The Fruits of Anti-Muslim Demagoguery: US Soldiers "Killed Afghan Civilians for Sport"

As the Christianists and low lives of the GOP continue to chant an anti-Muslim screed, the fruits of this type of mindset are making themselves obvious in numerous ways - and not just in the form of demonstrations against and the vitalization of mosques. The soldiers in the photo above are on trial for willfully killing Afghan civilians for sport and collecting fingers of their victims as trophies. It's a situation that is beyond sick and shows how the demonetization of the "other" leads to atrocities. It is the same thing that the Nazi Party did with Jews in the run up to the Holocaust. It also what the Christianist try to do to LGBT citizens when we are portrayed as trying to "destroy the family" and "recruit children." Once the humanity of a group is stripped away by hate and demagoguery, terrible things are bound to ensue. It all physically sickens me. It's also disturbing that one has to look to the foreign media for the details of such horrific conduct by members of the U.S. military. I'd love to know the religious background of these soldiers. Here are some story highlights from the Guardian:
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Twelve American soldiers face charges over a secret "kill team" that allegedly blew up and shot Afghan civilians at random and collected their fingers as trophies. Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were allegedly killed for sport in separate attacks this year. Seven others are accused of covering up the killings and assaulting a recruit who exposed the murders when he reported other abuses, including members of the unit smoking hashish stolen from civilians.
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In one of the most serious accusations of war crimes to emerge from the Afghan conflict, the killings are alleged to have been carried out by members of a Stryker infantry brigade based in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.
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According to investigators and legal documents, discussion of killing Afghan civilians began after the arrival of Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs at forward operating base Ramrod last November. Other soldiers told the army's criminal investigation command that Gibbs boasted of the things he got away with while serving in Iraq and said how easy it would be to "toss a grenade at someone and kill them".
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The Army Times reported that a least one of the soldiers collected the fingers of the victims as souvenirs and that some of them posed for photographs with the bodies.
Five soldiers – Gibbs, Morlock, Holmes, Michael Wagnon and Adam Winfield – are accused of murder and aggravated assault among other charges. All of the soldiers have denied the charges. They face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.
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Following the arrest of the original five accused in June, seven other soldiers were charged last month with attempting to cover up the killings and violent assault on the soldier who reported the smoking of hashish.