without a dream
Well-Known Member
Just following orders hasn't been an acceptable excuse since the second world war but I agree the officers should have been charged too, if possible.
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Bloody Sunday: Soldier F faces murder charges
- Thread starter laughing gravy
- Start date
Just following orders hasn't been an acceptable excuse since the second world war but I agree the officers should have been charged too, if possible.
aguero93:20
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You could argue that it was inevitable when a commander sent in shock troops with permission to use live ammunition.Abnd those orders were to "shoot those unarmed civilian civil rights marchers"?
Prestwich_Blue
Well-Known Member
In hindsight it would probably have been better to close the book completely at the time the GFA was concluded.I thought that might be the case for some of the soldiers but most or some might have been telling the truth. It would be very difficult to find defence witnesses so long since the events but all I heard on the BBC this morning was that time has made prosecutions more difficult.
I’ve got huge sympathy for the families and what happened was wrong. However, the gist of this thread was about inconsistency and there seems to be a lot of that from our Government and our opposition too.
I’ve got friends whose family members have been killed by the IRA but I despise the terrorists across the communities, equally. That included Irish Catholics.
Gareth Barry Conlon
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Just following orders hasn't been an acceptable excuse since the second world war but I agree the officers should have been charged too, if possible.
I'n almost any other conflict there would have been a trial within a much shorter time frame and the soldiers who pulled the trigger would have been able to explain what orders where received and when. This has been left to fester for far too long.
You could argue that it was inevitable when a commander sent in shock troops with permission to use live ammunition.
This is my point, along with a few other incidents on the day that never get mentioned.
Wrong troops in place with no training.
AlexWilliamsGloves
Well-Known Member
....what were the orders they were following? It started as a peaceful civil rights march...to say they were just following orders is to suggest they were told to fire on a peaceful civilian march.
You need to really look at the context of the situation....this isnt about soldiers being charged whilst terrorists get away with it. This is about innocent civilians being shot at and killed by the Army. It wasnt a battle or a war. It was a civil rights march.
And no, im not a terrorist sympathiser, my Dad was in the UDR ffs...i know ex-servicemen on this very forum who served over here and they are my friends....but what happened in Derry was murder.
You need to really look at the context of the situation....this isnt about soldiers being charged whilst terrorists get away with it. This is about innocent civilians being shot at and killed by the Army. It wasnt a battle or a war. It was a civil rights march.
And no, im not a terrorist sympathiser, my Dad was in the UDR ffs...i know ex-servicemen on this very forum who served over here and they are my friends....but what happened in Derry was murder.
kevin horlocks wand
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Agreed, 14 (?)different soldiers firing over 100 live rounds into a crowd of unarmed civilians doesn't happen without orders from above. I think we'd all rather see the commanders in the dock.
Correct the poor young soldier gets the blame - he was probably just following orders
BlueMoonRisin’
Well-Known Member
Agreed, 14 (?)different soldiers firing over 100 live rounds into a crowd of unarmed civilians doesn't happen without orders from above. I think we'd all rather see the commanders in the dock.
Why the commanders ? If anyone is to blame it is the politicians. Lets face it, an army is trained to shoot and to kill. They were not and are not policemen and should never have been asked to go onto the streets. My belief is they were sent by politicians to get the exact reaction they got and N.I. was used thereafter as a training ground.
The ones with blood on their hands are the ones who sent them.
Machiavelli
Well-Known Member
“Just following orders”
Where have I heard that before?
I’ve read about soldiers in WW2 who deliberately didn’t ‘shoot to kill’ and I’m sure they were following orders as well when the whole world was at war. If I was a soldier who was “ordered” to open fire at unarmed civilians I think I could fire my weapon and purposely miss.
Our armed forces should be distinguishable from the terrorists in their behaviour and attitude towards human life.
Folk have to recognise some absolute sociopaths find their way into the armed forces and some can be as indoctrinated as the supposed enemy.
Where have I heard that before?
I’ve read about soldiers in WW2 who deliberately didn’t ‘shoot to kill’ and I’m sure they were following orders as well when the whole world was at war. If I was a soldier who was “ordered” to open fire at unarmed civilians I think I could fire my weapon and purposely miss.
Our armed forces should be distinguishable from the terrorists in their behaviour and attitude towards human life.
Folk have to recognise some absolute sociopaths find their way into the armed forces and some can be as indoctrinated as the supposed enemy.