Army apologizes after Der Spiegel publishes shocking photos of soldiers posing with corpses

[somone]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/03/20/2011-03-20_army_apologizes_after_der_spiegel_publishes_shocking_photos_of_soldiers_posing_w.html

Army apologizes after Der Spiegel publishes shocking photos of soldiers posing with corpses
By Nina Mandell

A group of U.S. soldiers who took pictures of themselves posing with an Afghan corpse were condemned by the military on Sunday after the photos were published by German news organization Der Spiegel.

Cpl. Jeremy Morlock, on trial for murdering civilians while on tour in Afghanistan, can be seen in one photo smiling as he lifts the head of a corpse by the hair. In another, PFC Andrew Holmes, who served in the same unit as Morlock, poses with the same corpse. Holmes is also charged with killing Afghan civilians. A third photo shows two dead men propped up against a pillar.

"Today Der Spiegel published photographs depicting actions repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States Army," the Army said in a statement released by Col. Thomas Collins. "We apologize for the distress these photos cause."

The publication of the photos comes as an embarrassment to the Army, which has known about the images for months but tried to keep them sealed. Der Spiegel said the photos were seized from another member of the brigade who is not accused of murder. The photos were reportedly passed around the unit on digital storage devices. Initially, the Army even prevented defense attorneys from seeing the gruesome photos in an attempt to keep them under wraps and avoid another scandal...

[Solly Mack]

1. It's not the photos - it's what the photos reveal that is distressing.

It's not the cameras that are the problem. It's not the cell phones either.

It's the actions. The crimes.

[malaise]

11. Ding ding we have a winner

:hi:

[Solly Mack]

15. Thanks, malaise

Everybody apologizes for (or gets angry about) the photos being released - as if the photos are the cause of it all.

The photos are the result of what's wrong - not the cause. They are a symptom, not the disease. They are evidence of a crime.

[Toucano]

20. Treason!

Would you like your paper pajamas now or do you prefer to wait until you're sleepy?

[butterfly77]

2. We saw this...

in Iraq and more.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. These soldiers have been pushed beyond their limits.

Even so, what they did was so wrong.

Bring them home!

Bring them home, before we damage any more beyond help.

War is such a waste.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Against the UCMJ and the Conventions of War

[katanalori]

5. "Cpl. Jeremy Morlock, on trial for murdering civilians ...."

He is from Wasilla, Alaska. His sister, April Morlock is best friends with Bristol Palin. Small world.

[Tx4obama]

6. He must be one of those 'real Americans' that Palin always talks about....

Excerpt from the OP link:
In interviews with Army investigators, Morlock, a Wasilla, Alaska native, describes how he and his co-defendants gruesomely killed innocent civilians.

[Darth_Kitten]

12. What do they even teach their kids in Wasilla?

My God...

[David__77]

7. "We apologize for the distress these photos cause." What utter BS!

So they're not apologizing for any actions other than the photographing of the US soldiers' blood lust?

[jacquelope]

10. Lemme translate that into English:

"We're sorry our real American boys got caught."

[David__77]

8. Pic...

[joshcryer]

14. Doesn't work.

[jacquelope]

9. Damned Morlocks.

Meta-points for anyone who gets the reference!

[wickerwoman]

18. Documenting crimes against the Eloi.

;-)

[xchrom]

13. Bring the troops home and maybe this won't be a problem. Nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. The military has become well practiced in "regrets" and "apologies" for the killing they do.

[freshwest]

17. They posed with the bodies of slain human beings like hunters with dead animals.

And Bradley Manning is paying the price for what?

[PatentlyDemocratic]

19. Absolutely sickening

This makes me feel ill just looking at the photos. Meanwhile the murderers are laughing it up. Hand them over to the local authorities and watch those smiles disappear.

[Octafish]

21. Not NAZI.

Just NAZI.