On Wednesday the Pentagon released documents detailing the savage practices of US soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. Some of these practices include taking fingers, leg bones and skulls as trophies. A practise common during the Vietnam War. And these were from the killings of civilians. There was also proof of soldiers conducting murders for sport. Documents also detailed extensive use of hash by soldiers as well. Given this kind of inhumanity going on, I’m not surprised.

The Army has publically broadcast the charge sheet listing 12 soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Five were arrested for murder in June. Not only that, but seven soldiers have been charged in attempting to cover up the murders. Even going so far as to beat a fellow soldier into silence.

This seriousness of these documents is simply immeasurable. This is international news that has been made front page material in every news paper in the world. The Tacoma Tribune had interviews with some of the people accused and their families.

But the next Friday, there has been dead silence from the mass media, the corporate media. All of a sudden it’s as though nothing has happened and its back to business as usual. No news papers are even talking about it, and all the major news channels are moving onto other stories.

Only the tabloid Daily News and Boston-based Christian Science Monitor are the only ones continuing to cover this event.

So we were worried about the effect that a mass Koran burning might have on the Muslim world. [short laugh] Now imagine the ramifications of these revelations on the Muslim world. We can all remember what happened after the events at Abu Graib were uncovered. This could very well be seen as much worse. And to ACTUALLY make things worse, the Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell tried to play off the whole incident. He said they were an:

“…aberration in terms of the behaviour of our forces.”

An “aberration” in terms of behaviour? Hey Morrell, you’re a liar. You probably forgot how widespread this was during the Vietnam War hua? You probably also forgot how this also took place during Desert Storm and the Korean War as well hua?

The horrific actions should not come as a surprise to anyone. These are the kinds of things that happen when a nation is engaged in an immoral and illegal war. A war that serves no purpose other than to brutalize a population into obedience to be for the wealth of the ruling elite.