Now that it has been placed here as to why the photos appear to be fake, I would like to back up my previous post and say why I think those reasons IMHO don't stand up.
Good comment by Roghead ref the UK RtoI course, and humiliation. There are also reasons why any RtoI training/briefings in a unit can only be given by the course trainers.
I haven't yet seen todays papers, but the reasons from yesterdays papers were given as;
Each scene appears to be static;
As they may be trophy photos, then this would be the case ie posed.
Clean clothes & Iraqi flag T Shirt;
With the type of material of the T shirt, dust doesn't tend to cling to it. (Modern football shirts are made of the same and always look clean unless wet/muddy) Again in a trophy photo this may have been given to prisoner to wear for effect to clarify the prisoners 'side'
Rifle no marks/ scratches;
If these are highly professional infantry soldiers then this would be expected of them, ie to take care of their weapons in such hostile conditions.
Soldiers boots not laced in standard military way;
Never heard of standard military way apart from drill boots. (take a look at any unit and boots will be laced differently).
Webbing left open - in breach of regulations;
Personal standards slipping, happens all the time at one time or another. Never realised it was a regulation per-say, but self pride.
Tactical badges normally worn on right arm would be visible;
Yes they would be if the photos showed the areas where the badges should be, ie upper part of arm. (however on one photo union flag badge is shown to be worn where it should be). In some areas of operation any unit identification is removed as SOP, however not believed to be the case here.
The soldier is not wearing standard headgear of helmet or beret;
Those who have floppie hats tend to wear them, whether on ex in Germany/UK/Canada etc or ops in ME when not on patrol to protect from sun or look 'cool'. (most tend to be cut down for extra old sweat value)
The soldiers hands look very soft - more like an office worker than a squaddie;
The best yet, men care products must be bought more by squaddies than any other male social group, maybe apart from footballers. Immaculate fingernails and general body care is immense in the younger generation these days.
Photographic expert say such photos (digital) would normally be in colour;
Normally, but as there appears to be a 'glow' in the pictures these could be taken using an infrared digital camera. This would also explain the apparent cleanliness of the location.
Just my thoughts and as I said before like most others, I hope they aren't true. However IMHO the reasons given don't stand and besides all of this, the damage has already been done.
If they are faked, I bet we can all guess who did it.
