"I've just broken the Geneva convention"

"I've just broken the Geneva convention"

Author
Discussion

Fittster

20,120 posts

214 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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Out of interest can helmet cameras be switched off?

Seems really stupid to do some illegal and film yourself in the act.

tom2019

770 posts

196 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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HoHoHo said:
We are civilised and treat human beings with respect.

They are not and don't.

And your point is?
I think the point is some dont deserve respect.

HoHoHo

14,988 posts

251 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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tom2019 said:
HoHoHo said:
We are civilised and treat human beings with respect.

They are not and don't.

And your point is?
I think the point is some dont deserve respect.
In which case we would be as bad as they are.

If you wish to live in a society with that mindset that's fine.

I would suggest most wouldn't, and I for one am happy with the latter.

Jasandjules

69,960 posts

230 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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Tragic.

blueg33

36,043 posts

225 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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tom2019 said:
HoHoHo said:
We are civilised and treat human beings with respect.

They are not and don't.

And your point is?
I think the point is some dont deserve respect.
So who judges which individual deserves respect? For all anyone knows that particular insurgent was only fighting because his family are under threat, and if he saw a wounded British soldier he might just apply some first aid and then go. Would that mean he still deserves to be executed?




anonymous-user

55 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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tom2019 said:
Why should only one side play by the rules?
It's the rules we are fighting for. So if we break them why bother?

tom2019

770 posts

196 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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blueg33 said:
So who judges which individual deserves respect? For all anyone knows that particular insurgent was only fighting because his family are under threat, and if he saw a wounded British soldier he might just apply some first aid and then go. Would that mean he still deserves to be executed?
Its simple if you treat other people with respect then you deserve respect.

Hooli

32,278 posts

201 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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HoHoHo said:
odyssey2200 said:
If the roles had been reversed, would the insurgent have treated the soldier in accordance with the GC or would he have been executed on video for the brothers?
We are civilised and treat human beings with respect.

They are not and don't.

And your point is?
Human rights should be earnt, scum like the dead scum forfeit theirs by their actions. I support our soldiers actions totally.

Wills2

22,956 posts

176 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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What they did was wrong, no idea how I would have reacted or what I'd turn into after a spell of action and enemy contact. (probably would just have been in a ditch pissing my pants and crying like a baby) as I'm no hero. The whole thing saddens me, war is nasty and makes cold bloodied killers out of men.

We cannot expect to put our forces in these situations and not be ready for some of this stuff to happen, doesn't make it right just predictable.




anonymous-user

55 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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Hooli said:
I support our soldiers actions totally.
Which actions?

markcoznottz

7,155 posts

225 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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Probably happened all the time years ago, its technology again isn't it.

HoHoHo

14,988 posts

251 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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I believe ultimately it's about education.

You can't justify the cold blooded murder of another human being.

Our soldiers are there to help, not slaughter.

blueg33

36,043 posts

225 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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tom2019 said:
blueg33 said:
So who judges which individual deserves respect? For all anyone knows that particular insurgent was only fighting because his family are under threat, and if he saw a wounded British soldier he might just apply some first aid and then go. Would that mean he still deserves to be executed?
Its simple if you treat other people with respect then you deserve respect.
How do you know that the man who was murdered did not deserve respect? How are you in a position to make that judgement?

The answer is - that you are not in that position and neither were the marines in question, otherwise their defence would have been much more robust.

The Marines are not Judge, Jury and Executioner. Your supposition that the insurgent derserved to die means that you believe that you are in a position to to make that judgement.

I suggest that you are not in that position and neither were the marines, otherwise the court martial would have had a different outcome.

Edited by blueg33 on Friday 8th November 20:27

Mr Happy

5,698 posts

221 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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BBC News said:
In one conversation between Marine A and C about shooting the man, one serviceman is overheard asking "Anyone want to give first aid to this idiot?" before another replies loudly "Nope."

In another, Marine C was heard asking A if he should shoot the man in the head, but Marine A said that would be too "obvious".
Those are not the actions of someone acting in the heat of the moment. This enemy combatant was lying in a field after being hit by Apache gunfire, who knows what he was thinking - but to have three grunts come up, discuss if they should bother helping him then to all intents and purposes, execute him... I can see why the jury came to their decision.

The thing is, I'm no leftie either - I wholeheartedly support our Armed Forces, the vast, overwhelming majority of whom are doing a hard job in horrible circumstances that I couldn't even begin to imagine, but - as with everything, there are one or two bad ones, and going by everything that has been released so far, it sounds like the three of these were out for blood and this wounded Afghan was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

V8 Fettler

7,019 posts

133 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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Some bizarre concepts of warfare on this thread.

Moonhawk

10,730 posts

220 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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Mr Happy said:
Those are not the actions of someone acting in the heat of the moment. This enemy combatant was lying in a field after being hit by Apache gunfire, who knows what he was thinking - but to have three grunts come up, discuss if they should bother helping him then to all intents and purposes, execute him... I can see why the jury came to their decision.

The thing is, I'm no leftie either - I wholeheartedly support our Armed Forces, the vast, overwhelming majority of whom are doing a hard job in horrible circumstances that I couldn't even begin to imagine, but - as with everything, there are one or two bad ones, and going by everything that has been released so far, it sounds like the three of these were out for blood and this wounded Afghan was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I have to agree. Our armed forces have a certain mandate and I support our armed forces and respect the job they do, even if I dont agree with the political decisions behind the conflicts they are sent into.

However the mandate of our armed forces does not cover cold blooded murder of unarmed, injured, enemy combatants.

Regardless of whether you think the enemy combatant would have done the same in a similar situation. Regardless of whether you think they deserved it. Our armed forces are duty bound to abide by the geneva convention (the rules of which our nation helped to forge and which we have agreed to fully abide by).

tom2019

770 posts

196 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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blueg33 said:
How do you know that the man who was murdered did not deserve respect? How are you in a position to make that judgement?

The answer is - that you are not in that position and neither were the marines in question, otherwise their defence would have been much more robust.

The Marines are not Judge, Jury and Executioner. Your supposition that the insurgent derserved to die means that you believe that you are in a position to to make that judgement.

I suggest that you are not in that position and neither were the marines, otherwise the court martial would have had a different outcome.

Edited by blueg33 on Friday 8th November 20:27
They are part of an organisation that carry barbaric punishments to anyone who opposes them if they felt so strongly about respecting people they would have nothing to do with that organisation would they?

HoHoHo

14,988 posts

251 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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tom2019 said:
They are part of an organisation that carry barbaric punishments to anyone who opposes them if they felt so strongly about respecting people they would have nothing to do with that organisation would they?
As I said, it's about education.

That's why the Taliban shot the young girl treated in the UK earlier this year, they are frightened of education.

blueg33

36,043 posts

225 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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tom2019 said:
They are part of an organisation that carry barbaric punishments to anyone who opposes them if they felt so strongly about respecting people they would have nothing to do with that organisation would they?
I jsut don't think its ever quite that simple. They are part of an organisation that holds family members as hostages, that uses propaganda to encourage people to fight foreign invaders.

You cannot judge the character of one man based solely on the actions of his organisation.

Otherwise we could say that every policeman is a lying fraudster, every miner is a militant trade unionist who condones threatening company directors.

TBH you are pretty naieve if you think things are that black and white. Its precisely because they are not black and white that we have a process of trial.

Moominho

894 posts

141 months

Friday 8th November 2013
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When I first heard about this I thought it was a disgrace but looking at the actual detail of the case, I think it was the correct decision to prosecute.