British servicemen make BIG mistake posing with dead Taliban

Original post by felamaslen

PRSOM!

People who make a fuss over this but not over the abject barbaric violence which these people are trying to prevent, have simply lost the plot of what it means to be a decent human being.

This reminds me of the manufactured controversy when US marines pissed on dead Taliban fighters. As if they're the bad guys for defeating and "insulting" such human waste.

To the taliban and a large percentage of afghans, these soldiers are the bad guys because of stupid things like this and they share the exact same sentiment as you. So let's not sit here and pretend all of a sudden british forces can do no wrong.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 24

Observatory

20

This seems like a trumped up controversy. Who outside of the BBC, Guardian, or Lib Dems would really complain about that?

Unless there's some suggestion they were wrong to have killed people attacking their camp, celebrating having done that can't possibly be wrong.

Reply 25

Original post by Double Agent

Its too easy to attack these young men we've sent to kill or be killed and somehow feel we have any moral highground sat here in the cosy uk.

We didn't send anyone anywhere. The government sent them to a questionable war and the soldiers made the decision to fight in that war.

Reply 26

Original post by Dr Alcoholic

To the taliban and a large percentage of afghans, these soldiers are the bad guys because of stupid things like this and they share the exact same sentiment as you except. So let's not sit here and pretend all of a sudden british forces can do no wrong.

I don't think I ever did pretend that, it's just that I think the "wrong" of desecrating the corpse of an enslaver of human liberty as a way of winding down from the fight against their ideology, is dwarfed by the crime of the ideology itself.

Show me a story of coalition soldiers murdering civilians, and I will condemn that to the highest degree.

Reply 27

Double Agent

18

Original post by Dr Alcoholic

We didn't send anyone anywhere. The government sent them to a questionable war and the soldiers made the decision to fight in that war.

We elect people to make these decisions for us, and pay for it through taxes. I have no issue with the army being deployed, if you join the military thats part of your career plan. I do wish though people would support them rather than judge them for conduct etc.

Reply 28

Observatory

20

Original post by Dr Alcoholic

To the taliban and a large percentage of afghans, these soldiers are the bad guys because of stupid things like this and they share the exact same sentiment as you except. So let's not sit here and pretend all of a sudden british forces can do no wrong.

They're bad guys to the Taliban because they are preventing the violent establishment of an Islamic theocracy, which is the raison d'etre of the Taliban.

The only people who would be driven to violence by this photograph of British soldiers celebrating the death of someone who was killed trying to violently establish an Islamic theocracy are other supporters of violent Islamic theocracy.

The idea that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are being fought over a few minor humiliations and honest misunderstandings, rather than fundamental ideological differences, is utterly ludicrous. Yet it seems to underpin a lot of the anti-war thought.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 29

Original post by felamaslen

I don't think I ever did pretend that, it's just that I think the "wrong" of desecrating the corpse of an enslaver of human liberty as a way of winding down from the fight against their ideology, is dwarfed by the crime of the ideology itself.

Show me a story of coalition soldiers murdering civilians, and I will condemn that to the highest degree.

The point is they are supposed to be professional and conduct them self in such a manner, all this does is put the british forces into disrepute. Acts like this do nothing but fuel the flames and create more tension when they are supposedly trying to do the opposite.

Reply 30

Original post by Dr Alcoholic

The point is they are supposed to be professional and conduct them self in such a manner, all this does is put the british forces into disrepute. Acts like this do nothing but fuel the flames and create more tension when they are supposedly trying to do the opposite.

Right, it is fine to criticise them for being unprofessional, but I've heard people advocating that these people be barred from their jobs; somebody a few posts up claimed that these people have "become the monster" they were trying to fight. This kind of hyperbole is what I was aiming at.

Reply 31

Original post by Double Agent

We elect people to make these decisions for us, and pay for it through taxes. I have no issue with the army being deployed, if you join the military thats part of your career plan. I do wish though people would support them rather than judge them for conduct etc.

We didn't elect the govt knowing they'd start such a war. Certainly I don't agree with the conflicts that the uk has been engaged in, in the last decade or so. I can't support a war that I have serious questions about. I don't have anything against soldiers on a personal level, but they know what they are getting themselves into when they agree to fight in these wars. They also know what's expected of them in terms of conduct so if they do wrong arguably they should expect to be criticised.

Reply 32

DarkWhite

17

Original post by Old_Simon

Funny how the UK commits its forces to protracted and very bloody wars but does not want to be disturbed by the gory details. It is just a picture of a dead Terry. So what ?

I don't think the outcry is with seeing a dead body - it's with one our country's soldiers grinning and giving a thumbs up next to the casualty.

Reply 33

Original post by Observatory

The idea that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are being fought over a few minor humiliations and honest misunderstandings, rather than fundamental ideological differences, is utterly ludicrous. Yet it seems to underpin a lot of the anti-war thought.

I used to be totally anti-war, before I knew what the other side were fighting for. Many people seem to project their own values onto people who despise them. As if Mullah Omar cares about self-determination for the Afghan people, or any form of basic human rights at all, rather than wiping out the USA, the great Satan*. Anti-Americanism is fine as a little joke or snide comedy, but when applied seriously to the real world, it is a destructive ideology.

* Yes, this comes from Iran, I know.

Reply 34

Drewski

19

Original post by DarkWhite

I don't think the outcry is with seeing a dead body - it's with one our country's soldiers grinning and giving a thumbs up next to the casualty.

Technically, he's an airman, not a soldier.

And while I get the outrage that comes with it, let's have a bit of perspective. There's no desecration of the body. He's not doing anything to the body at all. He's merely striking a pose, no doubt heavily affected by adrenaline and relief after fighting a 5-6 hr firefight where 2 of his allies were killed and several of his colleagues wounded. An odd euphoria - one that virtually no-one on this site understands.

Reply 35

Original post by Observatory

They're bad guys to the Taliban because they are preventing the violent establishment of an Islamic theocracy, which is the raison d'etre of the Taliban.

The only people who would be driven to violence by this photograph of British soldiers celebrating the death of someone who was killed trying to violently establish an Islamic theocracy are other supporters of violent Islamic theocracy.

The idea that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are being fought over a few minor humiliations and honest misunderstandings, rather than fundamental ideological differences, is utterly ludicrous. Yet it seems to underpin a lot of the anti-war thought.

You really think the war in iraq and afghanistan is fought to get rid of ideology and not for the self interest of the elite of our country? You really think this isn't just another way the uk,us and nato are trying to find a nice stronghold in the middle east?

Half of these taliban fighters join simply because they are disenchanted with seeing all of their innocent friends and family being either killed or injured by isaf forces, the trouble the isaf forces bring to the area they are in. Half of these people claim it was better when it was just the taliban because at least then there was no war. The didn't agree with the taliban ideology but at least they could live in relative peace.

A large percentage of taliban footsoldiers are just local farmers and shepherds sick of seeing the sight of isaf forces occupying their land.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 36

Rascacielos

19

I think it completely lets down the integrity of the British armed forces.

Reply 37

Original post by felamaslen

Right, it is fine to criticise them for being unprofessional, but I've heard people advocating that these people be barred from their jobs; somebody a few posts up claimed that these people have "become the monster" they were trying to fight. This kind of hyperbole is what I was aiming at.

They should be punished, I don't know what the appropriate punishment is, that's for the COs and NCOs to decide. I agree that sensationalising the story doesn't help, but I'm not going to sit here and claim it's ok when it's not.

Reply 38

Snagprophet

17

I probably would've piled up a load of them and then have my foot on them like hunters on safari do.

Reply 39