A Disgrace to the Uniform.

[ysgawen]

Two soldiers (only two, so far, thank goodness!) have whined to the BBC about Taliban prisoners being treated on the same wards as our lot. Leaving aside the fact that our lot shouldn't be shooting at their lot in the first place and that they have no right to be in the country at all, they are going against a tradition for which our forces are

Comments

[susannah]

I think it all goes back to chivalry - that code of conduct and idealism that informed military society in ages past.

It should be a code of honour between all soldiers that prisoners are treated humanely and with compassion.

If there is no honour, then what are they fighting for?

If the allies lock up prisoners in places like Guantanamo, then how can they complain if their own troops are tortured and ill-treated when they get captured...

And then you have the downward spiral towards barbarism.

Chivalry and honour were so important, just for this reason: because the alternative is barbarity.

[ysgawen]

Exactly. I was very proud of the military doctor they spoke to on the radio who could not understand how it could be an issue. To him, it was obvious that a person who was injured had a right to the best care in the best available situation.