An unidentified Marine Corps official tells CNN the four Marines shown urinating on dead bodies in a YouTube video have been identified. None of the men have been detained and their names will not be released to the media right now.
The video was accompanied by the description “scout sniper team 4 with 3rd battalion 2nd marines out of camp lejeune peeing on dead talibans." All four of the Marines are wearing combat gear as they urinate on three dead bodies. The video is believed to have been shot last year in Afghanistan.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta condemned the Marines’ behavior and ordered a full investigation. "This conduct is entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military and does not reflect the standards of values our armed forces are sworn to uphold. Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent,” he said in a statement this week.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the Marines’ actions “inhuman.” "The government of Afghanistan is deeply disturbed by a video that shows American soldiers desecrating dead bodies of three Afghans," he said in a statement. "This act by American soldiers is simply inhuman and condemnable in the strongest possible terms."
The footage prompted General Curtis Scaparrotti, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, to issue an order Friday commanding all troops to treat the dead with “dignity and respect.” The order condemns “defiling, desecrating, mocking, photographing or filming for personal use insurgent dead.”
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