US sniper guilty of Iraqi murder

Tragic to say the least.

The planting of the AK47 was a really bad idea. He probably would have been better off admiting his tragic mistake and offering his defense.

The article seems to imply the sniper killed the guy because he believed his team's presence/position had been compromised. I would assume this was a violation of the rules of engagement.

Could the rules ever specify otherwise...?
 
Was the civilian wearing a uniform like the rest of the enemy? oh, wait, none of them wear uniforms. What a tough job our soldiers have, unbelievably tough.

I'd give the guy a slap on the wrist for his first mistake(accidently killing the civilian), a bigger slap and some demotion for the fraudulent act of placing the AK, and then put him back in action after his punishment was served.

Especially so if it was his first action detrimental to the cause. Punish and forgive if the actions deem it. I'd have to know his history was full of such instances or indications of proclivity towards such actions before I would end his career.

War against a non-uniformed enemy who chooses to fight amongst civilians should have the innocents who are killed be blamed on the people choosing to fight without uniforms and in the cities. War is not like police work. There is and should be less of a standard given the circumstances.

Of course people these days seem to want to turn the battlefield into a courtroom. Good thing WWII wasn't held to the same standards as today, be shot at first, interview the person shooting to see if he speaks ill of the US, then ask your Officer if you can fire. (I joke but it is clearly the worst rules of engagement in the history of warfare)

We would all be speaking Japanese or German if the rules now were the case then.
 
So his position was discovered. Get up and find another position. What a cheap reason to take someone's life.
_________________________________________________

I'm sure all those men in that platoon can thank whichever god they pray to that you are not in command.
 
you can't just start killing everyone and anyone you want to just because you have been discovered. The sniper should have done a better job of hiding himself, or not put himself in a place where there was a good likelihood of civilian traffic.

Since the opposition does not wear uniforms, might as well kill every cvilian who spots a GI, since any man, woman, or even kids can be a bomber. Just too callous an attitude toward civilian life of foreigners, then the surprise when they want to kill Americans.
 
In thinking about this....killing the guy due to fear with having the position compromised isn't cnsistent with then planting the AK47.

If this were the case, bag the guy and move to a new position. Why further expose yourself by coming into the open to plant the AK47.

Edit to correct grammar....

and agree with Mac below....the cover up is what got him.
 
There is a pretty high standard of necessity for taking someone's life, even in wartime. The man stumbling on the sniper team's position was an accident, the decision to kill him was a choice. They should have either disguised their position better or picked up and moved; I'm sure the army has procedures for what to do in that situation that don't involve killing an innocent person.
 
Another option could have been to hold the man for a short period of a few hours until something more reasonable than killing him could be worked out. I recall Rangers doing that in Mogadishu when they took up ad hoc hiding positions in houses, tying their hands with plastic ties.

There are complex and mitigating situations which is probably why the sniper only got 10 years in prison instead of life or the needle if convicted of murder in a civilian court. I wonder what he'd get if he was tried by an Iraqi court.
 
This makes me think of the conservative creed from the 1980s and 90s: Screw circumstance, take responsibility for your actions. They didn't want to hear about mitigating circumstances or context, they just beat the "personal responsibility" drum into mandatory prison sentences and fewer welfare benefits.

A sniper team probably could hold a single person for a few hours while they radio for backup or extraction. Or they could abandon/postpone the mission
 
I understand what you're saying, that there are a lot of complexities to be worked out. But the burden to prove those complexities is on the shooter. You can't say the mission always takes precedence over killing an innocent person.
 
what a terrible decision we ask our military to make.
it is funny in a sad kind of way to read the sanctimonious posts providing couch potato solutions contrasted with the patient civil truth offered by someone who clearly knows.
 
Thanks TexasDan for the insight. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but it sounds like you're more or less agreeing that it is not good policy to knock off innocent civilians for inadvertently stumbling upon covert operations. I think I understand the points you're making about operational parameters and extenuating circumstances. Good points, all. I think it's possible there is more agreement than disagreement here.
 
patriotic terrorism is still terrorism and yes, you better bite on it because it is the truth. So what if a guy has a split second to kill or not? Why is his damn life more important than the native Vietnamese or Iraqis? He is of course the invader and alleged liberator of the land, so better to abandon the position or hold fire than to kill someone you have no idea of.

so what if they feel threatened? they should not be there in the first place and put themselves in the position to have to make a life decision like that. In any event, they are guilty of murder unless they know exactly who they are killing. If they are discovered and killed by the enemy, so be it, I think the worlds a better place without them.
 
I love the monday morning QB analyses on here. Bottom-line iis that war is not fun, fair, or always filled with correct, moral decisions. I don't necessarily agree with what he did, but I wasn't in his situation and have no idea the other factors that went into this decision. Whether we should be there or not, we are there and things like this will always happen in this type of environment.
 
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