national disgrace and shows that we need to restore morality in this country and stay out of other countries! So let's quit throwing stones!
MORALITY – Are you nuts – when has a lilling war become "moral" – ever talk to a WW2 vet? a Vietnam vet? if urinating on corpse disturbs you maybe you need some insight into battlefield etiqutte? Killor be killed and celebrate survival any way you can – it may be your last celebration any minute! I had a friend who survived the Bahtan death march – people urinated on living soldiers then – so I gues my friend should have turned his cheek and siad I have higher morals than you? RIGHT!ight?
If this clown knew what was going on with those jerks under his command, then he needs to be held accountable. That video of those clowns urinating on those dead Taliban shows just what low morals they have. The bottom line here is that we have absolutely no right to be in that country in the first place and now to have this ignominy on top of it! Enough is enough!
And I was taking ears in Nam until the crybabies back in CONUS found out about and made our commanders end it because it was "making animals out of my perfectly sweet little boy." The VC could cut off our heads, stick our genitals in our mouths and mount 'em on a pole - but we couldn't take ears?! To kill the enemy, you gotta think, act and live like 'em. What Marine Corps were you in 'Marine' 5484? It couldn't have been MINE!
Well stated! Thank you for your service.
Marine Mom
I'll trade you some of those 'Nam ears for some of my great-great-grandfather's old Indian scalps. That would be cool since I currently don't have any severed-body-part war trophies from Asia yet (I'm trying to get a complete set from all seven continents).
I'd even be willing to offer a large mixed lot of mummified arms and legs from Rwanda in exchange for one pair of 'Nam ears, which is a pretty good deal all things considered. I also have an almost-new professionally-embalmed half-eaten heart from a Syrian soldier, but thanks to all the media coverage that one's a keeper!
You're a lying poser. You probably never even saw combat, because if you had, you'd have more respect for yourself, and the Marine Corps.
Amen to that brother, I don't know what type of POG this so called Marine was but it sure sounds like he never saw a second of combat.
Marine4evrrr, You've got it ! As the wife of a USMC Vet and now active duty USMC Mom. NO ONE knows what our men see and go through til they've been there. Must be that other Marine posting is a POG ! (not infantry)
The only thing the Marines in the video did wrong is film the got-damn thing, thereby making evidence... Kill or be killed, hope you are the former in war. So many people here who wouldn't know combat or have a clue that man's basic instinct is barbarism...
Well stated, Marine5484. I couldn't have put it better! Let's all just get out of Afghanistan once and for all.
Of course you agree with him since neither one of you served in the Marine Corps I wouldn't expect for either of you to understand such actions.
What Mustang and US MARINE said! All you wimp asses are already in the hurt locker and don't even know it yet.
Your not a animal. War has rules.
All is fair in love and war. It is when someone is scapegoated so that the liberal population in our country will shut up about it that we pretend that there are rules.
You ever been in a war, BS? (And, somehow, your initials fit you.)
AND, BS (I love those initials!) I've never found an enemy YET that 'played' by the rules of war. The first rule of war is "Do unto others as they would do unto you - ONLY YOU DO IT FIRST!"
So you think soldiers should be able to do any thing they want? Mutilate bodies,rape and kill civilians,disrespect other cultures? This is because you think your better than everyone else. Winning wars has to do with strategy not barbarism. We lost Vietnam because we lost the people. You can't win without it.
"Your not a animal. War has rules."
A bit presumptuous, don't you think? I mean the "not an animal" part. Until someone has survived the test of the Gom Jabbar (thereby proving their humanity through their ability to overcome the lower 'animal ' instincts), who can tell?
Dukesurlaw,you can suck my big surcok.
@BigShiz You couldn't be more wrong but ok whatever you say bro. Maybe you need to do a little more research on the Vietnam war to form a better opinion.
