Uk Troops Cleared Of Killing Iraqi Civilians

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2585838/Lawyers-dock-UK-troops-cleared-killing-Iraqi-civilians-Claims-dropped-year-long-inquiry-thats-cost-22m.html

This is great news, although it as cost the British taxpayer £22m.

/// Last night Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded UK forces in Afghanistan, said: ‘Many in Iraq and Afghanistan have sought to discredit British soldiers for political purposes or have made claims for personal financial gain. ///

/// ‘In some cases, these people have been wittingly or unwittingly looking to turn a quick buck at the expense of our fighting troops ///

/// Phil Shiner’s Public Interest Lawyers the Birmingham-based firm has alreday been paid millions from the public purse. ///

/// Mr Shiner, 57, has made his name pursuing British soldiers through the courts over alleged war crimes in Iraq. ///

/// He was awarded the title ‘Human Rights Lawyer of the Year’ in 2004. ///

/// On his firm’s website, his profile reads: ‘Phil is a committed socialist ///

Now there's a surprise.

[ToraToraTora]

Careful AOG, I can hear the anti British geting their bibs out for a drool fest.

[LazyGun]

Would it be anti-British, 3T, to point out that the MoD brought this on themselves? The MOD made "serious breaches of its duty", and was accused of a lamentable failure in its duty of candour in its failure to disclose crucial information about the bodies and wounded enemy combatants taken from the battlefield,in findings of 3 High Court judges back in 2004.

It was this action - collecting bodies and wounded of iraqi insurgents from the battlefield and carting them off to their own military compound/hospital -that fuelled the suspicion of family and relatives and lead to charges of murder and ill-treatment being levied by the families at the UK Military.

This collection of the dead bodies of enemy combatants was unprecedented, as I understand it.

I am glad that the allegations were unfounded - I would hate to think that British troops were murdering insurgents after the fact, but this could have been cleared up much sooner had the MoD been more forthcoming.

[jomifl]

The lesson to be learned here is to leave enemy dead and wounded where they have fallen then you can't be accused of ill treating them in your bases.
Somehow that sounds wrong..

[sandyRoe]

Who now remembers Baha Mousa?

[jomifl]

Just about Sandy, can't quite remember why British troops were involved though, couldn't possibly be anything to do with a war criminal?

[sandyRoe]

This is from the Wiki page about his death.

The report called his death an "appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence".[2] The inquiry condemned the Ministry of Defence for "corporate failure" and the regiment for a "lack of moral courage to report abuse".[6]

And here's a link to that page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Baha_Mousa

[LazyGun]

You might round up wounded enemy combatants, as they might represent a future threat - I do not know if that would be covered in the rules of engagement. But taking the allegedly dead combatants off the field? That is unprecedented and was not covered by the MoDs own rules at the time. Had they been more forthcoming earlier, more transparent, they may have allayed the fears of the relatives, the suspicion that some of those described as dead were injured and later killed in cold blood.

Based upon this, it seems to me that an investigation was warranted, because being British we uphold values of fairness and the rule of law, and to carp about the cost is meaningless. If these things have any value in our society, then we have to pay for them.

[anotheoldgit]

You are spot on ToraToraTora, can't hear any shouts of jubilation yet.

[Zeuhl]

/I don't believe these lawyer guys really care about an arab's human rights that much, not as much as the fat fees they get anyway. /

Probably about as much as your average surgeon 'really cares' whether Mrs Bloggs pulls through or not.

[Zeuhl]

just out of interest DB, how many lawyers have you observed 'scouring car parks' for customers?

And how many surgeons do you know who work every day for several months exclusively on one case?

[Zeuhl]

DB

Indeed, I am happy that our troops have been exonerated by a proper legal process.

A process that couldn't have taken place with such validity without the members of the legal profession.

Of course my questions were ridiculous; sorry, but that was because they were challenging your ridiculous parody of lawyers and attempts to directly compare totally different situations between the legal and surgical professions

[Zeuhl]

I did

You suggested lawyers didn't 'really care' about clients

Compared with which professions then? if not surgeons?

You also suggested surgeons don't 'find mugs' to pay them millions. I think you'll find many surgeons are paid millions. Made up of smaller amounts from people they provide a service for of just a few hours. Lawyers paid millions by one individual (not a common occurrence) generally work for many months to do so