All these arguments about how the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have done worse to Americans and their own people is a bunch of bull****. The enemy does not define our morality, nor our standards. Being on the righteous side of war means exactly that, we are better than all the time, not some of the time, not most of the time, all the time and that is the standard. That is the quality of Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and Marine that this nation deserves and by God the people should demand. Being right doesn't mean not committing a heinous act, then all is fair game, it means NEVER committing them. It means being that medic who will save the life of a Taliban fighter taken prisoner just after he killed the medic's buddy. That is the kind of quality and righteousness needed and should be demanded of the military. It's that attitude of respecting your enemy even when he does not respect you, for the simple reason that he's another human being and you are better than that, you have a high standard of action.
How can we claim to be the good guys when stuff like this is done? Certainly in the grand scheme of things we've done less horrible acts than our enemies, but that's not good enough, we won't be the "lesser evil" and call it good enough, we should always strive to be completely free of these kinds of acts. Of course it will be impossible, of course mistakes will be made, Soldiers will act in ways they should not, of course there will be situations where someone has to die in a horrible and it will be unavoidable, but that doesn't mean we should give up on that standard.
The Uniformed Code of Justice, Article 134 reads as follows:
Quite clearly this action on the part of these Marines brings discredit upon the armed forces, it is a clear violation of our standards and discipline.