Posted on 03/11/2006 5:43:21 PM PST by blam
SAS soldier quits Army in disgust at 'illegal' American tactics in Iraq
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 12/03/2006)
An SAS soldier has refused to fight in Iraq and has left the Army over the "illegal" tactics of United States troops and the policies of coalition forces.
After three months in Baghdad, Ben Griffin told his commander that he was no longer prepared to fight alongside American forces.
Ben Griffin told commanders that he thought the Iraq war was illegal
He said he had witnessed "dozens of illegal acts" by US troops, claiming they viewed all Iraqis as "untermenschen" - the Nazi term for races regarded as sub-human.
The decision marks the first time an SAS soldier has refused to go into combat and quit the Army on moral grounds.
It immediately brought to an end Mr Griffin's exemplary, eight-year career in which he also served with the Parachute Regiment, taking part in operations in Northern Ireland, Macedonia and Afghanistan.
But it will also embarrass the Government and have a potentially profound impact on cases of other soldiers who have refused to fight.
On Wednesday, the pre-trial hearing will begin into the court martial of Flt Lt Malcolm Kendall-Smith, a Royal Air Force doctor who has refused to return to Iraq for a third tour of duty on the grounds that the war is illegal. Mr Griffin's allegations came as the Foreign Office minister Kim Howells, visiting Basra yesterday, admitted that Iraq was now "a mess".
Mr Griffin, 28, who spent two years with the SAS, said the American military's "gung-ho and trigger happy mentality" and tactics had completely undermined any chance of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi population. He added that many innocent civilians were arrested in night-time raids and interrogated by American soldiers, imprisoned in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, or handed over to the Iraqi authorities and "most probably" tortured.
Mr Griffin eventually told SAS commanders at Hereford that he could not take part in a war which he regarded as "illegal".
He added that he now believed that the Prime Minister and the Government had repeatedly "lied" over the war's conduct.
"I did not join the British Army to conduct American foreign policy," he said. He expected to be labelled a coward and to face a court martial and imprisonment after making what "the most difficult decision of my life" last March.
Instead, he was discharged with a testimonial describing him as a "balanced, honest, loyal and determined individual who possesses the strength of character to have the courage of his convictions".
Last night Patrick Mercer, the shadow minister for homeland security, said: "Trooper Griffin is a highly experienced soldier. This makes his decision particularly disturbing and his views and opinions must be listened to by the Government."
The MoD declined to comment.
yeah....
Every Brit I had the pleasure of working with in Iraq were great.
Hell we even drank some beer with them in the tent city too.
whatever this guy is on probably isn't crack, but it's damned strong
Yeah I know. Spitz must be on a mix of Crack, Weed, Pot, Zyme, Absynthe, Vodka and Speed with Acid thrown in.
ibtz? here they come again.
Yep. This was seems to have been a sleeper.
He looks queer.
"I can't think of a single country which gained it's independence from Britain in the last 100 years which is not worse off for it.
"
Probably so, but they were worse off before Britain took over, so I guess they are just back to their usual selves.
I was thinking Meth since his teeth are probably bad :)
He wouldn't have had to. U-boats would have effectively shut down import and he could have simply isolated them and bombed and starved them into submission.
Hehe good point :)
I have no respect for someone who can insult an entire race from the safety of there PC, and with insults that belong in the School yard.
And if you ask any Americans who have served alongside me and other members of the British Military you will find that we have plenty of gonads or brains.
I wonder if the same can be said of you.
Then we wont have the thread crawling with key board commandos whose only refrain is we kicked your butts in the War of Independence and saved your ass in 1941 and so on and so forth.
While slurping on there super size eating burgers and wearing cammos from bloody walmart.
He's already appeared with our gal, Cindy Sheehan...which should tell you a great deal. You're known by the company you keep.
I agree the world is better off without the British empire and I think most Brits these days wouldn't argue with that.
The only thing you can say in defence of the British empire is that it could have been a lot worse. In their day, the German, Belgian and Portuguese imperial projects were even more brutal.
Africa - Free?
Yeah, just like Zimbabwe (Rhodesia - when it was a civilised place with an administration that was not run by kleptocrats, but worked and fed other parts of Africa). Come on... do some real research. As Woofdog123, says the reasoned-thought element of FR is apparently a minority these days
Your hatred of the British has clouded your already clouded mind.
Au contraire...
Just because the current administration of Zimbabwe is a criminalocracy and the country is basket case, does not mean that it want run by a kleptocracy in the days of Rhodesia as well.
The British looted the place as much or even more than the moron with the hitler moustache does.
The only time it WASNT run by a kleptocracy was when it was, for a brief time a civilized democratic country right after independence. Since this new revolution or whatever started it has gone down the tubes.
And I see no reason to make personal remarks, friend. I feel quite lucid thank you. Just because my point of view differs from yours, doesnt mean I'm the one with the clouded mind.
Hey, Tony- you can osculate, too.
"And if you ask any Americans who have served alongside me and other members of the British Military you will find that we have plenty of gonads or brains."
Yeah, some few of you still do--but for the most part, Britain has been sliding down the slope to Euro-socialism ever since WWII. You've pissed away almost the entire Anglo-Saxon legacy of freedom that your forebears fought to win, allowing your government to dis-arm you, post cameras to monitor your every movement, tell you you can't hunt foxes (or most anything else).
And my old prof (ex-Spitfire pilot) agrees with me. He saw the "socialist handwriting on the wall" long ago, and moved to the States.
Or maybe he just saw the much higher per capita income, the lack of class distinction such as in the UK, the much greater opportunity to find a job... the possibility of having more than one season (gray and rainy)... I dunno... just a thought..
You know the UK is the largest source of immigration to the United States other than Mexico?
In the LEGAL immigration statistics, I think the ranking is thus:
1. UK
2. Phillippines
3. China
4. India
Or if not exactly that, then some combination thereof.
The UK is one of the countries not included in the diversity immigrant lottery for this reason.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.