@lemmein @Roussette @Coucous @Novella4
You know I work in translation, so I am really gobsmacked to see the DM casually translating at speed a Spanish text with no nuance and publishing bits of it as a literal, and not literary, translation, completely out of context. The Afghanistan tour of duty for instance, as reported in the DM and discussed here, is completely different from how Sky, who clearly have better translators, have reported it. His comments according to Sky are sombre and reflective, not boastful at all, speaking, as any thoughtful soldier does, about the pitiful necessity of war. The number 25 is one he forced himself to confront as part of taking accountability for his actions. Here is how Sky translated it.
“Most soldiers don't know exactly how many kills they have ... Under battle conditions, you often fire indiscriminately however in the age of Apaches and laptops, everything I did in the course of two tours of duty was recorded and time-stamped. I could always tell exactly how many enemy combatants I'd killed and it seemed essential for me not to be afraid of that figure. Among the many things I learned in the armed forces one of the most important was to be accountable for my own actions. So my number, 25. It was not something that filled me with satisfaction but I was not ashamed either. Naturally I would have preferred not to have that figure on my military resume or in my head but I would also have preferred to live in a world without the Taliban, a world without war.”
Those horrified by 25 insurgents killed by Harry may want to know that in the war, US and UK forces killed 245 000, of whom about 70 000 were civilians. Looking forward to the many outraged Mumsnet threads about UK/US soldiers killing this many.