Barret
06-29-06, 03:32 PM
Military Won't Discipline Marine
Stars and Stripes | By Jeff Schogol | June 28, 2006
<!--- End Article Title/Source/Date ---><!--- Start Article Content --->ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps has decided not to take disciplinary action against a Marine whose song “Hadji Girl” drew condemnation from a Muslim-American advocacy group and spawned a preliminary inquiry, according to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
In a video posted on the Internet, Cpl. Joshua Belile sang a love song about a Marine who falls in love with an Iraqi girl, and is taken to meet her family. The girl’s family shoots her and then attacks the Marine, who uses her younger sister as a shield and watches blood spray from her head.
The song was slammed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which demanded an investigation by Congress and the Pentagon.
Belile, who is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., apologized for the song in a local newspaper and vowed never to sing it again.
“I apologize for any feelings that may have been hurt in the Muslim community. This song was written in good humor and not aimed at any party, foreign or domestic,” he told The Daily News of Jacksonville, N.C.
After launching a preliminary inquiry, the Marine Corps announced on Tuesday that Belile will not face a formal investigation into the matter or punitive measures for the video.
Belile could not be reached for comment by deadline on Tuesday.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has already accepted Belile’s apology and left the question as to whether Belile should be disciplined up to the Marine Corps, said group spokesman Corey Saylor
“If that’s the decision they’ve made, we accept that,” he said.
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Stars and Stripes | By Jeff Schogol | June 28, 2006
<!--- End Article Title/Source/Date ---><!--- Start Article Content --->ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps has decided not to take disciplinary action against a Marine whose song “Hadji Girl” drew condemnation from a Muslim-American advocacy group and spawned a preliminary inquiry, according to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
In a video posted on the Internet, Cpl. Joshua Belile sang a love song about a Marine who falls in love with an Iraqi girl, and is taken to meet her family. The girl’s family shoots her and then attacks the Marine, who uses her younger sister as a shield and watches blood spray from her head.
The song was slammed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which demanded an investigation by Congress and the Pentagon.
Belile, who is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., apologized for the song in a local newspaper and vowed never to sing it again.
“I apologize for any feelings that may have been hurt in the Muslim community. This song was written in good humor and not aimed at any party, foreign or domestic,” he told The Daily News of Jacksonville, N.C.
After launching a preliminary inquiry, the Marine Corps announced on Tuesday that Belile will not face a formal investigation into the matter or punitive measures for the video.
Belile could not be reached for comment by deadline on Tuesday.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has already accepted Belile’s apology and left the question as to whether Belile should be disciplined up to the Marine Corps, said group spokesman Corey Saylor
“If that’s the decision they’ve made, we accept that,” he said.
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