I am not a military historian, nor even much of a military participant like
exMI, but I have just been watching the news, and the latest news is that a tv reporter from Australia is marketing a videotape that shows U.S. soldiers cremating a couple of Taliban soldiers who had been killed in a firefight, then taunting (with loudspeakers, if I understood correctly) other tribesmen to come down and try to get the remains.

I find my self angry on two levels: First, soldiers should be smart enough and ethical enough not to do actions that are in opposition to U.S. and joint command policy, as well as, probably, against the Geneva convention. Second, (and I am even more angry about this) that U.S. soldiers are stupid enough to do such actions in the presence of someone who is carrying a videocamera and shooting pictures. This action (and there is the possibility, from the pictures I saw on TV that the pictures could be of someone barbecuing a goat) if it happened as described, had to involve, at least, junior officers in the unit.

Officers, especially, should know better than to break policy, at all, and should certainly know better than to break it on camera. I have been pretty sanguin about the results of the Abu Graive (sp.?) investigations and the results that concluded with the conclusion (I know, redundant) that most of the problems were the results of the actions of lower grade, relatively inexperienced soldiers because an experienced solder, especially since every soldier has been told that you are not even allowed to photograph prisoners at all, would be smart enough not to take incriminating pictures and email them to their friends. The actions of the troops and their leaders in this recent report make you wonder. My basic though probably futile hope is that the thing goes back to the barbecuing a goat theory.