Morlock has claimed that he was suffering from injury to his brain and under the influence of his unit's "crazy" sergeant, who he says was the ringleader of the group, and the one who planned the murders of innocent civilians.
His mother however believes the answer is a little more conspiratorial.
From the Mat-Su Frontiersman:
“They (the military) don’t back these guys, they don’t care if they die or don’t die,” she said. “They turn their backs as quick as they can. It’s not only his unit (involved in criminal activity), there’s all kinds of (stuff) going on over there.”
She said the military knew or should have known about what was happening and could have intervened. She also believes her son and the other soldiers were doing what they were ordered to by superior officers.
“You know, he followed orders,” Audrey Morlock said. “It’s just like he followed orders on the (Houston High) hockey team. If (the coach) told him to go check, even if it meant going in the penalty box, he’d go in the penalty box for the team.”
As much as I empathize with Mrs. Morlock's pain and feelings of disbelief at the things her son has now admitted to having done in Afghanistan, surely she understands the difference between playing rough at a hockey coach's insistence and engaging in the following activities:
Entering 11 guilty pleas to various charges ranging from assaulting a fellow soldier who squealed on him to murdering three men who'd done him no harm, Army Spc. Jeremy Morlock this morning became the first of five accused Joint Base Lewis-McChord Stryker soldiers to admit killing civilians in Afghanistan, thought to be the most serious war crimes yet in that 10-year war.
I seriously doubt that the higher ups wanted Jeremy and his fellow soldiers to murder civilians, and following orders is no excuse for killing an innocent human being.
And certainly no excuse to then stand over that victim like a proud hunter over a recently killed elk.
(Beware graphic image blow!)
As much as I want to give Jeremy, and his mother, the benefit of the doubt, there is NO way that this can simply be blamed on war fatigue or the desire to be a good soldier. Not this.
Jeremy has issues all right. He also has a prior record of assaulting his wife and leaving the scene of an accident and who knows what else. He and Track Palin also had a reputation for being bullies. This is just a continuation of previous actions.
ReplyDeleteHe should have gotten a death sentence for this.
Rick
Please stop posting that picture. It is one of the most upsetting things I've ever seen and it sickens me thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteShame on Jeremy Morlock and the mother who raised him to not care about his fellow human beings. I hope jail is punishment enough, I hope he's in there long enough to at least become a little sorry about what he did.
My feelings - he should have been executed.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Gryphen. The military may be a harsh life and may harden or harm a soldier, but it doesn't drive them to commit murder against innocents and then gloat. That comes from deep within.
ReplyDeleteWas Jeremy a model citizen before he joined-up? Since the Bush-Cheney administration lowered the threshold for recruits, it has taken people who normally would not get into the service.
I am not saying that we need to be suspicious of all troops, but I am saying that sometimes bad apples or morally weak people do who would never have been accepted before - perhaps not even during the Vietnam era draft.
Like you, I would have liked to give him the benefit of the doubt, but his expression in that photo soured me on sympathy for him.
Using "the Sergeant made" defense is akin to saying the "the Devil made me do it." As to the "brain injury defense raises questions such as "what kind," "when did it happen," and "how is it he was able to function after the injury?"
I know his mother's heart must be breaking, but that does not excuse the cold-blooded killing of three non-combatants. Sorry.
The training these kids get simply brings out what is within - flaws, cracks in the personality and all weakness. No one should have to endure war, but if you chose to join, then you have to prepare yourself to handle the grim realities involved.
I hope he gets the medical attention he needs and comes to accept his guilt during his incarceration. I wish he could provide restitution to the families of the people he killed. Just having him sent to prison for his crimes is cold comfort. In a third-world country, those people might have been the only support their families had.
I hope we get out of all conflicts soon. A pox on Bush-Cheney for starting the Iraq war. Perhaps if we'd not been distracted and had our treasure drained and troops spread so thinly we would have been out of there by now. If Bush had not turned away from capturing Ben Laden, perhaps these nightmares would have ended.
Who knows if something within Jeremy Morlock would have lead him, as a civilian, down a similar path. However, all we do know is that he killed an innocent and then posed, gloating, over the corpse. Had he not been captured in that photo, perhaps we would never have known how egregious were his actions.
He and the others have disgraced our country. May they all receive the punishment they deserve.
That's one hell of a power play that Jeremy Morlock executed upon these poor Afghan civilians.
ReplyDeleteA 24 year sentence in the penalty box is not near long enough. With good behavior, this murderer could be eligible for parole in 7 years. Then he will be among us.
A classic case of denial. A family similar to the Palins. They don't raise their children with decent values & then blame society or others for their failures. What he did is disgusting & totally inhumane. I don't want people like this walking the streets. He's a natural born killer. No excuses. Can't wait for the "friends of the Morlocks" to chime in.
ReplyDeleteDo you you seriously doubt that higher ups wouldn't want this, or do you seriously HOPE they wouldn't? I don't know. I seriously doubt that so many would do this WITHOUT orders from higher up.
ReplyDeleteWhy are that guy's pants off? Did they gang rape him too?
ReplyDeleteThat mother has the blinders on that her little darling is really a sadistic psychopath.
It is hard not to feel for the mother, but her son is a cold blooded murder.
ReplyDeleteHis duty,if he was ordered to kill civilians, was to report this criminal order up the chain of command, as it would be for any American citizen who knew of plans to commit a crime.
