The Gurkha - Badass of the Month August 2010

[Cassius]

The Taliban, Haqqani, Al Qaeda, IMU, and other insurgent groups are in fact considered enemy combatants, and not soldiers of any uniformed services. While I personally believe that the decision to apply the Geneva Conventions and Hague Accords to insurgents is required by common decency and respect for human life, it was/is a courtesy, and not a requirement. According to said Conventions and Accords, anyway.

A moral conscience is what separates civilized people from cavemen.

[danno]

A moral conscience is what separates civilized people from cavemen.

or enlightened westerners from fundamentalist barbarians.

at least, that's how we like to imagine the situation.

[Phrost]

To clarify things a bit:

I do not support the wholesale desecration of the corpses of our enemies. In this specific incident as it has been presented to the public, yes, I think it was expedient and practical. But that is a far cry from suggesting it be done casually, or as a common practice.

I completely realize we need to win the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan, and help them rebuild their nation rather than simply occupying them. I also realize that a significant portion of that effort is playing politics and fighting on the battleground of culture. And in that kind of battle, the enemy always has the advantage because every cultural taboo, no matter how obscure or antiquated, is a potential weapon of mass destruction.

[Lebell]

all fine points and very civilised attitudes, except you know way better then me its not how you win this war.
this asks for brutality.

in case of taking the head for identification: ofcourse.
or take a picture?
we live in the 21st century after all.

[Phrost]

The Dutch Armed Forces now have technology that lets you get DNA from a photo?

[Lebell]

The Dutch Armed Forces now have technology that lets you get DNA from a photo?

Ask the americans, they seem to take our lead every time.

[Tonuzaba]

The Dutch Armed Forces now have technology that lets you get DNA from a photo?

Actually - as you went there - not from a photo, but... :-)

[sochin101]

Good choice, Phrost.

The Gurhkas are awesome. Period.
Once heard a story about severed heads stinking out quarters following the Falklands, but likely just more of the head-hunter myth.

Anyone seen the Gurkhas at Singapore Changi Airport?
Tiny, immaculate guys with sub-machine guns in hand, revolvers on the hip and kukri on the belt.

I was far more intimidated by the knife than the firearms :-)

[BrassMan]

The Taliban, Haqqani, Al Qaeda, IMU, and other insurgent groups are in fact considered enemy combatants, and not soldiers of any uniformed services. While I personally believe that the decision to apply the Geneva Conventions and Hague Accords to insurgents is required by common decency and respect for human life, it was/is a courtesy, and not a requirement. According to said Conventions and Accords, anyway.

A moral conscience is what separates civilized people from cavemen.

Two things. You are being a lawyer, stop it. The Taliban can't be insurgents because they live there.

However, I recently read Decline And Fall Of The British Empire and unless Afghanistan has come on a long way since the 1860s, the un-named Gurkha probably had the right idea. The book states that the British were neither ruthless enough to intimidate the Afghans ("a race of tigers stalking the alleyways of Kabul") nor prepared to buy off the local leaders. It ended badly.

The Gurkhas? Rock hard, good choice.

[Tonuzaba]

...The Taliban can't be insurgents because they live there...

The dictionary says otherwise, as it does not speak of location, only attitude:

in·sur·gent

   /ɪnˈsɜrdʒənt/ Show Spelled[in-sur-juhnt] Show IPA
–noun 1. a person who rises in forcible opposition to lawful authority, esp. a person who engages in armed resistance to a government or to the execution of its laws; rebel.

2. a member of a section of a political party that revolts against the methods or policies of the party.