Pentagon probing taped burning of bodies
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Thursday it is investigating the videotaped burning of the corpses of two alleged Taliban fighters to see whether troops violated the Geneva Conventions.

The Army's Criminal Investigation Division is examining whether troops violated the conventions on wartime treatment of corpses or other laws and regulations.

Although U.S. officials didn't question the tape's authenticity, part of the investigation was to determine whether the troops in the video are Americans.

"This command does not condone the mistreatment of enemy combatants or the desecration of their religious and cultural beliefs," Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya said.

Islam forbids cremation. Stephen Dupont, an Australian cameraman who shot the video, said the troops who burned the bodies were U.S. Army paratroopers he joined during combat missions. He said that other American soldiers used a loudspeaker later to goad Taliban members, calling them "cowardly dogs" and "lady boys" for not retrieving the bodies.

Australia's SBS network first aired the footage, which then was picked up by U.S. cable outlets.

The State Department alerted diplomats worldwide about the incident and told them to stress that it did not reflect American values.

That directive was part of U.S. efforts to improve its image with Muslims, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Muslim clerics in Afghanistan denounced the burning of the two corpses. Faiz Mohammed, a top cleric in northern Kunduz province, said the incident was "against Islam. Afghans will be shocked by this news. It is so humiliating. There will be very, very dangerous consequences from this."

Americans' actions during the global war on terrorism have inflamed Muslims before.

Images of U.S. troops humiliating and abusing Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison had set off widespread protests. So did a report in Newsweek — since retracted — that said guards had flushed a copy of the Quran down a toilet at the prison for terror suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Protests over that report sparked riots that left 15 people dead in Afghanistan in May.

Although a U.S. military investigation found no evidence a Quran was flushed, it documented five cases of improper treatment, including one where a guard's urine accidentally splashed on a copy of Islam's holy book.

Burning corpses offends Afghans, but memories of the Taliban's brutal rule may blunt anger over the incident, said Humayun Hamidzada of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University. "In Islam, even with the bodies of your enemies, you don't disrespect the human flesh," said Hamidzada, who has worked in Afghanistan for the United Nations and private aid groups.

"But the fact that they are Taliban bodies, that's not going to provoke people," Hamidzada said.

Dupont told SBS that the incident happened Oct. 1 at the village of Gonbaz near Kandahar. He said the suspected Taliban fighters were killed during an ambush in which one American and one Afghan soldier also were killed.

Dupont said the troops burning the bodies said they were doing so for hygienic reasons. Later, Dupont said, psychological operations troops gave the taunting statements over loudspeakers to anger and flush out other Taliban.


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Originally posted by Double-J:
Hmm. Whether or not they burned the bodies for hygenic regions, I think that it actually was a decent way of using psychological warfare to draw out the terrorists.

The article says that cremation is taboo in Islam. I wonder if the terrorists will take these photos the same way we take the beheadings (though certainly burning a dead body isn't even comparable to the inhumane beheadings of living soldiers and civilians).

Originally posted by marlon:
The question I have about this is why was this tape published? Why would an Australian journalist put this out? What possible purpose can it serve except to give ammunition to the Islamic murderers?

Originally posted by Don Zadjali:
[quote]Originally posted by marlon:
[b] The question I have about this is why was this tape published? Why would an Australian journalist put this out? What possible purpose can it serve except to give ammunition to the Islamic murderers?

Originally posted by Don Andrew:
Bin Laden and his sick butt buddies happen to be Islamic.

Originally posted by Enzo Scifo:
[quote]Originally posted by Don Andrew:
[b] Bin Laden and his sick butt buddies happen to be Islamic.

Originally posted by Nice Guy Eddie:
Can I be the guy who sprays the bodies with gasoline?

Originally posted by Enzo Scifo:
[quote]Originally posted by Don Andrew:
[b] Bin Laden and his sick butt buddies happen to be Islamic.