Be Lenient With Marine A

[Pete/London]

Following remembrance Sunday where we pay homage to our fallen soldiers I hope leniency is shown to Marine A in the recent court case.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ces-chief.html

Apparently the shooting was only discovered when a non combatant found the video footage.
Surely an internal discipline would have been the better way to deal with this instead of a court case for the whole world to see.

[andy222]

I dont think he should be jailed. Just my opinion. If the boot was on the other foot my guess is that taliban piece of crap would of done the same.

[Dedworth]

I completely agree Pete & Andy. The ones who need putting before a court are the politicians (of all parties) and the MoD penpushers & deskbound generals who underfund, betray and undermine our armed forces

[andy222]

I completely agree Pete & Andy. The ones who need putting before a court are the politicians (of all parties) and the MoD penpushers & deskbound generals who underfund, betray and undermine our armed forces

I totally agree Ded this just makes a mockery of a conflict. It is a war for crying out loud.

[joebloggs]

if i remember correctly it was the police who found the video on a pc or laptop

the sad thing is they were laughing and joking about it, i think you wouldn't be asking for leniency if it was a Taliban who had killed a British solider the same way

dont stoop to their level

[andy222]

Joe you dont know what that conflict is doing to their minds. You dont know what they have seen out there. We must be the laughing stock of the world with these decisions. From what my daughter as told me what went on out there this does not surprise me. And Marine A should not go to prison.

[Pete/London]

I don't agree with the Afghan war or the Iraq war come to that but once our forces are sent in they should have our full support in my opinion.
This is just hanging our soldiers out to dry, it should never have come to light.

Its always the victor who brings war crime trials, so I take it we have lost the war.

[joebloggs]

Joe you dont know what that conflict is doing to their minds. You dont know what they have seen out there. We must be the laughing stock of the world with these decisions. From what my daughter as told me what went on out there this does not surprise me. And Marine A should not go to prison.

It showed Marine A shooting the Afghan prisoner with a 9mm pistol, and saying: "There, shuffle off this mortal coil... It's nothing you wouldn't do to us."

He adds: "Obviously this doesn't go anywhere fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention," to which Marine B replies: "Yeah, roger mate.

so he knew what he was doing,

Gen Sir Mike Jackson, a former head of the Army, urged people to keep "a sense of proportion" but said he was "saddened" by the case.

"I'm afraid whatever casualties the unit had taken, didn't change the law.

"It's not about whether the Taliban do or do not adhere to whatever set of rules, if any. It is about the standards which apply to the British armed forces which are drawn from the Geneva Convention."

He added: "The fact that a trial has taken place, I would argue upholds those standards."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24870699

[Dedworth]

dont stoop to their level

They're Muslim extremists Joe - bottom feeders, they don't have a level, happy to blow up skyscrapers, tube trains, buses, airliners, shoot children etc. They need to be dealt with using the most extreme violence and aggression.

[joebloggs]

I totally agree Ded this just makes a mockery of a conflict. It is a war for crying out loud.

what about killing prisoners, murdering children, raping women is that ok because your at war?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre

[Dedworth]

what about killing prisoners, murdering children, raping women is that ok because your at war?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre

What the has history got to do with current affairs other than the fact that the enemy here are from the stone age. Just for a British angle can we have a link to the Indian Mutiny & Black Hole of Calcutta ?

[joebloggs]

"It's not about whether the Taliban do or do not adhere to whatever set of rules, if any. It is about the standards which apply to the British armed forces which are drawn from the Geneva Convention."

He added: "The fact that a trial has taken place, I would argue upholds those standards."

dedworth i was stood at a memorial at 11am yesterday just like you, shooting prisoners can not be defended.

[Dedworth]

"It's not about whether the Taliban do or do not adhere to whatever set of rules, if any. It is about the standards which apply to the British armed forces which are drawn from the Geneva Convention."

He added: "The fact that a trial has taken place, I would argue upholds those standards."

dedworth i was stood at a memorial at 11am yesterday just like you, shooting prisoners can not be defended.

nor can shooting children or hanging body parts in trees.

Look how the allies dealt with germans dressed in US uniforms during the Battle of The Bulge or SS Guards when concentration camps were liberated

I don't think the Paras reached for the Geneva Convention or phoned a lawyer when Argentinians misbehaved under the cover of a white flag

[SimonH]

For once I agree whole heartily with Joe here, we have standards and rules, and therefore should adhere to them or suffer the consequences.
Ded, agree with you saying not to quote history, but then in your next post you go on about battle of the Bulge

[Pete/London]

what about killing prisoners, murdering children, raping women is that ok because your at war?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre

How do you square that way of thinking with air raids or missile attacks then Joe, where everyone in the area will be killed whether they are women, children or the aged.

