Iraq battle stress worse than WWII (UK Soldiers need lawyers!)

The Sunday Times - Britain ^ | November 06, 2005 | MICHAEL SMITH

[Drago]

Senior army doctors have warned that troops in Iraq are suffering levels of battle stress not experienced since the second world war because of fears that if they shoot an insurgent, they will end up in court.

The two senior Royal Army Medical Corps officers, one of whom is a psychologist, have recently returned from Basra, where they said they counselled young soldiers who feared a military police investigation as much as they did the insurgents...

[tkathy]

IMO they cant have the MSM photographing every move our guys make.

[David Isaac]

Has anyone seen that boomarang? Embedded reporters is turning out just splendidly, isn't it. If anyone wished to play into the hands of our enemies (all of them), fewer plans would work better.

[milemark]

A certain Englishman once wrote "First, kill all the lawyers."

[MNJohnnie]

because of fears that if they shoot an insurgent, they will end up in court

Yet another example of why we must destroy the Hysteric Left.

[Patriot from Philly]

What's left unsaid in this article is that the UK signed on to the ICC and under the terms of that treaty has implemented war crimes statutes that apply to its soldiers. If the UK does not charge its soldiers, the ICC could step in, a nasty scene.

The US is in much better shape since it has not signed on to the ICC and the trials of our soldiers are under the control of the military and JAG system.

One problem: our "allies" are criminalizing friendly fire incidents in which our military has already investigated and cleared the soldiers.

A Spanish judge has issued arrest warrants for the soldiers involved in the Palestine Hotel incident and the Italian judges investigating the Sgrena incident may do the same for the soldiers involved in that incident.

While this will never go anywhere, I think the US should react much more strongly to these insults and threats.

[sgtbono2002]

Fact is when you can send a mentally slow individual to the slammer for placing a leash and an old pair of stinky drawers over some Ayrabs head anything is possible.

We need to get those anti-American imbeds out of where the troops are doing their business , and we have to get democrats out of the Congress.

[tkathy]

Democrats want to turn America into a French riot.

[armydawg1]

Neville Chamberlin would be proud of his country at the moment.

[Boris99]

Never forget that the ICC and Kyoto etc etc is exactly the type of nonsense that Gore, Kerry, Clinton et al would sign us up for in a heartbeat, in order to pass the "global test." How else would we be beloved by the French?

[sgtbono2002]

I always thought the next Civil war would be racial.More every day I think it will be political between liberals and Conservatives with anti-American immigrants thrown in on the Dem side and financed by George Soros , who will make millions on it.

[F14 Pilot]

this is the age of PC

[SquirrelKing]

Brit doctors.
Brit troops.
Brit media.

Drudge makes his headline seem like the whole USMC is flaking out.

No doubt war is hard. WWII vets will tell you that it is no different and no reason it should be.

[Mike Darancette]

Let's poll the Marines on that saw duty at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. Or the soldiers that liberated the Nazi Death Camps.

[LibWhacker]

There are signs that it is already too late, with more than 5,370 infantry soldiers buying themselves out of the army in the past three years rather than be posted back to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Just curious... It's possible to "buy" your way out of the Army in Britain? How's that work exactly?

[NonAmerican]

I think this is a bigger story than "UK Soldiers need lawyers": “The unpopularity of the war at home and a belief that firing their rifles in virtually any circumstances is likely to see them end up in court are sapping morale.” One corporal said that troops arriving in Basra were confronted by warnings from the Royal Military Police. “They make it clear that any and every incident will be investigated. It is also made clear that if you shoot someone, you will face an inquiry that could take up to a year. “The faces of the young lads straight out of training drop as the fear of being investigated strikes home and many ask whose side the RMP are on.” Couldn't it be that these RMPs are just terrorist-loving liberals?