I am resigning from the Territorial Army because I believe the war in Iraq is wrong. This has not been an easy decision. I have been in the TA for five years—years in which I have learned a lot; won a humanitarian award for helping save the life of a fellow soldier; made many friends; and, I hope, contributed something to… return to article
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Reader Comments (28)Page 1 of 1 pages“The one thing they don’t need is foreign troops on their streets.”
While perhaps we should not have begun the war and the transition to democracy, is there really anyone who believes we should just up and go, now? Risking possible civil war, etc. . .???
Soldiers never get to pick and choose their battles or wars. I hope the Brits make an example out of this guy (who may be well intentioned, but is clearly pretty dopey).
Posted by bob on Mar 4, 2005 at 7:04 PM I am impressed with the integrity and honor of this man! I’m sure this must have been a gut wrenching decision. I have a family member in Iraq. He doesn’t support the war, but stays in the service because he feels the need to support his fellow soldiers. He struggles horribly with doing the ‘right thing’. I am certain that this young man must have struggled as well. “Clearly dopey”? Is that what we’re calling people who defy immoral and illegal wars by taking a personal stand against them? I’ve heard of such ‘clearly dopey’ soldiers that defied Hitler. Although, off-hand, I think we called them heros.
Posted by H Reese Morrison on Mar 4, 2005 at 8:38 PM The war on the Iraqi/Afghan people waged by our village idiot George W. Bush, is no better than the War Pol Plot visited on the people of Cambodia. No better than the Kharmar Rough, either. No better than the crimes of Idi Amin in Africa.
Blair’s decision to be the Whitehouse “Attila’s” LAP DOG has done much to harm the image of the English. Today the British Empire’s image is no better than that of the much hated United States and with a blundgeoning Muslim population, the British have a real problem on their hands.
With the LIKUDNIK thugs and murderer having a “nose ring” on Bush and dictating or “ammending” all of the decisions that come out of the Whitehouse and Pentagon - look for another WTC to “slap us in the face” in the near future - and guess what? When it happens, THE WORLD WILL JUST CLAP THEIR HANDS AND HAND US A BANDAGE TO WIPE OFF THE BLOOD OFF OUR WOUNDS ( Our own for a change).
Good luck Bush, you’re going to need it - with Hammas already training their sniperscopes on you!TheAZCowBoy
Tombstone, AZ.
Posted by TheAZCowBoy on Mar 4, 2005 at 8:42 PM bob, taking a decision as George Salomou’s requires free thinking and moral integrity, values which are constantly underestimated by the Empire you stand by. American soldiers have been sent to fight immoral wars for the last 50 years which makes me wonder how they are motivated to think they are doing “the right thing”. The answer to that question makes me shiver, because it speaks of robots, that simply follow orders no matter what and that is something no human being should be forced to do. They are asked to do the dirty work for governments and corporations. So, who is the real dopey?
Posted by Maria Luisa on Mar 4, 2005 at 10:24 PM God bless this man, risking his career and reputation to do what he feels is right. I agree with him in every way.
We could all use a little of his courage.
Posted by trixie on Mar 5, 2005 at 1:46 AM We who are discouraged by “Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn” can find hope in this soldier’s convictions. “What would Jesus do?” is answered by this human being’s actions. George W. Bush his entire life has had to often choose between WWJD? and the $$$$. He always chooses the money(power). This is his ultimate love. He is an untreated alcoholic and religious fraud.
Posted by Mark Cartwright on Mar 5, 2005 at 2:39 AM There will be more and more instances of this sort of thing in the years to come, soldiers who feel obligated to weigh their desire to serve their country against the rightness of the wars they are ordered to fight. The backlashes by politicians and some of the public are predictable (e.g. cries of “coward” and “traitor”), but when soldiers’ insistence that they be put in the field only when the action is clearly justified on moral and legal grounds, it will change the whole character of the military and the conduct of war. For the better!
Posted by Kuya on Mar 5, 2005 at 7:45 AM I wonder how the beach landings at Normandy would have gone if soliders sat in their water transports debating the morality of shoving pointy bits of lead into other people’s flesh. Sometimes nihilism is required to fight and win a war.
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Freedom isn’t free, peace isn’t peaceful.
Posted by James on Mar 5, 2005 at 11:07 PM When are people ever going to stop repeating that those who opposed the war in Iraq were somehow ‘ungrateful’? This has nothing to do with pacifism or ‘rough men’, this is about a war that has been waged illegally by chickenhawks who lied to the world.
The war in Iraq had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein. It was about the crazy dreams of a small clique bent on world domination! Read the programme of the PNAC, all the plans and its endorsers are stated black on white.
Posted by Kevin on Mar 6, 2005 at 4:02 AM Bob, the threat of civil war is greatly exaggerated by our corporate media as an excuse to stay. The Bush Admin doesn’t want to leave. They didn’t go through all the trouble of invading just to set up a democracy and leave. They need to stay to control the oil and have a presence in the region.
