Alex Miller
A British Royal Air Force officer is facing a court martial after refusing to return to Iraq on the grounds that the war is illegal.
The October 17 British Guardian reported that Flight-Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith is facing four counts of refusing to obey a lawful command. Kendall-Smith, a medical officer based at the RAF base Kinloss, in Morayshire, Scotland, has been decorated for service in Afghanistan and two previous tours of duty in Iraq, but is refusing to return to Iraq on the grounds that the war is "manifestly unlawful". RAF law allows scope for officers to disobey commands if they are illegal or in breach of "the rules and discipline of war".
"He is the first British officer to face charges on these grounds and his prosecution is likely to add to growing unease among the military about the war in Iraq", the Guardian reported. "He may face a jail sentence, though senior military officers, concerned about the effect of Iraq on the morale of British armed forces personnel, will not relish the prospect of a martyr and another focus of opposition to the war and invasion of Iraq."
Lance Corporal George Solomou, an activist with the Military Families Against the War group who earlier this year resigned from the Territorial Army in protest against the Iraq war, told the October 21 Scottish Socialist Voice: "Malcolm should stick to his guns. He is morally and ethically right and he has come to the same conclusion as many British soldiers, many of whom feel unable to speak out."
Morag Balfour, disarmament spokesperson for the Scottish Socialist Party, commented: "His refusal to serve in Iraq in what is an illegal war is to be warmly welcomed. I'm sure that he is not alone among service personnel now having to think hard about the legality of the war and I hope that he will be joined by many others."
From Green Left Weekly, November 2, 2005.
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