British soldier resigns in protest at 'illegal' Iraq war

A soldier from Britain's elite SAS regiment has resigned from the army, saying that he has no intention of returning to Iraq.

Ben Griffin, who described the military intervention in Iraq as a "war of aggression" and "morally wrong," is believed to be the first SAS soldier to refuse to go into combat and to leave the army on moral grounds, according to the Guardian newspaper Monday.

The soldier was said he witnessed "dozens of illegal acts" by US forces against Iraqis before leaving after serving three months in Baghdad.

News of Griffin's resignation, first reported in the Sunday Telegraph, coincides with reports of growing disenchantment among British soldiers about their presence in Iraq.

This week, pre-trial hearings are also 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.

"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," Kendall-Smith's lawyer, Justin Hugheston-Roberts, was quoted saying.

Griffin told the Sunday Telegraph that he had also expected to face a court martial for leaving the SAS, but said that instead he was discharged with a glowing testimonial.

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." The SAS has been operating under cover in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, working with US special forces seeking out insurgents and foreign fighters linked to or proclaiming sympathy with al-Qaida.