http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ine-murdered-Taliban-fighter-jailed-life.html ****ing disgraceful, life imprisonment. We should be supporting our armed forces not this self flaggellation.
No way in hell he shoulda been named either. People sitting all comfy in the UK making judgements and casting views on guys like him just make me angry. I don't defend what he did, but life imprisonment, no, naming him no.
I would have thought naming him was tantamount to murder in itself. I hope the judge who ordered it can sleep on a night. - Actually, I hope he can't.
Now this is something there should be a petition about. He should never have got life,the judge didn't allow for any extenuating circumstances. This guy had just seen his comrades killed & some of them cut up into pieces. He had just been in action risking his own life. Bloody disgraceful.
I wouldn't normally respond to this, but he's got what he deserved. Even the helmet cam video evidence he acknowledged he'd broken the Geneva convention. It was a cowardly act, he's brought shame on the British Army. Couldn't give a **** if he's been named, or his life sentence. There isn't a defence for what he did.
I'd almost agree with you, but it was in the stress of battle and 'our guys' have seen their mates maimed/blown to bits. The real criminals are the suits who, from the comfort of their desks and ministerial cars, send the poor ****ers out there to kill or be killed.
I agree totally with this - its a tragedy for him and his family (and for the guy he killed lets not forget) I wouldnt begin to underestimate the impact on him of what he'd been through, but as the judge pointed out he was not alone in that and many other soldiers have faced the pressure and not responded in the same despicable way.
Why do we punish our own people for doing what the enemy are doing to us all the time. How many innocent people do they kill for no reason, and non of them get punished. We should praise him so they get the message that we will treat them like they treat us.
It's ****ing war. How is it breaking code to shoot an enemy soldier. It's ludicrous. The evil **** had already been wounded, the soldier put the twat out of his misery if anything. I was disgusted when I saw the sentence he got and again when he was named. We just don't look after our own at all, see the way we just palm off wounded soldiers once they've no use to the force. It's disgraceful.
A petition on this verdict must be started. Anyone who's seen body parts of your comrades, flaunted as souvenirs has every right to act against it. This man was put there by people to do a killing job in the name of his Country. The other way around they would have videoed his beheading, a has been the case in the past. When fighting cowards use all means at your disposal ! In a similar position, how would we react ? Start a petition now.
I'd have strung him up like a ripe turkey and dragged him back to camp where I'd bury him up to his neck in sand and use his head as a pissing post until he starved to death. Might take a dump on him too.
Whilst I can see your point, I think the defence is that it was a totally evil bastard who he killed. I know legally that counts for nothing so fair enough but I really can't bring myself to dislike someone for killing a member of the Taliban. There's few worse people on Earth than those bastards.
Jesus, just imagine how full our prisons would be (and even more so the USA's - think of Vietnam) if this 'justice' were applied across the board.
I find the whole notion of having "rules" in a war to be ridiculous. Especially given that it's not even a nation who we're fighting. But, having read the article, I think this is fair. As the judge pointed out, this act was more significant than just a member of the Taliban being killed. Added to that, he knew what the law was and he knew he'd broken it, so he got what he deserved.
He was made an example of by the top brass - the image of the Armed Forces - particularly the Royal Marines - was brought into serious disrepute. This is just one in a series of events in Afghanistan and Iraq where servicemen have disgraced the ethos of their respective services. There is no realistic alternative for the MoD but to take severe action. We lose all moral authority in the war - remember, this is a counterinsurgency, not a conventional war - if we don't punish criminal behaviour. Our lads aren't a rag tag paramilitary force, they have standards to uphold. I totally understand and empathise with the point of view that says this soldier was badly done to, but you don't have armies just to employ people and you don't fight wars for fun - there is strategy to consider, and you will fail to stabilise Afghanistan if you give the impression that coalition forces are beyond reproach. Simple as that.
What an absolute total idiot, put your ****ing rule book away! So it's ok for the Taliban to do whatever they like, behead people, stone them to death, rape, pillage, but if one of ours breaks 'the rules' then let's not only give him a life sentence but also put his life, and the lives of his family members, at risk of death by naming him. I suppose you also agree that it's only right that the killers of Lee Rigby should plead 'not guilty' as they were 'soldiers' doing their job, when in actual fact they were simply cowards that even felt the need to mow the poor bloke down with there car first to disable him before hacking his head off! You are a complete tool and need a ****ing reality check!
I haven't seen anyone say the Taliban's tactics are 'ok'. But they are an insurgency using Enfield rifles and IEDs against a highly sophisticated multi-national military machine. They press their advantage where they can and they'd be stupid not to. Also, it's worth considering that in throwing the book at Blackman the MoD might be preventing some revenge attacks against the troops still out there.
I don't think I've said any of that is ok, have I? What I've said is, I agreed with the judge in his reasons for this sentence. Acts like this make the British Forces appear no better than the Taliban, which is clearly not the case, and damage British Forces reputation across that part of the world, if anything making it more dangerous for the troops currently serving there. I'm not sure how this is relevant, but of course I don't agree with that. They killed a defenceless man in cold blood. If anything, your defence of Blackman's actions would suggest you agreed with it more than I did.
