[Livia]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

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.

It can't go unpunished for some. For others... it's carte blanche, it seems. We have to be understanding of the struggle of the terrorist... we have to keep the denial going.

Soldiers are human beings, they are not automatons. If a punishment is to be handed out it should be done within the Military.

If I could find the person who set the bomb that killed my husband, I would be happy to watch him incapacitated and then shot in the head.