Video: Cpl. Joshua Belile – Hadji Girl
by John Little on 14/06/2006This video has quite a few people upset or at least has given them a reason to claim that they’re upset:
Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas, a spokesman for the Marines, said Tuesday that the Marines were aware of a video posted on the Internet that “purports to show a Marine singing an insensitive song about Iraqis.” Fazekas said officials don’t know the identity of the singer or whether he is in the military.The song was “inappropriate and contrary to the high standards expected of all Marines,” Fazekas said. He said Marine officers are looking into the matter.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that in light of recent allegations of atrocities committed by Marines in Haditha and other towns in Iraq, the video should be investigated by the Pentagon and Congress.
“The inappropriate actions of a few individuals should not be allowed to tarnish the reputation of all American military personnel,” said Awad.
The video was posted anonymously on the http://www.youtube.com Web site, but was removed. It is still available on CAIR’s web site. A Hadji is a pilgrim who journeys to Mecca, but CAIR said the word has often been used as a disparaging term by U.S. troops in Iraq.
Insensitive? Marines insensitive? God I hope so. We need them to kick ass and follow orders but we don’t need them to be particularly sensitive. A sensitive Marine Corps will be the death of this country.
This video is black comedy. It’s what you’d expect from guys who face IEDs, mortar attacks, gunfire. Men who’ve seen friends die. You can find it in any army or for that matter any profession that is dangerous or emotionally difficult. Cops, firemen, nurses, and doctors do it too. CAIR and the Marines, the Marines especially, should know this. In fact they do understand. That doesn’t stop them from playing the game though.
I expect CAIR to exploit this video but I’ll be extremely disappointed if the Marine Corps leadership plays along.
The Daily News has more on Cpl. Joshua Belile, the Marine in the video:
Cpl. Joshua Belile thought up the words to “Hadji Girl” in September while drinking coffee with buddies in Iraq.It was just a joke, Belile says, a play on lines from a movie. His fellow Marines seemed to enjoy the song, so they got Belile up on a stage with his guitar.
Someone taped his performance, and now Belile stands in the center of a growing controversy, one that threatens to drag the New River Air Station Marine and his blackly humorous song into the debate about the alleged incident at Haditha and the war in Iraq.
…In his defense, Belile said the song is entirely fictional and has no ties to any of the ongoing investigations about Haditha and other incidents of alleged troop misconduct.
“This is in no way, shape or form related to the events that happened at Haditha,” he said. “The song was written long before the events happened. The song reflects nobody’s viewpoint. It’s completely made up, it’s completely fictional.
“I think it was a joke that is trying to be taken seriously,” he said. “I think it’s a joke, and anybody who tries to take it seriously knows it’s a joke. People can’t just laugh at it and let it go.”
You can find Joshua’s band site at http://swtrktnz.tripod.com/.
More:
Texas Rainmaker (Song lyrics)
Michelle Malkin
Blackfive
Little Green Footballs
Protein Wisdom
Hot Air
Anti-Idotarian Rottweiler
Expose the Left
Small Town Veteran
Stop the ACLU
Super Fun Power Hour
And unfortunately CAIR
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