My best friend needs your support

[Gman]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090106.wsemrau0106/BNStory/National/home


PETAWAWA, Ont.  — Captain Robert Semrau is accused of killing a severely-wounded Taliban insurgent last October in the Afghanistan province of Helmand, a military court heard today as the Canadian soldier applies to be released from jail while awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree murder.

The 35-year-old army captain was commanding soldiers in the British-controlled area On Oct. 19, 2008, when the soldiers and Afghan forces were ambushed by Taliban insurgents, the military court heard from a statement issued by the Crown prosecutor.

Air support from a United States helicopter helped rout the attack and the Canadians discovered a critically-wounded insurgent after the battle was over.

The insurgent's wounds were deemed too severe to be treated in the battlefield and his rifle was taken away.
Capt. Robert Semrau (right) arrives under military police custody for his custody hearing at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ontario Tuesday. Semrau is charged with second-degree murder in the death of a presumed enemy fighter in Afghanistan. (Photo: Tom Hanson/The Canadian Press)

Captain Semrau was the only person standing near the wounded insurgent when two shots rang out and the enemy combatant was found dead, the court heard.

One unnamed witness has testified to military investigators they saw Captain Semrau firing at the insurgent, prosecutor Major Marylene Trudel said. She said the Crown will assert that Captain Semrau fired both shots.

The body of the insurgent was left behind and never recovered.

Captain Semrau is currently awaiting a decision on his application to be released from custody while awaiting trial. Both the defence and the Crown prosecutor have agreed that he should be released under a set of conditions.

Rob and I were born a day apart in the same hospital ward, and our parents, and subsequently he and I became best friends.  We grew up shooting nearly every week together, and you couldn't find a better or more loyal friend.  He joined the British Army after school and served with 2 Para in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, and Iraq.  Then he joined the Canadian Forces as an officer and has been working as an OMLT mentor training the Afghan National Army.

As for the incident that he is being charged with, I was over there at the time working with my pirvate military company, and all I know is that they were deep in indian country and outnumbered significantly, and if it wasn't for the quick action of the US forces, particularly the army helo guys, they would have been likely overun.  One Afghan General is quoted in the media as saying there was well over 100 confirmed Taliban dead, so many that they couldn't determine how they all died, and that he was certain Capt Semrau did no wrong.

There is a Facebook group up now with close to 4000 members already, Support the Freedom of Capt. Robert Semrau.  Please lend your support to a great soldier and a great man.  Having spoken to a lot of guys over there right now regarding this incident, apparently even the Afghans troops are furious he has been charged.  We'll just have to wait for the truth to come out.

This incident has MAJOR implications in Canada's continued mission in Afghanistan, and I'll be damned if I just sit by any longer while those who don't want us there try and use this incident as fuel to try and get us to withdraw our support for our British, American, and Afghan allies.  This is a big deal, as during the Somali mission years ago our armed forces had a bad PR beat and we ended up disbanding our best and most historic regiment over it, and its cloud still hangs over our guys in the media.

Anyhow, your support would be greatly appreciated.

<S> Gman

[bongaroo]

Not to look like a badguy here but I have to ask.  Did he shoot the guy when he was unarmed and already injured?
The story leaves that up in the air as it doesn't say anymore than an unnamed witness saying he did.  If evidence says he did than I see no reason for him to be out on bail until he is either found guilty or innocent in a court of law.  Pretty cut and dry.

[Rich46yo]

I say give him a medal for killing another terrorist. If I were running the show I'd be giving $$ bountys for each dead terrorist our guys shwacked.

As for these terrorists in custody? I'd give em one trial in front of a Military tribunal and if 51% of the evidence showed they had aided a terror organization in some way they'd be swinging from the gallows, with a load in their pants, the next morning.

How's that for "support"?

[USRanger]

I could write a 15 page rant in defense of your buddy, but I won't.  All I can say is it disgusts me what Western civilization is now taught to think what war is.  War is a dirty, loud, scary as hell business.  It's not supposed to be clean.  It's not a video game.  It's real life close with your enemy and kill 'em deader than hell, because they will certainly do it to you.  Yes, even is this day & age of Generation Xbox.  I served in both A'stan and Iraq.  I guarantee if that Taliban had been able to pull the pin on a grenade, he would have.  My unit didn't take chances.  We put em down.  Yes, I'm sorry to inform some of you that there are still American units out there that fight old school kill em all war, not the wussified version that people seem to be being brainwashed with in this day and age.

