Pissing In The Wind

We picture them as monsters, as something sub human and so far removed from moral decency that their actions and motivations beggar belief. Yet once they were somebody's son, somebody's brother. Whatever they might have become, whatever deranged creed they have embraced, once upon a time they were, as we all once were , blank slates.
I'm talking about the dead Taliban fighters used as a lavatory by members of the US military, a disturbing and ill conceived episode which, whether true or false will have implications for the safety of Westerners in the days, weeks, and months to come. Remember, even if staged the symbolism remains, those American boys really were sending out an ugly confirmation of what many already suspect of them. To stand over a corpse and piss on it isn't just an error or a miscalculation; it can be no more than a wilful abdication of decency and moral conditioning that we, in the west, idiotically think we hold the keys to.
Imagine for a moment you are the mother or the father of one of the dead. Consider the raw emotion that you would feel should you be presented with the imagery of another human being emptying his bladder on your fallen child? Once again, put aside for a moment personal feelings you have about the Taliban and its deranged crusade; simply be the parent of one of the fallen and reflect on what you might feel? The moment you do so it becomes clear that the line has been not just been crossed,  but ethically disemboweled by the actions of these thoughtless young men. As well as dooming themselves to disciplinary measures and destroying career paths, they have endangered innocent people to possible reprisals. You can be sure that for each planned retaliation you'll also hear of other spontaneous episodes, probably taking place in obscure backwaters and most likely with no advance warning. These images are now winging a path around the globe more efficiently than any migratory bird, and when it comes home to roost what's left is a false but persuasive image of what the American military does to its foes.
When all's said and done, even our most reviled enemies are creatures such as ourselves. Dislike is one thing, but craving the humiliation of another human does nothing to enhance the wellbeing of humanity.