Showing posts with label US Marines Corps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Marines Corps. Show all posts
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Saturday, September 15, 2012
REUTERS.COM: President Barack Obama on Saturday rejected any denigration of Islam but said there is no excuse for attacks on U.S. embassies, insisting he will never tolerate efforts to harm Americans.
"I have made it clear that the United States has a profound respect for people of all faiths," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "Yet there is never any justification for violence .... There is no excuse for attacks on our embassies and consulates."
Angry anti-American protests have swept the Muslim world in response to a film that insults the Prophet Mohammad. An attack on the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others this week.
A day after Obama led a somber ceremony marking the return of the bodies of the Americans killed in Libya, Obama acknowledged that a surge of anti-American violence in the Middle East is disturbing.
The Pentagon is sending Marines to beef up security at the U.S. embassy in Sudan, following similar reinforcements to Libya and Yemen. » | Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Lisa Shumaker | Saturday, September 15, 2012
Washington - Von Tunesien bis Pakistan - in vielen muslimischen Ländern ist es aus Empörung über einen in den USA produzierten islamfeindlichen Film zu einer Welle der Gewalt gegen Einrichtungen der USA gekommen. Die Vereinigten Staaten haben inzwischen auch eine schnelle Eingreiftruppe der Marineinfanterie in den Sudan entsandt, wie aus US-Regierungskreisen verlautete. Am Freitag hatte es nach dem Angriff auf die deutsche Botschaft auch die US-Vertretung in Khartum getroffen. » | abl/dapd/dpa | Samstag, 15. September 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
WASHINGTON – The other-than-honorable discharge given to Marine Sgt. Gary Stein for writing “Screw Obama” and other criticisms of the president on Facebook means he will lose all of his military privileges, including access to military health care and education benefits, as well as the right to shop in the tax-free grocery and department stores on base.
Is this a fair punishment for a Marine who has served in the military for nine years – a tenure which also included a tour in Iraq during the particularly violent years of 2005 to 2006? Some service members who have been found to have deserted have received “general” discharges, after all.
The problem, analysts say, is that Sgt. Stein was warned repeatedly about his Facebook posts. Troops are encouraged “to carry out the obligations of citizenship,” and are allowed to express “a personal opinion on political candidates and issues.” They can also put political bumper stickers on their cars, sign petitions, donate to political parties, and attend rallies, debates, and conventions.
They cannot, however, take part in any political activities as official representatives of the US military.
For his actions, Stein, who also wrote that he would refuse to follow President Obama’s orders, was not court-martialed. He could have been given a “general” discharge. Though this may sound fine to many civilian ears, it also carries with it negative intimations and is quite different from the “honorable” discharge that the majority of troops get. » | Anna Mulrine, Staff writer | Thursday, April 26, 2012
Verwandt »
WELT ONLINE: Präsidentenbeleidigung wird bestraft: Ein Soldat muss die Armee verlassen, weil er seine kritische Meinung über Barack Obama auf Facebook kundgetan hat.
Ein Marineinfanterist muss die US-Streitkräfte verlassen, weil er Präsident Barack Obama im Internet unter anderem einen "Feigling" genannt hatte. Gary Stein sei eines "ernsthaften Verstoßes" für schuldig befunden worden, teilte das Marineinfanterie-Korps am Mittwoch (Ortszeit) mit. » | AFP/sab | Donnerstag, 26. April 2012
Friday, March 02, 2012
Sgt. Brandon Morgan, a 25-year-old from Oakdale, Calif., returned to Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Feb. 22 from his third deployment in four years and was met by his boyfriend, Dalan Wells.
A friend snapped the photo, which depicts Morgan with his legs wrapped around Wells, an American flag in the background.
It was later posted on the "Gay Marines" Facebook page; from there, the photo went viral.
"It's a homecoming picture -- gay, straight, lesbian, no matter who you are, love is love," Morgan told Hawaii TV station KHON. "We haven't fought for more rights or better rights than others. We fought for equal rights, and now we have them." » | Ricardo Lopez | Friday, March 02, 2012
Related »
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Thursday, March 01, 2012
THE WASHINGTON TIMES: If any event marks the day the military’s gay ban was really over, it came last week, when Marine Corps Sgt. Brandon Morgan, in uniform, jumped onto his boyfriend and the two engaged in a passionate kiss at an on-base military-family homecoming.
A friend photographed the embrace, which later was posted on the “Gay Marine” Facebook page and triggered an outpouring of support — and some dissent.
For the armed service’s most tradition-bound service, the one that most opposed lifting the ban last year, the transition seemed complete when a spokeswoman at Marine Corps Base Hawaii told a local TV station, “It’s your typical homecoming photo.”
The gay rights movement is applauding. » | Rowan Scarborough | The Washington Times | Thursday, March 01, 2012
Related articles, material here, here, and here.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A photo of a gay Marine locked in a passionate welcome home kiss with his boyfriend has gone viral, sparking a groundswell of support from backers of the military's policy of allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military.
The photo, which shows Sgt. Brandon Morgan locking lips with partner Dalan Wells during a recent homecoming in Hawaii, was posted to a Gay Marines Facebook page on Saturday.
Since then, the shot has received tens of thousands of "likes," shares and comments, prompting the young soldier to send a grateful message to all of his supporters.
Related »
The tolerant Brits show their overwhelming support »
BILD.DE: Schwuler US-Soldat küsst seinen Freund » | Dienstag, 28. Februar 2012
MAIL ONLINE: It was their FIRST KISS: Gay marines in homecoming clinch fell in love online while one of them was serving in Afghanistan: Sgt Brandon Morgan and Dalan Wells were reunited after six months apart » | Laura Cox | Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
“You made my day! Thank you for your service and congratulations on your love. This is what we’ve been fighting for,” one commenter wrote[.]
“I am glad that you are safe at home and with the person you love. Thank you for your service to this great country of ours. Be happy and stay safe,” wrote another[.]
But not all responses were as supportive. One commenter called the photo ”a damn shame,” and another posted simply “yuck.”
Brandon Morgan, upon finding out about his sudden Internet fame, released the following statement via his Facebook page:
“To everyone who has responded in a positive way, my partner and I want to say thank you. … Can’t believe how many shares and likes we have gotten on this. We didn’t do this to get famous, or something like that. We did this cause after 3 deployments and four years knowing each other, we finally told each other how we felt. As for the haters, let em hate. … To quote Kat Williams, everyone needs haters, so let them hate.» | Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
US forces in Afghanistan are facing fresh accusations of war crimes after film emerged of American marines urinating on dead bodies and laughing.
The US military command in Kabul, which was severely embarrassed last year by revelations that Americans soldiers were running a "kill squad" murdering Afghan civilians, said it will investigate the undated video but that if proves to be authentic then desecration of corpses would be regarded as a serious crime.
In the graphic short video, four soldiers in combat gear and carrying weapons are seen acting in unison as they urinate on three bloodied corpses. One of the soldiers sighs with relief, another says "yeah" and a third laughs. One remarks: "Have a great day, buddy". Another says: "Golden, like a shower".
A fifth soldier films the incident.
The video was posted anonymously on Wednesday along with a caption that said: "scout sniper team 4 with 3rd battalion 2nd marines out of camp lejeune peeing on dead talibans".
Military officials confirmed that the soldiers appear to be carrying rifles of a kind issued to sniper teams in Afghanistan.
A US department of defence spokesman, Captain John Kirby, told CNN: "Regardless of the circumstances or who is in the video, this is egregious, disgusting behaviour. It's hideous. It turned my stomach." » | Chris McGreal in Washington | Washington, January 11, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hamid Karzai condemns US Marines urinating video: Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Taliban enemy have denounced a video which appears to show American Marines urinating on the blood-soaked bodies of dead insurgency fighters. » | Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor and Zubair Babakarkhail in Kabul | Thursday, January 12, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Leon Panetta says US Marines urinating video 'utterly deplorable': US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said the behaviour of US Marines in a video which appears to show them urinating on the blood-soaked bodies of dead insurgency fighters is "utterly deplorable". » | Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor, Zubair Babakarkhail in Kabul | Thursday, January 12, 2012
Friday, November 18, 2011
The Chinese government has declared that the long-running dispute should be off-limits at talks to be held on Saturday, which will be attended by Mr Obama, China's Premier Wen Jiabao and 16 other nations including several with claims over the waterway.
But Mr Obama said the gathering, held this year on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, "can be the premier arena for us to be able to work together on a wide range of issues - maritime security or non-proliferation".
The president has irritated China with a drive to enhance the US role as a regional power, positioning Marines in northern Australia and pushing for a potentially transformational trans-Pacific trade pact.
Beijing sees the initiatives as intruding into its own sphere of influence, with the dispute over the South China Sea putting the two major world powers' differences into stark focus.
On Friday, Wen again warned against interference by "external forces" in the wrangle. » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, November 18, 2011
My comment:
Obama is playing with fire. Two of the dumbest things he did this week were telling the world that the US is not afraid of China, and then going to Australia and advertising the fact that the US was going to expand its military in the region to protect the Australians from the Chinese. Is there no end to this man's cack-handedness? Is there no end to his naïveté? Is there no end to his lack of understanding?
If the US is truly not afraid of China, it is worrying, because it should be. Meddling in the region which is traditionally China's sphere of influence will lead to no good place. Is Obama trying to set the stage for the third world war, or what?
This is troubling indeed! – © Mark
This comment also appears here.
Related »
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Thursday, July 02, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Thousands of US Marines stormed into an Afghan river valley by helicopter and land early today, launching the first major military offensive of Barack Obama's presidency with an assault deep into Taleban-held territory.
Operation Khanjar, which the Marines call simply "the decisive op", is intended to seize virtually the entire lower Helmand River valley, a heartland of the Taleban insurgency and the world's biggest heroin producing region.
It is the biggest operation launched by the US Marines Corps since the retaking of Fallujah in 2004 and seeks to break the grinding stalemate between Nato forces and the Taleban in the province.
US commanders stressed this morning their desire to move quickly and decisively with overwhelming force to seize the entire southern Helmand River valley from Taleban control ahead of the delayed Afghan Presidential elections on August 20.
"Where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold, build and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces," Marine Corps Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, commander of the Marines in southern Afghanistan said in a statement.
He told his staff before the operation: "The intent is to go big, go strong and go fast, and by doing so we are going to save lives on both sides." >>> Tom Coghlan in Kabul | Thursday, July 02, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)