Marines looking into puppy-cruelty video

The Marine Corps released a statement today that it is investigating a video that began circulating online yesterday of a uniformed Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff.

The video is here, but beware, it's unsettling.  Note: Citing a terms-of-use violation, YouTube removed its most-watched version of the video, even after it had been posted for a day and had received worldwide attention and become a legitimate news story.

In the video, a second Marine identifies the first by name;

"That was mean, Motari," he says, unconvincingly.

Online denizens quickly located the Bebo.com profile of a Marine named David Motari.  The Marine Corps press office confirmed that Motari is, or at one time was, in the corps. 

A phone number and address for a David Motari was repeatedly posted on the Bebo profile and in the comments on the Digg entry that led to the video.  When I called the number, it had been disconnected.

There's a debate to be had about where the death of a puppy lies along the spectrum of war horrors, and why a video like this can gain wide online attention when other outrageous footage -- say, involving the death of humans -- is only rarely circulated.  Any thoughts?

Commenters:  Please do not submit any more comments that advocate violence against the Marine in question, who I remind you has not been positively identified.  This story has too many facts missing for people to be treating it like it's a closed case. (Wed 3/5)

Note: I'm closing the comments because they've degenerated into name calling and taunts. (Thurs 3/6)

Comments

[Joy Cleveland]

Anyone who could commit such a horrible crime is sick and deserves to go to prison, regardless if they are serving in the military. In fact even more so considering their commitment to freedom for all. Animals are innocent and do not deserve to be treated without love and understanding. Man is the one who allows so many unwanted animals to continue to reproduce. People who commit these crimes are so cruel and have no feelings. I believe, if found guilty, eye for an eye, throw that SOB over a mountain and leave him for dead, then our taxes won't have to pay for his expenses in prison. When found guilty of dog fighting, let a pit bull attack the guilty, naked in a cell. This may sound to most as unreasonable, but in todays cruel world we need to get down to business and stop the abuse to innocent animals. No other animal is more loyal or loving than a dog that is taken care of and loved. Wake up people and take an stand against animal cruelty.

[obie]

If they have the neanderthal's name, the Marine Corps "investigation" shouldn't take too long. This knuckle dragger should be sent sky diving without a chute!

[Robert]

There is one troop I don't support. That POS needs to go over the cliff himself. I thank every soldier I meet for their service, but this Motari scum would only get spat in his face. Attention Motari; stay overseas. Your service to this country now means nothing and you're not welcome back.

[Alix]

When videos came out to the public on the cruel torture and murder of Iraqi's - ppl were outraged and disgusted. If ppl knew - i mean REALLY knew - that some of our soldiers enjoy killing Iraqi citizens (women & children) and were there footage leaked, we'd be outraged. Most want this all to end anyways. and yes, i do feel it is real, b/c honestly, where would they get a toy THAT realistic and working over there? toy store? care package? who on earth sends our troops care packages with mechanical stuffed animals? they send food,music,videos,pictures,letters,condoms,golf balls,silly string - but stuffed animals? c'mon. let's be real here.

I have friends in the military, one recently out of marines and my fiancee is ex SF - and all of them are ashamed to have this guy and ppl like him serving in the military. Yes, soldiers are trained to kill & be de-sensitized, but they never really are b/c as humans most of them still feel guilt/remorse/regret at having to take lives. It's why most of them need therapy when they come back.

But i feel the main reason ppl are in arms about this is b/c it's the epitome of innocence and trust: it's a puppy. it knows no hate, it has no race or religious affiliation to mark it as an 'enemy' to the Western World, it loves unconditionally and without thinking. It trusted humans enough and loved enough to be handled... and for its trust it was thrown to it's death. And to see ppl get joy and humor out of that is unsettling. are we aware that they kill humans on a daily basis? yes, but we moralize it to a degree that those whom they're killing are our 'enemies'. how can we even begin to moralize the senseless killing of a baby animal who had no real means of defense against an adult human?

[kristen]

its a real puppy you can hear it yelp after he throws it

[Bob]

Several years ago a guy, I believe it was in California, ended up grabbing a small dog from a woman and throwing it onto the highway. It dog was killed instantly after it was hit by several cars. To make a long story short, he was tried and convicted and spent the next 3 years of his life behind bars.

