US Marine exonerated for song about killing Iraqis

It's an eye-opening experience to see how many people at DU will leap to the defense of the latest sputtering from Ward Churchill or Noam Chomsky and yet will condemn a Marine for a satirical song. It would be funny were it not so pathetic.

and, like he did, laugh maniacally about those children being killed...

do you think that would be considered all well and good, cause it's only satirical? or do you think those melodramatic, persecution-complex-riddled whinering trolls would all join in in saying I should be banned from DU?

Is the fact that he's using team america stuff supposed to make it funny? What difference do you expect watching the video to make?

I believe you originally wrote that the song was about killing the child, when watching the video would show that in the song's story, the Iraqis killed the child.

That's why I asked.

I remember editing out a rant...I may have corrected a misperception as well... don't think so, but who knows?

Watching the video sure didn't make me think the song is any less offensive.

did watching the film change your thinking about it in any other way compared to before you watched it?

The only thing I got from watching it was a sense of dismay that that idiotic 'derka derka' crap seemed to be so obviously well-received by so many there.

I just do not see the humor in it, at all.

but thanks to the original DU discussion it appears to be a reference to a "South Park" episode. Generation gap, I guess...

Again, I just don't see the humor. I 'get it'... but it is not amusing to me.

as to how that other poster somehow knew what you meant by your cryptic post... knew that they agreed with you given so little information.

Interesting.

my point was about the importance of watching the video, not about Chomsky or Churchill or about attacking Marines.

Buddy--I saw the video a week and half ago--it's unintelligible...the sound is terrible and you can't tell what the guy is saying? So I had to go and find a translation of the lyrics so I COULD form an opinion? In fact that WAS the problem of virtually every poster in another forum where this came up. So someone posted the lyrics--

Here they are:

Hadji Girl

I was out in the sands of Iraq
And we were under attack
And I, well, I didn’t know where to go.

And the first thing that I could see was
Everybody’s favorite Burger King
So I threw open the door and I hit the floor.

Then suddenly to my surprise
I looked up and I saw her eyes
And I knew it was love at first sight.

And she said…
Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad
Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah
Hadji girl, I can’t understand what you’re saying.

And she said…
Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad
Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah
Hadji girl, I love you anyway.

Then she said that she wanted me to see.
She wanted me to go meet her family
But I, well, I couldn’t figure out how to say no.

Cause I don’t speak Arabic.

So, she took me down an old dirt trail.
And she pulled up to a side shanty
And she threw open the door and I hit the floor.

Cause her brother and her father shouted…
Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad
Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah
They pulled out their AKs so I could see

And they said…
Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad
Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah
So I grabbed her little sister, and pulled her in front of me.

As the bullets began to fly
The blood sprayed from between her eyes
And then I laughed maniacally

Then I hid behind the TV
And I locked and loaded my M-16
And I blew those little f*ckers to eternity.

And I said…
Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad
Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah
They should have known they were f*ckin’ with a Marine.

So this tactic you are using is a bit obvious...so please IF YOU REPLY in other than one word sentences as to why it is IMPORTANT to actually see it when it consists of a drunk with a guitar simply singing the song to a microphone to the adoring crowds? I can understand the importance of 'viewing' if we were talking about say the Zapruder film, where looking at it is the whole point to the discussion of it.

There is no real point to watching the video--you think otherwise? Is the racism nuisanced in someway when wedded to the visual? Is there some context that someone would miss if they ONLY read the lyrics and didn't bother watching it?

Missing in all this is the fact there is only a first line reference to Iraq. Some have pointed out that all the western objects (burger king, TV) mentioned in the song reference American society, not Iraq. In this context, it might be a rally cry to kill the all the Hadji's working at Burger Kings who are taking American jobs, while Marines are dying to defend America against the Hadjis. Never thought about that part, at all?

Now that the lyrics are posted, we can then look the claimed victimization and the tawdry attempts by some to pass this off as some demonstrative of the 'psychological effects' of guerilla warfare. How? Was this Marine in a fire fight? Was this Marine forced to lockdown and fight like the poor guys in Somalia? No...the guy was trying to get some ass!! Therefore, we can now see a different context...was this a 'set up'? Or was this a family protective of their daughter's honor and safeguard? The attempt to 'victimize' the Marine who just slaughter a room full of civillians by referring the backdrop of war and paranoia in Iraq, when in fact it was the actions and ONLY the actions of the Marine that created the context of murder in the first place. Or did you miss that part?

