This article appeared in
the Guardian (a UK daily newspaper) today. It is an excerpt from a letter that George Solomou, a lance corporal in the Royal Army Medical Corps, is submitting to his commanding officer today. Solomou is a member of
Military Families Against the War
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 this country.
I have no doubt that some of my fellow soldiers will feel I am letting them down. Since I have spoken out against the war in the last few weeks I have had a lot of support from soldiers, but I have also been called a coward. I am a trained medic and there is no doubt my skills could be used in the field to save lives. But after a lot of soul-searching I have concluded my priority must be to try to save lives by taking a public stand against this war.
The Territorial Army is the UK's reserve army. In the past they have been rarely called upon to fight. But Solomou accepts that having joined the TA, he had to be prepared for active service in a war.
But not an unjustified war:
We know there were no links between Iraq and international terrorism at the time the war started (though there are now). It is now official that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and the idea that the war has made the world a safer place is a sick joke.
And not an illegal war:
The UN resolutions used to justify the war only had force if Iraq was a threat to the world or to the region. We now know there was no evidence for this. So we are faced with a situation where even the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, has said the war was illegal.
And certainly not a war about oil:
But I also have a deep concern that British soldiers are being used in Iraq. Soldiers from my regiment tell me that much of their work in southern Iraq involves protecting convoys of oil tankers shuttling between Basra and the Kuwaiti border. Their stories have just confirmed my growing cynicism about the motives for the war. It has taken me two years to be able to say it, but I really believe that our foreign policy is being driven by the needs of US power, particularly the need to control the flow of oil.
And this is why he has concluded that, even as a medic, he can save more lives by being a conscientious objector against the war than by in Iraq.
People have said to me that we created this mess, we should sort it out. The Iraqis need many things: they need medical supplies, they need their infrastructure rebuilt, they need jobs. The one thing they don't need is foreign troops on their streets. In fact, it is the presence of US and British troops that is creating the tension and violence, which seems certain to continue regardless of last month's elections. We have become symbols of foreign domination. 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. We must allow the Iraqis to get on with building their own future - even if they make mistakes.
The continuing occupation is a disaster for the people of Iraq and a nightmare for the British and US troops on the front line. I am resigning as a conscientious objector because I don't want any part of it, and also because I hope my action might just encourage other soldiers to speak out or opt out.
It will be interesting to see how the UK responds to a Conscientious Objection, if at all.