# Moron soldier in Iraq **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 14, 2004, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936 "2004-04-14T07:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/41 "2004-04-14T22:47:06Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > It may be a joke, it may not be. Keep in mind, though, that what you may be offended at in the relative safety of your home is something that gives a guy facing live enemy ammunition day in and day out a chuckle and a reason (for better or worse) to forget, momentarily, the imminent danger he is in 24/7, thousands of miles from home. There is _no_ excuse for offensive jokes like that. The USA is supposed to be _liberating_ the country. ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/42 "2004-04-14T22:50:53Z")
Look at the letter “u” in “up” on the faked sign, and compare it to the instances of “u” in “Boudreaux” and “rescued” on the real sign. The “u” in “up” has a little tail thing, whereas the others don’t. There are probably other handwriting differences, too. Unless two different people collaborated on writing the sign, it looks fake to me. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/43 "2004-04-14T22:52:23Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > My point being, that under “normal” circumstances, this may likely be a joke he does not make. He is in an extereme environment and his sense of humor, among other things, may be a little out of whack. I wouldn’t judge him as a person based solely on one possibly faked photograph… The guy who photoshoped that is most likely not a soldier in Iraq but an asshole in the US. And there is _no_ excuse for offensive humor in the military or elsewhere. Being under pressure is a reason to maintain clear what the fight is for and offensive jokes are not acceptable under any circumstances. If a soldier were caught really doing such a photograph he would most probably be punished, and rightly so. The joke is unacceptable as jokes about Americans killed 9/11 would be unacceptably offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/44 "2004-04-14T22:56:18Z")
**vibrotronica** , if you need further convincing about which image came first, look closely at both pictures, with particular attention to “blank” areas which are occupied by lettering in the alternate images. This is the easiest way to make a judgement, since the negative space isn’t actually _blank_, it is necessarily filled with the pattern of the cardboard, and should be naturally shaded. I mentioned the “d” on killed/saved, because it is the most obvious. Looking at the “killed and knocked up” version, You can also see a bright “eraser mark” on the “d” of “knocked,” where the “d” from “saved” has been cloned over. Now look at the “saved and rescued” version, and pay attention to the areas that would have to be erased if the _it_ were the second version. (The places where the lines of the k’s extend up, for example, and _especially_ the blank spot which would be under the second “my.” No signs of shenanigans. Even more conclusively, take a look at the compression artifacts under magnification. You can tell that the “killed and knocked up” version has been compressed _twice_, because faint, blurry lines around edges have been sharpened into high-contrast artifacts. Minor blemishes from the first compression are underlined and become more pronounced. Look under the “e” in Boudreaux for a clear example of this. Faint ghosting has become a dark arc, as the compression algorithm treats an earlier artifact as part of the image and reinforces it. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/45 "2004-04-15T12:06:38Z")
Thanks **Larry and Sailor** , great work. We all appreciate the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/46 "2004-04-15T13:08:23Z")
Photoshop has officially been reclassified as a Weapon of Mass Disinformation. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/47 "2004-04-15T16:30:51Z")
> [@pigboy](#): > > Look at the letter “u” in “up” on the faked sign, and compare it to the instances of “u” in “Boudreaux” and “rescued” on the real sign. The “u” in “up” has a little tail thing, whereas the others don’t. See, I thought that “saved” and “rescued” looked out of line in the “nice” version, which the text in the “mean” version looked convincingly kludged together (by which I mean, the “mean” version looked like it was written quickly and under duress. The fact that the kid’s hand covers up an “e” in “the” looks authentic to me as well–it seems like a faker wouldn’t let that happen. > [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Even more conclusively, take a look at the compression artifacts under magnification. You can tell that the “killed and knocked up” version has been compressed twice, because faint, blurry lines around edges have been sharpened into high-contrast artifacts. Minor blemishes from the first compression are underlined and become more pronounced. Look under the “e” in Boudreaux for a clear example of this. Faint ghosting has become a dark arc, as the compression algorithm treats an earlier artifact as part of the image and reinforces it. This is the most convincing line of evidence to me. Despite my assertions above, I am now leaning toward the conclusion that the “mean” image is the fake. Yahoo! reported this morning that the Pentagon investigation has been concluded and that the results would be made known soon. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/48 "2004-04-15T18:35:33Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > To be perfectly honest, I can’t tell which one is the fake, or if they’re both fake. I thought an appeal to human nature would make it obvious – who would _want_ to Photoshop the image to make the folks in the picture look **good?** Photoshopping the image so the Iraqi kids look like idiots and Lance Cpl. Ted J. Boudreaux Jr. look like a slimy murderer/rapist is exactly the kind of juvenile prank that gets big laffs at the local frat house (or, more likely, [Fark.com](http://Fark.com)). ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/49 "2004-04-15T19:13:35Z")
After some of the things I’ve seen The Apologists do and say over the last year and a half, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them took it upon himself to cover for a cruel soldier. Anything For Bush! (AFB) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/50 "2004-04-15T19:16:16Z")
