LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should be slower to condemn its troops and show more understanding for the pressures they face, Defence Secretary John Reid said on Monday.
British soldiers have faced allegations of abusing civilians in Iraq, most recently after the release of a video which apparently shows troops beating unarmed Iraqis.
But Reid said any offences were committed by only a few soldiers and should not be seen as a general problem.
He insisted he was not excusing any troops for offences they committed but was pleading for more recognition for good work carried out by the vast majority of British soldiers.
"We expect our people to uphold the highest standards of behaviour and when they fail we will act, quite rightly," he said in a speech at King’s College in London.
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"But they also have the right to expect everyone else, whose safety is dependent upon them, to consider the environment in which they are operating before we pass judgement from the safety of a television studio, from the green benches of parliament or from the comfort of an armchair," he said.
Reid said soldiers fighting Islamist militants were subject to unprecedented scrutiny as they faced enemy who did not adhere to any of the conventional rules of warfare.
"I ask that we try to imagine what it must be like on the battlefield, so we may all be a little slower to condemn and a lot quicker to understand what I believe is the best fighting force in the world," he added.
