Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Rick Perry: Marines Urinating On Bodies Just "Kids" Who Make Mistakes
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 15, 2012
Modified Jan 15, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 15, 2012
Modified Jan 15, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Texas Governor Rick Perry may be completely irrelevant, but he still has money and thus we should care about his opinion on the disturbing video released last week showing U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of recently killed combatants. "These kids made a mistake, there's not any doubt about it," he said. "[They] shouldn't have done it, it's bad—but to call it a criminal act, I think is over the top," Perry said on CNN today. "Obviously 18, 19-year-old kids make stupid mistakes all too often and that's what's occurred here."
Despite the fact that the Marines' actions violate the Geneva Conventions, Perry's problem isn't that international law was broken, but that we're giving the soldiers too hard a time. "What is really disturbing to me is the over-the-top rhetoric from this administration and their disdain for the military." That's right: vote for Rick Perry, he's the guy who has no "disdain" for the military but would send them back to Iraq indefinitely, to honor them.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta called the Marines' actions "utterly deplorable," and Senator John McCain expressed sadness and disappointment after seeing the video:
It makes me so sad. "The United States Marine Corps, I would argue, is one of the finest institutions in the history of this nation, and here is a handful of obviously undisciplined young people—and of the hundred and some thousand Marines that we have and it makes me so sad. And there should be a complete investigation and those young people should be punished but it does great damage.
Gen. James Amos has tasked the NCIS to “thoroughly investigate every aspect of the filmed event,” and the Marines have not yet been charged with a crime.
Contrarian talkshow host Bill Maher, who is not running for the country's highest office, said on his show that the urinating didn't bother him that much: "If they were real Taliban, if they were people who burned down girls' schools, and, you know, do honor rapes and throw acid in people's faces, I'm not that upset about pissing on them."
CNN contributor Dana Loesch, who is also not vying to command America's vast military, agreed: "Can someone explain to me if there is supposed to be a scandal that someone pees on the corpse of a Taliban fighter -- someone who as part of an organization murdered over 3,000 Americans," Loesch said on her show last week. "I'd drop trou and do it too. That's me, though... Come on people this is a war." That's right: it's war. These things happen.
Tagged
2012 election
bill maher
john mccain
military
rick perry
south carolina
taliban
war
war on terror
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:49 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .