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British soldier quits army in Iraq over "illegal" US tactics
A Special Air Service (SAS) soldier from Britain has refused to fight in Iraq and left the Army over the "illegal" tactics of United States troops and the policies of coalition forces.Ben Griffin, 28, who spent two years with the SAS, told his commander after staying three months in Baghdad that he was no longer prepared to fight with American forces, the Sunday Telegraph reported. He said he had witnessed "dozens of illegal acts" by U.S. troops, which he claimed regarding all Iraqis as sub-human. 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, he added. "I did not join the British Army to conduct American foreign policy," said the soldier. This is the first time an SAS soldier has refused to go into combat and quit the Army on moral grounds, said the report. Griffin also noted that he now believed that Prime Minister Tony Blair and the British government had repeatedly "lied" over the war's conduct. The move not only marks an end to Griffin's eight-year career with the Parachute Regiment but also serves an embarrassment to the government while exerting great impact on other soldiers who have refused to fight. Coincidentally, 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 will face pretrial on Wednesday. So far there has been no comment from the Ministry of Defense. Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-03-13 |
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