Photos show U.S. GIs posing with dead Afghans

Updated 2:35 PM ET

(CBS/AP) The Los Angeles Times has published photos apparently showing U.S. military personnel posing with the dead bodies of Afghan insurgents.

Top U.S. military and civilian officials rushed to condemn the soldiers' actions Wednesday, calling them repugnant and a dishonor to others who have served in the conflict. The Army said an investigation is under way.

The photos were published in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times. It said one of the photos shows members of the 82nd Airborne Division posing in 2010 with Afghan police and the severed legs of a suicide bomber. The same platoon a few months later was sent to investigate the remains of three insurgents reported to have accidentally blown themselves up -- and soldiers again posed and mugged for photographs with the remains, the newspaper said. A photo from that incident appears to show the hand of a dead insurgent resting on a U.S. soldier's shoulder as the soldier smiles.

A soldier in the division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, which is stationed in Ft. Bragg, N.C., gave the paper 18 photographs, claiming they indicated a breakdown in leadership and discipline that could compromise troop safety, according to the Times.

The photos are the latest in a series of blows to the U.S. military image in Afghanistan. In January, U.S. Marines were found to have made a video of them urinating on Afghan corpses. In February, what the military said was the accidental burning of Qurans triggered violent protests and revenge killings of six Americans. And last month, a U.S. soldier left his base and allegedly killed 17 civilian villagers, mainly women and children.

Even before the photos were published online, Pentagon press secretary George Little said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta "rejects the conduct depicted in these 2-year-old photographs."

"Anyone found responsible for this inhuman conduct will be held accountable in accordance with our military justice system," Little said.

At a news conference after a meeting of NATO foreign and defense ministers in Brussels, Panetta, who apologized on behalf of the Department of Defense and the U.S. government, told reporters he "strongly condemns" the behavior exhibited in the photos and encouraged a strong investigation, which is already under way. But Panetta also said that in war, young people "can make foolish decisions." He said he is not excusing the behavior but does not want the incident to bring more harm to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

At the White House, President Barack Obama's chief spokesman, Jay Carney, echoed Panetta's comments, saying the incident was "reprehensible." It was the latest in a series of recent Afghan battlefield embarrassments for the United States, and it came at a time when Washington is still working with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul to smooth over strained relations.

Soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division pose with the mangled corpose of a suicide bomber in Afghanistan's Zabol province. The image was first published in the LA Times, which received it from an unnamed soldier in the division.In this image provided to the LA Times by a soldier in the division.

Carney said the picture-taking incident does not represent the standards of the U.S. military and said that Obama believes the situation needs to be investigated and those responsible held accountable. He said he didn't know if the president had seen the photos.

The U.S. commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, U.S Marine Gen. John R. Allen, also criticized the troops. He said there is a strict policy for the handling of enemy remains and it dictates they be processed as humanely as possible.

"The incident depicted in the LA Times' photographs represents a serious error in judgment by several soldiers who have acted out of ignorance and unfamiliarity with U.S. Army values," Allen said, adding that commanders "will collaborate with Afghan authorities and carefully examine the facts and circumstances shown in these photos."

A soldier from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division poses with a dead insurgent's hand on his shoulder. The image was first published in the LA Times, which received it from an unnamed soldier in the division.

A statement by U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan C. Crocker also condemned the behavior.

"Such actions are morally repugnant, dishonor the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers and civilians who have served with distinction in Afghanistan, and do not represent the core values of the United States or our military," Crocker said.

Little said the military had asked the Los Angeles Times not to publish the photographs. "The danger is that this material could be used by the enemy to incite violence against U.S. and Afghan service members in Afghanistan," he said.

There was no immediate reaction from Afghan authorities.

In its story, the newspaper quoted editor Davan Maharaj saying: "After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission in Afghanistan, including the allegation that the images reflect a breakdown in unit discipline that was endangering U.S. troops."

Many troops take photos -- and some take these `trophy' photos -- of their tours of duty on the battlefield. And the practice has harmed war efforts in both recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The most notorious case was that of Abu Ghraib, an Iraq prison where members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company photographed themselves physically and sexually abusing detainees. Photos showed them holding one prisoner on a dog leash, another with a prisoner hooded and wires attached to him in a mock electrocution, another with naked prisoners stacked in a pyramid.