[Dedworth]

For once I agree whole heartily with Joe here, we have standards and rules, and therefore should adhere to them or suffer the consequences.
Ded, agree with you saying not to quote history, but then in your next post you go on about battle of the Bulge

I'm just saying the normal civilised rules go out of the window when dealing with savages. Joe was quoting the Japs who as we know were strung up for war crimes and crimes against humanity, these scum will be given asylum and a council house in Birmingham

[les_taxi]

I think the guy was already shot up so maybe sending him to meet his 72 virgins did him a favour
It's a war scenario and prisoners have often been executed it's a fact.
You are there to destroy the enemy let's be honest, I wonder in how many cases leniency has been punished?
What if the guy made a full recovery from his initial injuries, returned to fight and killed our troops?
I really don't think they would treat us with compassion - it's not their way so take em out I say

[bigmarco]

I'm sorry being British to me means we don't ever allow ourselves to stoop to anyone's level. Shooting a man who is no threat and lies injured on the ground is an act of cowardice and deserves to be treated as such.
I think we're operating double standards here because we're the first to condemn Taliban or Al Qaeda when they carry out atrocities and we must also do the same when on the very rare occasion one of our own step over the line.
As one of the original signatories to the First Geneva Convention it is only right that we should lead the way in the treatment of dead or injured in the Battlefield.

[les_taxi]

It's a nice sentiment and if we all played ball fair enough but they never will so reap what you sow

[Dedworth]

It's a nice sentiment and if we all played ball fair enough but they never will so reap what you sow

Agreed Les - look where abiding by the rules, doing the decent thing, fair play etc etc has got us as a country. A soft touch, the only nation in the EU to abide by their stupid rules & regs, asylum haven for the scum of the earth.

[grahamw48]

I agree the prisoner should have been treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention, and the wrongdoer(s) should be appropriately punished.

I disagree that the government of this country should aid and abet the humiliation of our armed forces and our country.

What else else would one expect though ?

[andy222]

War is war like I said before if that taliban scum had shot one of our soldiers like that who would bring him to justice? He would be a hero in the eyes of the taliban.

[joebloggs]

so anything goes in war ? well you would hope that if taliban had done that to a British solider then the gov or a war crimes court would bring him to justice,

just like here ..

"The defendants are charged with criminal offences of war crimes against civilian population, including torture, mistreatment of prisoners, and murder," it said in a statement.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24875771

[Dedworth]

so anything goes in war ? well you would hope that if taliban had done that to a British solider then the gov or a war crimes court would bring him to justice,

just like here ..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24875771

War Crimes Court Joe - we give 'em asylum and a council house :-

An African war criminal who joined in the slaughter of civilians has been allowed to stay in Britain under human rights law – because he admitted his crimes in a BBC interview.

The man was a fighter in the Janjaweed militia which killed an estimated 300,000 people during the war in Darfur, but he came to Britain after hearing it was ‘a good place to claim asylum’.

An immigration tribunal found he was guilty of crimes against humanity after he gave media interviews in which he described joining in the burning and looting of 30 villages and shooting countless victims.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2kMxIVX1q


Taliban Fighters win Asylum in UK

Former Taliban fighters who escaped Afghanistan have been given political asylum and homes in Britain - even though one of them is quoted as saying: "I live here but I still think America and Britain are enemies of the Afghan people".

According to a report in The Times, 14 of the fundamentalists say they fear persecution under the Western-backed government in Afghanistan.

And none can be deported because the Geneva Convention prohibits that if there is a well-founded fear of persecution or death.

The paper states that the British Home Office has confirmed that three of the Taliban members have so far been given asylum and permission to stay indefinitely in the UK.

And it quotes one of them, Wali Khan Ahmadzai, who admits fighting against the British and Americans, as saying: "I live here but I still think America and Britain are enemies of the Afghan people and Muslim people. But I dont want to fight anymore. I just want the chance to live in peace and safety and to be a good Muslim."

The Times says refugee groups believes the former Taliban fighters are getting priority over other asylum seekers.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...330593501.html

[Pete/London]

War is war like I said before if that taliban scum had shot one of our soldiers like that who would bring him to justice? He would be a hero in the eyes of the taliban.

Yes Andy, they like playing the game of seeing how many it takes to remove a captives head

We train our soldiers to kill and in the heat of battle we must expect these things to happen.
As I said before, should have been dealt with away from the glare of publicity.

[joebloggs]

Yes Andy, they like playing the game of seeing how many it takes to remove a captives head

We train our soldiers to kill and in the heat of battle we must expect these things to happen.
As I said before, should have been dealt with away from the glare of publicity.

"It was not a killing in the heat and exercise of any armed conflict. The prosecution case is that it amounted to an execution, a field execution," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24639642

[Pete/London]

Well Joe, I think the prosecution was wrong, while they are on a tour of duty against an enemy they cant recognise until they have a weapon in their hand, they are always in a battlefield.

[andy222]

If it wasnt armed conflict how did that taliban scum come to get wounded then in the first place?

[Pete/London]

I'm sorry being British to me means we don't ever allow ourselves to stoop to anyone's level.

As one of the original signatories to the First Geneva Convention it is only right that we should lead the way in the treatment of dead or injured in the Battlefield.

Don't agree Marco, I think its about time we stopped doing things the British way and got as arsy as the rest of the world.
All the main combatants in the 2nd WW were signed up to the convention and ignored it.
Germany has done very well since, Russia, who I reckon fathered a high proportion of post war Germans, Japan and the USA who dropped 2 atoms bombs on Japanese cities filled with civilians.

[andy222]

Don't agree Marco, I think its about time we stopped doing things the British way and got as arsy as the rest of the world.
All the main combatants in the 2nd WW were signed up to the convention and ignored it.
Germany has done very well since, Russia, who I reckon fathered a high proportion of post war Germans, Japan and the USA who dropped 2 atoms bombs on Japanese cities filled with civilians.