Yeah and the likelihood of the military approving of assault on a soldier is less than nil.
ReplyDeleteYeah, too bad. They spent four years working that out at Nuremburg.
ReplyDeleteThe tu quoque (you did it too) defense is not allowed. This is nothing new. This is about getting an education, understanding civics and history.
"What is shocking about Nuremberg is the ordinariness of the defendants: men who may be good fathers, kind to animals, even unassuming--yet who committed unspeakable crimes."
Hannah Arendt wrote of "the banality of evil."
"Most Nuremberg defendants never aspired to be villains. Rather, they over-identified with an ideological cause and suffered from a lack of imagination or empathy: they couldn't fully appreciate the human consequences of their career-motivated decisions."
Doug Linder (c)2000
Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson: "What we propose is to punish acts which have been regarded as criminal since the time of Cain and have been so written in every civilized code."
Hans Frank, the Jew Butcher of Cracow, was forced to run a gauntlet - a seventy-foot line of American soldiers, getting kicked and punched the whole way.
Would it make his mother feel any better if her boy ran a gauntlet of Afghani and Iraqi soldiers?
It looks to me like he got off pretty light. It could have been an international tribunal. But instead, he'll do 8 years in jail. For killing three people and badly beating a fellow soldier.
The real tragedy for Audrey Morlock is that she doesn't see that her example of checking in hockey only illustrates how this young man was encouraged to be violent contrary to the rules and without remorse.
"Checking" is a friendly hockey word for intentionally hitting, which is against the rules.
I can feel for any mother who is overwhelmed by the subhuman behavior of one of her children. I'm sure she lies awake at night and asks herself "why her kid"? I'm sure many parents do the same thing after their children have committed heinous crimes. My heart goes out to her 'cause let's face it, NOBODY expects this.
ReplyDeleteBut to blame this all on the army. What about the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who would never do something as bloodthirsty and sick as Morlock and his compatriots did? There was something lacking in these men that let him dismiss these innocent victims as less than human. You don't just become a psychopath because you are in a war zone.
Mrs. Morlock is going to have to face the fact that there was something lacking in her son long before he entered the army. She either did not see it or chose to ignore it. The real tragedy is that there are innocent dead Afghani citizens because sick Jeremy Morlock walked the earth. Twenty-four years is really not enough time for what he did. I hope he does the full ride.
Dehumanization and war always go hand-in-hand. But it looks as though this young man brought a certain brutality in with him at the start, along with a sense of being "untouchable." I'm reminded of the tales of My Lai during the Vietnam war. Of course his mother feels this way. But why is she talking to the press at all? Enabling young men to think they will always be beyond the reach of the law is a form of setting them up for disaster. Rules, consequences, character, decency….it's pretty timeless. I'm sure the Greeks and Shakespeare covered this ground.
ReplyDeleteGryphen, this is very well stated. It's tragic for all concerned. He must take responsibility, however.
ReplyDeleteAs a Christian I do not believe in the death penalty. I do not believe we should play God, and I do not believe that killing murderers brings the innocents back.
The film Dead Man Walking is a very powerful statement against the death penalty, for anyone who is interested.
This young man's mother is devastated, but she is not yet facing the full truth of her son's actions. And what about the loved ones of those who died?
Keep posting that photo.
ReplyDeleteIt _should_ sicken and frighten people. We pretend this stuff doesn't happen.
Great reality check on what the rest of the world sees. This and Sarah Palin.
Especially for those who don't travel and are sheltered from knowledge of what the rest of the world encounters with Americans.
Audrey Morlock, you should have taught your son better in life so maybe he would have had the opportunity to go to college instead of the military. Jeremy would have had some other options in his life. NOW, HE HAS NONE.
ReplyDeleteOK, so now Palin has been pallin' around with murderers, in addition to terrorists. Wow, the LSM sure gives her a pass.
ReplyDeleteJeremy apparently had brain damage - concussions from both hockey and his military experience. His family reported that he was suffering from PTSD when he visited them. He then went AWOL for a time, trying to avoid a return to Afghanistan. He was ripe for murderous rage.
ReplyDeleteAll this he says he has done, including killing civilians and saving body parts as trophies, is a rerun of what Vietnam soldiers told me in the 1970's. A couple of men I know shot themselves to get out of further combat duty and thus away from the insanity.
Beat his wife? Yeah, that was common, too. Lots of young couples married to help men avoid the draft. Then the rules changed, and young husbands returned from war mentally shattered, abusing drugs and alcohol, and flying into violent rages.
Happens with every war. "Within a six-week period in 2002, three Special Forces sergeants returned from Afghanistan and murdered their wives at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Two immediately turned their guns on themselves; the third hanged himself in a jail cell. A fourth soldier at the same Army base also killed his wife during those six weeks." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/us/15vets.html?pagewanted=print
Yes, I hate what he and others have done in our name in Iraq and Afghanistan (and other countries). But I hate the war machine much, much more. It reduces humans to killing machines, easier to turn on than to turn off, and it demonizes the "other".
This is especially true for men in their teens and early twenties when the brain is still developing and most vulnerable. Attack it with trauma, drugs and alcohol, and you have changed the brain for a lifetime. (And about the drugs - the troops have an overly generous supply of drugs legally available to them from the DOD. Antipressents, ambien, uppers and downers. A little nervous about your excursion? Have some xanax!)
