http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nort ... 608282.stm


I would have said that the fact that Muslims use Mosques to base their attacks from and as a place of sanctuary during battles has meant that the army now has to look at them as potentially hostile buildings.

We bombed Christian churches during WWII. No difference here. It’s not one rule for one religion, and another rule for another.

+1, and more elegantly put than I would have managed.

The 'buildings' in the pictures look more like cardboard cut-outs from a terrible spaghetti western than actual buildings.
If the colour of the dome is the problem then by all means paint it white, red, blue, yellow or black.

However, I wholeheartedly agree with the army spokesperson who said they have a responsibility to prepare soldiers for deployment in the arena they will be sent to. If that means building a fake town then so be it, complete with religious structures if they are common in the theatre. Who knows, it might help prevent artillery from hitting a Mosque full of civilians if the crews have had accrued extensive experience of dealing with that sort of landscape.

Regrettably, the insurgents and extremists have made Mosques a legitimate target by using them for cover. If the Muslim community don't want the army building replicas on their firing ranges then they have a duty to see to it that Mosques are not legitimate targets now or in the future.

Absolutely. There has been footage of training grounds for Afghanistan on the news in the past. A village is built, and populated to create the right kind of experience. It’s not just a case of who to shoot or not to shoot here, but to acclimatise the soldiers to the customs and behaviours of the people they will be interacting with. You need everything there - mosques included.

What is not evident from the article is whether the buildings are used in such a way, or are just target markers for artillery training. I do agree that if the islamic faith is so bothered by artillerymen being trained to recognise their places of worship as a potential target, then they have to stop using them as recruiting grounds and shelters for combatants.

To be honest the only response I can come up with is "So what ?"

I think the army have had entire villages with churches on wiltshire plain as a target for years. The Christians did not complain about that. I think that the Muslims are being over sensitive. Though if you use them for cover then they become a legitimate target.

I hope the army tell these fools to get stuffed, and I don't care if they do it politely or not.