Malcolm Kendall-Smith

One of the reasons I have a huge respect for anyone who enlists in the military is the fact that it is not just another job. You can’t just resign at any time. And you can’t pick and choose what wars or battles you fight in. You may have signed up as an army cook, yet you can still end up dead in a war zone.

Malcolm Kendall-Smith has joined the lunatic fringes of society by comparing the United States to Nazi Germany, as justification for his refusal to do a third tour of duty in Iraq. I really hope he runs into some survivors of WWII so he can share his enlightened views with them.

One can condemn the Gulf War, and condemn some of the abuses at Abu Gharab, without resorting to offensive and quite frankly insane comparisons with Hitler.

In terms of the wider issue of his refusing to do a third tour in Iraq, it has already been ruled that his case is without legal foundation. People often forget that while the “war” was not sanctioned by the UN Security Council (not to say that makes it illegal, just less clear) the current “occupation” is sanctioned by the UN Security Council and troops are there at the invitation of the democratically elected Government of Iraq.