eurealist.co.uk

From a letter in the Telegraph

“You ask: “How can a soldier be expected to do his duty, when he has to be asking himself constantly whether his every action is fully compatible with human rights law?”

The answer is simple. Providing British soldiers avoid committing acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and the laws of war, such as wilful killing (ie, murder), torture and inhuman treatment, they have nothing to fear from the International Criminal Court Act.”

Dr Gerry Simpson, Reader in Public International Law, London School of Economics, London WC2

All very laudable all very cleaver Dr Simpson, perhaps with your training and your knowledge, sitting at your desk in London, after a good nights sleep, with a nice mug of coffee and a stack of books and all the time in world to check the precise definitions of wilful killing or crime against humanity in any given circumstance is one thing. Do please try doing the same as a nineteen year old youth with no legal training in the field of battle, in constant fear of your own and you comrade’s lives, in hot dusty condition after not sleeping for perhaps two days, after having it drummed into you that quick decisive action - is what saves lives by a drill sergeant and your officers and see how well you score.