I support the troops. I support them by seeking to reduce the size of the military and to bring our children back home.
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteA couple of weeks ago I would have agreed with you, BUT since then I have watched a film titled "The Ground Truth"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446345/
on the Sundance Channel.
Our military is training the troops to do exactly what Jeremy did.
I do not shock easily, but there are a few things in that film that I think will shock all Americans.
If you have a chance to ever watch it please do.
Of course his mother is upset, but honestly: he should have gotten the death penalty.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of soldiers who don't murder innocent civilians for fun. "I was ordered to" went out at Nuremberg.
Gryph, I agree with you on many things, but I have a nephew in the Stryker Brigade and the hell they put those kids through is truly horrific. I'd just gently say that if you haven't walked in those shoes, be careful before you judge. Now my nephew didn't do anything like this, and I'd hope that I wouldn't, but the wake-up call should be that war is barbaric and sometimes it results in people doing indescribable things. I don't support what he did, but his Mother has a point. Before you start the stoning, ask yourself what you'd do in the indescribable hell of war. Use your rage to call for the end of all wars for all time, not for some reason to bash this kid or Palin.
ReplyDeleteI agree. There is something in Jeremy Morlock that caused him to do these things without any empathy at all for fellow human beings. That picture shoots down any theories that the kid murdered people against his will, or because he was "just following orders."
ReplyDeleteAs a mother, I do feel sorry for Mrs. Morlock, and I can only imagine how she is trying to wrap her brain around this and find some sort of explanation she can live with. I'm sure at this point, it's at least a small amount like the death of a child to her.
Horrible situation all the way around. Now lets get the rest of the group responsible for these atrocities tried and put away.
how very sad. he has not only ruined his life, ruined the families of the men he murdered and cast dishonor on a whole branch of the service. there are consequences, he did this and the consequences should have been much heavier. the mother only gets an opinion on her own actions and the court has spoken.
ReplyDeletePlease don't stop showing this picture. It is horrible - which is all the more reason it should be shown repeatedly. The caribou Palin huntress/Jeremy comparison should also be shown widely.
ReplyDeleteWe need to Wake UP - and sanitized war reports will not do this. Upsetting? Yes. Necessary to see? Yes, again.
I'm a veteran who fought to serve. But, I sometimes think I'm living in a different country than I was 35 years ago.
What gets me about gung-ho-guts-and-glory-reloading-Grizzly-Mama's from the Valley is that, they live, with their rhetoric and cult status as Blue Star Mothers, for putting their children in harms way. And would further consider it an accomplishment on their part, to become Gold Star Mothers.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds harsh, I realize that, but it wouldn't surprise me that Sarah would have capitalized on Track's being injured or killed in the service to further her standing among "Patriotic" Americans. The woman can keep shoving that family-loving-image down our throat for all her talkin days, but the woman lives for herself, not for her children.
I agree with Gryphen, Mrs. Morlock must be in a survivor's hell, but to blame anyone but her son is utterly disgusting. He deserves more punishment than is being met out.
He got a light sentence for what he did. Wonder what the verdict would have been in an Afghanistan court.
ReplyDeleteJeremy is a friend of the Palin kids. Great company. We haven't heard a peep about Bristol. She must be laying low?
If the military is to blame than how come we aren't hearing of more atrocities?
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't know what happened or what goes on in the armed forces, I have a comment about this statement:
ReplyDelete"following orders is no excuse for killing an innocent human being."
While I agree with this premise, I know for a fact army leaders (whatever rank- Idk) does participate in cruel behavior when ranks don't obey. I understand how horrible going AWOL is but how is it acceptable for your superiors to literally SLAM you into the ground once they found you and literally starve you for however long. (I've mentioned this before about what happened to my friend but it's worth repeated)
It makes one question the whole shebang. Too bad Assuange cant leak more documents related to the military. I"m sure we'd die of shock at what would be discovered.
There's a reason vets are eternally fucked up mentally, physically.
This is why I do not judge ANYONE who has served in the military, regardless of how they conduct themselves.
Rick -
ReplyDeletewhere did you read about Jeremy beating his wife?
And where did you read about he and Track being bullies? This is new
What's sad is, that photo doesn't really phase me. I too often see homeless people get beaten by thugs and lowlives. I also watch a lot of SVU and love SAW movies, which don't make me flinch anymore.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't blame entertainment at all - UNLESS the person becomes so intune with something that it actually becomes a part of them (I forgot the name for this but it happens and it's incredibly frightening)
Video games etc needs to be outlawed. People need to spend time outside, with friends, without electronics and bullshit
I hope Jeremy's jail term is shortened and I hope he gets adequate help. At least his family seems to be handling it ok. They're loving Seattle.
I agree with BrownStoneFarm. The picture posing with his human kill and grin puts the excuse he followed orders put the window.
ReplyDeleteI would say that most of you posting here and saying that war doesn't turn people into monsters are too young to remember Mei Lai. Go ahead and Google it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Jeremy, but I have known enough young men who have gone off to war and returned mentally damaged forever. One concussion could have twisted Jeremy's sense of right and wrong; the several concussions he reportedly suffered most assuredly could have. Did he have a superior officer who encouraged young men to kill the "evil Muslims" for the honor of America? Very possible. All one has to do is research about evangelical extremism in the American military. I refuse to sit in judgement of this young man or his mother. Remember Mei Lai.
