Journamalisming Par Excellence

You may recall that, back in March, a disturbing video was being circulated of what appeared to be a marine throwing a live puppy over a cliff. (You can still see the video here, if you are so inclined.) At the time, some of the awesome investigative journamalists of the rightwing blogosphere decided the video was a hoax, based on their expertise in the fields of sound waves, microphones, and how American troops can do nothing wrong.

Oops.

The Marine Corps is expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq.

…Marine Corps Base Hawaii said in a news release Wednesday that Lance Cpl. David Motari received unspecified "non-judicial punishment" and "is being processed for separation" from the Marine Corps.

The second Marine, Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion also received unspecified "non-judicial" punishment.

Realistically, a big part of the reason the proud members of the Fighting 101st Keyboarders were so certain this video was fake is because a lot of them still just don't understand how totally fucked war really is. I don't understand how totally fucked war really is, either—but at least I'm smart enough to know it's not a goddamned John Wayne movie, a conflict with clear delineations about right and wrong, fought by nothing but heroes, who never need worry that their government sent them to do something bad and never do anything bad themselves.

And the only reason it's worth mentioning their failure to embrace how deeply fucked war is, really and truly, is because it's the existence of these idiot warmongering cheerleaders that makes it easier for our government to launch "preemptive wars" in the first place.

And, as ugly as it is, a dead puppy is the least of our sins in that conflagration we started by choice.