Don't whizz on the Afghani corpse

Pentagon officials said yesterday they believed a video showing four Marines urinating on the corpses of Afghans was authentic, and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta promised to investigate the incident, calling it "utterly deplorable." As outrage over the explicit video spread, the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan said the behavior was confined to "a small group of U.S. individuals" who committed a blatant violation of military standards. Those found responsible will be "held accountable to the fullest extent," Panetta said in a statement. This is not something we want from a soldier, especially from a Marine. The behavior depicted in the video is wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos that the United States Marine Corps have demonstrated throughout their history. This will be going on their service records, and they risk one or more of prison time, dishonorable discharge, and the death penalty (which is highly unlikely), simply because they urinated on enemy corpses. In other news, Natalee Holloway's father has had his request granted: an Alabama probate judge has signed paperwork formerly declaring that his daughter is dead. The high school senior from Mountain Brook, Alabama, was visiting the picturesque Carribean island of Aruba in 2005 as part of a school trip to celebrate high school graduation. She was never heard from again.