2 Marines ID'd in urination video probe

This still image made from a video posted on YouTube purports to show U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban militants in Afghanistan. The image has been obscured to disguise the men pictured as the video's authenticity remains unconfirmed. / CBS

Updated 10:33 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The Marines seen in an internet video that purports to show them standing around and urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan have been identified as members of a Marine Corps sniper team, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin.

An official told the Associated Press that the Marine Corps has identified by name at least two of the four Marines the video.

All four were members of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, which returned to its home base in North Carolina last fall after a tour in Afghanistan. The 1,000 man battalion lost seven men killed in action and is now back home at Camp Lejuene in North Carolina, where more than just the four who showed their faces could be liable to criminal charges.

The official who spoke to the AP said that at least some of the four Marines are no longer in that battalion. He provided no other details.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday condemned as "utterly deplorable" the actions in the video. He said such behavior is "entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military" and those responsible will be held accountable.

Panetta said he had ordered the Marine Corps and Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, to fully investigate.

The Marine Corps said Wednesday it would investigate the YouTube video but had not yet verified its origin or authenticity. The case has been referred to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Navy's worldwide law enforcement arm.

Karzai: Alleged urination video "inhumane"
U.S. Marines to probe alleged urination video

The video, posted on the Internet, shows men in Marine combat gear, standing in a semi-circle over three bodies. It is not clear whether the dead were Taliban or civilians or someone else. The title on the posting called them Taliban insurgents but it was unclear who added that title, Marine Corps officials in Washington said.

Watch YouTube video (Warning: Graphic content)

If the video turns out to be authentic, those involved could face court martial proceedings for violating U.S. military rules which specifically forbid "photographing or filming... human casualties" - regardless of whether the Americans were actually urinating.

Because the Marines in the video are no longer in Afghanistan, there are questions about how old the video is exactly.

The reaction from Afghanistan was angry.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the video as "completely inhumane." The Afghan Defense Ministry called it "shocking." And the Taliban issued a statement accusing U.S. forces of committing numerous "indignities" against the Afghan people.

"First they killed the Afghans with mortars, and they then urinated on their bodies," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said. "We strongly condemn this inhumane action by the wild American soldiers."

Panetta said the actions, if true, were inexcusable.

"I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Panetta's statement said. "Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent."

The video came to light at a delicate time in relations among the United States, Afghanistan's elected government and the Taliban insurgency fighting for both territorial control and cultural and religious preeminence in Afghanistan.

The U.S. is trying to foster peace talks between the Karzai government and the Pakistan-based Taliban high command, and has made unprecedented offers to build trust with the insurgents, including the planned opening of a Taliban political office to oversee talks.

One of the largest obstacles to peace discussions has been widespread Afghan contempt for U.S. military tactics that many — both Taliban sympathizers and not — see as heavy-handed. Opposition to the U.S. and NATO military presence in Afghanistan usually centers on civilian casualties from military engagement, although the vast majority of those deaths are caused by the insurgents.

Panetta said the incident could endanger U.S.-Afghan-Taliban peace talks.

"The danger is that this kind of video can be misused in many ways to undermine what we are trying to do in Afghanistan and the possibility of reconciliation," Panetta said at Fort Bliss, Texas. He said it is important for the United States to move quickly to "send a clear signal to the world that the U.S. will not tolerate this kind of behavior and that is not what the U.S. is all about."

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Speaking to CBS News' Ahmad Mukhtar on the phone Thursday, Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, strongly reiterated that talks with the Americans have not begun, but he said if they do, the video of the alleged desecration "will not harm" the dialogue.

Although the video purports to show Taliban fighters, not civilians, it is likely to resonate with those opposed to the U.S. presence and to peace with the U.S.-backed Karzai government. In his statement, Karzai called on the U.S. military to punish the Marines.

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The NATO-led security force in Afghanistan released a statement Thursday saying, "This disrespectful act is inexplicable and not in keeping with the high moral standards we expect of coalition forces."

The actions "appear to have been conducted by a small group of U.S. individuals, who apparently are no longer serving in Afghanistan," the International Security Assistance Force said. The statement did not identify the personnel or explain why the ISAF thought they had left the country.

Sen. John McCain, a Navy veteran who fought and was held prisoner in the Vietnam war, told Charile Rose on "CBS This Morning," the incident "makes me so sad."

McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the Marine Corps one of America's strongest institutions and said its image has apparently been tarnished by "a handful of obviously undisciplined people."

"There should be an investigation and these young people should be punished," McCain said Thursday on "CBS This Morning."

On Wednesday, the Council on Islamic-American Relations, a prominent Muslim civil rights and advocacy group based in Washington, protested the video in a letter to Panetta.

"We condemn this apparent desecration of the dead as a violation of our nation's military regulations and of international laws of war prohibiting such disgusting and immoral actions," the group wrote.

"If verified as authentic, the video shows behavior that is totally unbecoming of American military personnel and that could ultimately endanger other soldiers and civilians," the letter said.

[kpburd]

I have to wonder how many of you sanctimonious, hypocrites are as indignant about the killing of unborn babies as you are about insulting and degrading these Marines for urinating or the carcass of a dead enemy?

