Cremated Taliban as Psy-Op Tool?

[Freight_Train]

Reading about this story twigged my memory a bit.  In "The Hunt for Bin Laden:  Task Force Dagger" by Robin Moore he described a similar situation on page 101:
"Visiting the battlefield shortly after, Special Forces Command Sergeant Major Ames asked TIGER 01 why some bodies were left to rot while others were covered in stones or buried within twenty-four hours, in accordance with Muslim practice.  The Triple Nickel's driver replied that the foreigners and AQ would be left to rot for a while as an insult."
I would expect that the folks on the ground did what they did for a reason and for us to internet speculate is somewhat foolish...

 

[Franko]

I hope the average civilian reading this site doesn't think that the CF would condone taunting locals while burning bodies as an acceptable Psyops practice.   Despite the approval of the moderator.

:

Are you for real?
 
Where did I say that I approved? Where did I say that the CF would condone that action?

I gave my own assesment of the report from what I gathered from the sources avail over here, mind you we don't have local Canadian tv either....so that's pretty far and few between. There are all kinds of positive things happening over here that will never make it to the six o'clock news. The media primarily focuses on the negative.

I certainly wouldn't allow my troops to engage in such practice.   Counterproductive.

No one would expect you to do so. If you did, you'd be up for courts martial.

Regards

 

[armyintheafterlife]

Obviously blatant ignorance and lack of respect that of Geneva Conventions and that of a human body. All those psycho-op experts?
disrespect for Islamic religious practices? how would anyone react to a foreign army killing the locals and making fun of their religion (even if one does not practice it?) If you do not win the hearts of the people you can forget about winning the war. Thank God for Canadian soldiers, but again, wars always attract criminal minds and in every crowd there will be one or two (like the ones who burned the bodies and
enjoyed the whole spectacle. (yes, I have seen the footage on TV)

​

So obviously you've never been around too awful many corpses rotting in the sun, eh. 

 

[geo]

It's been said before;
dealing with corpses is one issue
using the "photo Oportunity" to intentionaly enrage people is another....

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Ok on this topic , i just talked to the soldier from the american unit that did that and it was not a tool! It was an issue about hygene. They secured the area after the fire fight and were told to hold the ground. They were there for as few days , so they had to get rid of the stink, so they burned them. He does admit , not the smartest idea, but for the welfare of his troops it had to be done.

 

[geo]

SBD... if you went to the trouble of reading the whole thread you'd find out that after the unit looked after the Hygene part - the Psyops types got their hands on the photos and film footage and did their little magic.... and resulted in unleashing a firestorm of hate worldwide for the casual disregard the US extended to the dead.

The fact that they were taliban has everything (and nothing) to do with it.

(once again -= please read)

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Sorry my bad!  :blotto:

 

[FastEddy]

At the end of the day, DON'T let the media go along with Psy-Ops boys. How can you fight a war (yes fight - KILL the EN etc) with the limp wristed left (SBS Channel 21) in tow.



Cheers,

Wes

Boy have you got that one right !, if you have A.. H....'s around taking pictures every time you go for a S..t, your bound to get your picture taken with your pants down around your ankles sooner or later.

If those media SOB's were so concerned and righteous, why didn't they volunteer to bury the dead TB.

 

[The Bread Guy]

The latest....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051126/ap_on_re_as/afghan_us_bodies_burned_1;_ylt=AuazeEDObJT61T_9s80k1fZsbEwB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

"The U.S. military on Saturday denied its troops committed any criminal wrongdoing in the burning of two Taliban rebels' bodies, claiming they did so for hygienic reasons, but said four soldiers face disciplinary action over the incident ....  The U.S.-led coalition's operational commander, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, said two junior officers who ordered the bodies to be burned would be officially reprimanded for showing a lack of cultural and religious understanding, but said the men were unaware that what they were doing was wrong."

