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Sgt Alexander Blackman
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WhatJoeThinks
16-12-2016
Originally Posted by GusGus:
“A couple of Paras are to face trial in N Ireland over the shooting dead of an IRA man years ago
Soldiers are not social workers, they are trained to kill and nobody should be surprised if they do
Where will this end, any survivors of WW2 getting prosecuted. War is war, and people get killed. In Balckmans case this unarmed mans hew shot was a Taliban fighter, no innocent”

"War is war", as statements go, is rather meaningless. Yes, people get killed, but there are rules. Blackman was very obviously aware of those rules as he broke them. That makes him a war criminal.
stoatie
16-12-2016
Originally Posted by GusGus:
“Soldiers are not social workers, they are trained to kill and nobody should be surprised if they dot”

Rules of engagement, dude. They exist for a reason. That reason is to stop victory becoming massacre.
roverboy1965
16-12-2016
I bet a lot of his supporters would have a different attitude if the taliban released a video of one of their "soldiers" shooting a wounded British soldier laying on his back on the ground.

I remember the outrage when we saw the film of one of the Paris attackers walking up to an injured police officer laying on the ground on a Paris street and shooting him/her dead as they appeared to plead for their life.
blueblade
16-12-2016
Originally Posted by roverboy1965:
“I bet a lot of his supporters would have a different attitude if the taliban released a video of one of their "soldiers" shooting a wounded British soldier laying on his back on the ground.”

Excellent point !
phylo_roadking
16-12-2016
It doesn't matter a jot. What's at question here is not in any way the conduct of the Taliban in prosecuting THEIR war....it's the conduct of a sergeant in the British Army and how he fought "our" war. And like it or not, there is no reciprocity clause in the Hague Rules or Geneva Conventions.

The Taliban are not bound by ANY rules or laws or customs of war except what they choose to be - but OUR soldiers are. That may be an odd situation, but that's how the rules work. We have to police ourselves before we police others.
Keyser_Soze1
16-12-2016
Originally Posted by Galaxy266:
“This thread was started by DS Forum Member "Woodbush"

Nobody ever knew what happened to him, but it is believed he might be, sadly, no longer with us.

Woodbush, we miss you!”

What a shame.

I suppose if the family or friends of a person don't know they post on DS when they pass there is no way of anyone on here ever knowing just what happened.

Food for thought.

There are a few digital ghosts on DS - poor Wonkeydonkey being one that I remember.
WhatJoeThinks
16-12-2016
Originally Posted by phylo_roadking:
“It doesn't matter a jot. What's at question here is not in any way the conduct of the Taliban in prosecuting THEIR war....it's the conduct of a sergeant in the British Army and how he fought "our" war. And like it or not, there is no reciprocity clause in the Hague Rules or Geneva Conventions.

The Taliban are not bound by ANY rules or laws or customs of war except what they choose to be - but OUR soldiers are. That may be an odd situation, but that's how the rules work. We have to police ourselves before we police others.”

Well said.
stoatie
16-12-2016
Originally Posted by phylo_roadking:
“It doesn't matter a jot. What's at question here is not in any way the conduct of the Taliban in prosecuting THEIR war....it's the conduct of a sergeant in the British Army and how he fought "our" war. And like it or not, there is no reciprocity clause in the Hague Rules or Geneva Conventions.

The Taliban are not bound by ANY rules or laws or customs of war except what they choose to be - but OUR soldiers are. That may be an odd situation, but that's how the rules work. We have to police ourselves before we police others.”

^this^
blueblade
21-12-2016
Bail refused, I'm pleased to say.
What name??
21-12-2016
Good decision. He has got off very lightly with only a 10 year tariff for a cold blooded murder by a person in a position of power. It's pretty outrageous that they are even complaining about the sentence.
blueblade
21-12-2016
Originally Posted by What name??:
“Good decision. He has got off very lightly with only a 10 year tariff for a cold blooded murder by a person in a position of power. It's pretty outrageous that they are even complaining about the sentence.”

100% agreed.

As far as I an concerned it was self admitted, cold blooded murder of an individual powerless to defend himself.

Quote:
“"I've just broken the Geneva Convention.Obviously this goes no further, chaps" ”

No sympathy whatever.
dave666
21-12-2016
Proof our justice system is flawed he should have never been in prison to start with. A sad day for the UK
Aetius_Maralas
21-12-2016
Originally Posted by kippeh:
“...on camera.”

Whilst admitting that it's a war crime...
Sport1
21-12-2016
Originally Posted by dave666:
“Proof our justice system is flawed he should have never been in prison to start with. A sad day for the UK”

He was tried and convicted using evidence. He is appealing that, using the justice system, as is his right.

A good day for the UK.
Aetius_Maralas
21-12-2016
An amazing number of posters who claim to be knowledgable on military history here keep referring to the Royal Marines as being the British Army.

How odd...
grauniad
21-12-2016
If the appeal fails, he can always play the aspergers card.
lockes no 1 fan
21-12-2016
Great decision, I hope he loses his appeal
Princessxxxx
21-12-2016
Me and my parents are all for shoot to kill on site any terrorists.

I have not followed this story closely but did hear quite a bit about it onthe car radio and IMO, they courts need to applauded for not letting out this bloke.

Our armed forces have a dngorous jib, but no reason not to follow the rules. Our troops have a good reputation on the back of the people of the uk and I want this to remain. This is waht makes us diffrent to those in other countries
anne_666
21-12-2016
Originally Posted by dave666:
“Proof our justice system is flawed he should have never been in prison to start with. A sad day for the UK”

Proof our justice system works very well indeed. He's a murderer.
Would you feel the same if one of our Marines had been murdered by a terrorist in the same way?
MAW
21-12-2016
Originally Posted by Aetius_Maralas:
“An amazing number of posters who claim to be knowledgable on military history here keep referring to the Royal Marines as being the British Army.

How odd...”

I was about to say the same, though I daresay the Royal Marines would prefer he wasn't.
DomJolly
21-12-2016
He did the crime and should do the time
MAW
21-12-2016
Originally Posted by DomJolly:
“He did the crime and should do the time”

There isn't really another way of putting it, is there.
duckymallard
21-12-2016
As a general rule, I am not in favour of these "witch hunt" type prosecutions of soldiers doing the job they're paid to do.

However - in this case the guy clearly went beyond the rules of engagement and shot a wounded combatant. He filmed himself doing it and also admitted it was a crime to his mates on the film.

What the f*ck he's appealing against is beyond me.
Ironwithin
21-12-2016
He was just unlucky he was caught. Shame he did not get a shorter sentence, but I guess they want to make an example of him.
tiacat
21-12-2016
He's got a nerve to appeal but that is his right as we have clear rules and rights in place under UK legislation, the same type of rules that he was to follow as a soldier and that he broke.

The Daily Mail again sickens me with its portrayal of this person as some sort of hero/martyr.
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