Posted on 10/29/2011 1:45:32 PM PDT by Eleutheria5
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In essence, however, the obligations which the terms of those contracts impose on armed forces and the societies that they swear to defend have remained remarkably consistent and span religions and cultures.
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On the other side of the coin, governments that raise and maintain armies (and with very minor exceptions, all governments have felt it necessary to do so) likewise enter into a set of parallel obligations vis-à-vis their soldiers. For one thing, they undertake not to place the soldier's life at unnecessary risk by embarking on military adventures that are avoidable and/or redundant.
Second, they undertake not to order soldiers to carry out missions that are patently immoral or illegal.
Third, they promise to ensure that soldiers are provided with the equipment required to facilitate the accomplishment of the military mission and to make available budgetary resources for that purpose.
Finally, and perhaps above all, governments and commanders promise that they will do all in their power to ensure that soldiers who carry out their duties are returned safely to their homes or, if killed on active duty, that their bodies will not be left on the battlefield to rot or be mutilated.
It would be hard to exaggerate the resonance of this last obligation, which is epitomized in the injunction "Leave no man behind." Indeed, the phrase and the creed it conveys have been traced as far back as the great literary epics of classical Greece and Rome.
Not surprisingly, therefore, its influence on the strategic culture of most Western armed forces is immense. It has become a central pillar in a tradition that considers the promotion and preservation of individual combat motivation to be a key ingredient of battlefield success.
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(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...
I am betting that the Israelis turned about 10% of the Palestinians they released into informers - either with rewards or threats.
Now Hamas is going to have to spend more time trying to figure out who to trust and what secrets will be passed to the Israelis than attacking Israel.
Yeah sure. Makes sense until a child lies dead with its arms and legs 50 feet apart after one of these savages kills again.
This release goes deeper than apparently you can fathom.
I read that Bibi wanted Schalit out cause Israel is gonna whack Irans nuke program.
If that is true then good, if not it was a very stupid move.
Israel needs to kick hell out of Irans nike program if it cares to continue as a country.
Do the world and region a hell of a favor too.
these savages are going to kill again - no matter what Israel does or doesn’t do. that should be obvious now after 63 years since Israeli independence. i’m glad they got Shalit back and that one family is out of misery.
The author of this article is a complete idiot and has no clue about the “fortunes of war” and a soldier’s understanding that due to the “fortunes of war” he won’t be coming home. Ever.
Maybe it’s the difference between conscripts and volunteers. As a vet, my personal feeling is, rescue when possible, but never trade my life when it means risking civilan lives. Releasing murderers on my behalf would belittle the sacifices my brethren soldiers have made. I would be ticked. Of course if you do trade for me, install a self destruct button in the murderers hind quarters. Track them to a target rich environment, then blow their @rse up!
It's cheaper and more effective to kill these terrorists on the battlefield.
For any of the released terrorists who decide to stay out of the fight...everybody wins.
Another War in the Middle East.
They don’t do battlefields for that very reason. They make them where they don’t belong, such as on public busses, restaurants, and crowded streets.
They don’t do battlefields for that very reason. They make them where they don’t belong, such as on public busses, restaurants, and crowded streets.
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