[lbo-talk] "I didn't join the British army to conduct American foreign policy"

[Colin Brace]

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,1729673,00.html

SAS man quits in protest at 'illegal' Iraq war

Richard Norton-Taylor
Monday March 13, 2006
The Guardian

An SAS soldier has resigned from the army, describing the military
intervention in Iraq as a "war of aggression" and "morally wrong". The
soldier said he witnessed "dozens of illegal acts" by US forces there.

Ben Griffin, 28, who left after three months in Baghdad, is believed
to be the first SAS soldier to refuse to go into combat and to leave
the army on moral grounds. His decision comes at a time of growing
disenchantment among British soldiers about their presence in Iraq.

This week, pre-trial hearings are due to start into the court martial
of Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, an RAF doctor who is
refusing to return to Iraq on the grounds that the war is illegal. Mr
Kendall-Smith's lawyer, Justin Hugheston-Roberts, said yesterday: "We
will be arguing that he has no case to answer because, without a UN
mandate, the invasion of Iraq was manifestly unlawful and any
subsequent order was therefore unlawful."

Mr Griffin told the Sunday Telegraph yesterday that he had expected to
face a court martial for leaving the SAS. Instead, he was discharged
with a glowing testimonial.

When he was on leave in March last year he told his commanding officer
he had no intention of returning to Iraq. He said he was very angry
"at the way the politicians have lied to the British public about the
war. But most importantly, I didn't join the British army to conduct
American foreign policy."

He said he had witnessed dozens of illegal acts by US fighters who
viewed Iraqis as "sub-human". Mr Griffin said: "I saw a lot of things
in Baghdad that were illegal or just wrong. The Americans were doing
things like chucking farmers into Abu Ghraib, or handing them over to
the Iraqi authorities, knowing full well they were going to be
tortured."

The Ministry of Defence does not comment officially on any activities
involving Britain's special forces. However, defence officials did not
deny that Mr Griffin left the SAS in protest against the war in Iraq.

The SAS has been operating under cover in Iraq since the invasion,
working with US special forces seeking out insurgents and foreign Arab
fighters linked to or proclaiming sympathy with al-Qaida.

British officers have told the Guardian that they have been dismayed
by US military tactics in Iraq. They also say that attempts to train
the Iraqi army and police are fraught with problems.

--
  Colin Brace
  Amsterdam