I’m not saying civil war isn’t possible. but most Iraqis don’t want civil war. and most Iraqis still want us to leave. Sistani doesn’t want civil war and he too wants us to leave.
The US troops currently control nothing in Iraq. They can barely protect themselves and their supply lines. Basic services like trash pickup are being run by the Iraqis and the mosques. Our troops are nothing but a source of insecurity for the Iraqis. If we leave, there will not be any more chaos than there is right now.
Our occupation of Iraq is inciting much of the very terrorism that Bush claims it is supposed to reduce. We should leave and pay reparations. to save the Iraqis and ourselves.
Unlike many on the left, I think it could be strongly argued that it was right to invade and is wrong to stay.
Posted by Phil on Mar 6, 2005 at 9:13 AM How could the ‘war’ be justified if the majority of our troops, who have seen 1st hand what’s going on opt out?
Would the people at home call them cowards or would they open their eyes to see what’s been in front of them the entire time?
What would be the next deception told about their request to leave? How would the governments conspire to stay?
War is never pretty. We do need to stand up for what we believe in. If the need to fight were real and justified many peaceful people who would DEFEND family & friends’ lives that are ACTUALLY threatened. Mineral rights, oil, power, land, and ‘perceived’ possible loss of freedom & life are NOT reasons to fight.
WWJD—He wouldn’t judge. It is not our place to judge, only the ‘father’ shall judge.
WWJD—He would not fight. He would rather die than fight & corrupt is soul. Didn’t he die on the cross rather than fight? Part of the reason he gave up his life is so humanity could learn this lesson. The life we live on earth ISN’T a prized possession it is our spritualty, morality, and conviction.
Posted by Amber on Mar 6, 2005 at 2:34 PM >People sleep peaceably in their beds at night >only because rough men stand ready to do >violence on their behalf.
Quit wasting our time with this jingo.
Has it ever occurred to you that the rough men are the problem?
Posted by trixie on Mar 6, 2005 at 5:05 PM American soldiers (or those from any nation that purports itself to be “democratic”, e.g. the UK) don’t give up the right and obligation to be thoughtful citizens and to evaluate government policy in this light, just because they take the oath of service. To reflect Maria Luisa’s point made above, soldiers aren’t robots… do we really want them to be? What would be the result of encouraging mindless obedience in any citizen, most especially trained military personnel? If politicians, heads of state, citizen supporters of war, or whomever, want to get unconditional obedience out of their militaries, they’d better make damn sure the wars they undertake aren’t so bogus in their justifications and so questionable in their honorability (Is “honor” too old-fashioned a concept to fit within post-modern nihilism..? Not for plenty of us, who reject nihilism.). Iraq hasn’t enhanced the honor of the US or any of the coalition countries; everything from the false tale of WMD, to the abysmal law-and-order situation that followed from the opening days of the invasion (remember the endless and unprevented looting of museums, hospitals, schools, etc etc), to Abu Ghraib, to the on-the-cheap style of “equipping” (if it can be called that) US personnel… the list goes on and on. Any support the war-initiators lose from militaries or civilians is due to the way they started and have conducted this war, not for any other reason.
Posted by Kuya on Mar 7, 2005 at 12:08 AM Nobody wants to be used, to be a pawn or a cog, this guy is asserting his humanity. He is a man and can’t deny ability to reason and emote. That he’s able to express his manhood in a healthy coherent manner is a blessing, I predict many of his comrades will be injecting the booty of the U.S. Afghan victory on the streets of Europe and America soon. God help us all through this painfull phase of human history.
Posted by theloneous on Mar 7, 2005 at 5:32 AM This idiot is the worst kind of trash imaginable. “That is why there is no way we can provide security. Only the Iraqis themselves can do that, and the longer we stay, the more the situation will get out of hand.” Uh, yep. So if we just get up and leave, everything will just sort of fall into place - no threat of civil war, etc. He repeatedly insists that this war was about controlling oil - yet he made no mention of the 600,000 or so innocent people who were murdered and dumped into mass graves by Iraq’s former leader, and that this practice would have continued to this day if we didn’t remove him. This type of ignorance is what results from forming your world views based on the paranoid conspiracy theories of people like Michael Moore.
Members of the military do not get to pick and choose their assignments, and this clown has no right to complain. However, since this jerk is part of the problem, removing him from the equation can’t be a bad thing.
Posted by Mike on Mar 8, 2005 at 2:50 PM Hey Bob and Mike,
You both state that soldiers can’t pick their assignments. I don’t know what it’s like down south, but in Canada you can do precisely that. According to a friend in the Reserves, you volunteer for whichever assignment you wish then the soldiers are selected from that list.
and to James
to compare the invasion of Iraq to the storming of Normandy is disingenious (sp?) to say the least. Are you really comparing Saddam Hussein to Hitler? Last I checked Saddam hadn’t conquered most of the Middle East.
take your macho bravado and shove it. Jack Nicholson called, he wants his speech back ;)
Posted by lefty canuck on Mar 8, 2005 at 5:41 PM Every human being has the right to assert conscientious objection, in fact that is your duty!
I agree with the soldier’s assessment that we get out.
This war is a sham.
Posted by pick of the litter on Mar 8, 2005 at 7:35 PM “Every human being has the right to assert conscientious objection, in fact that is your duty! “
A duty best preformed prior to enlistment?
Posted by Allen Drews on Mar 8, 2005 at 10:16 PM A duty not be blindly obedient against your own moral conscience.
Military service doesn’t exempt your conscience.
Of course military service requires absolute complicity, that is the evil of it all. Noble young adults, most of them honorably serving their country, performing their duties without question for questionable politicians.
Good people working for shadows.
I suppose anyone seeking to enlist had better suppress their moral character and learn to follow orders no matter what. That is how military power functions.
Posted by pick of the litter on Mar 8, 2005 at 10:51 PM This poor lad makes so many erroneous statements it makes me wonder if he’s just trying to justify his actions for leaving the service. He’s to be commended for his time on active duty, but as a combat veteran myself why impugn everyone on your way out?
Allen: you’re exactly right and I couldn’t agree more. Although I also know that real bullets can/should make you grow up pretty quick. Maybe he had an epiphany but as I said, no need to make a mockery upon your exit.
Posted by Grey Conservative on Mar 9, 2005 at 9:46 PM OK, Bushies, listen up. I believe the president is a fantastic leader and a better Christian. ( if you couldn’t tell, I don’t believe that) Does anyone remember before “we”(Bush & Blair)invaded, the shrub called this a crusade. What other crusades can you remember. This is oppression of arabs by christians, as well as imperialism by the last “great” empire. What else do you call it when a stronger nation takes over a weaker nation?
Ok, Saddam wasn’t a good guy, so why did we arm him against Iran in the 80s? Why didn’t we invade Venezuela? It’s a lot closer, and they produce almost as much oil as Iraq? Oh yeah, we (Bush Sr, Bush Jr, Rumsfeld, et all) had to cover up the relationships between Washington and Bahgdad.
Yes, Reds, Michael Moore is a little over the top, but he’s not a liar.
This is a soldier, like many of us, who has taken a stand for what he believes in. He could have thought about it before he enlisted, but we weren’t fighting a “war” then. People join the military to do something for their country, but when the country lies to them and puts them in harms way for war profits, they ARE ALLOWED to resign.
At least this guy isn’t in the US forces, Rumsfeld’s stop-loss policy wouldn’t let him go.
To end, Bush is so much more of a crook than Nixon ever was, and more of a pervert than Clinton.
People who voted for Bush should be the first to join the military, at least that way they won’t be on the mainland anymore. HA
Posted by skip on Mar 9, 2005 at 11:46 PM What part of MURDERD several hundred thousand
PEOPLE, DON’T you barking moonbats UNDERSTAND!
Posted by William Thomas on Mar 10, 2005 at 7:08 AM Is William referring to Saddam? Or the terrorists in Iraq?
LOL!
Posted by moonbat on Mar 10, 2005 at 3:31 PM What we’re doing in Iraq at all should be a question every American should be asking, when our borders are being assailed daily by thousands (including possible terrorists) without hindrance.
Doesn’t anyone see the lunacy of the Bush administration’s going to WAR for Sadaam Hussein’s “threat to America” while refusing to even protect our own borders? If America is under such a threat, why is our military not protecting our own borders? It’s because there must BE no threat… The biggest WMD in the world today is the Bush government and his flunkie Congress who care about nothing except their own re-election.
Oh, and by the way, William Thomas, is it the job of the American president to police the world for bad guys who kill people? If so, why aren’t we in Africa? Lots of bad guys killing people there..
Posted by Grace on Mar 10, 2005 at 5:52 PM Okay, for all those that are jumping all over this guy as being “erroneous” “dopey” or “idiot trash” really should read the letter more closely. He’s not going AWOL or refusing to “go o’er the barricades”, he’s RESIGNING. He’s a member of the Territorial Army, NOT the regular army. The T.A is essentially like the Reserves, and after 5 years he has every right to resign.
didn’t anybody watch The Office? the smarmy little jerk Gareth was always bragging about being in the Territorial Army..
so stop jumping all over this guy with macho bullsht posturing…put your money where your mouth is and volunteer to take his place ;)
Posted by neil on Mar 16, 2005 at 9:14 PM I stood alongside George at the Troops out Demo in London on Saturday that was attended by tens of thousands. I have also declared myself to be a conscientous objector to the illegal war in Iraq. Unlike Bush and Blair I have been in combat and am of the opinion that every avenue for peace should be exhausted before we commit men to battle, this clearly did not happen in Iraq. And for those who cry America and dream of patriotism it is worth noting that dying soldiers speak often of their Mothers and seldom of their country. Peace
Posted by Ray Hewitt on Mar 21, 2005 at 3:57 PM if it was me in your shoes i would not come out everyone know that the war in iraq is wrong and that the people who where killed should never have been but once you join the armed forces your there to do a job even if you dont want to do that pasific job when your in the army you dont have a choice so you have done your part more than you can say for some others in our time
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