Isolated Incidents

Or, two more reasons why I’ve lost interest in the LCpl. Boudreaux case.

* Justin interprets the lighthearted hijinks at Abu Ghraib.

* That infamous hate-America rag Stars & Stripes reports on business as usual in Okinawa.

    Marines sentenced for mugging of Okinawa man

    NAHA, Okinawa — Two Marines found guilty of mugging a 20-year-old Okinawan man in Ginowan last October were sentenced Tuesday in Naha District Court. …

    The incident took place Oct. 23 at about 5:55 a.m. following a long night of drinking, according to testimony at previous hearings. [Lance Cpl. Joshua M.] Major testified he was out looking for a fight that morning and picked on the man they saw in a supermarket in the Oyama district of Ginowan, near the base.

    He admitted punching the man in the face after Mundell grabbed him from behind. …

    Chief Judge Nobuyuki Yokota said there was no doubt both Marines were responsible for the attack.

    “While [Cpl. Paul E.] Mundell grabbed the Japanese man from behind, Major punched him in the face for several times,” Yokota said. “Even after knocking the victim down to the ground, Major continued assaulting the man.” …

    Yokota said the evidence showed Mundell, Major and another Marine, who was with them but not charged, started drinking beer at their barracks room on Oct. 22 to celebrate completing training at a range. At about 11:40 p.m., they went to a pool hall near the air station, where they stayed until 5 a.m. The trio then stopped by a nearby 24-hour supermarket.

    “In the store, they saw the victim, who left after buying a boxed meal,” the judge said in his explanation for finding the two men guilty. “After they left the store, they looked for the victim and followed him for 15 minutes after spotting him again on a street.”

    Then, they attacked.

    “Using the money they stole, they hailed a taxi to go to Okinawa City, only to find that the bar they were planning to go [to] was closed,” Yokota said. “They then spent some more of the money on boxed meals, which they ate in a taxi on their way back to the air station.”

Imagine the fear of being beaten and robbed by foreign thugs every time you go to the supermarket, and you’ll have some idea why most Iraqis want the U.S. out now.