Danny Boy

The Danny boy battle was fought by a seemingly inexperienced and frightened group of British soldiers in the Basra area in 2004. They entered the battlefield with fixed bayonets, expecting to be met with stiff resistance, but nonetheless it was a battle they won, taking some prisoners.

The problems that emerged which resulted in a prosecution by human rights lawyer Phil Shiner focused on the fact that the army was fighting simple farmers who were known to carry guns for their day to day work and the terrible reprisals and bloodshed was uncalled for. Apparently in Iraq it was common for Iraqi soldiers to pose as farmers to escape engagement. This biopic though interesting never really solves the problem and one suspects that they were indeed hard line soldiers after all. Phil Shiner's job would appear to have been a thankless task, on the whole. Good acting and huge sympathy for the soldiers made this a good watch. Phil Shiner seemed worn out by the demands of balancing the law against the needs of the military.