U.S. Marines Posed with Banner of Nazi SS
February 10th, 2012Via: Telegraph:
A US Marine sniper team posed with a flag emblazoned with the symbol of the Nazi SS while on duty in Afghanistan, the Pentagon has admitted.
A photograph leaked onto the internet showed the heavily-armed troops crouching in front of the banner as it hung below the American flag.
The lightning symbol, once worn by the unit tasked with the extermination of Europe’s Jews, sparked immediate outrage and put the Marines back on the defensive just weeks after an online video showed troops from a different unit urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters.
The photograph was reportedly taken in September 2010 by members of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion at a base in the Sangin district of Helmand province.
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A spokeswoman said the icon had been used by the troops to identify themselves as scout snipers, a designation unique to the Marine Corps, and was never intended to have Nazi connotations.
In a statement the Corps said: “Certainly, the use of the ‘SS runes’ is not acceptable and scout snipers have been addressed concerning this issue. ‘SS runes’ are prohibited from use as a symbol or any other use.”
“Rest assured, the Marine Corps does not allow the use of ‘SS runes’.”
