The Mind of James Donahue Lieutenant Kendall-Smith |
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Court Hearing Case Challenging
Legality Of By James Donahue Nov. 7, 2005 The case involves a military court
martial in the Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith
of Wiltshire is facing a military court on four counts of disobeying a lawful command after he refused to return to Iraq for
a third tour of duty, according to the UK Guardian. What is unique about Lt. Kendall-Smith’s
case is that he is a decorated medical officer in the Royal Air Force who says that recently revealed evidence showing lies,
distortions of fact and political manipulations used to justify the invasion have convinced him that both the war and the
occupation are illegal. He argues that any order arising from
what is a criminal action is, in itself, an unlawful command. He notes that his RAF manual of law compels him to refuse such
illegal orders. That he is standing up against a military
court to protest the war after three tours at the front in He is not claiming conscientious objections
against war, or religious or medical reasons for bowing out. He says he has become convinced that the war is illegal and that
he would be a criminal at this point to support it any longer. Kendall-Smith is no dummy. He holds
a pair of university degrees in medicine and Kantian moral philosophy. His case will use a report in the
Observer that revealed a secret briefing by Lord Goldsmith, the British attorney general, who expressed doubts about the legality
of the planned invasion of The Guardian story said that Blair
and Goldsmith kept this report secret. Three days before the attack, Goldsmith produced another paper that was made public.
This one advised the Parliament that it was his opinion that the invasion would be legal. “The statement was almost certainly
crafted in Kendall-Smith will argue that he knew
none of this during his first two tours in The legal battle involving this lone
British soldier will be well worth watching in the weeks to come. If he wins his case . . . which may be difficult since he
will be judged by ranking officers within the military . . . he may be setting a precedent for a larger legal action by an
International Criminal Court against the people who now are seeking the head of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Ironically, Hussein is accused of
the very crimes Kendall-Smith says the leaders of the |
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