Alexander Blackman - Marine A case

[GTI]

It looks like the British soldier, Alexander Blackman will be freed soon. As a recap he was accused of the murder of an unarmed, injured Taliban fighter whose legal status at that time would have been 'Prisoner of War'. The video below clearly shows Blackman knew that he had just committed a crime when he asked his colleagues to keep it to themselves.



Would be interested to know people's thoughts on whether you think he should have had his original sentence significantly reduced, or not? There aren't many people who will shed a tear for a dead Taliban soldier, however there are those (me included) who do think that soldiers who commit extrajudicial killings are obviously doing wrong. Their actions bring shame to the army and potentially put other soldiers in harms way. We have to hold ourselves to much higher standard than the enemy otherwise we have no moral high ground whatsoever, and in that sense are no better than mercenary cunts from US firm 'Blackwater'.

What prompted me to post this was watching the cheering, jubilation and popping of champagne corks after the ruling by his supporters. This wasn't some grave miscarriage of justice, it was a marginal ruling by judges who still uphold that what he did was wrong.

The sentencing remarks, however, make it clear that the judges did not absolve him of all responsibility.“This was a deliberate killing of a wounded man,” the judges said. “Although the appellant’s responsibility is diminished … he still retained a substantial responsibility for the deliberate killing.”

They said aggravating factors included “the effect of the appellant’s actions on the reputation and safety of HM armed forces”. The judges continued: “There can be no doubt that the way in which the appellant acted, knowingly in contravention of the Geneva conventions … has had a material adverse effect on the views many hold about the conduct of HM armed forces.

“The appellant’s actions can be used by the insurgency and others as evidence that the killing … was in breach of the values proclaimed for which the international security force and HM armed forces had been sent to Afghanistan.”
The judges also flagged up the “vulnerability of the insurgent”, the decision by Blackman to make sure the killing was not witnessed by a British helicopter that had been circling and the attempt to cover up what had happened.
Source

[jw_2000_uk]

I find it mind blowing that anyone could say he deserves to stay in jail.

The rules our's and other service men are goverend by, should only be followed to the letter, if the opposition abide by the same.

My old man served against the IRA. And the the rules he had to abide by were so 1 sided. But they were stuck to 100% by him personally

I.e. 3 warnings of "drop your weapon" had to be issued, before any resistance was allowed.. within the warnings, bullets would inevitably be coming towards you.

[piggzy]

The cowardly Tony Blair should be serving more time than anybody else. This war should not have happened in the first place.

[CzarJunkie]

This is a difficult one. On the one hand I think he should be free, especially as he's already served a considerable amount of time in prison. However, I'm also in agreement that we should hold ourselves to a higher moral standard than those we are opposing, otherwise war is entirely futile. Especially against such ideologs. Having said that, I also think it could be argued that holding an individual squaddie accountable for such actions is somewhat unfair. When old men send young men to war, surely they should bear some responsibility?

[DavidF]

I gave the no opinion because of this. I think what goes on in the battle field should bloody well stay in the battlefield. I didn't hear anybody offering to treat the pow...so he was therefore going to bleed to death or die of his injuries somehow ?
What would his captor have done to him ? I think we know the answer....He would have been on youtube or whatever within hours.
Was what he did wrong ? Fuck yeah of course it was wrong legally and morally.
I attach a lot of "blame" on his comrades. The men who had his back to the death......They were/are almost as guilty as he who pulled the trigger. The snake who filmed and the leaked this caused many families extra heartache when their simply was no need.
My views about where the "line" is are as long as it isnt institutional nor common place then it should be remarked as such.....It should stay of the battlefield imho.
Also as Czar hints at...these guys are not born to kill.....they are broken and trained to do this and then sent to follow orders for better or worse.

[jw_2000_uk]

The men who had his back to the death......They were/are almost as guilty as he who pulled the trigger. The snake who filmed and the leaked this caused many families extra heartache

It wasn't a "snake" who filmed it, they have head cams attached not by choice, in this instance it didnt help them :/

Also, it came to light, when the laptop containing this footage was ceased by police for a different issue

[GTI]

I would have had far more respect for Blackman had he admitted he did wrong, did the time (sentenced to 8 years and only had 4 left) and then come out a free man.

Instead of allowing the Daily Shit to whip up a campaign of jingoism to get a 'brave boy' out, using the diminished responsibility/temporary insanity defence. Its an insult to every professional soldier who do the right thing in far worse conditions without becoming murderers. British soldiers are far better regarded in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, compared to their American counterparts because they are seen as being more fair and principled. Thats a damn good reputation to have.

Once again what prompted my thoughts were the displays of jubilation by the defence and all their supporters, it was completely inappropriate in my opinion.

[mij]

In the heat of the moment in war I think rules are laughable and ridiculous. If somebody is trying to kill me or mine then anything goes, and if one of mine is dead it will probably get a whole lot worse if possible for the enemy.

If the people in charge don't like it then don't start it.

[CallmeGoose]

If you think the modern day rules are fucking harsh.....take a trip back in time

https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...20War&amp=true

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk