Civilians always victims of war.
You describe the account of civilian casualties caused by Nato forces in Afghanistan as “perhaps the gravest scandal of all” and note that “the record appears to show that an Afghan life is worth far less than that of any Westerner” (leading article, 27 July). In fact, such a revelation is not at all surprising, or even particularly appalling. All military forces prioritise the preservation of their own troops over the lives of inhabitants of what is regarded as enemy territory, whether combatants or civilians.
This attitude is viewed as an essential survival skill. Asuitable historical case in point was the Allied liberation of France from the Nazis in the Second World War, during which up to 70,000 French civilians were unintentionally killed by Allied bombing, committed in the belief that the lives of the Allied troops had to be treated as being of the greatest intrinsic value. So the reason why Western troops have been complaining about the new restrictive rules of engagement as part of a counter-insurgency strategy becomes clear: they perceive it as unfair that the lives of civilians are apparently being seen as of equal or greater importance than their own.
AYMENN JAWAD
CARDIFF
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Great letter!
Civilians and women and children are the biggest victims of war - not soldiers!!!
You describe the account of civilian casualties caused by Nato forces in Afghanistan as “perhaps the gravest scandal of all” and note that “the record appears to show that an Afghan life is worth far less than that of any Westerner” (leading article, 27 July). In fact, such a revelation is not at all surprising, or even particularly appalling. All military forces prioritise the preservation of their own troops over the lives of inhabitants of what is regarded as enemy territory, whether combatants or civilians.
This attitude is viewed as an essential survival skill. Asuitable historical case in point was the Allied liberation of France from the Nazis in the Second World War, during which up to 70,000 French civilians were unintentionally killed by Allied bombing, committed in the belief that the lives of the Allied troops had to be treated as being of the greatest intrinsic value. So the reason why Western troops have been complaining about the new restrictive rules of engagement as part of a counter-insurgency strategy becomes clear: they perceive it as unfair that the lives of civilians are apparently being seen as of equal or greater importance than their own.
AYMENN JAWAD
CARDIFF
--------------------------------------------------------------
Great letter!
Civilians and women and children are the biggest victims of war - not soldiers!!!