GIs Who Burned Fighters' Bodies to Be Disciplined

Holy Jesus there are still bodies lying around New Orleans after 10 weeks, and Bush talks about Hygene after 24 hrs. You Wanker, you Criminal, you are beyond shame.

By Daniel Cooney
Associated Press
Sunday, November 27, 2005; Page A24

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov. 26 -- Four U.S. soldiers face disciplinary action for burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters -- a videotaped incident that sparked outrage in Afghanistan -- but they will not be prosecuted because their actions were motivated by hygienic concerns, the military said Saturday.

Television footage recorded Oct. 1 in a violent part of southern Afghanistan showed American soldiers setting fire to the bodies and then boasting about the act on loudspeakers to taunt insurgents suspected to be hiding in a nearby village.

Islam bans cremation, and the video images were compared to photographs of U.S. troops abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Afghanistan's government condemned the desecration. Muslim clerics warned of a violent anti-American backlash, though there have been no protests so far.

American commanders immediately launched an inquiry and vowed that anyone found guilty would be severely punished, fearing the incident could undermine public support for the war against a stubborn insurgency four years after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban.