Reply to: Marine A gets out in 2 weeks

[Lost It]

If they were in a coherent group, we could quite easily deal with them.

But as it is, they could be anyone. And that kind of thing you have no chance of setting up protection against them.

No badges of rank to show who they are, no body cams, they are free to do whatever they want. It's a different world.

And many people in democracy's have no idea...

[SueEllen]

Very true.

I wonder if IS, Al Qaeda, etc. would exchange a withdrawl of all Western troops from countries like Syria, Afghanistan, etc. for all their sleepers, etc. fecking off back to country of choice/origin?

Or is there no clear solution (while the US want to prop up the dollar!)

Nope you can't negotiate with those individuals.. If they were a coherent group there would be a chance.

[LondonManc]

Justice has to be seen to be done.

Having the sentence reduced to manslaughter follows what the Israelis charge their soldiers with, who get caught on camera/ seen by the right witnesses, when they shoot and kill Palestinians.

In the case of the UK armed forces it means they can still look good in comparison to countries like the US, to other nations whose conflicts we intervene or have intervened with.

Very true.

I wonder if IS, Al Qaeda, etc. would exchange a withdrawl of all Western troops from countries like Syria, Afghanistan, etc. for all their sleepers, etc. fecking off back to country of choice/origin?

Or is there no clear solution (while the US want to prop up the dollar!)

[SueEllen]

That's in your opinion. Have you ever served?

I've not but I've got two close friends who have. This is a stitch up of the highest order.

Justice has to be seen to be done.

Having the sentence reduced to manslaughter follows what the Israelis charge their soldiers with, who get caught on camera/ seen by the right witnesses, when they shoot and kill Palestinians.

In the case of the UK armed forces it means they can still look good in comparison to countries like the US, to other nations whose conflicts we intervene or have intervened with.

[shaunbhoy]

Secondly, I'm not taking offence or feeling emotionally vulnerable to those who are challenging my views..

Maybe not yet, but how will it affect you when you are forced to leave the sanctity of your "safe place"?

[shaunbhoy]

That is not an opinion. A simple recorded non-alternative fact.

God, I'd imagine you would have quite the spectacular view way up there on the moral high ground on the back of your high horse, as you gently hum a few bars of Koom-bay-ah!.....if your head were not so far into the clouds.

People like Marine A voluntarily risk life and limb to provide us with the very safety blanket that allows you to pontificate so glibly about morals.
He will have been in stressful predicaments and facing dangers that most of us cannot even begin to comprehend.
Not that such factors will have been weighed up as you pompously condemn him out of hand.

We even had one clown on earlier attempting to wax lyrical about how HE would have handled the situation on the basis that he had once disturbed a burglar FFS!! As if that somehow endows him with Chuck Norris-like combat qualities.

If, under that pressure, he makes the odd poor judgment call, then I for one am prepared to cut him some slack.

Had this injured Jihadi been allowed to escape, who is to say that following a spell of recuperation he would not have been more than happy to suicidally drive a truck bomb into a crowded marketplace killing hundreds of men, women, and children?

That is the calibre of enemy our troops were facing, and may explain why they did not display the same moral perspective as some pompous, tree-hugging, latte-supping, Notting Hill armchair warriors.

But no doubt that would have been acceptable collateral damage, as it would have been something that you need not have had to put your Guardian down to piously dismember.

[LondonManc]

Did he break the law and GC or he did not? There is no place for interpretation in this one – it is as simple as it can be. For every action, there is consequence. And you either follow law or you don’t.
P.S.
I do not recall any International court rulings about genocide in Syria.

The genocide in Syria (and Sgt Blackman for that matter) shouldn't be sorted out until Tony B. Liar has stood trial.

[AndrewK]

Who's keeping score?

Bible says an eye for an eye. Not that I'm in any way religious, but I also know it says lots about other moral things as well. As does the Kuran.

No, it doesn't make it right. But unless you have been in his shoes, or in a similar situation how can you possibly judge his thought processes?

He didn't say "Ok I'm going to break the GC" he mentioned it afterwards.

People tend to think about their actions after the event. It's a Human failing.

Comparing what he did to someone who (allegedly) commits genocide, or a religion that kills you for saying no?

I think you are way off the mark. Try comparing what he did to someone who mows down a pedestrian whilst sending a text message at the wheel. I'd suggest that's a closer approximation. Both people would regret their actions after the event. Both might not conceive that their actions were unlawful before they did it.

But both are against the law. Your death by text driver might get 4 years. And claim manslaughter. There's no consistancy. The other person is still dead and there's no cure for that.

Did he break the law and GC or he did not? There is no place for interpretation in this one – it is as simple as it can be. For every action, there is consequence. And you either follow law or you don’t.
P.S.
I do not recall any International court rulings about genocide in Syria.

[AndrewK]

That's in your opinion. Have you ever served?

I've not but I've got two close friends who have. This is a stitch up of the highest order.

That is not an opinion. A simple recorded non-alternative fact.

[Lost It]

Who's keeping score?

Bible says an eye for an eye. Not that I'm in any way religious, but I also know it says lots about other moral things as well. As does the Kuran.

No, it doesn't make it right. But unless you have been in his shoes, or in a similar situation how can you possibly judge his thought processes?

He didn't say "Ok I'm going to break the GC" before he shot the terrorist, he mentioned it afterwards.

People tend to think about their actions after the event. It's a Human failing.

Comparing what he did to someone who (allegedly) commits genocide, or a religion that kills you for saying no?

I think you are way off the mark. Try comparing what he did to someone who mows down a pedestrian whilst sending a text message at the wheel. I'd suggest that's a closer approximation. Both people would regret their actions after the event. Both might not conceive that their actions were unlawful before they did it.

But both are against the law. Your death by text driver might get 4 years. And claim manslaughter. There's no consistancy. The other person is still dead and there's no cure for that.

[LondonManc]

So British army invades Afghanistan.
British solider in cold blood kills "enemy" and acknowledges that he broken Geneva convention. Looks like he had enough mental capacity to understand that.
And you think that’s OK? Good. How that’s different from Assad or ISIS tactics?

That's in your opinion. Have you ever served?

I've not but I've got two close friends who have. This is a stitch up of the highest order.

[AndrewK]

So British army invades Afghanistan.
British solider in cold blood kills "enemy" and acknowledges that he broken Geneva convention. Looks like he had enough mental capacity to understand that.
And you think that’s OK? Good. How that’s different from Assad or ISIS tactics?

[SueEllen]

Stupid question... Have the Taliban signed the Geneva Convention?

You don't sign the convention just by living in certain countries you are subject to it.

[Lost It]

Stupid question... Have the Taliban signed the Geneva Convention?

[quackhandle]

He did, his mate didn't.

Admitting his guilt didn't really help his case.

Smashing all cameras and shouting "he's shot all our cameras, he must be armed" then slotting the Taliban, just might have worked, but then I've not been in that situation before, nor am I a Royal Marine.

qh