U.S. Marines identify unit shown in video urinating on Taliban corpses

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. "Our boys"? A threat to our way of life means what?

"Our boys" didn't pick this fight. That was done by leaders on both sides. Well-fed, well-shod leaders on our side.

"Our boys" probably don't think much about a threat to "our way of life". They're probably much more focused on just trying to survive the day, the patrol. They just want to defeat the little band of fighters who are shooting at them, right now. They just want to get home in one piece.

"Our boys" are probably not "big-picture" types. That 50,000-foot-view is reserved for leaders at home, and for those of us on the internets.

"Our boys" are pretty good at shooting the enemy fighters and at blowing things up. They've probably added some inappropriate behavior to their post-victory end-zone dances, even in past wars. Adrenaline is a strange drug. But now, they're ill-trained to operate in this new environment, where video goes global in an instant, and the consequences rain down from public outrage and political finger-pointing.

It sucks to be those four (or five) Marines right now.