In the past few weeks a series of events have revealed an increasing shift in awareness on behalf of public figures and the media. First, there was an article in The Guardian regarding MI6's links to Gaddafi. Journalists are doing their job at last! And then today, the Baha Mousa Inquiry released its findings. My initial response was one of gratitude. I was relieved that justice had been done, albeit in an imperfect form- far too late, and bearing no tangible consequences for those responsible.
However, after having looked at the transcript of today's session, and a few articles from the press, I can't help but feel disappointed. In an interview with Robert Fisk in 2004, some of the detainees who were held with Baha Mousa describe the circumstances that led to their capture, and the treatment that they received. Reading it I felt that it was not enough for the report to pin most of the blame on one soldier, especially given that he has already been convicted. Furthermore, there is in my view absolutely no reason to believe that these acts aren't carried out by soldiers all the time. This instance is different primarily because a man died, and his family persevered in its quest for justice. Would we have found out if they hadn't?
We don't know whether this is merely an "episode" as mentioned in the report, an "isolated case" as suggested by General Sir Mike Jackson, or whether it is symptomatic of the way the army operates around the world. After all, we have no way of knowing. But it is our moral responsibility to make an educated guess. If this is the way soldiers treat civilians, I would rather not imagine what they do to the armed men they chance upon.
All is not fair in war. That is why we have such things as the Geneva Convention. War has always been bloody, but in a bygone era men felt bound by honour to follow certain rules. Allowing your adversary to retain dignity in defeat was the mark of an honourable victor. Sadly, with asymmetric warfare, and the systematic glorification of war at the hands of an increasingly inflammatory press and the makers of video games, the concept of honour has all but disappeared. It's cool to kill, and everyone can do it.
So I wonder very much indeed what Defence Secretary Liam Fox meant by his assertion that
"what separate us from our adversaries are our values that guide our actions"
What values would those be? After all, the government led the country to war on false pretences, weapons of mass destruction that it knew did not exist. If politicians are morally bankrupt to the point of lying in such very serious matters, why do we expect the servicemen, engaged in the very war their lies enabled, to act morally and responsibly?
All wars are the product of sick societies, where Superegos play out their psychotic fantasies at the expense of Humanity. The compulsive need to dominate the Other is totally abhorrent. Only a world ruled by men of the worst sort can lead us to where we are today. But since, as long as they are able to, men will toy with war, let them at least follow its rules.