There are many many ways to intrepret this and NONE of which has anything whatsoever to do with the viewing of the song, unless of course, your intent is to cloud debate of what the song actually says?

Is it?

When people say "he didn't kill the girl" they leave out this salient fact.

"They pulled out their AKs so I could see

And they said…
Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad
Sherpa Sherpa Bak Allah
So I grabbed her little sister, and pulled her in front of me.

As the bullets began to fly
The blood sprayed from between her eyes
And then I laughed maniacally"

It's a psychotic rationale fitting for a mass murderer, who often rationalize their actions as persecution and reverse victimization;they never see themselves as an active agents.

Apparantly Cpl. Joshua Belile is so out of touch with reality that he geniunely believes that there is no war going on in Iraq. What else can one think when the fellow seems to think that 'chatting up' a cutie fast food worker in a Burger King (are there Burger Kings in Iraq?) is an act of innocent social interaction?

Stateside, of course. It is not unusual or reproachable that a young man in the service might attract the attention of a young woman in a fast food outlet. It is perfectly reasonable that she might want to take the fellow home to meet the Parents sometime for their approval. I understand in the US that a Marine with healthcare coverage is considered a 'good catch' in some circles. ;-) Of course this can be simply chalked up to male sex fantasies where some men truly do believe they have this personal attraction to the opposite sex and dispensed with as such.

But if you notice for the sake of the narrative, the context of war is removed at that critical moment--Cpl. Joshua Belile is attempting to normalize a perfectly innocent social interaction, declare his intentions as honourable and thus absolve himself from a crime that his actions perpetrated.

This is how a psychopaths think--their actions seem perfectly normal to them, it is their 'victims' that caused him to act in that manner.

And I'm still unclear as to why the writer said the soldier laughed maniacally.

Perhaps he assumed the father and brother wouldn't hate him so much that they'd kill the girl? Perhaps he was in shock because he assumed she was friendly, but she was just luring him into an ambush, him effectively unarmed? Perhaps he liked the idea of the girl being killed? There's rather a shortage of song-internal evidence, and the song-external evidence is in short supply.

"Then I hid behind the TV
And I locked and loaded my M-16
And I blew those little f*ckers to eternity."

The rationalizations made in this thread trying to excuse this mindset, and the fact that this song was performed IN Iraq while our troops are supposedly trying to secure the peace really make me wonder about some people.

Geez, poor things. Nobody understands why they'd kill a bunch of kids. Oh, wait, those kids were going to grow up to be terrorists who wanted to "kill us all."

:sarcasm:


Such is the beginning of genocide.

killed, he had a club. It was a metal club. But with all the versatility of use and the ability to project force of a club.

A pistol with no ammo in it is useful as a sort of rock. An M16 without ammo is as useful as a baseball bat. It can be used to bludgeon at sufficiently close range, and to bluff. That's it.

You go against an AK with an aluminum baseball bat. Perhaps if you're Superman you can use it to deflect the automatic weapons fire. Otherwise, leave a will behind.

"Some have pointed out that all the western objects (burger king, TV) mentioned in the song reference American society, not Iraq. In this context, it might be a rally cry to kill the all the Hadji's working at Burger Kings who are taking American jobs, while Marines are dying to defend America against the Hadjis. Never thought about that part, at all?"

Wow... you must have thought a lot longer and harder about this than that Marine did. I don't think he was overly concerned with realism when he wrote the song. He and his friends are just kids driven half-insane because they're being forced to do a job they were never trained for over multiple tours of duty. When they finally return the the U.S. with broken minds and shattered bodies, Bush and friends will toss them aside like a used condom and continue fucking Iraq with a fresh set of troops--maybe a group drafted from the civilian population. They're as much victims as the Iraqis.

However, it's doesn't require a Ph.D. in theoretical physics to realize that putting this kind of #$&* out for everyone to see does *nothing* to improve the situation over there, or to help to further the goal of a secure Iraq.

At least I think I understood it. My interpretation was that one should actually view the video before condemning the Marine.

My point was that there would be many here who would condemn the Marine without even knowing the content or context of the song and that many of those same people would support even worse rantings by people such as Churchill or Chomsky. My inference is that the motivation behind condemning the Marine is not his song but the fact that he is a Marine.

CAIR misrepresented the song, and a lot of people bought the misrepresentation.