Marine or not, I'm former Army, there is no excuse for this type of cruelty. If not a hoax, this Marine has disgraced himself, his brothers, and the corp. If charged and convicted he should be dishonorably discharged and the others present should be charged with lesser crimes.

I wonder if he's done the same with Iraqi children, their just as defenseless.

[Alan Browne]

"Winning hearts and minds."

Yet another failing of US soldiers behavior. The leadership cannot control the actions of every soldier, but it sure as hell has to take responsibility for every soldiers actions. As another poster notes, a California man was sentenced to jail for a similar crime. The military should take note.

[Sunny Florida]

The layer of bile bubbling up in my throat for these worthless, disgusting, vile excuses for "human beings" is almost more than I can bear. No amount of pyscho-babble (and I am a college graduate) or hand-wringing over the horrors of war can EVER excuse the senseless killing of a helpless animal. Anyone who has even the slightest experience in researching this type of behavior knows this has NOTHING to do with circumstance, but rather a sociopathic evil streak that was there before and will express itself in escalated behavior, until, God forbid, it is someone you or I love. I would sleep better knowing these two monsters were rotting somewhere in jail, getting their due course, than seeing this be "investigated" ad nauseum by the press. Please, someone get these sickos out of our society!

[DeadEyeSmith]

I have nothing but respect for those on the firing line in Iraq and Afganistan. Except of course, for those that do stuff like this.

Someone above said that this guy's mother couldn't see a problem with killing a defenceless puppy. Hmmm.... Something wrong with not just him methinks. This guy must be punished to the full extent of the law(s).

And to any that would whine about "he's a soldier, trained to kill", he's trained to fight humans, not animals, and moreso, he was trained "to make a difference".

[Trudy Kuehner]

Every time cruelty to animals receives wide attention (e.g., Michael Vicks, David Motari), there are the predictable comments of "Why do people care more about this than about human suffering?" I believe that's a false dichotomy. Those of us who care about sadism to animals also care about cruelty to humans. And it is widely accepted that those who are cruel to animals are more at risk for moving on to violence to people (that's the only way it can go is to escalate - if you think it's funny to throw a puppy off a cliff, next you'll be doing it to people). That's why we all care.

I pray that his family protects themselves from violence and gets him mental health help. How did he make it into the Marines?

[vegasgirl]

Several of the posters here got waaaayyy too defensive about the anger of many other posters (which is 100 percent justified, BTW). Ninety-nine percent of the men and women in our armed forces are decent, good people -- but scum like this Marine do not deserve our respect or any compassion. There is something flat-out evil about flinging an innocent creature over a cliff, and I'm sorry some of the posters cannot grasp that.
I don't mean to repeat too much of what is already posted here, but studies have shown that nearly every serial killer/mass murderer started out abusing animals before he or she moved on to humans.
That is why there is such a visceral reaction to what this scumbag and his cohort did. They are a disgrace to our armed forces, and I hope they are punished accordingly.
Quite frankly, it is THEY who are the savage beasts -- not a creature on four legs.
BTW: I'm not a radical vegetarian, or a member of ELF -- I'm just a person who loves and respects the animals we share this planet with.

[Roger]

Puppy was already dead or stuffed. I didn't read the comments to see what others posted, but you'd have to be a moron to not realize something's strange about the video. Notice how the yelping does not fade as the puppy flies off the cliff? Come on people, stop being so gullible.

[Mark D]

This is truly amazing. The visceral reaction of you people to a DOG being killed is quite noble. If only you could muster the same sense of outrage and indignation at the beheading videos that have come out of Iraq. But it's typical of the Left Wing. An American soldier throws a puppy off a cliff and he's the walking embodiment of evil, but an American gets his head SAWED OFF by an Islamic terrorist who would kill ALL of us if he could, and your reaction is to blame George Bush.

[Nate Grately]

There is no room for this sick sadistic psychopath in our society or anyone else's. This is the mark of a truly disturbed person. Ever wonder where serial killers come from? The answer is clear: those who learn the ability of total disassociation. It starts with animals and progresses from there. This is not a "Marine" issue. This is a pathetic, self-loathing, demented human issue.