You gotta love a bunch of civilians who have never seen war educating a bunch of Marines (myself included, 0341 served in Kosovo w/ KFOR and in Iraq) on war etiquette LOL! In Iraq they knew all about OUR rules like not being able to fire on vehicles with a red cross or red crescent on them so what did Saddam have his army do? He had them transporting troops and weapons in ambulances. We are not allowed to fire on places of worship or schools so what did Saddam do? He based his units in schools and places of worship. Until your getting shot at on a daily basis while trying to follow rules your enemy laughs at you have no place to judge those who have. Enjoy the beach this weekend and know that some folks are going to lose there lives because they will follow some stupid rule that will get there buddies killed.
Research? They used guerilla warfare to win. Ambushes,Bobbie traps,ext we went by body counts,they went by how much the American public could take. They beat us. The south Vietnamese where corrupt, the Americans didn't care so the people turned to the communists(how where also cruel and brutal). What war did we ever win without the support of the people who lived there? I bet you fuk's can't answer that one.
If "wimp asses are already in the hurt locker and don't even know it yet" then I guess it's not a very hurtful locker after all, is it? I mean, they're supposedly wimp asses so how much hurt can they realistically take before they notice?
In any case, "The Hurt Locker "(the movie) opened with a quote from Chris Hedges from one of his books that's incredibly ironic in this particular context: "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug."
Sounds like you need a fix? Or treatment, perhaps?
It sounds like your just another tool bag that hasn't served in combat and gets his second hand opinion from movies and books.
The reason we continue to act as welcome mats for these people is the TAPI pipeline. Natural gas from inland cannot cross Iraq, so must go through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to reach ocean carriers.
I know an atrocity whenever I see one. Peeing on the dead bodies of people who cut off other people’s heads is not an atrocity. The American people must have overlooked the fact that we can’t win a war against people if we spend more time kissing their ass than we do shooting them dead or blowing them to hell. This damn “war on terror” could have been over in 30 days if anyone in the US government had a pair … makes you wonder whose interests it really serve to drag a war on ad infinitum.
Your a idoit,you can not win a war without the support of the people. You can't just kill yourself to victory. Look at any war we held ground without the support of the people. If we kill everyone we create enemies everywhere. You no nothing of warfare.
I think it's a shame that our soldiers have fought for your freedom to say "your a idoit." Personally, I think they should just strap a nuke to your chest and throw you out of a plane over North Korea.
We should though you in the middle of Mogadishu. Bit ch,I was insulting him not our soldiers. Oh I'm sorry I forgot if your not a right wing war mongering devil your not a real American. Get fuked
Keep it up Amos.
These war crimes deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The troops put the lives of countless military personnel at risk when they commit atrocities under the stars and stripes. From what it sounds like... Amos understood that. There is nothing to see here, prosecute those war criminals ASAP, and show the terrorists that we fight with dignity.
Where is the dignity in war? What is dignified about killing an inferior force with such superior firepower? How can collateral damage be dignified? Using drones may save U.S. troops but the risks to innocent lives increase. What is dignified about that? Outside of death and killing, how will Afghans see the dignity in a foreign force imposing their will on the Afghani people? We cannot impose our definition of dignity on an Afghan people who see no dignity in U.S.
We are a godless people to them. Even the most trivial of our habits are repulsive to them. We are hypocrites and weak in their eyes. Such a small Taliban force fought the most powerful nations on Earth and continue to do so. If we must war, it would be dignified to meet our enemy on the battlefield wielding no more than the weapons they possess...an even playing field, man to man. Here is true dignity:
“To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” “To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.” “The art of war is of vital importance to the State.” – Sun Tzu "The Art of War"
The U.S. leads with brute force to enforce diplomacy. Bass-akwards. We have no dignity. There is NO art to our warfare. Any moral ground we had is slowly being eroded on the grounds of "equality" and "separation of church and state". The foundation of "dignity" is slowly disappearing. Our enemy knows that. “Know the enemy and know yourself" – the U.S. doesn't really know either.