5:30pm....haven't heard a peep outta brisket ? Naw, I think $he's been a frequent commenter here the past day and a half or so 8)
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty confident jeremy was pure white trash racist punk before Afghanistan. Now after the fact he's a white trash racist punk murderer..
ReplyDeleteMi Lai, Redux.
ReplyDeleteMicMac
I read the description of Morlock in court, explaining that he came home after the first two murders, had second thoughts, but returned to participate in the third murder. Taking his statement at face value, he accepts full responsibility for the third murder.
ReplyDeleteI love to watch the half hour court programs on TV. A common theme involves two people who get into a fight. The judge has a way of determining responsibility. If the guy has already left the bar and is not long under the threat of the bullies, all he has to do is get in his car and drive home. If he chooses to go back into the bar, guess what happens, and guess who is responsible.
If Morlock had any second thoughts while he was home, he could have talked to his parents, to a priest. to superiors in the army, to anyone and tried to find a way out of a terrible situation. He obviously wasn't that troubled because he returned to commit a third crime. (He has admitted to this. The facts speak for themselves).
His parents need to blame the army because they cannot deal with any responsibility they might have had in raising their son and forming his code of behavior. It's easier to blame someone else. How about blaming the innocent Afghan citizens who didn't like having soldiers in their country. How about blaming the US government for sending Morlock there. And be sure to blame the people who made the gun and ammunition.
For those of you arguing about the stress of war and the army training the soldiers to kill, I suggest that not everyone in Morlock's platoon went on a killing spree. And, it wasn't a sudden response to being fired upon. This was murder, plain and simple, well organized and planned in advance. He had time to think about the third one. If he had any moral courage, he could have said, "Hey guys, enough's enough. We already did some damage." He didn't.
Anonymous 5:26 - "the wake-up call should be that war is barbaric and sometimes it results in people doing indescribable things...
ReplyDelete...ask yourself what you'd do in the indescribable hell of war."
As gently as possible - I respect what you said, but disagree.
I _wouldn't_ do THAT. MOST soldiers, WWII, Vietnam, Grenada, Desert Storm/Shield, DID NOT and DO NOT.
Like this one, there are soldiers who _have_ and _will_. This is aberrant behavior, not the norm.
The military genuinely attempts to predict and screen out those personalities that display traits suggesting they would be capable of this kind of atrocity.
This is NOT "combat fatigue."
Once a bully, always a bully. Period. Now he's a murderer to boot. I wonder why Track isn't serving anymore? Why he never got a CIB?
ReplyDelete5:22 Supporting the troops is always the mantra coming from sister Sarah. The person who has no clue...she has lied about her son Track in his military service in saying he was in combat. He was not! And, it's proven!
ReplyDeleteI'll continue on being 'one of the many' that says Palin is full of shit. She always falls back on' support of the military' which is nothing more than her mantra! I have no belief in her words! It has become one of her covers that she thinks no one would counter and guess what, Sarah, I'm countering your bullshit words! I do not believe that you have one iota of a concern for our military. You say things that you think we want to hear. We want you to be truthful....be ethical....
This Morlock kid had no right in doing what he and other mates did in killing people that were nothing more than individuals who lived where they did. The photos signify the absolute disregard given to their fellow man. This Morlock kid is and was one sick individual - raised in Wasilla. He should be executed.
As far as I'm concerned, Sarah Palin had everything to do with the assassinations in Tucson..just recall her maps w/designated areas with gunsights. Palin has created so much havoc around her family - God, I hate being one of her kids. There is no way they will ever be separated from their Morlock connections. This will be part of their history and all due to their 'idiotic' mother.
Anon @ 4:58 - [no snark] That was an amazing contribution to the discussion. You taught a lot and I'll be sure to look up the historical examples you quoted.
ReplyDelete[snark on] Then I could get a job with SarahPAC or Bristol's BSMP research group as their historical Google analyst. But I guess I'd be overqualified.
it's always someone else's fault, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI am a veteran, serving from 1965-69. During this time I met all types in the army, including sadistic assholes who believed the bullshit of "kill them all & let god sort them out." During Infantry Officer's Training we were given conflicting messages: the above "kill them all" & to observe the Geneva conventions and the rules...
ReplyDeleteI condemn the actions of Morlock and his gang of uniformed thugs. He should be locked up for life with no chance of parole.
Young people are seduced into the military with dreams of video game glory & the delusion of ""American Exceptionalism." What to do? I don't know. There is no perfect answer. I wish there was no need for a military with silly people wearing uniforms festooned with merit badges...yet, a military is necessary.
Based on my military experience, I have long advocated universal service (miitary or civil) for ALL citizens. I found that those who were draftees were more prone to object to illegal orders & brought glimmer of sanity to the masturbatory fantasies of the military machine.
If all y'all want to google it, try "My Lai".
ReplyDeleteGryphen - thanks for pixellating part of that picture. I'm horrified enough as it is.
I read a non-fiction book called "The Sociopath Next Door". The author says there is ONE thing that a sociopath is good for. That is being a warrior. They can kill without blinking an eye and more importantly without carrying the mental luggage afterwards. They are used often as snipers and excel to high ranking positions in the military.
