UK troops & Taliban being treated in the same hospital

[skeggysteve]

BBC news have just done a bit about this.

They, the BBC, claim they have been contacted by UK troops complaining about Taliban being treated in the same hospital as they are.

I know that the BBC, and other media, 'make' news but if this is true I am very concerned - but I like the thoughts of the troops on here.

My only knowledge of war is MASH so I just thought it was normal for war/field hospitals to treat every casuality in the same way - which BTW I agree with.

Over to you.

[skip_1]

If it's the field hospital at Bagram/Kandahar then the British do this as a 'responsibility'. Old news.

[Deerfoot]

skip_1 said:

If it's the field hospital at Bagram/Kandahar then the British do this as a 'responsibility'. Old news.

It`s the field hospital at Bastion.

The guys understand the need to treat the Taliban (Geneva convention requirement etc). It`s the fact that they share the same wards that is getting on their goat.

[skip_1]

Deerfoot said:

skip_1 said:

If it's the field hospital at Bagram/Kandahar then the British do this as a 'responsibility'. Old news.

It`s the field hospital at Bastion.

The guys understand the need to treat the Taliban (Geneva convention requirement etc). It`s the fact that they share the same wards that is getting on their goat.

Tbf, I'd be pissed off too. Just thought it was old news, wonder why it's been dragged up?

Edited by skip_1 on Thursday 22 January 22:41

[spikeyhead]

I'd rather they focussed efforts on the fighting than building some extra wards

[skeggysteve]

Deerfoot said:

....It`s the fact that they share the same wards that is getting on their goat.

Can you expand on that.

They are all doing the same job, fighting for their country, or are the Taliban different?

But even if the Taliban are different why should we, as a civilised(sp) nation, not treat they as well as we treat our own?

Not wanting to start an argument but I feel it's just right to treat all human beings the same.

[mft]

It strikes me that treating the enemy combatants side by side takes things back to the fundamentals, to basic humanity, highlighting the utter futility of war. Rather like the legendary game of football played during WW1.

Wonder if that's why they're upset?

[bishbash]

spikeyhead said:

I'd rather they focussed efforts on the fighting than building some extra wards

I'd rather we had enough resources to do both

[skeggysteve]

mft said:

It strikes me that treating the enemy combatants side by side takes things back to the fundamentals, to basic humanity, highlighting the utter futility of war. Rather like the legendary game of football played during WW1.

Wonder if that's why they're upset?

Very good point and I agree with you " highlighting the utter futility of war".

[Graham]

BBC fishing for a NON story...

This has gone on since ww1, just get on with it. just because were at war is no excuse to suspend humanity.

besides how are you going to waterboard them if you dont fix them up first...

[Hedders]

Why don't we bung the Taliban wounded in NHS wards back in Blighty. Kill two birds with one stone, as it were.

[Snake the Sniper]

Winston Churchill said:

A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.

Maybe a little old fashioned, but going out on patrol and then coming back to the hospital to find the enemy getting treated next to your mate must be difficult to sort out in your head.

[dwilkie]

It's one of the things we can hold up our hands about and say makes us better than them. I know the few squaddies I know well feel that way and I must say its a feeling I have in common with them.

[Police State]

skeggysteve said:

Deerfoot said:

....It`s the fact that they share the same wards that is getting on their goat.

Can you expand on that.

They are all doing the same job, fighting for their country, or are the Taliban different?

But even if the Taliban are different why should we, as a civilised(sp) nation, not treat they as well as we treat our own?

Not wanting to start an argument but I feel it's just right to treat all human beings the same.

If we were to treat 'our own' well, then should we not consider their feelings and sensibilities?

If I were a soldier who had his limbs blown off by 'the enemy' the last thing I would want to see in the next bed to me is 'the enemy'.

[dwilkie]

I hadn't noticed that bit - you would think they'd put them in seperate wards at least unless theirs were full.

Nobody understands higher command anyway though...

[Deerfoot]

skeggysteve said:

Can you expand on that.

They are all doing the same job, fighting for their country, or are the Taliban different?

The Taliban aren`t fighting for their country as such (it`s been accepted that many aren`t Afghans).
They also use children as suicide bombers and hide amongst civilians.

I wouldn`t expect everybody here to understand to be honest. I`d be pretty annoyed to wake up next to a member of the Taliban to be honest.

[dwilkie]

Deerfoot said:

skeggysteve said:

Can you expand on that.

They are all doing the same job, fighting for their country, or are the Taliban different?

The Taliban aren`t fighting for their country as such (it`s been accepted that many aren`t Afghans).
They also use children as suicide bombers and hide amongst civilians.

I wouldn`t expect everybody here to understand to be honest. I`d be pretty annoyed to wake up next to a member of the Taliban to be honest.

As would I - I wouldn't go so far as to say they shouldn't be treated though - it was our forces (well, the Americans technically) who coined the phrase War on Terror - if you want to call it a war, there's certain conventions that need adhered to.

That doesn't mean that they should be in the same wards though. But the same hospital would be unavoidable I expect.

[OJ]

Sounds like an incentive to do the job properly first time round

Hedders said:

Why don't we bung the Taliban wounded in NHS wards back in Blighty. Kill two birds with one stone, as it were.

Don't you mean kill one bird with two stones?

[The Londoner]

More interestingly, what happens to these Taliban when they have been treated? They are not going to be returned to the wild, so there must be some POW camps out there full of them. Never heard anything about that on the news!

[dwilkie]

They probably get shipped back to the states - that was why the US didn't ratify the most recent update to the Geneva Convention - it affords the same protection to guerillas as to all other forms of combatants which would mean they'd be entitled to protection under the Geneva Convention. They don't have to abide by those terms which means they can treat them how they like as they're under no protection from the convention. (I found this out whilst reading up on it for the Israel thread).