You sound like you know what you are talking about,,,,,fact is YOUR CLUELESS!!! The ONLY goal in battle is to SURVIVE IT!!! To protect your friends, and to come home safe! Dignity in war???? What have you been smoking sir? Fact is,,,these terrorist would use what you call dignity to kill more americans,,,why don't you pick up a weapon and stand a post,,otherwise shut tfu and let the professionals do their job!
Hmm, it appears at least one Marine in this discussion doesn't understand the distinction between "strategy" and "tactics." By the time combat tactics are being employed, the superior strategy of defeating an enemy without fighting that was described by the real Sun Tzu over 2200 years ago(!) has already failed, by definition.
It's amazing to me that we still haven't gotten that memo yet, but then the proportion of contemplative thinkers to reactionary meatheads is probably still about the same as it was back in Sun Tzu's time, or maybe it's because war is still so much fun. Anyway, it's a safe bet that all U.S. Military top brass have read The Art of War but it's not a safe bet to assume all the grunts doing the actual fighting have done so. This is also why grunts aren't asked to help formulate strategy very often, if ever.
Rules of war heheheh. Sacrelisious those are pretty words. The moment you use those pretty words better hope the vest will work.
No he sounds like he doesn't have a freaking clue as to what he is talking about actually. I myself served as an F.O. for many years do you even know what that is? Well I'm the one on the ground who would be calling in fixed and rotary wing air support (directing planes or helicopters in to attack targets for you civilians not in the know) I called in Mortars when in range (My MOS was 0341 which in the Marine Corps is a Mortarman), I called in artillery, and I could call in Naval gun fire but that actually only happened in training but regardless I know for a fact that Drones don't cause more collateral damage than the weapon systems I just named because I have seen both in action. Have you ever seen a 30 round fire for effect coming from a gun line full of 155mm Howitzers? My guess is no which is why you think a hellfire missile from a Drone causes more collateral damage than our other assets.
@Sacrelicious Ok buddy first of all your f-ing clueless and since you never served as a grunt I don't expect you to know this but grunts are asked more often than not to come up with strategy in the Marine Corps. We get a mission and than we (The grunts) plan it out. F you and your 2k+ year old book. Its the want to be egg heads like yourself that are the ones who actually screw all these wars up with all your over thinking while we grunts are on the ground carrying out your stupid orders which we have to alter on the fly the second a shot is fired but yeah we are the meatheads thinking on our toes while our lives are in danger and your sitting back on some base totally safe reading books and making terrible plans.
It sure seems you haven't participated in war/combat, when you have come back and lets talk
There are things to say on both sides of the fence. But deep down I don't have a problem with it at all. Been there.
But... but...
Did they kill the terrorists with rounds dipped in pig's bold ???
Semper Fi
Wouldn't it be just peachy if it was found that the DOJ and Administration are behind this little debacle also?
Wouldn't it be just peachy if it was found that DOJ and Administration are behind the tornado in Oklahoma also.
But then again, wouldn't our time be better spent if our speculations had some basis in evidence or probability instead of dreamed-up conspiracy theories?
First off, your counter example is as unrealistic as it gets. Secondly, "dreamed-up conspiracy theories" always run rampant when government corruption is running rampant.
I assume you have at least taken one political science course in your life, so I'll assume you already know this.
Re: dukesurlaw:
Thank you for noticing that my example is "as unrealistic as it gets". Unlike your Ignoratio Elenchi and Ad Hominem, argument by example is a legitimate and honest form of argument. Both the DOJ/Admin-responsible-for-urination-event and DOJ/Admin-responsible-for-tornado propositions are worthless conspiracy theories.
Yes, conspiracy theories always run rampant when government corruption is running rampant. Besides being obvious and uninteresting, it does not effect the definition of conspiracy theory. "Dreamed-up conspiracy theories", whether the current government is corrupt or not, are a waste of time and effort for those who seek truth over entertainment.
I win or lose my arguments by the force of my argument. If you expect the readers here to agree with your confused counter-argument by virtue of your academic achievements, then by all means list them here along with school, year, and GPA. Either support your argument directly or give real evidence for your argument for authority. So far you have done neither.