ReplyDeleteThis picture suggests to me that Jeremy Morlock is a sociopath and he was most likely one long before the military.
anon at 4:58 already brought up Nuremberg.
ReplyDeleteThis needs to be made absolutely clear. The "I was just following the orders of a superior officer" defense is also known as "The Nuremberg Defense". This defense was not first used there, and was not always unsuccessful. But it was used by most of the defendants charged with Nazi war crimes at Nuremberg.
Conveniently for many accused Nazi war criminals, the Fuhrer had committed suicide. Had punishment for war crimes been limited to those "issuing the orders", then perhaps only one man might have been determined to be responsible for the millions of people killed by the military/police structure of an entire nation. History shows that this was not really true.
Certain religions teach blind obedience to various "superiors".
The shortcomings of this type of blind obedience may seem obvious, but not to the followers of these religions and false prophets.
Those that beat the war drums loudest usually don't know much about war. How many veterans do you know with real combat experience, and what do they usually have to say about combat IF THEY TALK ABOUT IT? There is a reason that they usually don't want to talk about it. They usually don't mindlessly call for new wars, more wars, longer wars.
No one listened to their cautions after September 11, 2001.
Nearly ten years in Afghanistan, eight years in Iraq. What has been accomplished that is lasting?
At least the Morlocks can visit their son and brother in prison. He may be out in as few as seven years. Many others will be visiting their loved ones where they are buried.
Something else from Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteLots of bad things happen in war.
That is why it is referred to as the fog of war.
WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES OF WAR AT THIS LINK.
Phan Thi Kim Phuc
"The iconic photo taken in Trang Bang by AP photographer Nick Ut shows her at about nine years of age running naked on a road after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack."
"Audio tapes of then-president Richard Nixon, in conversation with his chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman, reveal that Nixon doubted the authenticity of the photograph, thinking it might have been "fixed.""
Nixon was wrong.
Why is Jeremy's mother the only parent talking? Where are the other boys' parents/moms?
ReplyDeleteHate to see this happen to anybody, but as a mom she has to take blame for some of it. Who raised Jeremy? I don't think the Army raised him from birth. From my understanding he was a bully with Track. What if some kid went to her house and killed Jeremy and took a picture while holding up his head like a caribou? What punishment would Jeremy's mom want for the other kid? Does Jeremy's mom have any feelings for the other family? Jeremy killed somebody's father, brother or son for the fun of it and tried to stage it as a justified killing. Sorry can't have it both ways.
ReplyDeletePalin tweets about Michelle Obama, but has she tweeted anything about Jeremy? I haven't heard anything.
ReplyDeleteHas Palin contacted Jeremy's family? I have not heard anything.
Oh but don't say anything about her, Sarah would have a fit.
Does anyone remember Lt. Calley?
ReplyDeleteOne of the fathers has been talking. His son told him during a phone call what was coming down and asked he to tell someone. The father called Fort Lewis and talked to a Sergeant who now admits he didn't pass it one because he didn't know what to do. Personally, I think 24 years is far too little for the crimes committed. But what about the chain of command who was supposed to have a clue what was going on?
ReplyDeleteHow can this woman blame the military? I am sure "before" her son was caught, she was just like Palin, spreading the "gospel of the military heroes." Now, the military is "horrible and to blame" for not babysitting her kid....These kids are receiving the wrong messages about the military from their parents.
ReplyDeleteDo please stop showing that photo.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 8:17, you KNOW that if $arah says anything it will be to throw this kid under the bus.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think that she has lost a bit of her stranglehold on Alaska. People know and can prove things about her and her children. If she throws this kid under the bus, this kid who people who know them say got into trouble with Track, Track comes next. Then it's game on. I don't know how she could possibly say a word.
I also don't understand how this could come and go through the news cycle in a week. It's atrocious. I guarantee you they won't forget it in the Middle East any time soon. Most "rill Amairuhcuns" don't even know it happened let alone who was guiding this kid as he grew up.
It is a sad case. The military takes kids, trains them to be killers, in this case had a superior officer who openly engaged in this kill team & now that they are messed up, we want to take some freaking moral high ground?
ReplyDeleteOur country flies drone planes & bombs Pakistan & Afghanistan. The military kills innocents in these wars all the time.
Of course there seemed to be no moral compass...
but for the military to suddenly be all high & mighty-- we had rules of engagement (ie human rights violations) in Iraq-- Abu Ghraib...
and mostly Rumsfeld indicated he was sorry- sorry they got caught.
Most of those photos were never seen, because they would be harmful to the troops.
As they tell us of these photos , as well.
It is not just a few bad apple, gone rogue incident, the kill team went on for a while.
I'm certainly not making excuses for those who participated, I just have to say what we are doing there is fucked up & because we have one way news (this was pretty hushed),
Well let's just say the military was probably relieved to have other news like helping in Japan for good PR & taking out the bad guys in Libya.... they needed a new news cycle.
Did the military & being in Afghanistan mess these kids up? I don;t think they were involved in Kill teams before they enlisted.
The real crime is this kind of thing & a whole lot more questionable things keep happening in the military.