Listening to the music is a palliative to some of what CAIR said; the words are also important. Listening without understanding the words, and reading the words without realizing how the song was song, both provide a partial understanding.

Challenging people just because they understand the larger context, even though you've obviously been around long enough to be far, far from being as clueless as you seem to imply.

Interesting.

BTW, rumor is the guy's going to make a professionally produced version for sale. As long as he's not in uniform ...

What's the 'larger context', in your opinion?

In my opinion it is this:

Our troops are there fighting, presumably, to encourage peaceful democracy. At least as peaceful as it can be, all things considered.

How do you think these 'jokes' about little sisters being shot in the head - by the very troops supposedly trying to secure peace - further that goal?

Please, explain to me this 'larger context', as you see it.

I'm quite interested to know your thoughts.

Chomsky makes fun of killing innocent people? That's news to me :shrug:

like Chomsky. Not the most rational direction for a mind to take.

Makes you wonder what's going on in certain circles to get them "thinking" like that.

Whether it's criminal or not, isn't honor still a big deal to Marines?

That could account for the (fictional) Marine's surviving in the song rather than being killed.

Not only the Marines, but the rest of the military as well, not a big deal at all.

if a FEMALE soldier were to appear in Playboy, out she would go. but hey, stupid morons who cannot think of anything but killing little girls, they are All Americans...

They need all of the warm bodies they can keep over there so unless its very grievous you're stuck. Also note that most military people are going to get a free pass; am I insane or have they somehow trumped civilians in terms of importance?

To me the song only reflects on the soldier's true feelings towards the people they have "liberated". If this isn't another example of why we failed over there then I don't know what is.

wherever he goes.

That's all that needs to be said

...unless he's stuck with an iraqi patrol and even then I doubt they would give a damn.

that's kind of the point of the song.

while the section about him grabbing Hadji girl's sister and using her as a human shield is rather horrible and graphic, it speaks volumes about the situation in Iraq

I actually laughed at the first part of it because I myself often say "derka derka Mohamed jihad" because I am a fan of Team America: World Police

the marine should not be condemned for a song, this should only bring further condemnation upon the war it self for pushing a room full of American men and women to laugh and cheer at the thought of a girl being used as human shield

also realize in the narrative of the song the girl's family open fire on him first

and I'd be concerned about their re-integration back into civilian life. The part about using the girl as a human shield is reprehensible, and laughing about it worse still. Joking about that reflects badly on the Honor of the Marine Corps.

And where was your outrage over "Delia's Gone"???

Are we funding mr. cash's efforts to promote 'democracy' in delia's home country?

Are lives being lost in the process?

FCOL...

are worse than that. We laugh at jokes about war, too... what's the difference? The song doesn't say he killed the girl, it says the father killed the girl. If you were over there, you'd go insane pretty quickly if you didn't develope some sense of gallows humor.

That's not exactly in the best tradition of the Corps, is it?

Marines are taught to protect themselves.

crap?

Or do you think this kind of crap actually helps them to 'secure the peace'?

Nor does all the bleating and braying about it.

"bleating and braying", is it?

Perhaps with your temperament you'd be better suited discussing your opinions at a board frequented by persons with whom you don't share any common goals at all.

Or perhaps the term "denouncement" would be more appropriate.

"bleating and braying", is it?

Would you prefer "hand wringing"?

BTW I picked up the term from a great woman politician, Lucy Killea. She used it in the context of abortion ("all the bleating and braying about abortion", nice alliteration IMO), to which she was personally opposed. She was denied communition by the Roman Catholic Church because her political stand was consistently pro-choice. She considered the "bleating and braying" by anti-abortion people to be distractions from more important political issues of the time. I think in that context my comment about this silly song and its fallout is even more appropriate.

If you aren't familiar with Lucy Killea, I suggest you Google her. She was a Democrat for much of her career, then independent, but never a Republican. The abortion quote doesn't seem to be indexed as it was spoken in the late 1980s, but I remember it well.

Didn't work, though.

:hi:

Goose, gander; mountain, molehill; tempest, teapot; etc.

Apologies for my nastiness, imagined though it may be.

:hi:

And I didn't say you might want to participate in a, uh, different forum.

At least you are among the few critics of the video who have actually seen and heard the whole thing.

but like the guy says, an offensive song is not criminal. that said, i rather suspect had the song been offending BUSH or included the 'n-word' he WOULD have been punished. tis a strange place, BushWorld.

IMO it was pretty fucked up that they had to have an investigation over this.