For those of us who are or were enlisted, we swore:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

and for those who are or were officers:

I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the (Army/Navy/Marine Corp/Air Force) of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance tot he same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.

There is another oath that we all swear to as well, and that is the Uniformed Code of Military Conduct. The Uniformed Code of Military Conduct is made up of six articles that read as follows:

(1) I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
(2) I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
(3) If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
(4) If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me, and will back them up in every way.
(5) When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give only my name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
(6) I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.

Objectively, we have to look at these oaths and ask ourselves if those Marines upheld those words, and as Marines if they upheld their Marine Corps Values of Honor, Courage and Commitment.

It is not a situation anyone wants to see. No one wants to see those that we view as our Nation's best in trouble. These men and women, in most of our eyes, are like super heroes. When we lie in bed after putting our children to sleep we know we are safe because these men and women are standing watch around the world and around the clock, putting their asses on the line, beyond any political discourse, to carry out their duty because whether their mission makes sense to them or not, they know that they are probably saving lives.

We have to maintain our standards of conduct though. War may have colored their world view and impacted their judgment. However, the same could be said for the service members who have opened fire on their fellow service members, or even those who have committed treason. War can color a persons world view in any number of ways and produce some horrific effects. If we allow that to shift the baseline and we allow the standards of civility to shift to accommodate those that we don't want to hold accountable then we will begin to see a civilization that does not look very civilized. Perhaps those that have served in similar situations may judge them more merciful. Perhaps having their world view colored by war may even make them shrug it off and say, “Don't worry about it.” That is possible, but it is also possible that is the reason that our Founding Fathers, including General George Washington, chose to have our military be accountable to civilian leaders.

Military conduct and military justice, when you get down to it, is the same as civilian justice. We see people charged with a crime that in one case we think does not carry a penalty severe enough and in another case we find the same penalty too severe. That is why we have laws. Laws help us to preserve justice by objectively applying the same standards to everyone so that everyone knows what they may or may not do. We must remember the Rule of Law: Everyone is entitled to equal protection under the law and no one is above the law. The Rule of Law is what guides us to write our laws in generalities to make them applicable and more fair for everyone, as opposed to writing them for the few and with more arbitrary principles.
Whether you like it or not, these Marines are going to have to be held accoutable for their actions by the laws that govern them.

I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free.

I would like to note, so far I have seen many retired military leaders interviewed on this and none of them have defended the actions of these Marines and I know for a fact that one of them is a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Just saying...