Gale's View- Armed Forces
Posted by Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet, at 16:57, Fri 22 November 2013:
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I have lost young constituents who gave their lives serving our Country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their sacrifice was, of course, remembered a week ago as it is annually, but the pain of their loss remains with their families today and will do so forever. Even today war, in all of its terrible forms, can come very close to home here in North Thanet/ Herne Bay.
That prompts me to raise, locally, the national issue of "Marine A" who, on active duty in Afghanistan, shot and murdered a wounded and probably dying terrorist in clear breach of the Geneva Convention. Nothing can, or should, be allowed to detract from the seriousness of the war crime that this young man has committed and of which he has been found guilty. He has brought shame upon himself, his family and of a proud, brave and dedicated unit.
To what punishment Marine A should be subjected does, though, beg a much larger question for which we all, and particularly those of us in parliament who have sent young men and women into battle, bear a heavy burden of responsibility.
It is facile for those of us sitting comfortably at home to try to compare battlefield action with the crimes that we read about and sometimes witness on the streets at home. I have, on a couple of occasions, as a Member of Parliament found myself caught up in moderately precarious incidents but I cannot even begin to comprehend and certainly would not have the courage to share, the fear that must come with walking out on a patrol in hostile territory not knowing how many of my comrades might sit down to supper that night and how many might be blown to kingdom come by an improvised explosive device.
Factor in, then, the barbarity with which your enemy has mutilated and butchered the bodies of some of those who have gone before and then hung dismembered limbs in trees as a warning to those who follow after them and we can perhaps begin to see the line that is drawn between terror on the one hand and retaliatory savagery on the other.
That can be no excuse of course for murder but just before the Head of the Army demands an exemplary sentence he might pause to consider the advice of other Commanders who have served in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan and who do not believe that in the case of Marine A metaphorical crucifixion is warranted.
We are, I fear, moving towards a situation in which, faced with Article Two of the Convention on Human Rights ( The Right to Life) our officers and NCOs will think twice before taking the split-second decisions that may make the difference between the lives and deaths of our own serving men and women. And just before we get too sanctimonious about all of this and allow the lawyers to take over a command for which they are patently not qualified, are we going to see the US marines who "took out" an apparently cowering and unarmed Bin Laden or those who, within our own Government and Ministry of Defence, acquiesce in the use of drone aircraft to execute terrorist leaders in Pakistan, or a British Prime Minister who embarked upon a war that, on the basis of spurious 'evidence' led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, placed on trial? I think not.
There cannot be one law for Governments and another for individuals, can there? My personal hope is that Marine A, whose career has already ended in disgrace, will not be made a scapegoat to allow others who are, perhaps still more culpable, to claim that “justice has been done ".
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Posted by Bernadette Mutton, 19:48, Fri 22 November 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
I agree entirely , with Mr Gales sentiments . Bernadette Mutton
Posted by William Wilson, 19:51, Fri 22 November 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
On the button. I served with the Queens regiment from 1967 to 1976.Was posted to Londonderry Northern Ireland in 1969 as a young private soldier at the outbreak of "the troubles" I completed five operational tours mainly in Belfast at times with the great responsibility of young soldiers under me as an NCO. I AM NOW 63 but the provocation and stress still haunts me . We saw thing which stay with us always but which we in the main don't speak about because civilians are not able to comprehend. There but for the grace of god .
Posted by Garth McLeod, 20:52, Fri 22 November 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
Let those who are throwing the stones, if they are brave enough, put on army uniforms and head out to fight for their country and if, on their return, they wish to continue with this rediculous persuit of putting our brave soldiers in prison for actions which cannot be avoided in war, then so be it. However, for those who have never been to war, have never been in a police or miliary uniform and have never had the courage to stand up in places of extreme danger to protect their families, friends and country, they should remain silent.
Posted by P.S. Stephenson, 15:09, Sun 24 November 2013: (Is this post abusive?) #
He was wrong to do what he did. He has been living with his comrades in a war zone, under pressures it would be wrong of him to show. He has the knowledge that anyone could be a terrorist, could come back and kill or maim him or his comrades, this un-armed man could be one such. Soldiers are trained killers, by definition. It is a difficult subject. He certainly shouldn't be a scapegoat. His sentence must not make others' hesitate to shoot, to achieve this country's aim, nor his or his comrades safety, that would be a war crime. My son has served as a soldier in a war zone. They are a team, each relying on the other, senior officers, politicians and us to keep them safe as possible and supported. Hesitation could cost lives, like pressures. Punish him with these things in mind. All that talk on those tapes may have been covering up pressures we cannot know.