Our boys don't ask for thanks. They don't ask for a witch hunt, either: An impassioned defence of UK troops by Iraq veteran who was himself investigated - and cleared - of war crimes

wyatt1 Sun Jan 10, 2016 7:37 am

The Armed Forces must stick to the highest standards of discipline and behaviour.
I know of few institutions where peer pressure to maintain these standards exists – certainly not in politics or the legal profession. When wrong is done, someone will speak up. That is the simple reality of the British Army.
For that reason, servicemen and women welcome the critical gaze of the law to assure that such standards are adhered to. Up to a point.

Yesterday it emerged that a body called the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), set up by the Ministry of Defence at taxpayers’ expense, has written to a staggering 280 service personnel about their behaviour while in Iraq, warning that they can be compelled to act as witnesses. Some MPs have called this a ‘despicable witch hunt’, and I have to agree.
A disgraceful industry has emerged that, as a former commander, I know will make life much more difficult for our troops. It is a fact that a commander today faces far, far more risk to his or her career by ordering to engage a potential threat than losing the lives of servicemen by doing nothing.

When every potential gunman or bomber gets the benefit of the doubt, then we have lost our way.
And I know that the men and women who risk their lives for their country are saddened, confused – and in some cases, they are now scared. Why should people risk jail for answering the call of Queen and country?
In 2003, I arrested a man who had planned to murder 18 people on my patch in Iraq, just after the invasion. He admitted that. He surrendered 137 rifles. No one died. He was released... and I was investigated for war crimes. I would suggest we have it wrong.
Complaints are nothing new. I recall that when I served in Northern Ireland we had to walk on eggshells as commanders.
We knew it was standard practice for IRA members and suspects to maintain a diary of contact with the security forces. We also understood the rule was that if stopped on five or more occasions in a calendar month, then the complainant was liable for a state compensation payout. It was a tactic of war for the enemy.

The difference now is the reach of the compensation culture. Legal companies such as Leigh Day and the notorious Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) have made an industry out of ‘discovering’ and bringing complainants in front of British courts. In doing so they have won millions of pounds for often spurious claims that would make even Sinn Fein blush.
Worse still, the sheer volume obscured the real cases of abuse. And all for profit.
Every gunman or bomber gets benefit of the doubt
Last week it was revealed that three of Leigh Day’s employees could be struck off by the Solicitors Regulation Authority after a year-long investigation into its handling of abuse claims. So it is, in the aftermath of Blair’s wars, that an industry has swung into action to harvest the vast sums of cash willingly offered up for allegations of misbehaviour against our troops.
And these claims are being investigated in tandem with a real need to get to the truth.
The IHAT now has 1,500 cases on its books – many spurious or totally fabricated. And there seems little prospect of this gravy train reaching its destination for several years.
Tragically, in the middle of this mess, there is no doubt that there were abuses. The case of Baha Mousa, who died in 2003 after serious mistreatment in British Army custody in Basra, demonstrates that. We need to show that we have uncovered these wrongs and acted upon them. This is vital if we are to resist International Criminal Court (ICC) intervention – and it is also the right thing to do.

The UK Government admitted in February 2004 that, of the 37 deaths of Iraqi civilians involving British troops, only 18 had been investigated by the Special Investigations Branch (SIB).
It was a war of course, and people get killed in wars. But if there was any hint of wrongdoing, this must be followed up.
It is precisely this sort of failure that led to the UK facing an investigation by the ICC.
Yet the situation into which we have now descended is little short of a fiasco.
Politicians on all sides should condemn the compensation culture and demand a tightening of the process. Then it would stop – and with sheep separated from goats the real abuse, if any is left to be investigated, would be swiftly dealt with.
BUT that would require leadership and a duty of care towards our troops. There would appear to be a vacuum in both cases.
I was astonished by the appointment of Labour’s Emily Thornberry as Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, for instance. By appointing someone who has accepted £50,000 as a benefit in kind from Leigh Day, Jeremy Corbyn is sticking two fingers up to the Armed Forces (the Labour Party also accepted donations in kind from the legal firm amounting to almost £20,000 in 2012.) In the very unlikely event that Labour ever wins an election under Corbyn, Thornberry would be Defence Secretary! If she does have a conscience and is serious about her brief then she should hand the money back or resign. Until then, her credibility is nil.
The nation has been involved in two wars in recent years that have cost the lives of 635 servicemen and women as well as billions of pounds.
The best we can show for this is grieving families and thousands of wounded, scarred and disabled young men and women who will have to cope for the rest of their lives with the consequences of their service.

Now we also have this witch hunt. To inflict such mental torture on those who served, simply for profit, is wrong.
They went. They did not complain about the terrible food (we compensate detainees for this), the lack of sleep (we compensate detainees for this), the fear and shouted orders (we compensate detainees for this) – and they didn’t ask for thanks.
I think that the vast majority of us are grateful for their sacrifice. But they deserve leadership, too.
There is no doubt we have to uncover the truth. But we must end the abuse of the process for profit. Step up Mr Cameron, and get a grip on this disgraceful farce for all our sakes.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3392203/Our-boys-don-t-ask-thanks-don-t-ask-witch-hunt-impassioned-defence-UK-troops-Iraq-veteran-investigated-cleared-war-crimes.html#ixzz3wpA81d4L
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What have those filthy cowards ever done for their country ??
(Last week it was revealed that three of Leigh Day’s employees could be struck off by the Solicitors Regulation Authority after a year-long investigation into its handling of abuse claims)
3 ??? The whole damn lot of them should be sent to Gitmo.
They and the chairborne civil servants responsible .

Leigh Day’s should be obliterated. SCUM.

ps: Cameron, you are a snivelling traitor and a disgrace to your Clan name.