Looting, Basra, and Rules of Engagement

Sir George Newman QC

The Guardian reports on a report by Sir George Newman QC about the drowning death of a teenager suspected of looting in Basra. Excerpt:

Newman’s inquiry was given a statement by a former captain in the Irish Guards who said that the practice of pushing looters into water “was absolutely known and understood” by British troops in Basra. 

“Unless you were an idiot, you could not have missed it and the talk of looters and what we did with them was on everyone’s lips all of the time. “Everyone knew, even in our HQ – of that l have absolutely no doubt. I’m not saying it happened a lot, but it happened. If someone said they didn’t know about the practice and what was happening I would unequivocally call them a liar.”