All our Marines deserve our respect

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton commented how disgusted she was with the Marines who peed on a dead Taliban, agreeing with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta that it was “… despicable.”

Really? Sure, what they did was not the smartest option, but in the overall scheme of things, I view this as no worse than going 56 in a 55 mph zone.

Perhaps Clinton and Panetta would volunteer for combat so they might walk a mile in the boots of men and women who battle daily with holy warriors that do truly despicable things (beheading, suicide bombings, Sept. 11) to their military and civilian victims.

These Marines are fighting so the warm and fuzzies, from the comfort of their freedom, can self-righteously criminalize, try, convict, and execute them? Our leaders, who are all mouth and no substance, seldom mention what the Muslim jihadists do in the name of Allah. We must be politically correct, mustn’t we?

In our justice system, courts consider mitigating circumstances. Armed combat (war) is inherently brutal and emotionally intense … kill or be killed. You think that might be considered mitigating?

Give these Marines a medal, a urinal, and a reprimand, and then let them get on with assisting the enemy’s voyage to paradise.

God bless America, and God bless our troops.

STEVE BRIXEN

Sandpoint