You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Afghanistan
Gurkha ordered back to UK after beheading dead Taliban fighter
2010-07-18
Posted by:tipper

#10  No local tooth doc for dental records.
No local constabulary for finger prints.
No CIA/MI5 notice of DNA samples.
Scalps don't identify who they belong to.
Guess that sort of cuts down the means of verification unless the pantywaists want to haul the body out of the backwoods.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2010-07-18 23:35  

#9  So he beheaded a DEAD Tallibunny.

Would you prefer he imitate the Tallibunnies and behead live people?

Hokay....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2010-07-18 22:34  

#8  The Anglo Saxons have forgotten a lot. Especially about how to rule. They can't even rule the Welsh anymore. Independence for the Grand Duchy of Fenwick can't be far away.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2010-07-18 21:45  

#7  This is considered a gross insult to the Muslims of Afghanistan, who bury the entire body of their dead even if parts have to be retrieved.
British soldiers often return missing body parts once a battle has ended so the dead can be buried in one piece.

...

The source said: ‘The soldier has been removed from duty and flown home. There is no sense of glory involved here, more a sense of shame. He should not have done what he did.’
The incident, which is being investigated by senior commanders, is hugely embarrassing to the British Army, which is trying to build bridges with local Afghan communities who have spent decades under Taliban rule.


Rolls my eyes

Is this war or what?
Posted by: Clyde Ulamp8999   2010-07-18 21:13  

#6  That man is more deserving of an OBE than Sir Paul.
Posted by: Spatch Speaking for Boskone8774   2010-07-18 19:14  

#5  he cut the dead taliban commaders head off so they could identify him later

I guess the Gurkhas don't carry digital cameras, so this is how they do it?

And I doubt there are any hearts or minds to worry about if it's a Taliban fighter. Let's keep that straight.
Posted by: gorb   2010-07-18 18:58  

#4  Sounds entirely reasonable to me, make damn sure your enemy IS DEAD.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2010-07-18 18:33  

#3  Perhaps it is so theat the Queen can present their VCs and DSCs personally.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2010-07-18 18:29  

#2  also he cut the dead taliban commaders head off so they could identify him later since they where sent on the mision too kil or capture this 1 man. So he brought back his head too identify him. It's not like he cut it off while he was still alive which wouldn't bother me at all. Guess the MOD got their panties ina wad trying too appease their future handlers the muslims.I say cut all the captured talibans heads off while they are still alive and their ranks would surely dwindle pretty quickly.
Posted by: chris   2010-07-18 18:24  

#1  Gurkhas do not make mistakes. They make revenge.

Note in the article that, "it comes just days after a rogue Afghan soldier murdered three British troops from the same Gurkha regiment."

'The Gurkhas were designated by British officials as a "Martial Race". "Martial Race" was a designation created by officials of British India to describe peoples that were thought to be naturally warlike and aggressive in battle, and to possess qualities of courage, loyalty, self sufficiency, physical strength, resilience, orderliness, the ability to work hard for long periods of time, fighting tenacity and military strategy.'

In other words, you mess with a Gurkha at your own peril. Even the WWII Japanese were rather afraid of them. With good reason.

N.B.: The favored Gurkha technique for silencing helmet-less sentries was to hit them on the top of their head with a combat Kukri, which can be as long as a man's arm, splitting their head in half, vertically, from behind. If they were wearing a helmet, the Gurkha would approach at an angle, and cleanly cut off their heat at the neck.

They also favored silently entering an enemy trench at night, and finding two enemy soldiers asleep together, cut one of their throats. The other one would provide a blood curdling scream alarm clock the next morning. This did much to enhance the reputation of the Gurkhas.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2010-07-18 18:16  

00:00