Quote Originally Posted by Polarbear1605 View Post
I have been holding back on this one wanting to see where it goes. I think we need to look at Breaker Morant and others through a different lens or filter. Morant and Waller are both classic cases of Strategic Legalism (“the use of laws or legal arguments to further larger policy objectives regardless of facts or laws” - Maguire, Peter, 2002. LAW AND WAR: AN AMERICAN STORY. New York: Columbia University Press). Maguire uses the Waller case as one of the first historical examples of Strategic Legalism. As examples of Strategic Legalism, discussions about Morant and Waller being right or wrong are mute as is the discussion on Rule 303s or throwing killer switches. Both Morant and Waller were following their orders and their current Laws of War. In both cases, the strategic leadership needed scapegoats to fulfill “larger policy objectives” and in the Morant Case they were successful (for at least 109 years) and unsuccessful in the Waller case. Old Major Waller defended himself and knew his way around a Court Martial. He was able to capitalize on a huge mistake made by his prosecutor that enabled him to get the Court Martial to pronounce him innocent.
The issue then becomes how do you recognize Strategic Legalism as opposed to a war crime. So Jim Frederick’s Book - BLACK HEARTS (four soldiers rape a 14 year old Iraqi girl then murder her and her family) clearly describes a war crime. The Haditha Incident, at least in my opinion, is clearly Strategic Legalism. In both cases the military legal system resolves the issue but the basic cause in both cases is bad leadership. In the Black Hearts case the bad leadership is at the tactical level and in Haditha the bad leadership is at the strategic level.
As Mike says: When I quit learning, I'll be dead.

So this shocking and disgraceful betrayal of one (or some) of your own soldiers is called Strategic Legalism. That it is defined probably means that it is more prevalent than I had previously supposed. Very very sad.

In the UK in Afghanistan thread Red Rat posted as follows in post #736:

As in at least one case in Iraq a prosecution was sought by the MOD in order to clarify legal issues and ensure that the Army was seen to be not above the law and whiter then white.
I'm afraid I am unable to approach such matters from a purely academic arms length perspective. They screw up soldiers lives (kill them in the case of Breaker Morant) their careers and their families and create havoc in the applicable units with no just cause. There needs to be consequences.