Entry 237, on 2005-10-18 at 13:16:45 (Rating 3, News)
Flight-Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, a New Zealander serving in the Royal Air Force as a medical officer, is refusing to return to service in Iraq and now faces a court-martial and jail.
Its not that he's scared, because he has been decorated for his service in Afghanistan and for two tours in Iraq. He doesn't want to go back because he believes the war is illegal. Of course, there's very good reason to believe that it is, but most people have conveniently ignored this up until now. And his opinion is based on legal advice, including that of the British Attorney-General Peter Goldsmith.
So should members of the military always obey orders, no matter what the circumstances? To ensure the armed forces work at maximum efficiency then the answer should be yes. But there are times when lack of efficiency in the military would be a good thing. For example, if Hitler's troops said "no, we don't want to invade Poland, this will end in disaster" the world would have been a much better place.
So I think this is a good thing, and its great that, yet again, New Zealand is prominent in a protest for peace - even if he was an Aussie originally! Maybe this will show other members of the military that they can stand up against what they know is wrong. If he successfully defends the charge others might refuse orders which ultimately come from corrupt politicians. Where there is protest, and media prepared to publicise it, there is always hope.
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