Disgraced US marine says he would urinate on Taliban corpse again
One of the American marines filmed urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters says he has no regrets and would do the same thing again.
Photo: liveleak
By Rob Crilly, Afghanistan correspondent
1:29PM BST 18 Jul 2013
Sgt Joseph Chamblin said he was on patrol in 2011 hunting down insurgents making improvised bombs in Helmand and had been sent to recover Taliban bodies days after a close colleague had been killed by a blast.
“We’re human,” he told North Carolina’s WSOC-TV Channel 9. “Who wouldn’t if you lost your brother or mother? Wouldn’t you want revenge?”
Sgt Chamblin was court-martialled along with another serviceman for his role in the incident after a video emerged showing four men urinating on three bloodied corpses.
One is caught using a high-pitched comic voice to say: “Have a great day buddy”.
It sparked widespread revulsion in Afghanistan at a deeply sensitive time, just as the US was attempting to re-open peace talks with the Taliban.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the spectacle.
“This act by American soldiers is simply inhuman and condemnable in the strongest possible terms,” he said at the time.
Sgt Chamblin said the action had not been pre-meditated and he had not considered whether his actions might have put other American troops in danger.
“And if anything, it was more of a psychological effect on the enemy because if an infidel touches the body, they’re not going to Mecca or paradise,” he said. “So, now these insurgents see what happens when you mess with us.”
He added that he regretted any backlash against other solidiers.
“But do I regret doing it? Hell no,” he said, adding he would do it again.
“Do you want the Marine Corps to be a group of Boy Scout pretty boys or do you want guys that will go out and kill the people trying to take advantage of your country and kill Americans?” he said. “Which do you want? Because you can't have both.”
Nine men were subject to disciplinary action. Sgt Chamblin pleaded guilty at court-martial and was demoted in rank and fined £330.
