Re: General Sir Michael Rose calls for Tony Blair's Impeachment
Folks,
This is an interesting debate which seems to reflect pretty well both sides British public opinion.
However, General Rose obliquely highlights another interesting point - that of the poor sods tasked by the Goverment to carry out the dirty deed itself. As a Flight Commander of a Sqn in the war, I carried out, on a completely informal basis, my own survey of the opinions of the crews and support personnel I was deployed with. I ended up with the impression that, while everyone thought the moustachio'd monster deserved a kicking and should be dealt with, only about 30% of us thought that we should be there to do that job, at that time, with those justifications and with no exit-strategy whatsoever. Most were deeply sceptical about the given reasons for risking our lives and most believed, rightly as it turned out, that we were opening a can of worms.
I had major doubts about the legal basis for the war, and thought long and hard about it. I tried to discuss the matter with my Sqn Boss, who more or less avoided the issue, I suspect because he agreed with me at least in part. I was left with the dilemma of deciding whether to carry out orders based on a false premise, which i doubted myself, would leave me a war criminal. I realise this sounds dramatic, but i guess war is to those who think about it. Three years on next March 19th, I still don't know if I'm a war criminal and literally loathe the PM for putting me and my troops in that position. I went and did the job for the next couple of months, thoroughly enjoyed it and found it the most rewarding experience of my career professionally. However, I'm still not sure that the award I received in recognition of my actions are not a wee bit tainted by the stain of illegitimacy.
Awesome fun though, invading somewhere!
Trotts