Gman, all I can say is I've been in the same situation, took the same course of action, and would do it again a hundred times over.  Pusssified political "rules" and "morals" be damned.  I really hope things work out for your buddy.  It's almost incomprehensible some of the criminal cases being brought on soldiers fighting a WAR!!
Lucky for us this enlightened way of Western thinking wasn't around when we fought on places like Iwo & Okinawa.  We would have lost.  I guarantee it.

Rant over.    to your friend.  Hooah!

[smkelly13]

Here's a legit question I hardly ever see floating around in the news, or the internet, what about our troops?  Are they ever shown mercy? Respect?  Decency?  The answer no matter what question you ask is no, absolutely not.  Hell, American civilian civil contractors were raped and murdered, drug across a bridge strung up and set on fire.  If someone (American) did that to a Iraqi, holy crap.  The world would possibly implode.  I don't understand why we have to play nice in war when no one else does.  If the government, looking at you liberal, would allow the soldiers and Marines to do what they've been trained to do this "war" would have been over about a year, instead of how long its taken so far.

I've never read about people complaining about what happened in WWII, not until the major media started to really take off around the Vietnam era.  Then it started to get ridiculous.  People need to google the definition of WAR.

Being in the service myself (Marine Corps.) I understand these things more than the average Joe who's never been in intense wartime training, who's never been on the business end of a rifle or firearm.  We're trained to kill, and when we do we get penalized.

[iTunes]

Hey Gman
What can I do to help? Right now I'm so angry from reading your post that it's best that I just leave it short like this, what can I do to help?

[splitatom]

sounds like he was putting him out of his misery like when Americans were shooting Americans because they were on fire after the flame thrower exploded on there backs

[CAVPFCDD]

and if your friend was captured by the taliban they would be-head him

i feel no remorse for an enemy that is hell bent on destroying our way of life

just ridiculous the goverment treats this as a murder, as if that guy wasn't trying his best to kill your friend

[ODBAL]

What a shame, I agree with the previous posts that speak to war being just that, war.  It's not a video game it is about killing your enemy plain and simple.  What gets me is the hypocracy of it all.  I could see if this terrorist scum had surrendered and was shot walking white flag in hand then maybe, just maybe I would have a problem with it.  This situation doesn't warranty my sympathy for the terrorist.  I find it laughable that these animals can do what they do to anyone they deem to be an enemy, including rape, torture, beheading, executions in the streets.  But, we take some "humiliating photo's" and we are the worst people on the planet.  

Best of luck to your friend, I call him a hero.

[smkelly13]

sounds like he was putting him out of his misery like when Americans were shooting Americans because they were on fire after the flame thrower exploded on there backs

That didn't happen all too often though, generally they'd give them a fatal overdose of morphine, so they at least to die without being in the most excruciating pain imaginable.

What a shame, I agree with the previous posts that speak to war being just that, war.  It's not a video game it is about killing your enemy plain and simple.  What gets me is the hypocracy of it all.  I could see if this terrorist scum had surrendered and was shot walking white flag in hand then maybe, just maybe I would have a problem with it.  This situation doesn't warranty my sympathy for the terrorist.  I find it laughable that these animals can do what they do to anyone they deem to be an enemy, including rape, torture, beheading, executions in the streets.  But, we take some "humiliating photo's" and we are the worst people on the planet.  

Best of luck to your friend, I call him a hero.

That doesn't matter, would they give us that kind of respect?  I'm predicting about a 99% chance that they wouldn't, they'd just use the flag to strangle you (yes, a Fallout 3 line).

[Saxman]

Regardless of practicality of fighting a war, (and I agree it ties the military's hands) it's a lot easier for them to claim that we're the "Good Guys" if we try to hold to the moral high ground. If the insurgents go around brutalizing prisoners but we show restraint it's a lot easier to say, "See, that's why these guys are evil and we're good."

[smkelly13]

That's the stance we've taken since the start of the War on Terrorism, has it done any good?  We're still infidels.

[Gman]

Thanks a lot for the kind words of support.  Rob had a hearing today, and is being released from custody until the trial later this year.  He'll be working on the base still, so it could be worse, I guess...

Please join the facebook page if you want to show support, it's growing by the thousands every day.

Rob is a real salt of the earth type of guy, a practice what he preaches christian who has literally given the Afghans he was sent to help the shirt off his back.  You guys who posted who have been over there too thanks so much for your words, it cheered Rob's brother as well as myself up a great deal today.

<S> Gman

[TOMCAT21]

Brothers in arms, we fight under different flags but we fight a common enemy... .

[nirvana]

What? That's...wow.  All my best for Capt. Semrau