Soldiers may refuse to serve over legal threat

[mr blur]

"British soldiers will refuse to serve in Iraq if they face the threat of being prosecuted for war crimes, serving and former service personnel warned last night. A number of non-commissioned officers who spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity - they are forbidden from talking to the press by Queen's Regulations - said they had been disgusted to learn that more fellow soldiers face prison as a result of their actions in Iraq."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1532854,00.html

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. I'm disgusted to learn that the criminals don't want trials

Not really, it's predictable, of course. What disgusts me is that they don't seem to connect trials with the crimes that have been committed.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[Anarcho-Socialist]

2. Erm...

...I don't get it. It's like saying "I only want to go to Iraq if I get to brutally beat a civilian to death and not be done for it".

A quote from the article goes: "It's going to put all the other lads in a horrible position. Everyone is going to be scared to do anything. If they get fired upon, they are going to be scared to fire back."

I still don't get it. What do they mean by "scared to do anything". What has this got to do with war crimes? Are they suggesting that they can only do their job if they're allowed to pull-off the occasional war crime? It's a crock o' s**t for an excuse.

[non sociopath skin]

3. As usual, the right-wing gutter press is psyching them up

http://sundial.thesun.co.uk/section/0,,2,00.html

(WARNING: THIS IS A LINK TO THE SUN. BE PREPARED TO HOSE DOWN AND FUMIGATE YOUR COMPUTER AFTER READING.)

The Skin

[Anarcho-Socialist]

4. ...

:puke:

[mr blur]

5. Well, just because he's a "hero",

wouldn't stop him being a murderous bastard, would it? Unless you live in Sunland, or Expressland, of course.

[Briar]

6. Pity they don't want to go to Iraq because the war is illegal n/t

[LeftishBrit]

7. Well...

I do suspect that some soldiers are being punished for things that they were told/encouraged to do by their superiors, and the said superiors are getting away scot-free.

But I think that the sort of people, who won't join the Army because they're scared of being punished if they break the law, are not the sort of people one wants in the Army anyway! Would you expect *any* employer to encourage applications from people who only want the job if they can be assured that they won't face prosecution if they commit crimes when on duty? If the Army are encouraging such an attitude, then there's something wrong at the top!