 

[geo]

The latest....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051126/ap_on_re_as/afghan_us_bodies_burned_1;_ylt=AuazeEDObJT61T_9s80k1fZsbEwB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

"The U.S. military on Saturday denied its troops committed any criminal wrongdoing in the burning of two Taliban rebels' bodies, claiming they did so for hygienic reasons, but said four soldiers face disciplinary action over the incident ....   The U.S.-led coalition's operational commander, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, said two junior officers who ordered the bodies to be burned would be officially reprimanded for showing a lack of cultural and religious understanding, but said the men were unaware that what they were doing was wrong."

you forgot to mention the following...........
Kamiya also said two noncommissioned officers would be reprimanded for using loudspeakers to taunt Taliban rebels who were believed to still be lingering in a nearby village after a clash with the troops. The men also would face non-judicial punishments, which could include a loss of pay or demotion in rank.

which I would presume refers to the Psyop boys which are responsible for this PR mess.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

This brings me to a question then. On the BTE we had the Psyops guys with us because there going to TFA with us. They would say that we didn't employ them properly. After this event, i feel that we shouldn't bring them at all unless its a lighter( lack of a better word) op. Anyone want to help me out with this outlook, since i will be a Sect Comd working closer with them.

 

[geo]

SBD
Psyops can provide a whole range of services.

Psyops can be black or white .... and pretty much any shade of gray that falls inbetween.
Cdn doctrine dictates that our Psyops shall be "white", shall not twist the truth to suit our needs. We will provide the people in A'stan with the real information - not something that has been "adapted" by some spin doctor.
The US plays their Psyops game a little looser than ours.
Will see if I can track down a Ppt presentation the Psyops boys put together for us last spring - good read.

 

[FastEddy]

The latest....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051126/ap_on_re_as/afghan_us_bodies_burned_1;_ylt=AuazeEDObJT61T_9s80k1fZsbEwB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

"The U.S. military on Saturday denied its troops committed any criminal wrongdoing in the burning of two Taliban rebels' bodies, claiming they did so for hygienic reasons, but said four soldiers face disciplinary action over the incident ....   The U.S.-led coalition's operational commander, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, said two junior officers who ordered the bodies to be burned would be officially reprimanded for showing a lack of cultural and religious understanding, but said the men were unaware that what they were doing was wrong."

Like the old saying goes, "some days it doesn't even pay to get out of bed".

If there is a list somewhere of "The most Dangerous, Unrewarding, Underpaid, Unappreciated Jobs" The American G.I must be right up there.

 

[geo]

Fast Eddy, you too failed to mention/ quote the following:...........
Kamiya also said two noncommissioned officers would be reprimanded for using loudspeakers to taunt Taliban rebels who were believed to still be lingering in a nearby village after a clash with the troops. The men also would face non-judicial punishments, which could include a loss of pay or demotion in rank.

which I would presume refers to the Psyop boys which are responsible for this PR mess.

 

[tomahawk6]

As the officer's are to receive a letter of reprimand I would expect the NCO's to get the same.

 

[geo]

The NCOs deserve to have the book thrown at them
then, they should be sent back to school to get their Sh#$ together

 

[tomahawk6]

Their offense was more out of ignorance than malice. The bodies had been unburied for over 24 hours. The local village didnt want to bury them. The terrain was rocky so burning the bodies seemed the way to go.

 

[geo]

Tommy, this was discussed before, you should review the posting to refresh your memory. The Offiicers & troops burned the body for sanitary reasons....(nothing wrong) BUT then the Psyop types came around and twisted the whole scenario in order to twist the tail of the tiger... which had a net result of upsetting the locals...

 

[FastEddy]

Fast Eddy, you too failed to mention/ quote the following:...........
Kamiya also said two noncommissioned officers would be reprimanded for using loudspeakers to taunt Taliban rebels who were believed to still be lingering in a nearby village after a clash with the troops. The men also would face non-judicial punishments, which could include a loss of pay or demotion in rank.

which I would presume refers to the Psyop boys which are responsible for this PR mess.

Whether they did or didn't, doesn't change my sentiments.

But you keep failing to mention if it wasn't for the f......g media pricks there wouldn't be a PR mess either.

As far as hopping they throw the book at these Soldiers, sounds like your a real charitable person.

 

[geo]

Charitable?
Oh yeah... why shouldn't I be?

with respect to the media... while I am not particularly a big fan of the media's being embeded within line units......... you have to be a total moron to try & pull the stunt they did ... knowing fully well that reporters were standing there taking notes, making their list and checking it twice............ how stupid can you be?

Also... would it have been any less correct or incorrect if the reporters hadn't of been there?  If the locals had kicked up a fuss for this insensitive act; they might have decided to throw their support to the Taliban or Osama for our trouble... nice, real nice!