Excellent news. Sgt Alexander Blackman has his sentence reduced.

Well said niggly
This marine was not given accolades, but a prison sentence.We do uphold the laws of the Geneva Convention ( The Taliban don't.)
Marines are 'the army of the navy' and are marvellously trained.Sometimes, things go wrong.

I do understand Niggly and these men and women must face such horrors but it is their career choice. I know if this killing by Blackman had been carried out by a young soldier who didn't receive the training of a Sgt in the marines I wouldn't doubt the defence put forward , but I do ,and cannot agree with the hope he will write a book and make money to support his fsmily. Yes he has to support his family , why not use his training and put it to good use. We shall have to wait and see what choices he makes.

Sorry, I think my grammar is a bit odd in places, but I'm sure you gather what I mean!!!!!

They did anni you are right and shocking it was, but no one is suggesting that our armed forces behave in such a dreadful fashion. But I do think that we do expect awful lot from them under extreme pressure which they by and large tbey live up to. Witnessing appalling acts of horror on a regular basis can blow even the steadiest of nerves. My stepfather was a POW with the Japanese, and as a little girl I can remember his nightmares which thankfully became less as the years passed, but, as I was told later, they were very real and very very unpleasant and doesn't do your mental state a lot of good!!!
These observations are of course, only my opinion.

Niggly, in the Vietnam war american soldiers murdered children, raped women , we were not involved but just saying the west is not as civilised in war as Hollywood films showed.

The Taliban like all these terrorist groups are particularly brutal and hideously cruel. Marine A (he is a Marine, not a soldier) shot him dead which of course he should not have done, better probably just to leave him to die? Who knows. However he did not torture him, he did not crucify him, he did not burn him to death, or any of the other delightful methods of execution so favoured by terrorist groups. I think unless we have a walked in the footsteps of these men, sent there to help the terrorised population and witnessed the atrocities they have been forced to observe, practically a daily basis, men, women, children and tiny babies murdered in the most horrible fashion imaginable, I don't actually think we, from the comfort of our safe homes can possibly judge the rights and wrongs of this unhappy episode.

Jalima, I disagree that the air punching and cheering was not jubilation. If a Sgt in the Marines can suffer as is claimed this man suffered, given a marines training, what is realy going on out there with young soldiers who have not had that training, not risen in the ranks , not done the same service time , are they doing the same.

Whatever Jalima the consequences will be the same.
If you support the armed forces you should be aware that the protection the Geneva Convention gave is now redundant.

Accolade? He received a sentence for murder reduced to manslaughter, not the Victoria Cross

It was not jubilation but was relief I think, that the appeal recognised that combat stress combined with family bereavement had contributed to his actions.

I fear the same Trisher, and I fear when he is released he will be greeted by a large crowd.

I cannot remember the name of a man who was beheaded or even the country now, but I remember the anger here that there was cheering in that country , is there any difference

The problem with this case and with abandoning or ignoring the Geneva Convention is that in doing so we give tacit permission to other parties to do the same. All soldiers are placed under extreme pressure and stress and we know that this can result in them doing things which civilised society usually rejects. Knowing that they can be brought to justice later may at least have some mitigating effect on their actions. The attitude of celebration and jubilation outside the courtroom upset me. This was still a man guilty of killing, a British soldier who shot an unarmed, injured man wether it was murder or manslaughter. Something all the military should be deeply ashamed of. For those of you who will tell me I am denigrating 'our boys' I would warn that in behaving as he did, and in receiving the accolade he has, this case has probably paved the way for more and nastier treatment for British troops in any future conflict. If we fail to comply with the Geneva Convention why on earth should others?

It's easy to misread posts anniebach

Hero - no, a victim too of a horrible dehumanising war.

Sorry if I misread your post Jalima. Right verdict or not this man is now a hero and this is so wrong.

I thought I said that

Is an act carried out by the taliban worse than what that marine did? The taliban are not trained , not educated,

I think the Taliban, IS dehumanise the population and agree that it is up to such as our Royal Marines not to descend towards that level but that combat stress could distort the perspective therefore the right verdict has now been reached.

My ancestors have all been marines stationed at Plymouth.

pen i agree absolutely with your post.

I have no idea of the truth of the defence of this Marine, but I doubt it,

And, of course, they are now winning in that hell-hole.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/25/taliban-poised-seize-key-cities-afghanistan/

Well, I haven't seen any comments like that and they are not thought through. The Taliban are political extremist fundamentalists killing and controlling their fellow Muslims - the Afghan people whom Sgt Blackman was trying to protect and free.

I think you are generous in your interpretation. Comments I have seen on newspaper forum show many supporters think the soldier who Sgt AB killed 'deserved it' because he was "just a fucking Muslim" etc etc. This ability to dehumanise people, even if they are your enemy, is how the Nazis managed to manipulate and control the German people prior to WW2.

they weren't soldiers.

I think most of the supporters were veterans and certainly not serving Royal Marines and they may well have known the effects of PTSD themselves if they served in combat, eg the Falklands, the Gulf War etc.

They were jubilant when the verdict of manslaughter was reached so they obviously felt that that was the correct verdict, not that he was innocent of any wrongdoing and therefore presumably all support the Geneva Convention 100%.

My concern about this case is more about the apparent attitude of many of this soldier's supporters.
It is a dreadful thing when a soldier, particularly a senior officer, breaks the Geneva convention and behaves towards an enemy combatant in the way that would rightfully, cause anger and outcry if roles were reversed.
I can well understand the pressure, mental stress and dehumanisation that being in a brutal and bloody war causes. It impacts on soldiers on both sides.

I felt the euphoric cheering of uniformed men, outside the court, was inappropriate. I totally understand his wife and family being relieved and pleased to have him returned to them to try to start rebuilding his life but felt it was not right to see the soldiers reacting in that way.

So many former British soldiers are struggling with PTSD and other health issuews as a direct result of their experiences. As a nation we to be shouting more to ensure these people, who have put their lives on the line for the nation, are well supported, housed and offered medical /psychological aid to return to civilian life positively. Equally we should be shouting out to protect and uphold the Geneva convention 100%.

Infantry alongside the Royal Navy - they are commandos.
The UK’s elite amphibious fighting force. The team that’s on the most dangerous operations, all over the world. And in a state of high alert 24/7

But his commanding officer should have recognised that he was suffering from stress and relieved him.