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.
Not to mention he could probably kill most of his critics here 5 times before they hit the ground.
exactly
Youd know..it was the French that walked on your soil during 1066.
hee hee
Too bad he didn't serve in the regiment when it deployer to Northen Ireland. He should have seen the SAS treated suspected members of the IRA.
His real name is not Andy McNab either.
"And you believe that Hitler WOULDN'T have eventually invaded Britain without US intervention??"
Don't forget we were in it from 39. On our own. Appreciate you got there eventually. You just kind of took your time. In the meantime we stood alone and fought him off. Frankly, if the Russians hadn't have tied him up on the East we would have been beaten before you guys agreed the Nazi's were worth spilling any American blood for. Sad to say Stalin saved us before Uncle Sam.
All this - 'it took us to save your sorry ass' is fine and dandy, Had we fallen, or given up waiting for you - you'd have had one heck of a harder job. We were your aircraft carrier that was kind of hard to sink. You're tone in your two posts above is massivley disrespectful to the many thousands of British Troops, airmen and seamen who served alongside yours.
And what, precisely, do you think the Russians were fighting with, other than American supplies??
"Had we fallen, or given up waiting for you - you'd have had one heck of a harder job. We were your aircraft carrier that was kind of hard to sink."
True--but it took our efforts to win it.
"You're tone in your two posts above is massivley
Bullshit--my comments reflect in no way upon THOSE folks (my chemistry prof (who emigrated to the US), flew Spitfires over the Channel). My disdain is for the CURRENT generation of Brits--who seem to have been born without either gonads or brains.
If you think otherwise, I suggest that you osculate upon my posterior.
if, as you suggest, he spent his career typing out reports, he still might know more than some of his critics here.
If you find a link on his service record please post it,
And that side of the so-called "pond" is becoming more and more islamic every day.
You did suggest it and 'taking it back' a sentence later is not the same as simply deleting the 'taken back' text and never posting it. Blog is not the same as telegraph - presumably what you post, with 'take backs' and all, is what you want to say.
Your argument would make more sense if it was a follow-up 'take back' post to a previous post.
In the future the best way to take something back is 'backspace' or highlight the text and push 'backspace' if you have not already posted it. Otherwise reasonable people will assume you are actually saying the thing you type out then renounce a paragraph later and just being disingenous about it.
Live one.
The troll PWN3D himself by resorting to insults LOL
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