Is a journalist worth a soldier, an interpreter and some Afghans?

| 10-09-2009 | UK Politics | Written by Matthew Bennett

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We were all born and we will all die, but the bit in the middle seems to be problematic, doesn’t it?

The sorrows of everyday life

The rescue of a British New York Times journalist and the deaths in the same action of his Afghan interpreter, a British special forces soldier and three or four other unnamed Afghans poses some important questions.

Stephen Farrell, the journalist, Sultan Munadi, his interpreter and Corporal John Harrison, the special forces soldier, all appear or appeared to be committed professionals who had volunteered in this life for reporting, interpreting and soldiering.

Of the unnamed Afghans who died we don’t know, or have not bothered to find out or report, their names. If one or more of them were part of that complicated group we label ‘enemy’, I imagine he or they were also volunteers.

The owners of the house where the raid took place seem to me to be the only non-volunteers in the whole affair, although Gordon Brown appears to be on the fence as to whether he volunteered his active opinion and courageous leadership skills or not.

Perhaps Mr. Farrell could nip back and ask them, or maybe the local British battalion could send someone along.

The argument between the still-living appears to be all about which gang you’re in.

There’s the British vs. the Afghans, the soldiers vs. the journalists, Corporal Harrison’s grieving British family vs. the rescued journalist, Sultan Munadi’s grieving Afghan family vs. the soldiers, and almost everyone vs. the Taliban. Only the British government is unsure of which side it was on at the time or which group it currently supports. The dead can no longer be on anyone’s side.

The media, our wonderful Fourth Estate, own all of the loudspeakers, so their opinions and ideas on this event are very widely published. They even adopted Munadi as one of their own after a bit of outraged prodding by commentators. The Army’s ideas are reported on somewhat less but there is a modicum of functional respect between the two groups, so the Army’s ideas get some coverage too.

Both the media and the Army are essential pillars of our Western democracies and both, in their own way, are fervent supporters and defenders of our modern philosophy of freedom. Both the journalist and the soldier acted as they were supposed to, so no blame should be laid on either of them.

I would even argue that Corporal Harrison’s death is much more directly related to the defence of those values than the deaths of many other British soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan, not that this will be of much help to his grieving family.

Interpreters, essential to both the Army and the media in doing their work in foreign countries, are not yet a formally recognised pillar of society, although perhaps they should be, as their work promoting understanding between all is the most meritorious of all. I doubt this will be of much comfort to Munadi’s grieving family either.

The unnamed dead Afghans, even the Taliban ones, probably have unnamed but nonetheless grieving relatives in an unnamed Afghan village somewhere, but they were neither an official nor an unofficial pillar of any society so they go unmentioned and can no longer dream of one day enjoying or finally destroying our ideas of freedom and democracy.

For those who were part of the British gang, apart from Corporal Harrison and his grieving family, the decision to attempt the rescue was the right one, in line with our values. For those in any of the Afghan gangs, it clearly wasn’t a great outcome any way you look at it.

Once it all kicked off, after Gordon Brown had or had not decided to remove the political safety catch, Fate was always going to see to who lived and who died. People must get better at dodging bullets.

So stand easy, Corporal Harrison, and take a break, Munadi; rest in peace all of you, it’s not your problem any more, you played your parts.

For all those of us left alive, well, sometimes life’s shit. Maybe one day it will all make sense. In the meantime we should think more carefully about all of this and strive to understand each other better.