[TJ]

Disgraceful. I have always respected our service men but if I see more of this, i will be sickened.

[Charles]

BAO- What the hell do you mean that the american people loved the vietnam war? I know people who spit on american soliders uniforms and in thier faces just after they got back to the country.

[USMC Grunt]

He admitted it on his new myspace page.

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1496/davidmotarihi9.jpg

[Chris Parks]

Absolutely disgusting behavior, but not surprising...

If you look at his myspace page: http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1496/davidmotarihi9.jpg you'll see it's full of typos misspellings -- so obviously not only are we dealing with a sick mind, we're dealing with an incredibly uneducated one as well: "tomarrow", "sence", etc.

Again, DISGUSTING. Shame on him.

[TheEndlessGlobalWarOnIslamoFascistTerroristExtremistPuppies]

Here's a simple math question for the dumbasses that always assume it's only left wingers that are outraged at this so called "war". Can you tell me the ratio of muslim deaths to American deaths attributed to the so called "global war on terror"?

If you can answer that question honestly then ask yourself who are the real terrorists?

[yo!]

Im having a bad day....so lets kill a puppy, seems fake but whats with the myspace page...damnit that looks like my dog too.

[B]

Cool, you fly back to Hanoi often. I believe the main point is if you are so disgusted with the United States, than you should kindly leave the country you so loathe. Also, to everyone who is completely lambasting the American military based on the disgusting action of one idiot: it certainly is not fair to generalize an entire group of people. Whether you agree we should be in Iraq or not, most of the men and women there are putting their lives on the line for what they believe is a just cause. Even if they believe that the cause is not a just one, do you think the ordinary soldier had any control of where they were posted? So, those of you who are attacking our armed forces personnel are basically repaying their sacrifices by demeaning their worth as people. If you hate America, whether you be American or no, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and leave? If you really do hate this country and yet are comfortable living here, my only conclusion is that your presence can only be accounted for because of monetary gain. I can't imagine anyone high-minded who turns their back on their ideology for the sake of greed, so what does that say about you?

As to the video, of course it is disgusting and those depicted should be dealt with harshly.

[Ken]

I don't support the actions of Motari at all but, everyone that is calling him a scum bag and a POS needs to ask themselves if they have ever been in his shoes. Have you ever been in Iraq where dogs run wild giving away your position and harassing the very expensive Military Police Dogs? What Motari did was very disturbing but how many of you have done numerous tours in Iraq, if you have then talk all the crap you want until then just say it's a sad situation and hope we can get the Marine some help because I guarantee every armed service member has done more good than bad while overseas.

[Harry]

Most of the people commenting here need to find something important to do with their life. I hear repeatedly that it is evil to kill the dog, but in the next breath, you want to kill the Marine. That demonstrates your hypocrisy, as well as a complete lack of balance. I am sure that the Marine Corps has more important things to do than chase down puppy killers. They need to get busy and do it, and all of you idiots that are so worried about a dog need to contemplate on why you are so blind to more important suffering in this world. I will believe that you care about suffering in this world when you get off your stupid ass and do something about it.

[Billy Depp]

If indeed he is found guilty of this, he should be immediately be sent for treatment as this syptomatic of a larger problem. And if the judgment of professionals deem him to be an untreatable cruel bastard he should be set free......In Iraq!

[Kerrin Winter-Churchill]

I don't think it is the fact that the soldier is a "Marine" that caused his deplorable behavior. Something inside that man is broken - probably has been broken since he was a child.

As many of you will know - there is scientifc evidence to support the facts that those who find pleasure in harming animals usually were abused as children. Their abuse of animals is an early sign of worse things to come - often these animal abusers escalate to harming children - if the behavior is not corrected in its early stages - "the mentally deviants" can progress to serial rapes and killings of children and/or adults.

I would not blame the military - there are plenty of good soliders who love animals and treat them with kindness and respect. I know this first hand - they were by my side helping to rescue animals in New Orleans soon after hurricane Katrina.

Rather than blaming the military, I would look to the solider's childhood for answers.

This is why if you ever see a child harming an animal, you should alert the proper authorties - saving a puppy or kitten today might very well mean saving a human child tomorrow.

Kerrin Winter-Churchill