The Obama adminstration doesn't think dying is enough. If you survive the jihadis, the green-on-blue attacks, the mandatory Ramadan dinners, perhaps you'll face Obama's military tribunals. Here, US soldiers face disciplinary action for sending boxes of Qurans and other religious books to a base landfill for incineration after discovering that Afghan detainees were using the books to relay messages and share "extremist writing."
As for urinating on dead jihadists, who cares?WASHINGTON—The U.S. military is expected to discipline nine service members on Monday in connection with two incidents that sparked widespread outrage in Afghanistan, including the burning of copies of the Quran at one of the country's largest military bases.
The punishment, which doesn't include criminal charges or jail time, falls far short of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's calls for a public trial, and it remains unclear how Afghan officials and the broader public will respond to decisions that could be viewed as relatively lenient.
In addition to the incident of the burning of copies of the Quran, service members will face discipline in connection with a video of four Marines urinating on dead militants.
A military investigation of the Quran burning found that six U.S. soldiers at Bagram Airfield were "derelict in their duties" when they sent boxes of Qurans and other religious books to a base landfill for incineration in late February, according to two U.S. military officials.
While the military concluded that there was no ill-intent on the part of the American soldiers, the investigation also determined that they didn't follow proper procedure when they ordered the destruction of the prison library books, officials said.
"It was a series of mistakes," one military official said on Sunday.
The investigation also found that a lack of trust between U.S. and Afghans at the base fed into the errors.
The incident sparked days of nationwide riots that left more than three-dozen people, including two U.S. soldiers, dead.
Afghan officials said the burning of the Qurans—Islam's holiest book— showed the
Muslims view the Quran as the sacred word of God as relayed to the Prophet Muhammad, and burning the books en masse at a military incinerator was seen as an especially disrespectful affront.
President Barack Obama apologized for the incident and Mr. Karzai called for the American soldiers to be put on public trial in his country.
At the time, military officials said the books were sent for destruction after they determined that Afghan detainees were using them to relay messages and share extremist writing. Afghan leaders briefed on the initial investigation challenged that claim and said the books recovered from the landfill contained innocuous signatures from the detainees, not inflammatory notes.
[...]On Monday, the U.S. military is also expected to announce punishment for three of the Marines shown in a video urinating on the bodies of slain Taliban members.
The video, which became public in January after it appeared on YouTube, showed four Marines urinating on the corpses of militants.
"Have a great day, buddy," one of the Marines is heard saying.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta condemned the video, which was believed to have been filmed in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province in the spring or summer of 2011.
Investigators quickly determined the Marines in the video were from 3rd Battalion 2nd Marine Regiment, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Investigators concluded that the leadership of the Marines' platoon failed to create a proper "command climate," allowed discipline to slip and dishonorable behavior to occur.
In addition to disciplinary action against the Marines shown in the video, the Corps is taking action against the officers in charge of the unit, according to three military officials. Officials said that investigators found other questionable incidents in the unit, although none as serious as the urination incident, and other evidence of a breakdown in leadership.
Officials said one or more company-grade officers are likely to be punished later. The battalion commander of the Marine unit isn't expected to face discipline.
The punishments against the Marines, and likely for the Army soldiers, are expected to be career-ending, blocking service members from re-enlisting,
