I'm pretty sure that by now you have heard about the Marines who were video-taped taking a whiz on dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.  I say "pretty sure" only because there has been no shortage of reporting on this matter, as well as many self-righteous politicians and diplomats rushing to a microphone to tell the world just how outraged we are.  One has to wonder just how outraged these same grandstanders would be if something "bad" had actually happened.  In the culture that we've asked these men to fight in, weakness is what is disrespected most.  If you'll listen closely, you can probably hear the laughter coming from the caves of this far-away land at the apology tour underway by our government.  President Karzai himself is most likely shaking his head in disbelief, not knowing how upset he was until we told him to be.

Now I'm not saying these Marines acted appropriately; they didn't.  But to set off a diplomatic incident over a petty act that is most likely as old as war itself is at best an over-reaction.  There are those that have said, "This will be used as a recruiting tool for the Taliban."  To that I say, the facts that America exists, that our flag is flying around the world, that we are free, and majority Christian, are many reasons that the Taliban can use to recruit.  I doubt they were looking for another reason.  Additionally, I don't believe for a second that more than a half-dozen Afghans would even know about this if it weren't for the American media. So I ask, just who is recruiting for the Taliban?

About three years ago at my church, a video of some Marines serving in Afghanistan was played.  During this video, Marines were walking along a dusty pathway in a part of the world that looked uninhabitable.  A church group had sent them some supplies, and the purpose of the video was to say "thanks."  Years later I can still remember what one of the soldiers had to say.  "It's hard to explain just how much a box of wet-wipes means to someone who hasn't had a hot shower in six months."  He just wanted to say "Thank you."

Too many Americans, including myself, have never experienced war.  We've sat comfortably here at home in our easy chairs, listening to the pretty ladies on our favorite news channel report about the war.  I've known men who have gone, and fortunately came back, but changed.  War always does that--it's not pretty.  Now I challenge you to ask yourselves, "What have our troops done for us lately?"  Far more than we could ever imagine.  So why do we always focus on the bad stuff?  Oh, how the media loves to play "gotcha!"  The funny thing is, if we were to see a record of all these Marines have done, we would probably all be proud of them. We might even go so far as to say they were heroes.  Sadly, instead, we've watched as many pious diplomats and politicians have expressed "shock" and "outrage" at the actions of these men.  Once again, I'll say it wasn't something that displayed good judgement, but I can assure you that I am one American that was NOT outraged in the least.  I'm proud of these men.  They've fought hard in extreme conditions far from home, for little pay and even less thanks.

What does outrage me is that too many of our troops are struggling financially.  They'll also be returning to a  nation where their future and that of their children has been mortgaged, and employment looks "iffy" at best.  We owe these men much.  We can start by not trying to criminalize a petty prank, which is all it was.  And from years of listening to old veterans talking about their war stories, I can say with some certainty that this isn't the first time this has happened.  Taking a "whiz" on the enemy...nobody said war was pretty.