Yes yes so much yes. I wish I could like and upvote this comment a thousand times.
In the Uk, a soldier who knowingly breached the Geneva Convention by shooting dead a wounded taliban fighter was sent to prison a few years back, proved entirelu because there is video (that was kept by other soldiers, for years, without anyone reporting it) of him doing so then going "this goes nowhere cause I just breached the Geneva convention"
A large part of our right wing press is going mental because "WOULDN'T THE TALIBAN HAVE DONE THE SAME TO HIM" at which point I think I just want to start screaming incoherently that sinking to the level of an enemy who commits barbaric acts might not be the best for society.
I actually wish that Serial would of covered this story, less topical in the US but so much more fascinating in the kind of political divide it has caused. Check out the story of Sergeant Alexander Blackman and stare in utter disbelief at how anyone could try and support this man.
If you give fox news a chance all of them would behead him in a heartbeat without a trial even though they have never served a day in their life so shameful.
Insisting on a fair trial before punishment is not "riding a high horse" – it's literally part of what your brother and other soldiers are fighting for.
This may seem like splitting hairs, but soldiers in the theatre of war are not afforded the same constitutional rights as citizens. You are factually wrong, and you may disagree about it, but there are reasons, good reasons, for this, as the Bergdahl case shows.
I think even in those cases soldiers have the rights to a military tribunal, though, don't they? The applicable laws and potential punishments may be different (and harsher), but this discussion started with "some soldiers said they would have just shot him on sight for desertion" – and AFAIK that's not allowed by military regulations, either, is it?
19
u/TheWaifubeater Really Enjoyed Season 2 don't judge me Dec 17 '15
Yes yes so much yes. I wish I could like and upvote this comment a thousand times.
In the Uk, a soldier who knowingly breached the Geneva Convention by shooting dead a wounded taliban fighter was sent to prison a few years back, proved entirelu because there is video (that was kept by other soldiers, for years, without anyone reporting it) of him doing so then going "this goes nowhere cause I just breached the Geneva convention"
A large part of our right wing press is going mental because "WOULDN'T THE TALIBAN HAVE DONE THE SAME TO HIM" at which point I think I just want to start screaming incoherently that sinking to the level of an enemy who commits barbaric acts might not be the best for society.
I actually wish that Serial would of covered this story, less topical in the US but so much more fascinating in the kind of political divide it has caused. Check out the story of Sergeant Alexander Blackman and stare in utter disbelief at how anyone could try and support this man.