GIs Face Discipline for Burning Taliban

By DANIEL COONEY
The Associated Press
Saturday, November 26, 2005; 8:12 AM

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The U.S. military on Saturday denied its troops committed any criminal wrongdoing in the burning of two Taliban rebels' bodies, claiming they did so for hygienic reasons, but said four soldiers face disciplinary action over the incident.

The military held a news conference to release the findings of an inquiry into TV footage last month that showed U.S. soldiers using the cremation to taunt other Islamic militants _ an act that sparked outrage in Afghanistan. Islam bans cremation, and the video images were compared here to photographs of U.S. troops abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

The U.S.-led coalition's operational commander, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, said two junior officers who ordered the bodies to be burned would be officially reprimanded for showing a lack of cultural and religious understanding, but said the men were unaware that what they were doing was wrong.

Kamiya also said two noncommissioned officers would be reprimanded for using loudspeakers to taunt Taliban rebels who were believed to still be lingering in a nearby village after a clash with the troops. The men also would face non-judicial punishments, which could include a loss of pay or demotion in rank.

"Our investigation found there was no intent to desecrate the remains, but only to dispose of them for hygienic reasons," Kamiya said.

© 2005 The Associated Press