Marines chief allegedly had 'unlawful influence' in Taliban urination case.

A group of former military lawyers and officers have accused the head of the US marine corps of attempting to exert "unlawful command influence" over the prosecution of soldiers who were shown urinating on dead Taliban fighters.

A letter to US lawmakers, signed by 27 individuals, says marine corps commandant James Amos appears to have deprived the marines of due process, made misleading statements about the incident under oath, abused the legal discovery process and besmirched the reputation of a marine corps whistleblower. The letter calls for a congressional inquiry into the allegations.

"Our country is entitled to trust her marines completely, and that trust starts first and foremost with our commandant himself," says the letter, which was sent to the Senate and House armed services committees.

The allegations centre around punitive action taken against eight marines involved in the incident, in which a team of scout snipers attached to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, filmed themselves in full combat uniform urinating on the corpses of insurgents during a 2011 deployment to Helmand province in Afghanistan. A video of the incident, posted on YouTube in January 2012, provoked international condemnation and caused intense embarrassment to the military's senior leadership.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/us-marine-chief-accused-taliban-urination-case