The Gurka That Turned Into Jack Bauer!

The Ghurka probably already had one head from an earlier skirmish, but needed another one to stop his books falling off the shelf.

Biggins wrote: »

Again true, very true but (not to be awkward, just pointing out) again some could claim, "Sure you could have taken those samples while he was/is still alive!"
(Wouldn't be the first time that an enemy has denied to their own and the world, one of their own has died)

To demoralise and thus hopefully divide the enemy, sometimes means having to prove totally that that their leaders are not infallible to capture and death.
Thus the probable reason why absolute confirmation was probably needed, the better the evidence, the better chance of undermining of morale on the opposite side.

There leaders die all the time, and are just replaced by a new guy. I don't see the Taliban being demoralized by the death of the odd leader here or there. Something like this will only pi$$ them off some more, and thats about it.

Also, they could claim the head belonged to someone else, and they just made it to look like there guy as well. I am sure there more than capable of denying anything and everything if they want too.

Morality is a funny old thing. You can pretty much do what you like to the living in your efforts to make them or people near them dead, but woe betide you if you lay a finger on the lump of meat that results from your actions. It's okay to strafe crowds, bomb villages or a family home to kill a Taliban leader, but not to act expediently and multilate a corpse to fulfill your orders and still get home safe? Pathologists and undertakers do it every day.

What kind of morality is that?

Cant seem to get the pic up :(

I wouldn't weep if every last Taliban commander was beheaded post-mortem, TBH. Fighting for the right to keep girls out of school and women out of work, raping 15 year olds in the name of 'marriage', burning cinemas, prohibiting music, stoning or mutilating anyone that looks sideways at them, and all the time getting fat off the heroin trade. Feck the bloody lot of them.

Wicklowrider wrote: »

A Brit named Simon Murray served in the French foreign Legion in the '50's. In his book about his service in the legion he describes either himself or another legionairre ( long,long time since I read it) beheading a FLN guerilla corpse for to prove identity. He said they were on top of a mountain In Algeria at the time and didn't fancy carying the corpse down the mountain. Cannot recall if they were reprimanded or not, somehow I doubt it. I think Murray went on to be a bigshot banker in his later life so it didn't exactly hold back his civilian career.

They were ordered back up the mountain to retrieve the heads of three Arabs for identification. Murray stood guard while his buddy cut off two of the heads (half an hours work with a pen-knife) while the third was left as it was unrecognisable. He then carried the heads down and was instructed to dispose of them once the Int officers were done. He threw them into the bushes but one was retrieved by another section who put it in their soup cauldron before offering a mug to a German soldier. The German promtly threw up when they pulled the head out of the cauldron, dripping blood and soup everywhere. Good times I believe.

There's a good chance they didn't have a camera. And if they had taken a photo, what if the camera broke during their withdrawal or the the photo was blurry? The article claims he was out of ammunition, under heavy fire and trying to carry a body. I'm not surprised at all, seems like the smart thing to do.

jackiebaron wrote: »

So they are ordered on a mission with the expressed intent of killing or capturing a certain individual and nobody prior to the mission dares to ask "Sir, if we kill this individual, how do you wish we present you with evidence of his identity?"

Bring the body back. If he was alive they'd be bringing him back anyway, he'd just be moving under his own power.

jackiebaron wrote: »

You say "what if the camera broke?"
How does a reconnaissance soldier bring evidence of troop movements or tank formations or radar installations or gun emplacements back to base?
Uses photographs doesn't he?
What if the camera broke!!!! Gimme peace!

A recce team would, if possible, send back photos in real time using their radios. They would also sketch the target and, I'm sure, hope that they don't break their camera on the way back. This situation is completely different to a recce mission, in that the target isn't a radar station or tank but a person which is a bit more portable. In addition, if their orders were to bring back the body for positive ID, then a photo wouldn't do. A head, however, given the pressure they were under, would still do the job.

jackiebaron wrote: »

What if the Gurkha stepped on a landmine and he and the severed head were blown to atoms?

Then I'm sure his camera would be destroyed as well, if the mine was big enough to vaporise a person.

jackiebaron wrote: »

What if they killed the guy but he was unrecognisable, he was so mutilated?

Then a photo would be useless as well. At least bringing a body, or part thereof, would allow DNA profiling to be conducted if neccessary.

jackiebaron wrote: »

This story is ridiculous. The armed forces in Afghanistan haven't a clue who they are fighting. Every week they kill Al-Qaeda #2.

Ridiculous.

Who are Al-Qaeda # 2?

How many more have to be killed before Al Qaeda # 3 turn up??

Didn't read all posts. They kind of have to take serious action against him.. He cut the dead guys head off...

Geneva Convention - Desecration of the dead