Clive Fairweather: Lest we forget the name of Baha Mousa

Almost four years after he died in Basra, from multiple injuries sustained while in the custody of British soldiers, the name of Baha Mousa, a 26-year-old hotel worker and father of two, has been consigned to history. At Bulford in Wiltshire last week, the six soldiers charged with involvement in his brutal and squalid death were acquitted.

The irony that he died in a detention centre previously used by Saddam Hussein's secret police is compounded by a further irony. This is that one of the main complaints from senior Army officers and many other observers is that the origins of this long, expensive trial could well lie, if not precisely at No 10, then not far away: with Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, who of course, also gave the legal advice which paved the way for war. So everyone, from the highest in the land to the lowliest British squaddie and the average Shia on the streets of Basra, may well be feeling that they have been "stitched up".

Like Colonel Jorge Mendonca, former commanding officer of the regiment in charge at the time of Mr Mousa's arrest, and until very recently one of the accused undergoing trial, I have been in charge of 600 British soldiers, and at various times had to face volatile situations in foreign parts, including the Middle East and Belfast.

My main memory of the men under my command is of enormous pride for all the corporate good they tried to bring to the people they had been sent to protect. Nevertheless, though I knew that they frightened the enemy, a minority also frightened me with what they might be getting up to when my back was turned. When those trying to kill you and your men are not easily identified, maintaining tight control in every corner may not be possible. My sympathies are with the former CO and soldiers of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, who faced the almost impossible task of bringing peace to Basra. If, in such straits, some soldiers resorted to using sleep deprivation and stress positions to put pressure on suspects for quick intelligence gains - almost certainly not ordered by senior commanders - there may be a life-saving purpose, unacceptable though such behaviour is when seen in the cold light of day.

But vicious beatings with iron bars, nooses placed round suspects' necks, or being forced to drink your own urine have no place in a civilised force. If there are persistent allegations, they must be tested. No expense has been spared in this case. Yet, after the law has taken its course, no one is to be held responsible for the 93 separate injuries which caused Baha Musa's death.

What is needed? An even clearer statement that commanding officers are responsible for all that goes on beneath them? Or more Royal Military Police resources to investigate misdemeanours? Or have we gone as far as we can go? Or is it just inevitable that there will be more such worrying cases in Iraq or, in due course, in Afghanistan?

I am as disconcerted as anyone about this case. But I fear these steps will not help as much as we might wish. This has been a monstrous and drawn-out episode but what this non-conviction might just achieve, paradoxically, is to remind soldiers of their obligations.

Nowadays, the growing reach of the internet and cameras means that every witness becomes a potential whistle-blower. In say, Aden and Kenya, a degree of laxity crept in, but soldiers are now much more aware of the ubiquity of cameras.

Baha Mousa's unnecessary death diminishes each and every one of us. But just maybe, it can help prevent similar tragedies in future, or slow down the attrition rate in today's hugely complicated, asymetrical warfare.

Clive Fairweather is a former commanding officer, The King's Own Scottish Borderers (and Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland)

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