The wars always bring with themselves myriads of problems, evils and harms. It has the capability to destroy human civilization within no time. Decades of developments can turn to ruins once these giants turn wild and grasp the world in its deadly grips. There have been many wars in the human history and all of them have their grim history of obliteration and annihilation. Apart from destruction to material things, there is a great impact of war on human psychology, that is depicted through different sorts of misconducts carried out by the involved individuals.
It has been observed within the wars that human minds go through extreme pressure and gets more violent. Though war, overall, is a complete destruction and nothing can be as wicked as bombing houses and killing people, there are occasions in war that give rise to certain actions which are considered very much immoral and are condemn to a great extent in normal life. The war crimes in this regard can be sited as having important relation with the psychological depression of the wars; however, they have their other reasons as well.
The war crimes are basically the violations of ethical standards set on almost international level to maintain a measure of dignity of cultural, religious and universal values. There have been assertions on international level to keep checks on war crimes (Geneva Convention in this regard is the most important one) so as to keep the involved forces accountable of their deeds; otherwise the situation may turn very grave. The armies of the world also have checks on national level to control the war crimes but they have never been stopped completely.
The war in Afghanistan is also getting very lengthy and tiresome for the parties involved. The US troops have spent almost a decade of war in Afghanistan and they have to be a part of this war in some way or the other for a couple of more years. Like every other war this war has a list of controversies and stories as well.
One of the most important facts in this war is that US troops are fighting this war far away from their country on a foreign land and with ambiguity (which is more evident within the last few years) whether this war is benefiting them largely. Moreover, there have been reports of growing discomfort among the international troops about their involvement for the war. Their hatred for this war is growing considerably and this hatred depicts itself in the form of growing abhorrence for the enemies as well.
One of the controversial incidents in the war against terrorism has recently been displayed in a video posted online. The video shows four US Marines urinating on the corpses of Afghans, which is clear violation of the First Geneva Convention that calls for the dead to be treated with dignity. It is not sure who the dead people are but the US Marines have been recognized by US investigators according to the US media reports. It is also not sure who has posted the video, but it is certain that there have been prompt reactions by US and Afghan officials.
It has also come to be known that the troops involved in the video served in Helmand province of Afghanistan. The investigation about the video is not yet complete, but there are possibilities that once the video is proved genuine and the allegations turn out to be true the involved Marines may even face court marshal. An investigation team has been appointed in this regard the Marine Corps and it has also appointed Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser to decide for what can be the possible disciplinary action against such a misdeed if it proves true.
The US media reports depict that two of the Marines belonged to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, who are now in other assignments while two others have been identified as Marine snipers but their names have not been released. The Battalion is reported to have had deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and fighting wildfires in the US state of Idaho, which shows that it has been through intense war conditions.
Top US officials have reacted stressfully to the incident. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton showed no hesitation in showing consternation about the video. The US Defense Secretary, in this regard, showed his concern that the video could even jeopardize the prospects of US-Afghan peace talks.
However, it does not seem very much likely. The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Marine General John Allen has said, "These actions are in direct opposition to everything the military stands for. Such acts in no way reflect the high moral standards and values we expect of our armed forces on a daily basis." President Hamid Karzai condemned the video as well and asked for "most severe punishment" to the criminals. The Afghan people also gave reactions but there were not severe outburst by the public. Taliban have also condemned the video however they have also mentioned that the peace process would not be obliterated by it.
The final decision about the video is yet to be made and one can be certain about it only after the investigation but one thing can be easily guessed from the video that the war in Afghanistan is getting very much tiresome for the US troops and their hatred for the enemy is getting intense with each passing day.
The psychological pressure of the war is getting very tough on them and they are making weird choices. On the other hand there is a general misconception among the nations that 'everything is fair in war', which makes the troops accept on limit and do whatever they may please to do. Whatever may be the reason; there can never be any justification for such actions.
They have to be investigated properly and the culprits must be punished in accordance to the law. It is nice to see that there are two sets of investigations by US authorities, including Marine Corps internal investigation and investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; nonetheless, it is yet to be seen what can be result of the investigation. At the same time, it is also necessary that the there should be more accountability coerced on international level so as to keep checks on these sorts of crimes. The nations of the world must make sure that they follow complete adherence to Geneva Convention and can play a role in decreasing the horrors of wars.