10-02-2012, 07:52 PM
The US Marine Corps has confirmed that a sniper team posed for a photograph in front of the offending flag, and had been given a warning but escaped punishment.
The photo taken in September 2010 showed several Marines ''with a flag that depicted what appeared to be a Nazi-related symbol,'' said a statement from Camp Pendleton, in California.
The photo shows a flag with what appear to be the letters "SS" in the shape of jagged lightning bolts. The symbol resembles that used by SS units in World War II.
Authorities were only notified about the case in November 2011 after the picture was posted online. The Marines involved were members of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.
''The photo appears to have been taken in Sangin, Afghanistan,'' a military spokesman, Mark Oliva said.
A statement added: ''The incident was found not to be racially motivated. Those involved acknowledged that the symbol could be misinterpreted and is not in keeping with our Marine Corps ethos and values.
''The commander determined that disciplinary action was not warranted. Further, all Marines in the unit were reminded that any such behaviour would not be tolerated and further display could result in punishment.''
And it said: ''The history and the connotations connected with this symbol are not in keeping with our highest traditions of our Core Values and aren't in keeping with good order and discipline.''
The Marines in the photograph, posted on an internet blog, are no longer with the unit.
The SS, or Schutzstaffel, was the police and military force of the Nazi Party, which was distinct from the general army. Members pledged an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler.
SS units were held responsible for many war crimes and played an integral role in the extermination of millions of Jews along with gypsies and other people classed as undesirables.
The SS was declared to be a criminal organsation at the Nuremberg war crime trials.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation in Washington said it was outraged and wants a full investigation.
Mikey Weinstein with the foundation said he has been flooded with calls from former Marines offended by the photo and from one member of his organisation who is an Auschwitz survivor.
"This needs to be fully investigated. This is a complete and total outrage," he said.
Weinstein said his organisation was sending a letter to the head of the Marine Corps and Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
This is the second time this year the Marine Corps has had to do damage control for its troops' actions.
The photo taken in September 2010 showed several Marines ''with a flag that depicted what appeared to be a Nazi-related symbol,'' said a statement from Camp Pendleton, in California.
The photo shows a flag with what appear to be the letters "SS" in the shape of jagged lightning bolts. The symbol resembles that used by SS units in World War II.
Authorities were only notified about the case in November 2011 after the picture was posted online. The Marines involved were members of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.
''The photo appears to have been taken in Sangin, Afghanistan,'' a military spokesman, Mark Oliva said.
A statement added: ''The incident was found not to be racially motivated. Those involved acknowledged that the symbol could be misinterpreted and is not in keeping with our Marine Corps ethos and values.
''The commander determined that disciplinary action was not warranted. Further, all Marines in the unit were reminded that any such behaviour would not be tolerated and further display could result in punishment.''
And it said: ''The history and the connotations connected with this symbol are not in keeping with our highest traditions of our Core Values and aren't in keeping with good order and discipline.''
The Marines in the photograph, posted on an internet blog, are no longer with the unit.
The SS, or Schutzstaffel, was the police and military force of the Nazi Party, which was distinct from the general army. Members pledged an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler.
SS units were held responsible for many war crimes and played an integral role in the extermination of millions of Jews along with gypsies and other people classed as undesirables.
The SS was declared to be a criminal organsation at the Nuremberg war crime trials.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation in Washington said it was outraged and wants a full investigation.
Mikey Weinstein with the foundation said he has been flooded with calls from former Marines offended by the photo and from one member of his organisation who is an Auschwitz survivor.
"This needs to be fully investigated. This is a complete and total outrage," he said.
Weinstein said his organisation was sending a letter to the head of the Marine Corps and Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
This is the second time this year the Marine Corps has had to do damage control for its troops' actions.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass