Marine A / Sgt Alexander Blackman

[MooseBreath]

I kind of find myself agreeing with Moosebreath!!!

Yes, it's a crime and shouldn't go unpunished but a Miltary Court would surely have been more appropriate.

Follow me to enlightenment, friend.

[Shram]

Ultimately the guy shouldn't have been named.. The responsibility still lies with him to an extent, they knowingly dragged someone somewhere secluded and then this guy shot him knowing full well it's against the Geneva code. It's all well and good calling it the heat of the battle but why move him to somewhere quiet or secluded? Also it's worth listening the the audio from it. The guy new exactly what he was doing

 

The UK armed forces are there off the back of a decision made by the government, the current remit is for training not open warfare. If you consider the situation the the Geneva convention applies in a war situation, the more recent situations are not open warfare. Whether you agree with it or not most people in an occupied situation would do whatever it took to remove this, imagine if the UK were occupied would we follow the Geneva convention? If you want to go around the world preaching about democracy, love thy neighbour or anything along those lines you have to live by them equally.

[Zingari]

Ultimately the guy shouldn't have been named.. The responsibility still lies with him to an extent, they knowingly dragged someone somewhere secluded and then this guy shot him knowing full well it's against the Geneva code. It's all well and good calling it the heat of the battle but why move him to somewhere quiet or secluded? Also it's worth listening the the audio from it. The guy new exactly what he was doing

 

The UK armed forces are there off the back of a decision made by the government, the current remit is for training not open warfare. If you consider the situation the the Geneva convention applies in a war situation, the more recent situations are not open warfare. Whether you agree with it or not most people in an occupied situation would do whatever it took to remove this, imagine if the UK were occupied would we follow the Geneva convention? If you want to go around the world preaching about democracy, love thy neighbour or anything along those lines you have to live by them equally.

Possibly (and i'm not defending him in any way) , but i really think in close combat situations it's easy to lose your  moral compass and lose that thing we call humanity .

A  very tragic and complex situation  and one that is not easily understood from our safe vantage point . I accept the man in question wasn't in immediate danger but maybe he'd reached his  tipping point.

I think we all have one. 

[GingerrrFox]

I'd like to see how everyone would be feeling after seeing your friend and fellow comrades body parts hung from trees as trophies. I can understand why this bloke did what he did. 

[Zingari]

I'd like to see how everyone would be feeling after seeing your friend and fellow comrades body parts hung from trees as trophies. I can understand why this bloke did what he did. 

Good point, I think most of us would be angry , disgusted , and even tempted to seek revenge   But I'm equally  sure most of us would resist .

 

However , it is quite understandable that occasionally one among many would reach a point of mental breakdown or be in such a state of   PTSD ,  (for want of a better description) that they'd crack and commit offences that  normally they'd be just as  horrified by as us .

I think offences committed in a close combat battle situation   should be considered with serious regard to the mental state of the combatant