Marine killer deserves clemency

Maj Gen Julian Thompson, who led 3 Commando Brigade during the Falklands War, said a five-year or 10-year term would be more appropriate than life.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the shooting of the Afghan insurgent in Helmand Province was "totally wrong, totally unforgiveable" and it was "quite right" that Marine A would be sentenced.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24877081

Hard one to judge this i think ,is a life sentence appropriate or is the Maj Gen right in that he deserves clemency

rules of engagement are there to be followed and as a experienced sergeant he does not really have any excuse. However I think the rules of engagement are to tight and often tie our soldiers hands when they should be able to attack

[adzii_nufc]

I think he's unfortunate. No one has done anything about SAS commandos that have been doing this for years. Iranian embassy is a good example.

Rules of engagement shouldn't apply outright in a situation in Afghanistan. I completely disagree with helping an injured insurgent whom will likely attempt to kill you at any given moment. The taliban and afghan insurgents alike are constantly beheading innocents. A quick bullet death is more than they deserve. The law is the law though. My opinion means nothing when faced against it.

He'll be made an example of.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by martyh

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24877081

Hard one to judge this i think ,is a life sentence appropriate or is the Maj Gen right in that he deserves clemency

I feel he should not have been charged in the first place, the Taliban would have done it to him if the tables were turned. If it had been me there instead of him i would have done the same as him. I have no time for the likes of the Taliban who cut the heads off people just for the fun of it with a kitchen knife. They should all be shot and no quarter given ever.

Originally Posted by adzii_nufc

I think he's unfortunate. No one has done anything about SAS commandos that have been doing this for years. Iranian embassy is a good example.

Rules of engagement shouldn't apply outright in a situation in Afghanistan. I completely disagree with helping an injured insurgent whom will likely attempt to kill you at any given moment. The taliban and afghan insurgents alike are constantly beheading innocents. A quick bullet death is more than they deserve. The law is the law though. My opinion means nothing when faced against it.

He'll be made an example of.

That's the trouble ,as much as i might agree that the insurgents need a bullet in the head we cannot pick and choose which rules to obey ,after all we helped make them .We can however choose the punishment and i can't in all honesty think that this soldier should be treated the same as a scumbag who kills a old lady for her handbag or murders a child

[adzii_nufc]

That's just the way this country is though. Send a lad packing to Afghanistan and then arrest him when he does his job.

A few thousand miles away some American is bombing an old pakistani lady's house with a predator missile on the basis there's a terrorist close by. Nobody in the US cares.

I can already see a scenario coming in which helpless British troops are killed by an insurgent playing possum because of this.

Originally Posted by Sirius

I feel he should not have been charged in the first place, the Taliban would have done it to him if the tables were turned. If it had been me there instead of him i would have done the same as him. I have no time for the likes of the Taliban who cut the heads off people just for the fun of it. They should all be shot and no quarter given

I think that should be part of the debate ,should the Geneva convention apply when one of the opposing forces has never signed it or agreed to use it? .

[Taf]

It's a game of ethics in modern warfare.

We must show we have higher standards than the enemy, Geneva Convention and all that, even if the enemy does not adhere to the Rules of War.

However hard it may seem at the time.

Originally Posted by Taf

It's a game of ethics in modern warfare.

We must show we have higher standards than the enemy, Geneva Convention and all that, even if the enemy does not adhere to the Rules of War.

However hard it may seem at the time.

Must admit when i joined up it was heavily taught

Originally Posted by adzii_nufc

That's just the way this country is though. Send a lad packing to Afghanistan and then arrest him when he does his job.

A few thousand miles away some American is bombing an old pakistani lady's house with a predator missile on the basis there's a terrorist close by. Nobody in the US cares.

I can already see a scenario coming in which helpless British troops are killed by an insurgent playing possum because of this.

He was not just a lad though he was an experienced officer(NCO)

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by martyh

Must admit when i joined up it was heavily taught

Same as when i was in, however i still support the guy 100%.

Military commentator Colonel Mike Dewar said he was "horrified" by Marine A's actions but echoed calls for clemency, saying society had to make "exceptions for soldiers in extraordinary circumstances".

"These soldiers have had their officer killed - their platoon commander, a very fine young man - they had seen their friends brutalised, lost legs, they had been under the pressures of battle for weeks and months," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24877081

And i say again in the same circumstances i would have done the same as him. Its what the Taliban deserve.

[adzii_nufc]

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit

He was not just a lad though he was an experienced officer(NCO)

In the face of uncertainty everyone has the same mindset whether you be a child or an old man. Experience goes bang out of the window. Years of training and discipline disappear when you're stood atop of the man that just fired upon you.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit

He was not just a lad though he was an experienced officer(NCO)

If you had been under fire you would know it affects everyone not just young lads

---------- Post added at 16:55 ---------- Previous post was at 16:55 ----------

Originally Posted by adzii_nufc

In the face of uncertainty everyone has the same mindset whether you be a child or an old man. Experience goes bang out of the window. Years of training and discipline disappear when you're stood atop of the man that just fired upon you.

When the red mist hits there is no control what so ever.

Originally Posted by Sirius

If you had been under fire you would know it affects everyone not just young lads

---------- Post added at 16:55 ---------- Previous post was at 16:55 ----------





When the red mist hits there is no control what so ever.

I have said I do not agree with the rules of engagement

Originally Posted by Sirius

If you had been under fire you would know it affects everyone not just young lads
.

The general makes a good point in that just because the soldier was "battle hardened" he is not immune to the effects of such a "filthy" war,indeed his(the soldiers) experience can make it worse