Canadian sniper cleared of desecrating al-Qaeda body

National Post ^ | February 8, 2003 | Stewart Bell

[Clive]

A Canadian sniper up for the Bronze Star medal for his combat role in Afghanistan has been cleared of allegations he desecrated the body of a dead al-Qaeda fighter, the Defence Department said yesterday.

Military investigators lacked evidence for charges against Master Corporal Arron Perry and another Canadian, following allegations soldiers cut the finger off an enemy combatant and staged a "trophy" photo of the body.

The investigation also examined claims a soldier defecated on a second body. Master Cpl. Perry had been suspended pending the outcome of the probe, but was returned to duty yesterday in Edmonton.

"After a thorough investigation by the National Investigation Service, the evidence wasn't sufficient to support charges in that case," said Captain Mark Giles, a Department of National Defence public affairs officer.

Master Cpl. Perry, a member of Edmonton's 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, said he was relieved the investigation had concluded.

"I'm glad finally it's done," he said.

The sniper was part of a small group of Canadian soldiers who directly engaged the Taliban and al-Qaeda during a tour in Afghanistan. He has been credited with helping save soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division pinned down by enemy fire in Shah-i-Kot Valley.

The Canadians' sharp-shooting on al-Qaeda machine-gun nests and mortar positions were chronicled in Soldier of Fortune magazine. U.S. commanders have since recommended the snipers for Bronze Stars recognizing heroic or meritorious service.

But a few weeks after that triumph, Master Cpl. Perry was sent home under a cloud of suspicion. Allegations surfaced in mid-March that he had interfered with a body and there were reports of a photograph showing a dead enemy fighter with a cigarette in his mouth and a small sign on his chest reading "f--k terrorism."

But the investigation centred on claims a soldier had taken a finger from the body.

"The photos, while being perhaps inappropriate, that was not the main focus of the investigation. The main focus was the allegations of interfering with the dead body," Cpt. Giles said. "It's as much moral as it is legal. We always want dead bodies, whether they be enemy or friendly, to be treated with dignity."

Military investigators dug up the corpse and searched tents at the Canadian military base, seizing a knife. DNA tests were conducted to see if the knife could be tied to the body, but no link was established.

[Kevin Curry]

You may talk o' gin an' beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,
An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;
But if it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water, 5
An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.

[VaBthang4]

Ahh...and tweedledum chimes back in.

I answered the question. Your ADD must've kicked in huh? Go back and read some more.

[Cvengr]

It's by His grace that any person survives any battle. If one begins to believe that their personal effort and will independent from Him is the root source of victory, then they've already lost a battle far more gruesome than tearing sinew from bone.

Nonetheless, the war will be won by Him and every knee will bow.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..speak with men who have fought and killed, who have fought to keep from getting killed, who have seen and felt their best friends' heads explode in a spray of skull and brain tissue. Grace tells you nothing of the hell that is battle....

Kev?

Time to cut back on these, okay?

[VaBthang4]

I find it hilariously ironic that two cheesedoodles with zero combat experience would be so full of excrement as to lecture combat veterans about the actions of another combat veteran and his actions in the AfghanTO.

The Hubris of incompetence.

[VaBthang4]

I'm out...these guys are boring.

[Poohbah]

OK, having BTDT...

If this numbskull did half of what he's alleged to have done, I'd stick him in the brig on bread and water for three days to straighten out his attitude.

[Kevin Curry]

You and B_t_A are way out of your element sniffing and pontificating about what men ought to do in battle. Give it a rest.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..I answered the question. Your ADD must've kicked in huh?...

No, Vab, you have not.

Now we have been bedevilled here at FR by people like yourself, who claim combat experience and relatives with 'chests full of 7.62s', and all the rest of it. The poster 'Deep In The Hurtgen Forest' was the most notorious example, but by no means the only one. And, of course, this problem is not restricted to Free Republic. If you're going to use your supposed military history to give weight to your argument on FR, the onus is on you to prove it's genuine.

[Aura Of The Blade]

Disciplined men under arms don't acquiesce to mediocrity, especially regarding life and death events

A disciplined soldier adjusts to the mission when facing a ruthless guerilla trained terrorist.

[Cvengr]

Yeppers, I do criticize any moron who likes to play with dead bodies in a combat zone other than to collect the remains and bury them..

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..you and B_t_A are way out of your element sniffing and pontificating about what men ought to do in battle...

This did not happen in battle, Kevin. Read the links posted above.

[Aura Of The Blade]

I couldn't have said it better.

[VaBthang4]

LOL...

That's it. I should've never opened up! Oh the wounds.

Haha...

[Cvengr]

Nice baiting try KC,...you're green still.

[OldCorps]

Ok folks, I did a little research on the subject of maiming an enemy combatant.

From the Geneva Convention of which we are a signatory, Article 3, 1, a
___________________________________________________
In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
________________________________________________________

From article 124 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice

924. ART. 124. MAIMING
Any person subject to this chapter who, with intent to injure, disfigure, or disable, inflicts upon the person of another an injury which--
(1) seriously disfigures his person by a mutilation thereof;
(2) destroys or disables any member or organ of his body; or
(3) seriously diminishes his physical vigor by the injury of any member or organ;
is guilty of maiming and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
_________________________________________________________

Now lets look at the moral case. We as the most powerful country in the world are obliged to treat enemy dead respectfully if only to show that we as a society have greater respect for human life than our advesaries. Clearly this is the case with Al Queda.

Put yourself in the place of a combatant, on either side. Most that do the real killing are between 15-25 years old. As a combatant, do you want someone to deface or maim your body if you are killed in action? Of course not, and neither should we do the same to their bodies. Most kids this age have not really figured out all the answers to life (lol, I'm 44 and I'm still short a few answers) and are usually terrified in battle. They look to their leaders for example. If the leadership fails to stop this kind of trophy taking, you open the door to massacres down the road.

Finally, think about these kids 50 years later, at 70 years old, reflecting back on their time during the big war. Maiming an enemy combatant is not something they will be proud of then and will have to account of their actions before God.

For the sake of all, them and us, its best to be respectful to enemy dead. We have immense technological advantage, better training, leadership and weapons. We can afford to be magnanimous to our enemies, without risking our lives.

[Poohbah]

I just expect a lot out of myself, and the people I lead. Nothing more than that.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

....I'm still waiting for that picture of body desecration which according to you Perry either took or was in....

I think we need a scan from SoF, for that. Here's the closest thing I can find, on the Net. In this one he's only 'examining' a corpse. Pity we haven't got the rest of the roll.

Master Cpl. Arron Perry, a Canadian sniper who was on the front lines of fighting the war of terrorism in Afghanistan, is shown examining the remains of a dead al-Qaida fighter in this photo taken March 3, 2002 in Eastern Afghanistan. (CP/Stephen Thorne)

[Cvengr]

Crapping on the torso of a corpse isn't adjusting the mission in guerilla warfare, nor is being involved in having a photo taken or making promises amongst team members not to talk about it to others,..they are all signs of criminal behavior and cowardice.

Even worse are those who ignore it and justify it because of some high school aged carousing mentality.

I could care less about how 'ruthless' such a 'guerilla trained 'terrorist' presents himself. Easy pickens.

[Cvengr]

good post, SF