8:29pm ..yes I remember Me Lai/Calley. Thing is though Calley was exposed. What he was brought down for happened more than was let known in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, I can guarantee Me lai was not an isolated incident, Calley just got caught/called on it.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side of the war machine spectrum, y'all should check out the recently released Pat Tillman Story on DVD. That'll have you spittin' nails too, and if it doesn't it should....
ReplyDeleteNuremberg, Vietnam, My Lai, Lt. Calley.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they have in common?
History repeating itself. What does this 12-member death squad have in common? No lessons learned.
According to testimony and documents, Morlock volunteered for this "duty." By prearranged agreement with the staff sergeant.
I feel no pity. I'm annoyed that the mother is whining. She should be so relieved that her child survived a Stryker Brigade post, that he's still alive, and that he got off lightly. She'll get to have her baby back in the house, sullen and full of self-pity, before he's 30. She should count herself lucky and shut up.
I'm not sure if you saw it or not but in a couple of articles it said that if he is sentenced to the full 24 yrs he will spend at most 8 yrs in prison. It was a part of his plea deal. Now that is some bullshit. 8 years for killing three innocent unarmed civilians. That is insane.
ReplyDeleteI do think there are times enlisted m,en and women do things because they are told to by superiors, but NOT this time. Morlock did this shit, he was a part of the plotting and planning to do this and I will NEVER believe anyone but him is responsible.
Blaming others and getting by with it is what allowed him to get by with so much already. His family needs to stop blaming others and accept the fact that only a very disturbed person would kill innocent people and then pose with the body.
Jeremy is a fucking sociopath and it is criminal he will be free in a short 8 years.
Don't shy away Gryph.
ReplyDeleteJeremy has had a troubled past, so Momma taking up for him now is just morally wrong.
ReplyDeleteHe did the crime, now he must do the time.
Is Bristol still involved with him?
I was in morlocks platoon, belive it or not. And he was a good guy. And if u think this is the only time innocent people have been killed by americans in cold blood you are mistaken. Welcome to the real war. Pussys!
ReplyDeleteKeep showing the photo. Show some dead US soldiers, too. Show some wedding parties blown to bits by drones. Show some children with their limbs blown off and some girls murdered after gang banging. War is ugly. Don't expect your troops to return innocent and mentally healthy. If that one photo disturbs you, then imagine what the full reality of war would do to you.
ReplyDeleteWar mongers like Palin, McCain and Bush have much to pay for, including the mental deterioration of kids like Lindsey English and Jeremy.
Wasilla values on display.
ReplyDeleteNo excuses. Photos don't lie. These are gleeful, smiling, sadistic soldiers who did not let off steam by simply spraying their guns into villages. These assholes calmly plotted and planned, and kidnapped people.
I know there's been some discussion on here what war does to you, but Morlock isn't going with an insanity defense. He admitted what he did, and ratted on his friends so he could get paroled in 7 years or less.
In a few years he'll be out, and be the same smiling, sadistic asshole. Then he'll write a book and make lots of money.
As a two tour veteran of Vietnam, I couldn't disagree more with Mr. Morlock's mother.
ReplyDeleteThe Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) 809.ART.90 (20), makes it clear that military personnel need to obey the "LAWFUL command of his superior officer," 891.ART.91 (2), the "LAWFUL order of a warrant officer", 892.ART.92 (1) the "LAWFUL general order", 892.ART.92 (2) "LAWFUL order". In each case, military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey LAWFUL orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey Unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ. (Caps mine)
I was ordered on at least one occasion to do something that I considered morally wrong and I told the person giving the order-in so many words-to go take a flying fuck.
Jeremy Morlock should have done the same.
I call bull shit on her argument. My husband is a retired LtCol in the USMC. He was both a pilot (flew for the Navy as a Marine off aircraft carriers0 and when he was in the reserves he was a company commander. They NEVER EVER had this kind of shit go on in their units. The quality of people coming into the unit (before training) was way higher.
ReplyDeleteI have had arguments with him over just this kind of atrocity and he defended the soldiers since I was not able to produce hard evidence, just hearsay. Once the hard evidence came to light, he acknowledged that some of the soldiers who signed on (volunteered) are less than human and should be imprisoned.
Fran, this kid was already a killer. It is but a short step from killing animals to killing humans. Once you designate in your mind that "the other" is less than human, it is easier pull the trigger. This kid took it way beyond just soldiering by posing with his victims like they were a wild animal shot on the tundra.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Morlock... come to grips with the facts... your son is a murderer.
ReplyDeleteBe happy he is not facing a firing squad.
Morlock just isn't wired right:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.adn.com/2010/09/26/1472703/alaska-soldiers-drug-use-an-issue.html##ixzz1HSoMiw6D
Where was his mother when he committed these offenses? And why was he let off so easily?
Morlock was, and is, a bully, and now a killer.
"Please stop posting that picture. It is one of the most upsetting things I've ever seen and it sickens me thoroughly."
ReplyDeleteYou are in the wrong - that photo needs to be posted again and again and again. It is the poster for how one shouldn't sign away one's morals, no matter what the sergeant or employer says. It might also be the poster for what the trophy hunting culture of Alaska (not the subsistence hunting one) causes.
Remember, it was only when Americans began to see what happens at factory farms that a really movement towards humane treatment (and being willing to put their money where their mouths were arose.
Just like the photos of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, too.
