Lenient sentencing

[campbellking]

Am I the only person who finds the punishment given to the Chief Warrant officer Welshofer Jnr for the 'negligent homicide' of an Iraqi in 2003 a little on the lenient side? The Iraqi gentleman was tied, placed head down in a sleeping bag and sat upon by another serviceman. Cause of death was given as 'asphyxia due to smothering and chest compression'. Given that the dead man can't have had much opportunity to put up a struggle, is a $6000 fine and a reprimand adequate?

[Goodsoulette]

I think its atrocious as an act in itself,

However, I feel a war is going on like it or not and i dont want to know whats going on over there, we shouldnt know. We never here about the good stuff our boys do only the bad.

Why did he do it? Maybe the guy he killed was one of these guys who like to set western soldiers on fire or cut off their heads and whoop about it. I dont know. I think we know too much. Horrendous things are happening to our men over there, maybe the story behind it was that he was driven to it.

[noxlumos]

Well that certainly gives him a carte blanche to behave any way he jolly well likes doesn't it?

There is no point in us rampaging through Iraq pretending that we have this golden democracy and justice if we don't follow it through with our actions toward the Iraqi people.This man was a human being, someone's son or husband or father and whatever he had done there is no excuse for disgusting behaviour such as he had to endure at the hands of what America would have us believe are Iraq's liberators.The man was unlawfully killed and the person who tortured him to death got fined and his wrist slapped. Is that the message we want to send out to the Iraqi's or do America think perhaps that they have lived Vietnam down and need another badly handled war far away from home with human rights atrocities peppering it to give us all something to take notice of them again for?

[Ward-Minter]

The only good Iraqi SOLDIER is a dead one.

I wish the British guy all the very best.

[brachiopod]

So what's the point of building and training an Iraqi defence force to defend the new 'Free Iraq', then W-M ?

A very constructive attitude, as ever.

[Ward-Minter]

brainchop if people had a better attitude in this country we wouldn't be in Iraq would we? If it wasnt't for traitors and do-gooding work shy commies we should have finish them off first time round.

And brainchop may i respectively ask you to stop trying to insult me. If you find my answers subversive or against your status quo, then so be it.

Thank you for you cooperation in this matter.

[brachiopod]

It was a question, not an insult. You know, questions, the whole raison d'etre of Answerbank? (Sorry if you fail to understand the last bit, 's' forrin innit?' )

I just thought that your usual favoured method for recipients of lenient sentencing was to 'string them up'?

[jno]

Yes, very lenient, but remarkable that he was given any punishment at all.

Ward-Minter, I'd remind you that we're trying to train Iraqi soldiers to take over military duties in their country so we can get out. If they're all killed, as you suggest, the British army presence there will be prolonged for some time. I expect the squaddies would just love that.

[campbellking]

Ward-Minter, given that the fate of this officer was decided by the Americans, I take it that the officer concerned is American, so i am a little puzzled by your comment 'good luck to the British guy'.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Perhaps it would be pertinent to remind WM that if countries like the UK and the US didn't arm and supported Saddam Hussein in the 1980s (including chemical weapons), even though contemporary intelligence revealed that they were being deployed against civillian targets, we wouldn't have needed to have either the first or second Gulf wars...

One of the 'Commies' or Do Gooders responsible for that, was a chap called Donald Rumsfeld. Not sure where else I know that name from.

More importantly, I trust that WM agrees that by saying 'The only good Iraqi soldier is a good one' and thereby tacitly signalling his approval of unlawful killing of enemy combatants, he also therefore accepts that he has ceded the right to complain about the mistreatment of British troops at the hands of others?

[Dark Angel]

Ward-minster sorry, but the report button is going click in view of your insensitive, racist, third rate answer.

[Dark Angel]

see this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/24/AR2006012401544.html

[Grunty]

The Americans once lived under a colonial power. Shame they didn't learn how their own colonies should be treated.

I wonder how long it takes a US Warrant Officer to earn $6000.

[noxlumos]

And people wonder why there is insurgency in Iraq? Blood is thicker than water, if you treat Iraqi's badly then their fellow countrymen will oppose you.America really needs to get it's act together if it's ever to recover from this disasterous war and take some responsibility for itself.

[Goodsoulette]

Why was the soldier arrested?

[Insurgent]

Did you honestly expect anything less than a whitewash? Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, burning bodies, extraordinary rendition and we have the cheek to call these people we commit these crimes against terrorists. Wearing an american or british uniform is a green light to commit any crime you wish, with the full backing of military and government should you be unfortunate enough to get caught. So much for the UN and the geneva convention, we don't uphold the laws and principles of our own democracies, yet we force them on other nations. Then we sit there wondering why some people are becoming increasingly radicalised, we're total hypocrites.

[bazwillrun]

Dark Angel

What was racist in that statement ? all i can see are facts

as usual out comes the R word . you people love trotting it out when you have no argument.

If we hadnt adopted the softly softly approach in the first place we wouldnt be in the mire we now find ourselves in. Just like their police and security forces before , the "new" lot are just as bad, corrupt violent etc. only difference now is that we are "training" them, for what i dont know , to be cruel and sadistic more efficiently perhaps

[Ward-Minter]

brainchop I see you are as immature as I thought.

waldo what are you going on about. Sorry, I have read your post 3 times and I do not understand. But I am thick.

jno. No comment apart from we can't train the enemy into our way of thinking.

campbell. Good point, well presented. Had my wires crossed from another story.

baz. Good point. In agreement.

Dark angel. Get a job. X

[WaldoMcFroog]

Apparently so.

[brachiopod]

"immature"
"what are you on about?"
"no comment"
"get a job"

There are some very well thought out and reasoned arguments in your constructive critique of others' responses, W-M.

[Dark Angel]

Ward Minster - I have a job - run my own firm!!x