A reader writes:
As much as I oppose the war, I cannot get worked up over that video. These marines are fighting insurgents that hide amongst their co-citizens and use them as human shields. The marines cheer when he sings about putting the girl in front of him as a shield because it's a reversal of the tactic used by the insurgents. It's an expression of frustration with insurgent tactics and not, I believe, a sign that they would ever actually contemplate doing something like that. It is easy for us who live comfortable, sheltered lives to criticize but we can never understand the frustrations and the stress of the troops in Iraq.