The view from America

[minestrone]

I'm referring to today's professional British army in today's circumstances, not about a time in history you've a jaded viewpoint to troll about.

Well you should have been clearer in you statement, since conscription ended every soldier has been a professional soldier. And as the Saville report findings have been postponed due to the election it is hardly something from history that we all should forget. I simply presented facts based upon you comment and that seems to upset you which is your problem.

Now down the the meat and bones of the argument, if you seriously think that there have not been atrocities committed by British troops currently serving then you are delusional. A fair proportion of people that signed up for the army are thick as mince half wits who got bored of torturing their pets and needed an anger release and the army is societies way of keeping them from doing time for 10 years until they get out.

What is the percentage of people in prison that have an army background?

[NickFitz]

What is the percentage of people in prison that have an army background?

10% of prisoners are military veterans according to NAPO. (Of course, that isn't just army veterans.)

[minestrone]

10% of prisoners are military veterans according to NAPO. (Of course, that isn't just army veterans.)

There was a discussion in the STM the other day if it was 9. something or 3. something.

I think they also said that .2% of the population actually serve in the forces so if you take in the 10% figure as fact then they are hardly the cuddly figures the xfactor charity song want you to believe they are.

[TimberWolf]

Well you should have been clearer in you statement, since conscription ended every soldier has been a professional soldier. And as the Saville report findings have been postponed due to the election it is hardly something from history that we all should forget. I simply presented facts based upon you comment and that seems to upset you which is your problem.

Now down the the meat and bones of the argument, if you seriously think that there have not been atrocities committed by British troops currently serving then you are delusional. A fair proportion of people that signed up for the army are thick as mince half wits who got bored of torturing their pets and needed an anger release and the army is societies way of keeping them from doing time for 10 years until they get out.

What is the percentage of people in prison that have an army background?

You're a loony. I'll repeat again, I don't believe our troops would have acted as the Americans did in that video. They aren't as gung-ho. Feel free to rant on as many half baked issues you have with the highly professional British Army if you want though.

[minestrone]

You're a loony. I'll repeat again, I don't believe our troops would have acted as the Americans did in that video. They aren't as gung-ho. Feel free to rant on as many half baked issues you have with the highly professional British Army if you want though.

Well the bloke that carried the cup out on the field the other day and is now in doubt of getting his compensation was shot up by a british apache helicopter. What is more gung ho than shooting up your own troops?

[TimberWolf]

Well the bloke that carried the cup out on the field the other day and is now in doubt of getting his compensation was shot up by a british apache helicopter. What is more gung ho than shooting up your own troops?

Link? I'm not saying the British don't make mistakes, I'm referring directly to what occurred in that video, and that just isn't cricket.

[minestrone]

Link? I'm not saying the British don't make mistakes, I'm referring directly to what occurred in that video, and that just isn't cricket.

Would you put the shooting of 14 civilians in Derry as a mistake? And do not pass that off as history when the report is just about to be published.

That 'mistake' as you call it caused the troubles to escalate and they were queing up to joing the IRA after that.

I believe that the killing of Baha Mousa has been named when further british troops were killed as revenge.

[TimberWolf]

Would you put the shooting of 14 civilians in Derry as a mistake? And do not pass that off as history when the report is just about to be published.

That 'mistake' as you call it caused the troubles to escalate and they were queing up to joing the IRA after that.

I believe that the killing of Baha Mousa has been named when further british troops were killed as revenge.

I didn't call that a mistake, you lying twit. It is history, as is the bombing of Dresden. For the nth time I was speaking of the current conflict and circumstances shown in that video, not every conflict in history.

[gooddayall]

You're a loony. I'll repeat again, I don't believe our troops would have acted as the Americans did in that video. .

Because in Britain's soldiers come from high-morale , high-education families and go to war on their own will ? And not for some silly reason like having to enlist in the army to "make the ends meet" ? Most of them are probably princes or other royal family. Or perhaps because British soldiers are not trained killers but tourists who happen to be on helicopters as part of tourist tours ? Surely tourists won't just shoot at people ?

[Paddy]

You're a loony. I'll repeat again, I don't believe our troops would have acted as the Americans did in that video. They aren't as gung-ho. Feel free to rant on as many half baked issues you have with the highly professional British Army if you want though.

UK armed forces in Iraq have shot and killed Iraqi civilians, including an eight-year-old girl and a guest at a wedding celebration, in situations where there was no apparent threat to themselves or others, says a new report from Amnesty International.

Many cases of civilian killings by UK armed forces have not even been investigated. Investigations by the Royal Military Police (RMP) have been secretive, with families given little or no information about their progress. Amnesty International is calling for a civilian-led investigation into all killings by UK armed forces, with the findings made public.

"Far from being liberated, the people of Iraq continue to live in fear and insecurity," Amnesty International said.

http://www.amnesty.org/


Numerous killings by UK armed forces and armed groups. One such case is that of eight-year-old Hanan Saleh Matrud, reportedly shot by a soldier from B Company of the First Battalion of the King's Regiment in August 2003. An eyewitness disputes the UK army's claim that she may have been hit accidentally by a warning shot. He told Amnesty International that Hanan was killed when a soldier aimed and fired a shot at her from around 60 metres away.


In January this year Ghanem Kadhem Kati' a 22-year-old unarmed man, was reportedly shot in the back outside his front door while celebrating a family wedding. UK soldiers fired five shots at him from 50 yards away, An RMP investigation is ongoing, but relatives have not been informed about the procedures for claiming compensation.

Families are frequently given no information on how to lodge a compensation claim for the killing of their relatives. In some cases they are given wrong information, including that responsibility for compensation would rest with a new Iraqi government. The Area Claims Officer, to whom claims must be submitted, is situated in an area difficult to access for ordinary civilians (Basra airport) and there is little explanatory information provided on the claims process in English or in Arabic. As a result, people interviewed had little confidence in the compensation system.