Nearly 300 British Veterans Face Investigation Over Alleged Iraq War Crimes

[Purveyor]

Source: Guardian UK

Nearly 300 British personnel who served in Iraq have been contacted by investigators looking into allegations of war crimes, with some of them facing interrogation on their doorsteps, officials have said.

The Iraq historic allegations team (Ihat), the government-established criminal investigation into claims of murder, abuse and torture during the Iraq war, said it has written to veterans a week after it warned that some may face prosecution.

In some cases the letters were hand-delivered and it suggested that investigators had taken the opportunity to “ask a few questions” where possible. In a statement released on Friday, it defended its actions, saying their investigators had carried out “standard police practice”.
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About 280 veterans have been sent documents telling them they were involved in an incident under investigation by the Ihat, a spokeswoman for the unit said.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jan/09/nearly-300-british-veterans-face-investigation-over-alleged-iraq-war-crimes

[another_liberal]

1. Makes one wonder . . .

Just how many thousands and thousands of "claims of murder, abuse and torture" would we find to look into, if anyone in power ever saw a reason to seriously investigate what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq?

(sigh)

[Bad Dog]

2. This is all sub judice

And some of the lawyers represented have been called ambulance chasing, and retired top brass have said there's no way that amount of atrocities could happen with robust systems in place. They also talk about the enemy being under no such restrictions.

Having said that we should hold ourselves to a higher set of standards, these cases have to be decided in a court of law, even though the real villains, Bush and Blair, will never face justice.

[Botany]

3. When will bush, Cheney, Blair, Rummy, Wolfowitz, Condi, and so on get their letters?

n/t

[Enthusiast]

4. Plus a bazillion!

[EdwardBernays]

6. where does that stop?

I mean, I'd not like it to stop, but... if we start down that road hundreds of CIA agents should be in jail, and people like Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Kissinger, etc., etc., etc. There's thousands of Americans - at least - complicit in the murder of 10s of thousands of civilians... Heck Obama is currently complicit in the collective punishment of 6m Yeminis, with some saying he's opening the US and himself to war crimes charges... and no wonder really... if Russia was doing what the US is doing we'd hear nothing, but talk of how evil Putin...

The fact is that Americans en masse don't care about the people they pay their government to kill, or who their troops kill for whatever random reason is en vogue any given year... and pretending that all this bad behaviour started and ended with BushCo and the neocons does no one any good.

[smiley]

7. it shouldn't stop...

put them all in jail. Every last murdering SOB.

[EdwardBernays]

8. I agree

100%

I just am not sure what would happen if anyone in any court or political position tried to actually put dozens of CIA agents and Presidents and political operatives on trial... that might actually lead to the end of America...

[EdwardBernays]

5. shame

the US just uses all of it's power to hide murders instead of investigating murders...