yeah, the guy killed a puppy. seriously, he probably did the puppy a favor and probably would've most likely starved to death or became some insurgent's meal. if anything, the Marine put the dog out of his "future" misery.

so let's summarize some responses here from those that despise what this Marine did:

"[put a ] bullet between the eyes, the sick bastard"
"should be thrown off a cliff"
"turn this guy loose to a mob of animal lovers (like myself)"
"I hope that A-hole gets killed!"

wow! what fun loving people here. sure, call him a cruel SOB, fuckhead, dumb shit loser…etc. whatever! but geez, wanting those things to happen to this soldier is 100 times more sickening than what he's done. so look at your self in the mirror and say this: "I too am a fucking sadistic loser."

if you've ever been in combat and seen your best friend(s) get blown up to pieces by an IED or saw a video of your best friend being tortured and then decapitated…uh, you sorta don't really care too much about puppies. with the state of mind these guys are in, these is the least that you should be worried about.

bunch of morons on this thread (not including me, of course)!!!

You've clearly taken offence at my comments, and I truly regret that. You are correct in saying that one should not infer information about someone without having first met them. So, for that I do apologise.

Still, I am flabbergasted that you don't seem to get the connection between this particular Marine's actions and the overall culture of the Marine Corps in particular and the military in general. Of course not everyone who enlists and goes through boot is going to go psycho, but I would argue, and this is from experience, that the process of BREAKING a person down and rebuilding them as soldiers necessarily means that you're chipping away at some of humanity's commonly held mores, hence opening the door for psychotic behaviour. The military turns humans into "killing machines," and celebrates this as a matter of course, as a matter of culture.

My point was, and remains, that this guy's actions did not happen in a vacuum. The examples I brought up seem to point in that direction, no? I mean, every major conflict has an atrocity associated with it (and it's not limited to the US military: think about the rape of Nan Jing by the Japanese for example). The reason these atrocities happen in war time is because they're the necessary, logical outcome of a process that turns normally compassionate, empathetic, harmonious beings into mindless, order-following, implements of death.

Finally, I am certainly open to carrying on this discussion off-line, but I don't understand your implied sarcasm by referring to my "post." I'm sure that my logic is tight, my argument cogent. If you care to have a discussion of intellect, I am happy to entertain that. Otherwise, I think my point is clear and well-made, but obviously there is always room for dialogue.

Cheers,

ZNM

God help us when those merciless, cold blooded and violent service personnel return to the United States and live amongst us.

I, for one, am unwilling to justify or rationalize atrocities committed by the American military personnel in the name of protecting my rights. In my opinion, to put it bluntly, that is kaka.

I do not know about you, your mother, father, grandfather and grandmother. Nor will I tell you about yourself. Suffice it to state that between incidents like this, Haditha and the rape and alleged rapes that were committed in Okinawa, that the Marines could do far more to instill some sense of honor and to do what is right. But I think the Marines place far more value on their ability to fight and kill that which is not American than to be honorable and do right towards them.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&am…

I want the men and women who represent our country to value life. I am trying not to be "Polly-anna" about this particular case just because this is a puppy, but I think it shows exactly how this individual values life in general.

I would not trust this person to defend and protect me if I were and Iraqi citizen, nor would I if he were here in the States.

It is well documented that serial killers display this sort of radical, disgusting behavior, disregarding any sacred meaning of life just to torture a living being for their enjoyment.

I am not naive as to what our brave men and women must experience while serving our country during times of war. I do not pretend to assume that it is easy or that these people do not experience situations that I cannot imagine. But, I must believe that the people who chose to represent our nation and our value of freedom and life must live up to some standard while serving.

This was not an action under pressure of war that this individual later regretted. On the contrary, this was an act that was thought out to the point that a video recorder was prepared. This was an egotistical pig: a bully stronger than another child on the playground: a U.S. Marine who was stronger than a puppy.

Way to go, sir, you sure showed him……