> [@bookbuster](#): > > Fuck Lance Cpl. Ted J. Boudreaux Jr. > This makes me embarrassed to be an American. I find it far less embarassing then the quote you cited from the article. > [@](#): > > “If it was a local Iraq Arab that did this, he would have been shot by a family member on the spot for violating their family honor.” Most of us in the civilized world have sense to realize such a joke would be in poor taste. Those in less civilized areas of the world seem to think it’s ok to murder someone to protect family honor. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/51 "2004-04-16T02:27:55Z")
For those who haven’t been following the [GQ thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251011), I’m just popping in to say that I found a [hi-res, low-compression .jpg](http://karmann.goonsquad.net/img/boudreauxs.jpg) of the “killed and knocked up” version which leads me to [revise my opinion](http://free.inkfrog.com/pix/larrymudd/muddcrow.jpg). It’s sure as shit not faked up from the “saved and rescued” version – the [source of which](http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=your_stuff&user_id=316) seems to have some issues he likes to address through photoshopped images. ---
**Author:** ![suttree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@suttree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suttree)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/52 "2004-04-16T04:08:49Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > **vibrotronica** , if you need further convincing about which image came first, look closely at both pictures, with particular attention to “blank” areas which are occupied by lettering in the alternate images. This is the easiest way to make a judgement, since the negative space isn’t actually _blank_, it is necessarily filled with the pattern of the cardboard, and should be naturally shaded. Unfortunately, you are wrong. The “saved my father and rescued my sister” is the obvious forgery. See here: [http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/chris/2004\_04.html#005221](http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/chris/2004_04.html#005221) There is no denying that “saved” and “rescued” were sloppily added after the fact, by someone less-than-skilled in Photoshop doctoring. I think the other (“killed my father and then knocked up my sister”) was more-than-likely a joke, played on the unsuspecting boys by the Marine. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/53 "2004-04-16T04:08:58Z")
Interesting, if repulsive. If its real, its not all that surprising, war is a brutalizing environment, like prisons. If such an incident were the worse thing American soldiers are responsible for, I would be very pleased. This is not meant to indict or impugn American troops, I haven’t the slightest doubt they are among the most civilized and humane soldiers in uniform. The situation just inherently brings out the very worst in people. And if its a fake, it makes me curious. Who and why, of course, but more curious about reactions. My first thought is that it was an “Arab” fake, meant to foment anger on the “Islamic street”. But how many people of such a “target” audience would read English? To infuriate them, why go to the trouble? I gather the impression that a couple of our cronie’s first reaction was that it was a fake whomped up by perfidious, Bush-bashing you know the drill…in order to discredit the Iraqi war. Again, why friggin’ bother? Of course, in either case you can’t entirely discount the possibility of sheer stupidity being the motive. The other scenario, the one that most easily fits my prejudices, is that its an _agent provocatuer_, a set up fed to lefty sites so it can be _retrieved_ from lefty sites as certain proof of the contempt lefties have for our troops. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/54 "2004-04-16T05:23:45Z")
Snopes weighs in… > **[Sign of the Times](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sign-of-the-times/)** > > Does a photograph show a U.S. Marine posing with Iraqi kids holding a provocative sign? verdict: maybe. Definitely maybe. ---
**Author:** ![fushj00mang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@fushj00mang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fushj00mang)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/55 "2004-04-16T05:55:53Z")
Two questions, which’ll hopefully be answered by the DoD release. 1: What do the negatives (assuming it’s a film camera) or the original memcard say? I hope to everliving God that it’s film (fuck you, all you digital camera lovers. Fuck you all to hell!) 2: Tell me which article of the UCMJ that this guy violated with this stunt? ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/56 "2004-04-16T12:44:58Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > seems to have some issues he likes to address through photoshopped images Phew… interesting link. [This](http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=6886) one is really hilarious. :mad: Before putting words into somebody’s mouth next time, go look for a better online translator. Fuckhead. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/57 "2004-04-16T13:31:37Z")
> [@fishcheer15](#): > > Before putting words into somebody’s mouth next time, go look for a better online translator. Fuckhead. I don’t read German–what’s it say? Daniel who doesn’t trust babelfish to find its own babelass with both babelhands ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/58 "2004-04-16T13:49:47Z")
It’s translated in the caption, “My father killed Americans”. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/59 "2004-04-16T13:54:10Z")
**Revtim** , I see that, but: 1. Babelfish translates it for me as “My father amis getotet,” which isn’t terribly helpful; and 2. **fishcheer** seems to be saying that the photo’s caption is a poor translation. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936/60 "2004-04-16T14:21:05Z")
“Mein Vater haben die Amis getötet” makes no sense. The most similar phrase in correct German phrase would be “Meinen Vater haben die Amis getötet”, which does NOT mean “My father killed Americans”, but rather “My father was killed by the Americans”. The image quality is rather poor, but I think that was the message originally displayed on the sign (which is questionable in itself, but not my topic here). As far as I can see, the Doggod then edited out the “-en”, thinking that this would miraculously invert the statement. Which it does not. At all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moron-soldier-in-iraq/239936.md?page=4)