"Using "the Sergeant made" defense is akin to saying the "the Devil made me do it." As to the "brain injury defense raises questions such as "what kind," "when did it happen," and "how is it he was able to function after the injury?"
ReplyDeleteThis points to 2 issues:
The first, how religion can mess with your head and why religion is for the most pat evil.
The second - we are seeing studies of brain injury (Dave Duerson, Bob Probert and others in football, hockey and boxing) that show what repeated concussions can do. Probert is the prime example. Was Morlock a fighter in his hockey years?
"Checking" is a friendly hockey word for intentionally hitting, which is against the rules."
ReplyDeleteLearn hte rules before you spew. Checking in US> hockey is illegal up to Squirt (9-10) year olds) and USA HOckey is currently considering changing that to include PeeWee level, 11-12 y olds- mainly becasue of concussive syndrome.)
Above that age, checking is legal - including some pretty hard hits. There are many checks that are illegal, including boarding and head and knee shots.
Mrs. Morlock's comments show her to be part of the problem. Being proud of her kid for illegal and dangerous hits which landed him in the hockey penalty box shows her to be an ignorant bitch. Illegal hits are penalized because they give an unfair advantage to the team committing them, and can cause injury to the other player. She evidently raised an unethical child who was told to win ant all costs and made into a potential killing machine without a conscience. Mr. and Mrs. Morlock should be in jail and any underage children removed from their VERY dangerous form of "parenting." Isn't Bristol friends with one of the MOrlock girls? Birds that flock together....
ReplyDelete"Young people are seduced into the military with dreams of video game glory & the delusion of ""American Exceptionalism." What to do? I don't know. There is no perfect answer."
ReplyDeleteIt starts with education - high school kids should certainly know of the disgrace and dishonor of My Lai and have read/viewed about the Nuremburg Trials.
But ReTHUGlican governors and legislators are busy dismantling public schools and revising history.
"I was in morlocks platoon, belive it or not. And he was a good guy. And if u think this is the only time innocent people have been killed by americans in cold blood you are mistaken. Welcome to the real war. Pussys!
ReplyDelete2:25 AM"
You make me ashamed to be an American. Given a chance, I know who should be deported - or lifetime incarcerated. Then again, you're probably not a soldier, just a wimpy 40 y o playing video games in mommy's basement.
Thank you 2:57 a.m.
ReplyDeleteI knew that there was a code that gives military personnel not just the right, but the duty to obey an unethical order.
You are one of the good guys.
Morlock is a stupid punk bully, who will be a very dangerous person to all on the day he gets out.
I give it a year after release before he kills/hurts another person.
This give a whole different spin to the phrase SP used "I raised a wartime soldier and you can't take that away from me." That gate swings both ways. If one Wassilla mom wants the credit for her son, guess you have to take some of the blame for yours Mrs. Morlock.
ReplyDeleteIs that a photo of a young Todd Palin at the top? I did a double take.
ReplyDeleteAudrey Morlock's denial is part of the problem. She has probably routinely excused and explained his bullying for some time.
ReplyDeleteI am ashamed that this sociopath represented America abroad. He should have never been allowed to hold a rifle, or wear a uniform.
24 years is not enough, he will get off with 7-8, come home and continue his rage on other innocent people. Bullies will always be bullies,rapist will rape again, killers will kill again.
ReplyDeletekeep posting that picture, everyone needs to see it. See the effects of war, the damage to people, cities, country's, the damage to our economy for all these years. Let alone to the war wounded, and their family's.
I'm sure she is hurting and I understand her justifiable anger at the military, but short of having a brain injury that rendered him incapable of knowing right from wrong, her arguments are BS. It's been established over and over and over again that 'just following orders' is not justification for crimes against humanity.
ReplyDeleteGiven what he was able to do, apparently with glee, he belongs in jail. He's a danger to civilized society.
Why is it ALWAYS someone else's fault with these rightwinger types? Where is the personal responsibility? She raised a son without a conscience. That's on her and on him--not anyone else.
2:25am...now that punk ass willow's trying to cover for the wasilla murderer's punk ass.."believe it or not..." ?fuk off
ReplyDelete2:25 am needs a psych evaluation.
ReplyDelete"good guys" do not kill innocent people and then proudly pose with the dead body for the cameras.
2:25 am is just as sick as morlock if he thinks those are the actions of a "good guy."
Is that a photo of a young Todd Palin at the top? I did a double take.
ReplyDeleteTodd dated Morlocks mother's twin sister....he might have f**ked around back then too, also. You betcha'.
Rick -
ReplyDeletewhere did you read about Jeremy beating his wife?
she filed a domestic violence case against him in 2008 for abuse.
He left the scene of an accident when he killed somebody back when he was 15. No license to drive, of course.
My heart goes out to his mother. I'm a mother myself, and I am sure that if my own son took part in such a horrific event, I would be asking desperate questions, too. And there is some validity to her questions. Because yes, what these young soldiers did does reflect to a certain degree on their leadership. Whether that leadership tacitly encouraged such atrocities, or just didn't keep a close eye on their young charges, they own some of this.
ReplyDeleteBut Jeremy and his co-horts most directly own the murders. And the only way redemption is possible is if they start by fully acknowledging the full wrong of what they did. Jeremy Morlock's mother has a role here. The toughest role she will ever play as a mother. She needs to help guide her son to this path of redemption.