Release of the photos in 2004 fostered international condemnation. It complicated international relations for the U.S. and provoked debate about whether harsh interrogation techniques approved by the Pentagon amounted to torture. In all, eleven U.S. soldiers were tried and convicted of crimes and five others were punished administratively. Punishments for the 16 included reprimands, hard labor, demotions, fines and up to 10 years in prison for one soldier.

In the more recent incident -- the video of Marines urinating on Afghan corpses -- two separate investigations have been completed and are being reviewed by the commander of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Lt. Gen. Richard Mills. One investigation was done by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to determine whether any crime was committed; the other was a command probe aimed at determining what happened and why. No action has been taken against the Marines pending the review of the investigations, according to Marine Corps officials.

[KnowerseekerReturns]

Yeah, keep up the prosecution (persecution) of our military boys and girls for silly reasons. Before long, you'll have nobody left, and no one will want to serve. Oh, and We The People won't stand for another draft to fight endless wars for the military industrial complex (or oil), led by slimy politician-weasels.

[Irby32]

We are sickos. Photos tell it all.

[rainhut]

I keep saying it. We need to leave. This will get worse. In Vietnam, the soldiers quit taking orders near the end. Our economy has become based on war and wars are great politics. We need to change all this and stop wasting time, money and blood.

[raboz]

While I do not condone taking pictures like this, but as a Nam Vet, I have seen worse pictures on TV news reports during the Nam War. I would also venture a guess that all of the "nay sayers" never served a day in the military, certainly not in a combat role!

[rubberrezi]

Why is this a scandal? It's been done in every war by soldiers dealing with the terror of day to day fighting for your life. I know it was done all the time in Viet Nam. Don't say that doesn't make it right but remember we are out there to kill these people. Don't make judgements you know nothing about. Trust me the other side does the same thing and if it helps our warriors to blow off a little steam leave then to it and let them decide what's best for their survival.

[DAGLAG]

The USA is missing out on a great chance to influence the enemy to quit and go home. These photos should be reporduced and wording something like the following written in - "Go home in peace or else this may happen to you." And then thousands should be dropped on the taliban.

[KnowerseekerReturns]

I agree. Let 'em get a taste of their own medicine. We are human, just like them; we can be barbaric and sadistic too. And we have bigger bombs.

[USSAmerikan]

Does anyone know how Mohammed's teachings seem to forbid suicide, yet fundamentalists thrive on it? (Hadith - Bukhari 2:446: "He who commits suicide by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in the Hell Fire (forever) and he who commits suicide by stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himself in the Hell-Fire"). Also, Hadith - Bukhari 7:670: "Whoever purposely throws himself from a mountain and kills himself, will be in the (Hell) Fire falling down into it and abiding therein perpetually forever; and whoever drinks poison and kills himself with it, he will be carrying his poison in his hand and drinking it in the (Hell) Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever; and whoever kills himself with an iron weapon, will be carrying that weapon in his hand and stabbing his abdomen with it in the (Hell) Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever."

[cbs_tom]

And yet with the exception of yourself, I hear very little condemnation from any muslim leaders as well as their fellow country men and women.

[ilyaquiss]

And to think that we are going to have to share the mall, schools and other public places with these mentally ill people that are coming back from those wars. A lost generation.

[cbsblogger]

This is what happens when servicemen are subjected to worthless 11+ year wars and multiple tours of combat duty without any sense of or defined mission. Nothing good comes out of it, and it costs lots of heartache, wasted lives and dollars.

[retiredgustav]

cbsblogger..... I have to agree with you on that one. I am wondering if our soldiers are doing this to get home no matter what.

[vissionquest]

I am not a supporter of this war, but i sure do not understand this desire to kill the enemy, but do it with rules. If you feel you have gotten to the point that violence is the answer, why have rules? How can these arrogant politicians send our troops to war, and then stand infront of reporters and cry crocodile tears about the way things turned out. Rules of killing, or the politically correct way to behave when you kill someone, is a ludicrous concept. - I do not think posing with dead guys is very moral, but that is not where the line in the sand should be drawn.

[MagnaCartaUK]

You have codes of conduct in the view that, in theory, should some of your own side be captured, they'll be afforded the same decent treatment. That said, I somehow doubt if the animals in the Taliban have the capacity to ever act that way. One thing's for certain, those involved haven't bothered to ask the if their fellow combatants mind being turned into bullet magnets. It's not unusual for frontline combatants to indulge in such behaviour, but it sometimes helps to see the bigger picture - if only for the possible welfare of many others - including allies.