US Soldiers Posed with Murdered Afghan Civlians

UPDATED: Here's a link to the first of the trophy killing photos via Der Speigel (one is posted above). There are likely many more to come. This type of atrocity is what comes from efforts to dehumanize those of other races, sexual orientations and religious faiths. Those who are so indoctrinated - can we say brainwashed - believe the lives of others have no value. It makes me want to vomit.

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While Bradley Manning is subjected to horrid deprivations at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia, soldiers to be tried for the cruel and senseless murder of Afghan civilians for sport apparently are not undergoing similar treatment. It's all too typical of the ass backwards - dare I say f*cked up - approach being taken by the Obama administration which if you recall promised change from the torture regime of the Chimperator. As yet, however, Obama has failed to deliver on it. Aljazeera and the Guardian have coverage on this latest disgusting detail of the sick and twisted mindset that I suspect is more widespread amongst many in the military than anyone would want to admit. It's a warning of what happens when others are dehumanized and their lives are treated as irrelevant (sounds like the Christianist treatment of gays, doesn't it?). Aljazeera reports that the German newspaper Der Spiegel uncovered around 4,000 photos and videos taken by the so-called kill squad, some of which were published today, although I have not been able to locate then so far. Here are highlights from The Guardian:
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Commanders in Afghanistan are bracing themselves for possible riots and public fury triggered by the publication of "trophy" photographs of US soldiers posing with the dead bodies of defenceless Afghan civilians they killed.
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Senior officials at Nato's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul have compared the pictures published by the German news weekly Der Spiegel to the images of US soldiers abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib in Iraq which sparked waves of anti-US protests around the world.
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They fear that the pictures could be even more damaging as they show the aftermath of the deliberate murders of Afghan civilians by a rogue US Stryker tank unit that operated in the southern province of Kandahar last year. Some of the activities of the self-styled "kill team" are already public, with 12 men currently on trial in Seattle for their role in the killing of three civilians.
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Other charges include the mutilation of corpses, the possession of images of human casualties and drug abuse. All of the soldiers have denied the charges. They face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.
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The US military has strived to keep the pictures out of the public domain fearing it could inflame feelings at a time when anti-Americanism in Afghanistan is already running high.
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One security manager for the US company DynCorp sent an email to clients warning that publication of the photos was likely "to incite the local population" as the "severity of the incidents to be revealed are graphic and extreme".
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And meanwhile, Bradley Manning's real crime was helping to expose such war crimes and acts of obscene brutality. Mr. Obama, I find your policies disgusting.