British troops in Iraq are afraid to open fire, secret MoD report confirms

[ECH1969]

British troops in Iraq "lack the confidence to open fire" because of a "fear of prosecution", says a confidential Ministry of Defence (MoD) report seen by The Sunday Telegraph.

It confirms that soldiers believe that if they shoot dead insurgents they will become embroiled in a "protracted investigation" and if prosecuted will receive "no support from the chain of command".

The study into soldiers' confidence is understood to have been ordered by senior officers because of a growing belief that the fear of prosecution could result in a soldier being killed because he was too scared to open fire.

The report follows persistent denials by the MoD of claims made by senior officers to this newspaper that soldiers were becoming "over cautious" because they feared investigation and prosecution.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/30/nirq30.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/04/30/ixnewstop.html

[babylonsister]

1. I don't even know what to think about that. Can't they just do their

job w/o committing atrocities, and be vindicated?

[lovuian]

2. This is what the Bush command has done broken trust...

You can't order your troops to torture and then say oh I never said that send them to prison...

Trust is broken... never to be restored
It happened in Vietnam and this is a replay...

[lostexpectation]

3. oh the poor laddies, why don't we let them let rip

damn us antiwar people for threatening the lives of our soldiers, WE really shouldn't have sent them there.

[ConcernedCanuk]

4. well, shouldn't have invaded a defenseless country then

.
.
.

:nopity:

[necso]

5. On an entirely different note:

(It's somewhere timely to place this.)

With all due respect for the indomitable courage and professional excellence of the British Armed Forces, if I was looking at things from the perspective of the American armed forces in Iraq, I would be gravely concerned about the Brits critical location on the line-of-supply. (Which "line" can be used for other purposes.)

If we bomb Iran, the Brits could end up in big trouble -- in a big hurry.

...

No disrespect intended, so here:

"Men of Harlech, stop your dreaming,
Can't you see their spear points gleaming.
See their warrior pennants streaming,
To this battlefield.

Men of Harlech, stand ye steady.
It cannot be ever said ye,
For the battle were not ready.
Welsh men never yield!

..."