The Vile, Notorious Puppy Toss Video

I refuse to watch it, but I'm glad that an uproar about it has triggered a military investigation. If a US Marine actually did what this appears to show, he should be court marshalled. Period. Either he's a sociopath or war has perverted his humanity beyond redemption. Either way, he shouldn't be in uniform or in the service. (I vote for lobbing HIM off a cliff...)

Here's a suggested letter that you can send to a long list of big-wigs, from Kinship Circle:

Be counted.  Send a letter.  E-petitions don't work...
SAMPLE LETTER & CONTACTS BELOW
3/4/08: The Marine Who Tossed The Puppy

EMAIL kinshipcircle@accessus.net FOR WORD DOC OF A FORMATTED LETTER.
Easily modify letter and copy/paste it into an email or print out to fax or mail.

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
  Brigadier General Robert E. Milstead, Jr.   
   Director, Marine Corps Public Affairs
  Division of Public Affairs - Command Element
   CMC (PA), Headquarters Marine Corps
   3000 Marine Corps; Pentagon 4B548
   Washington, DC  20350-3000
   ph: 703-614-1492/4080/8010; fax: 703-697-5362
   email: robert.milstead@usmc.mil 

  General Michael Hagee, 33rd Commandant of the Marine Corps
  ph: 703-614-1034; fax: 703-614-2358
   email: comrel@hqmc.usmc.mil

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII
  Colonel Mark A. Dungan, Commanding Officer
  Richard A. Kirby GS12, Staff Secretary
  Office of the Commanding Officer
   Marine Corps Base Hawaii
   Box 63002; MCBH Kaneohe Bay, HI 96863-3002
   ph: DSN-457-8877, 808-257-8877
   email: richard.a.kirby@usmc.mil

   Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Public Affairs Office
  c/o Community Relations Section
   Marine Corps Base Hawaii
   Box 63002; Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii 96863-3002
   ph: 808-257-8840, 808-257-8875
   email: MCBH.PAO.CR.FMB@usmc.mil

   Military Police Department, Marine Corps Base Hawaii
  Box 63062; Kaneohe Bay, HI 96863
   Provost Marshal: 808-257-2103, ext 330
   Provost Sergeant: 808-257-2103, ext 328
   Criminal Investigation Division: 808-257-1305

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
  PUBLIC CONTACT: ph: +1 703-428-0711 +1
   U.S. Department of Defense ASK A QUESTION/SEND A COMMENT:
   http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/questions.aspx

  Dr. Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense
  U.S. Department of Defense
   1000 Defense Pentagon; Washington, DC 20301-1000

   Gordon R. England, Deputy Secretary of Defense
  1010 Defense Pentagon; Washington, DC 20301-1010


robert.milstead@usmc.mil , comrel@hqmc.usmc.mil , richard.a.kirby@usmc.mil ,
MCBH.PAO.CR.FMB@usmc.mil

If you feel strongly about this issue, please take the time to print out
your letter to send by fax/mail to the contacts without email addresses.
GET FORMATTED LETTER, WORD DOC: kinshipcircle@accessus.net

The e-petition circulating about this is largely useless. There is no
government or military official who will seriously consider an Internet
petition with unverifiable signatures.

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government or corporate websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER --  This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

United States Defense Leaders and Marine Corps:

Thank you for addressing the Marines recently videotaped taunting a
defenseless puppy. I urge you to aggressively investigate this crime and
take prompt punitive action.

As you know, a man identified as David Motari dangles a black and white dog
by the scruff of the neck, cooing: "Cute little puppy." Another unnamed
soldier baby-talks: "Ah, so cute, so cute...little puppy." To the horror of
global Internet viewers, Motari then hurls the animal over a cliff into a
rocky gulch. The dog, who looks about 12 weeks old, squeals while flying
through the air. We hear a thud below, signifying the dog's certain death.

"That was mean Motari," the unknown Marine jokes. Motari shrugs and grins.

The question is not WHO the victim is, but WHAT is done to him or her.
Criminologists view the brutality of an act, regardless of the victim's
identity, as a precursor to future violence. Animal cruelty is a key trait
in the American Psychiatric Association's criterion for conduct disorders.
David Motari displays characteristics associated with sociopaths.

I respectfully ask the Military Police Department of Hawaii, where Motari is
stationed, to conduct a thorough probe. If Motari and other suspects are
apprehended, please advocate maximum penalties for aggravated cruelty and
intentional killing of a companion animal. Certainly, Motari and his
accomplice ought to undergo psychological counseling.

This is not the first video leak of soldiers tormenting animals in Iraq. I
hope this case prompts Defense Department officials to make regulatory
changes for animals in war zones. Specifically, I encourage the DOD to:
* Insert an anti-cruelty clause in the Universal Code of Military Justice.
* Utilize non-lethal vaccination to cope with rabies in war zones.
* Permit soldiers to bring vetted pets back to the U.S. with them.

The men in the video do not represent other brave men and women who serve
our country. This is all the more reason to pursue rigorous judicial action
against the few who sully America's moral repute.

Thank you for holding animal abusers accountable for their violent crimes.

Sincerely,

Your name