UK agrees to pay for Basra damage

[bemildred]

The UK government is willing to pay compensation for the casualties and damage caused in Basra when two British undercover soldiers were freed.

During clashes on 19 September, the Army stormed a police station where it was thought the men were being held.

Several Iraqis were killed or wounded when the walls were knocked down, and in a demonstration in the Iraqi city.

The British consulate and a committee of Basra's provincial council issued a joint statement on the offer.

BBC

[Barrett808]

1. That'll fix it right up. n/t

[Benbow]

2. Wonder when the US is going to make reparation n/t

[Karmakaze]

3. Too bad they can't use the TRUE name for them...

Terrorists.

Remember what the Geneva Convention says about unlawful combatants? You know the rule that is being used to put people in Guantanamo?

International law states that anyone in combat who does NOT wear a uniform is an unlawful combatant and therefore does not have the right to be treated as a POW - in fact they can be classified as terrorists or spies, and can be subject to the death penalty should they be convicted of fighting without a uniform or other identifying characteristic.

If these soldiers were "undercover" then Al Qaeda terrorists are just "undercover soldiers".

[sabra]

4. Britain offers compensation for Basra prison raid

http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/world/national/2005/10/11/basra_british_051011.html


Britain offers compensation for Basra prison raid

Britain says it will pay compensation for injuries and damage to buildings incurred when its army stormed a police station in a southern Iraqi city last month to free two British soldiers.

British armoured vehicles smashed through the walls of the police station in Basra on Sept. 19 in a successful bid to rescue the pair, who had been arrested by Iraqi police and handed over to a militia.

Several Iraqis died in the attack and the street protests that followed, as crowd members assaulted British troops with Molotov cocktails and other weapons.

"We regret the incidents that took place in Basra on 19 September 2005 at the Serious Crimes Unit. We also regret the casualties on both sides and the material damage to public facilities," the British consulate and Basra city council said in a joint statement released Tuesday.

[Hillgiant]

5. This is good (and a bit disturbing)

This is good in that Britian is doing the right thing. What is disturbing is that they need to do it at all. I was under the impression that Britain was on better terms with their occupees than this.

[jsamuel]

6. "We regret the incidents..." - No you don't! You did it on purpose!

"We regret the incidents that took place in Basra on 19 September 2005 at the Serious Crimes Unit. We also regret the casualties on both sides and the material damage to public facilities"

I call BULLSHIT!

[endarkenment]

7. How about they offer up an explanation

for why two SAS blokes were riding around in arab mufti in a civilian vehicle chock full of interesting weapons, many of the type that are used by the insurgency, and killed the policemen who thought they looked suspicious and approached them for questioning?

[daleo]

8. Exactly.

They should apologize for blatantly violating, ignoring, and insulting Iraqi sovereignty while they are in an apologetic mood. But that would take years of apologizing.

[Nihil]

9. Now now ...

... don't want them to go setting a precedent for the invaders now
do we?

> They should apologize for blatantly violating, ignoring, and insulting
> Iraqi sovereignty

You'll be expecting people to be apologising for bombing the shit out
of civilians next. Or maybe for kidnapping & illegal imprisonment.
Or torture. Or theft of resources. Or destroying the non-combatant
infrastructure (water-processing plants, power stations, bridges, ...)

[T_i_B]

10. I notice the Daily Mail is already being rather outraged about this

In case you are wondering, the Daily Mail is a right wing UK tabloid known mainly for being very right wing and very outraged about, well anything really.

Their front page headline today read WHY SHOULD WE PAY THE IRAQI'S?.

http://www.mailwatch.co.uk/