Flight-Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith is a New Zealand doctor serving with the RAF. After serving twice in Iraq and also Afghanistan he decided for himself that the war is illegal and refused a further posting. He was just court martialled and found guilty and so faces unlimited imprisonment and the full costs of his conviction, literally.
A very few — as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men — serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it. - On the Duty of Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau, 1849
Kendall-Smith said he'll appeal to higher courts, and although we ouldn't do any court-support for him until now, we owe him our support for standing up to this fascist regime. Here are some cut and paste quotes from the newspapers limited coverage of the kangeroo trial.
"As early as 2004 I regarded the United States to be on par with Nazi Germany as regards its activities in the Gulf," Kendall-Smith told the court. Mr Perry, asking Kendall-Smith for clarification, said: "Are you saying the US is the moral equivalent of the Third Reich?" Kendall-Smith replied: "That's correct." He then continued: "I have documents in my possession which support my assertions. "This is on the basis that ongoing acts of aggression in Iraq, and systematically applied war crimes, provide a moral equivalent between the US and Nazi Germany."
Mr Perry asked: "By cross-examining you in this court, am I responsible for a criminal act?" Flt Lt Kendall-Smith replied: "Yes. You are demonstrating complicity with ongoing criminal acts."
Mr Perry asked if he felt that "every single soldier, sailor and airman involved in Iraq is acting illegally?" The officer, who described himself as an "idealist", agreed. The officer, who has a diploma in philosophy with top grades in logic, refused to carry four direct orders by failing to attend weapon's training, a helmet fitting, a medical training course and pre-deployment briefing because he said, under international law, "preparatory acts are regarded as equally criminal as the acts they are being prepared for".
Kendall-Smith said he'll appeal to higher courts, and although we ouldn't do any court-support for him until now, we owe him our support for standing up to this fascist regime. Here are some cut and paste quotes from the newspapers limited coverage of the kangeroo trial.
"As early as 2004 I regarded the United States to be on par with Nazi Germany as regards its activities in the Gulf," Kendall-Smith told the court. Mr Perry, asking Kendall-Smith for clarification, said: "Are you saying the US is the moral equivalent of the Third Reich?" Kendall-Smith replied: "That's correct." He then continued: "I have documents in my possession which support my assertions. "This is on the basis that ongoing acts of aggression in Iraq, and systematically applied war crimes, provide a moral equivalent between the US and Nazi Germany."
Mr Perry asked: "By cross-examining you in this court, am I responsible for a criminal act?" Flt Lt Kendall-Smith replied: "Yes. You are demonstrating complicity with ongoing criminal acts."
Mr Perry asked if he felt that "every single soldier, sailor and airman involved in Iraq is acting illegally?" The officer, who described himself as an "idealist", agreed. The officer, who has a diploma in philosophy with top grades in logic, refused to carry four direct orders by failing to attend weapon's training, a helmet fitting, a medical training course and pre-deployment briefing because he said, under international law, "preparatory acts are regarded as equally criminal as the acts they are being prepared for".
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