[smurfula]

You people sitting in your peaceful homes, and you politicians who stole the elderly Peoples Social Security money, have no idea of the horrors of war. God Bless our soldiers and all the vets, the US government sent them there, put them in horrendous situations, and now , what? Wants to condemn them? The wrong peope are on trial here, the accusers, have the blood on their hands. Sorry I'm a soldier, from back around WW2, you should have seen what we had to do , to survive. Ya'll suck!

[xenonbach]

Wow?!? What have we become as a nation? Yes war is bad and can be gruesome but there is no justification for this. I support our troops who fight for our freedoms so that I am able to sit here and write this post but I am astonished as to how many of us here at home think this immoral act is ok.

Come on people... Whats next? We will justify the raping of the rapists families by our police force?

I am sorry but we ARE the civilized west. Lets not become savages.

[Patrickdh10]

This may have been a dumb move by a few of our marines but for anyone to take stock in criticism from the enemy doesn't make any sense. Who cares what the Taliban says about it. While we commit so called indignities,the Taliban engages in torturing,beheadings,kidnappings,bombings and a host of other horrors that makes this seems very paltry. Keep in mind these soldiers are under a lot of stress that we, safe at home, cannot even imagine and a lapse in judgement is understandable. As far as I'm concerned tell these marines to smarten up and let it go at that.

[McDuderson]

So because the Taliban did bad things we should be allowed to do things that aren't quite as bad? Very logical.

Keep in mind the beheadings we've endured were direct retaliation after the Abu Garib photos were released (which is why the victims were dressed in orange jumpsuits).

Every act like this leads directly to more dead Americans and is as bad as terrorism itself.

[chessty]

just keep it up liberal media and obama crowd, your butts gonna be on the street next year. this crap is gonna fire up the vets and we vote.

[angeldesigns2]

Slow don't try to tell me about pride. Myself and the other wives have more pride for our men then you can imagine. Being in that place and being stressed day in and day out makes people react in different ways. All people are different. Don't try an force feed your ******** until you are boots on the ground and live their life. And yes I do believe, Whatever it takes to bring them home. One of our men is worth 100 of theirs..any day.

[rickc0129]

I think that one of ours is worth 1000's of theirs any time, it just gets them to the Gate of Virgins quicker.

[bluteaux3]

I agree as a ex marine I feel that politics plays to big of a roll in combat. Its easy for the Govt to throw stone and hold our service members accountable for simple acts like this.. I think its about time for us to start holding these govt persons accountable for the BS they pull on a daily bases. Its ok for them to desecrate a soldiers body threw there streets and we have to be careful not to **** on the enemy. they need to get there heads out of there a**. as for the commanding offices working at the white house know forget the war is a mind game. get the enemy out in the open and lets get it on. well if the people in this country had there way we would own some new desert sand. Thanks to all the soldiers over there doing what i wish i could still do. to by brothers be bashed for this Semper Fi. The Commandant should give these Marines a medal.

[raymailhot]

This policy of the media taking the enemy's side on military matters is not going to work well for America. The military would normally handle this without the press and these guys would be disciplined and do their penitence. But it would not be a career ending action. These marines are under much stress and they are expected to not fold to the evils they witness every day.

Let it be!

[angeldesigns2]

I agree Ray!

[McDuderson]

If we are going to be the world police, we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. These Marines are scum, aiding the enemy recruiting efforts.

[bobkat258]

I suppose it's easier to kill people if you ddehumanize them.

[awenshok]

Absolutely...it's terible to 'dehumanize' these men who kill and maim with their bombings, kidnap children, have sexual relations with young boys, traffic in drugs, assault and throw acid on women to control and intimidate them.....by the way, are you aware of how the Taliban behave toward the bodies of US soldiers?

[raymailhot]

I have to agree with awenshok!

[hawgark]

Why report such crazy crap. Why stop and urination. These guys are heroes. Our nations receives more embarrassment from Obama and Hillary everyday than these Marines have caused.

It is no wonder why people switch to Fox News. At least they get a little closer to the truth. I have just about given up on any of the Networks news reporting. There are a lot more positives than negatives in the U.S. news so why not report it that way.

Someone needs to start a News network that report only the news and truth and not opinions of the network.

Read the comments and learn.

[McDuderson]

They are no heroes of mine. I'm disgusted to share the same nationality as these scraps of trash. How about these welfare queens come back over here and take actual jobs that help our economy instead of wasting our money abroad? Then, maybe, they'd be heroes.

[Leon_Mohammed_Panetta]

If this is true, then I suppose the seriousness of this event might depend on who you ask. If you ask Leon Panetta, Hillary Clinton, then this is utterly deplorable and even those Marines who might have knowledge of this (but did not participate should be punished). If we could ask the 3000 Americans who died on 9/11 -- crashing, burning and falling to their deaths -- you might get a somewhat different response. It seems impossible for Panetta, Clinton or The President to put this into perspective. I say that if true, they should be punishing in an appropriate manner and then put back to work. Oh, by the way, nice job identifying the Marines Leon. Maybe you and Hillary should just I.D. everyone on that mission.