SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
An image of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was used for target practice by UK soldiers in Afghanistan. (Photo: screenshots from SnapChat video of incident)
'Not Just Inappropriate. It's Fascistic': Outrage Over UK Soldiers Using Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn for Target Practice
"Deeply, deeply dangerous."
Apr 03, 2019
British soldiers in Kabul, Afghanistan, used an image of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as target practice, drawing criticism from United Kingdom progressives and triggering an internal investigation.
Video of the soldiers firing weapons at a large picture of Corbyn went viral early Wednesday morning.
The video was propelled into the mainstream after journalist Ash Sarkar, in a thread on Twitter, cited images from the video posted by far right British writer Trevor Coult celebrating the behavior. In her comments on the video's reception, Sarkar drew a line between Coult's fascist rhetoric and the coverage of Corbyn in the British press.
Sarkar also wondered why the story wasn't front page news.
"It's not just inappropriate," Sarkar said. "It's fascistic."
British media jumped on the story shortly thereafter, and the images have since spread across the world.
The British military has begun an investigation of the soldiers' behavior.
"It's totally unacceptable behavior," said Brigadier Nick Perry.
According to the New York Times, the video was taken "at a range in Kabul, Afghanistan, where soldiers carry out 'guardian-angel' drills, practicing to protect top officials. Pictures of other celebrities appeared at the range, but not for target practice."
Media and political personalities in Britain denounced the video and called for a more congenial politics in a fraught moment for the country.
The video is "terrifying," said Novara Media editor James Butler.
"Deeply, deeply dangerous in this political moment," Butler said.
"Calling Jeremy Corbyn a 'terrorist sympathizer,' 'traitor,' and a 'Britain hater' is wrong and dangerous," said Labour Party activist George Aylett. "There are consequences."
"This disgraceful behavior is deeply troubling and has no place in the Army," said Nia Griffith, Corbyn's shadow minister for defense.
Corbyn is meeting this afternoon with Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss a possible compromise plan for Brexit.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
British soldiers in Kabul, Afghanistan, used an image of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as target practice, drawing criticism from United Kingdom progressives and triggering an internal investigation.
Video of the soldiers firing weapons at a large picture of Corbyn went viral early Wednesday morning.
The video was propelled into the mainstream after journalist Ash Sarkar, in a thread on Twitter, cited images from the video posted by far right British writer Trevor Coult celebrating the behavior. In her comments on the video's reception, Sarkar drew a line between Coult's fascist rhetoric and the coverage of Corbyn in the British press.
Sarkar also wondered why the story wasn't front page news.
"It's not just inappropriate," Sarkar said. "It's fascistic."
British media jumped on the story shortly thereafter, and the images have since spread across the world.
The British military has begun an investigation of the soldiers' behavior.
"It's totally unacceptable behavior," said Brigadier Nick Perry.
According to the New York Times, the video was taken "at a range in Kabul, Afghanistan, where soldiers carry out 'guardian-angel' drills, practicing to protect top officials. Pictures of other celebrities appeared at the range, but not for target practice."
Media and political personalities in Britain denounced the video and called for a more congenial politics in a fraught moment for the country.
The video is "terrifying," said Novara Media editor James Butler.
"Deeply, deeply dangerous in this political moment," Butler said.
"Calling Jeremy Corbyn a 'terrorist sympathizer,' 'traitor,' and a 'Britain hater' is wrong and dangerous," said Labour Party activist George Aylett. "There are consequences."
"This disgraceful behavior is deeply troubling and has no place in the Army," said Nia Griffith, Corbyn's shadow minister for defense.
Corbyn is meeting this afternoon with Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss a possible compromise plan for Brexit.
British soldiers in Kabul, Afghanistan, used an image of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as target practice, drawing criticism from United Kingdom progressives and triggering an internal investigation.
Video of the soldiers firing weapons at a large picture of Corbyn went viral early Wednesday morning.
The video was propelled into the mainstream after journalist Ash Sarkar, in a thread on Twitter, cited images from the video posted by far right British writer Trevor Coult celebrating the behavior. In her comments on the video's reception, Sarkar drew a line between Coult's fascist rhetoric and the coverage of Corbyn in the British press.
Sarkar also wondered why the story wasn't front page news.
"It's not just inappropriate," Sarkar said. "It's fascistic."
British media jumped on the story shortly thereafter, and the images have since spread across the world.
The British military has begun an investigation of the soldiers' behavior.
"It's totally unacceptable behavior," said Brigadier Nick Perry.
According to the New York Times, the video was taken "at a range in Kabul, Afghanistan, where soldiers carry out 'guardian-angel' drills, practicing to protect top officials. Pictures of other celebrities appeared at the range, but not for target practice."
Media and political personalities in Britain denounced the video and called for a more congenial politics in a fraught moment for the country.
The video is "terrifying," said Novara Media editor James Butler.
"Deeply, deeply dangerous in this political moment," Butler said.
"Calling Jeremy Corbyn a 'terrorist sympathizer,' 'traitor,' and a 'Britain hater' is wrong and dangerous," said Labour Party activist George Aylett. "There are consequences."
"This disgraceful behavior is deeply troubling and has no place in the Army," said Nia Griffith, Corbyn's shadow minister for defense.
Corbyn is meeting this afternoon with Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss a possible compromise plan for Brexit.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.