(MintPress)–A photo of a United States Marine sniper team in Afghanistan posing with a flag bearing a striking resemblance to a Nazi SS symbol has caused an outpouring of questions and condemnation for the action from many voices across the world. The event is the latest in a series of deplorable behaviour involving U.S. military personnel serving overseas.
In the photo, the unit is seen in front of a blue and white flag with a logo bearing a double S symbol. The symbol was also used by the Nazi SS, a special unit that killed millions of Jews, gypsies and others during World War II.
Major Gabrielle Chapin, a spokeswoman at Camp Pendleton, where the marines were based, stated that the marines believed the SS symbol was meant to represent sniper scouts and never intended to be associated with a racist organization. “I don’t believe that the marines involved would have ever used any type of symbol associated the Nazi Germany military criminal organisation that committed mass atrocities in WWII,” said Major Chapin.”It’s not within who we are as marines.”
A PowerPoint presentation downloaded off of the Marines Corps’ website entitled “Unauthorized and/or Inappropriate Tattoos and Symbols” which a spokesperson in the Marines’ media affairs office confirmed is used for training purposes, features a slide containing information on the history of the SS bolts. The slide states that they were used by German special police and educates military personnel that the symbol is “Used in various tattoos mainly by the Neo-Nazi and Racist skinheads,” and is “Also used in graffiti and characterizes the belief of these extremist groups in Anti-Semitism, White Supremacy and Fascism.”
All of the Marines in the photo in question appear to be Caucasian.
Vincent Emanuele, a former Marine who was deployed twice to Iraq from 2002 to 2006 said that he did witness “a certain amount of racism within the Marines.” Emanuele offered the example that “a light green Marine” is a term used in Marine Corp boot camp to identify a white recruit , while a black recruit is called a “dark green Marine”. Emanuele said like incidents like this are ones which American want to shy away from discussing. “They shine a light on much broader problems, ones which Americans are uncomfortable discussing and don’t want to talk about.”
The story behind the picture
While the military says it has been using the photo for training purposes, many Americans are outraged about the incident.
This week the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization, issued a statement condemning the action and calling on President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to immediately investigate on how such an outrage could have occurred and to discipline all those involved.
“That 70 years after the United States Armed Forces helped liberate Europe from Nazi Germany, to learn that a unit of the United States Marine Corps serving in Afghanistan adopted the SS insignia alongside the Stars and Stripes, desecrates the memory of some 200,000 Americans who gave up their lives to defend freedom against that infamous symbol,” the statement read.
The organization said that the younger generations within the military need to be better educated about the lessons of World War II and the Holocaust and offered to help the military in those efforts.
The military has said that the men pictured with the flag will not be punished.
But, while a scan of the United States Marine Corps Scout/Sniper Association website does not reveal any photos or iconography of any type of an official flag or logo for the group bearing any sort of resemblance to the Nazi symbol, there are a few photos on the website depicting members of the organization posed in front of a Marine Corps flag, and vertical red banner with yellow writing bearing the groups’ full name.
Questions from Mint Press to the Marine Corps’ training and education office were unanswered at the time this story went to publication.
In part two of this investigative report, Mint Press will look at the reactions to this and other recent incidents involving U.S. Marines stationed overseas. Both Jewish and Muslim groups are coming together to condemn such actions and former Marines are speaking out and shedding light on why events such as this happen.
Source: MintPress
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