[user104658]

Originally Posted by Livia

Says a man who has never been in a war zone, let alone on active service, but is insisting on a code of conduct from our troops, which they can never lapse from, despite circumstances and who are serving in an active war zone. You see a couple of mates with their legs blown off you're not going to be that concerned about shooting a terrorist in the head. A terrorist. Not a bystander.

There is nothing more dangerous than a wounded enemy.

I'm not for a moment saying I don't understand why it happens, if someone killed a friend of mine there's no doubt in my mind that I *would* kill them, and I'd probably shoot them in the stomach instead of the head to make it slow. Which is one (of a few) reasons that I could never be in the armed forces.

What I'm saying is, that no matter how personally justified and understandable the action was, it can't go unpunished, because of the wider implications of freely allowing soldiers to make executive decisions against the chain of command, and the disorder and chaos that would follow. You get that, surely?

I'm not saying he should be flayed alive, I'm not even saying that he should be charged with murder and jailed... but I do think he should be discharged. Because he is a soldier. Who executed a prisoner without orders or permission to do so. Simple as that.