We don't have any business sending kids this young to a war zone. And they are still kids, even if the law recognizes them as adults. But they aren't fully cognitively or morally developed, and sending them to such a godforsaken place is, in my view, a sin that is being committed by real adults who need to fight these battles. Not send children!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 5:41 - "Learn hte rules before you spew...
ReplyDeleteThere are many checks that are illegal, including boarding and head and knee shots."
Gosh, thanks for that clarification. :)
You're absolutely right, of course. I guess I didn't say that correctly and describe exactly what I meant.
Intentionally hitting another player is not allowed. "Checking" is the word used in the rulebook. "Sticking" is another word.
There are moments of unintentionally striking, banging up against the other guy on purpose, etc. that are perfectly legal. Also described as "checking."
But you know perfectly well what we're talking about here. The context, right?
"If (the coach) told him to go check, even if it meant going in the penalty box, he’d go in the penalty box for the team.”
If he's getting penalties and he's goin' in the box, would that be describing appropriate checking? Or hitting somebody?
The context here, is that he'd do something wrong if a coach told him to. His mother is saying that he's used to obeying an authority telling him to do something wrong and that's why he killed people.
Got it?
Well, it will be interesting to see what else comes out in these trials.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is Morlock will either thrive or not survive prison. I also guess he won't be getting out for good behavior.
I also predict he'll have trouble complying with his probation terms, he'll be back in the slammer asap.
Anonymous @4:37pm said:
ReplyDelete"I hope he gets the medical attention he needs and comes to accept his guilt during his incarceration."
Prison IS NOT for rehabilitation except in a very general sense; it is for punishment. Occasionally someone comes through the experience changed for the better, but in those cases it would be because the person is self-motivated enough to do so.
One of the surest ways to get out of jury duty for a major crimes case is to tell the prosecuting attorney during voir dire that you believe prison is for rehabilitation. That will almost guarantee you get stricken from the list for that case.
Jeremy will be exposed to other forms of punishment during his time in prison, but he made the choice to do the crimes so it's his karma coming full circle.
9:50 They have always sent this age group to war....look at our history of wars for crying out loud. They are younger, more physically fit, eager to show how strong they are, etc. I have a family member who was in Viet Nam and he is still proud today that he fought for our nation even though he came back to horrible destain from Americans.
ReplyDelete5:53 I agree that our education system has really done a horrid job of teaching our kids American and World history.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to give a book "The Diary of Anne Frank" to a friend's daughter (who is 12 years old) and I was asked not to because she knew nothing about the war to speak of and it would be too frightening for her. Her Mother wasn't even sure if she would read it.
Amazing! I read that book more than once as a preteen and again as an older teen.
This kid is a killer. End of story. He grew up in a community that likes to swing their fists and point their guns. That is a smile on his face (posing by the murdered Afgani). That is the smile of a killer,a bully. No honor, no courage. He got off easy.
ReplyDeleteThis "kid" not only IS a killer… he WAS a killer at fifteen!!! …if the reports here are correct: that he killed someone while driving without a license at 15 in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteIt's part your fault, Audrey. The rest is on your son. Take some effing responsibility!
ReplyDeleteI knew Morlock personally, im just as shocked as his mother, before you judge...think about what these soldiers endure during there long fatiguing deployments, he was drugged up pres. ambient etc. hit by IEDs n ambushed by "civilians" there's no bad guy or uniformed army/enemy...what blows my mind is the pictures * we live in age of information, smart phones internet etc. 22years old no matter how you want to justify it is still a young adult becoming a man, I feel he had endured enough turmoil & should have been removed from his duties but just like every Dr. they throw you a dozen prescription drugs &send you on your way...my heart goes out to the Morlocks truely saddening....surreal
ReplyDeleteRolling Stones magazine has an indepth expose article on Morlock and his platoon leader Gibbs. Both of these men are sociopathic killers and should be locked up with the key thrown away. This boy had serious problems before he went into the service and should never have been given opportunity to hold a gun.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tragedy. I don't believe in the death penalty but in this case an eye for an eye seems reasonable. No wonder we are hated in countries around the world when we have crazy ass killers in our military...
See Rolling Stone's article on
ReplyDeleteThe Kill Team
Ignorance is bliss. Some of you talk as if you actually know him, all because you read this article or that. Well some of what isn't mentioned is that his wife was more violent than he was. For example, she had a restraining order placed on her by a previous boyfriend. She was in numerous fights but is now portrayed as an innocent party by the press. I know Morlock and and what he went through shortly before he left for Afghanistan but I can not pretend to know what really happened out there. No one knows what happened except him and the others. So before you leave your comments and drag someone's name through the mud......get your FACTS straight.
ReplyDeletePlease continue to post the pictures (contrary to some request otherwise I read among the posts), the public needs to gain a clear and full understanding of what war is. To hide these pictures sanitizes the idea of war which in the mind of many simpletons is something akin to a "Mash" or "Combat" episode...
ReplyDeleteWhat a horrid man. If that's what his mama really said, then there's part of your answer as to why this dude is a psychopath. One of the perils of an all volunteer military (and who in his right mind would volunteer for the military in the middle of a war?) is that guys like this get in. This is an excellent blogspot, by the way. Intelligent, well-thought out comments, too. As for the picture: hiding ugliness only helps it grow.
ReplyDelete