Chris: The soldier recently converted to Islam. He was not mentally ill but he did have the mentality of a believer and I think one can assume he was a jihadist who had to choose between his new faith and George Bush's crusade against Mulsims. I think you are going to see a lot of more of this - even in a secularist society like Iraq where this kind of violence will be convincing to them that the U.S. regime disrespects them - Heretofore moderates will become radicalized by George Bush's actions. It is coming.....
Hank Roth http://pnews.org/ (anti-war articles and exposes of black propaganda) PNEWS-L On Sun, 23 Mar 2003, Chris Burford wrote: > London 8:45am > > For legal reasons it may perhaps be easier for me to post this than a > citizen of the US. This morning the BBC handled without comment as a > technical matter with a brief clip of a black soldier being led away. The > incredible mystery from 11pm last night London time, of how 7-8 leaders of > a US division could have a grenade rolled into their tent at 2 am, became > revealed. Last night there was helpless speculation that this must have > been the work of the terrorist group Al Ansar supposedly linked to Saddam. > but how could such a terrorist have got past all the security restrictions?? > > Now all is revealed. It only takes 1 in 10,000 troops to be so unconvinced > of the justice of this war, so demoralised with it, and so committed to > another version of morality to have another devastating effect on morale. > > This man was either mentally ill or incredibly brave. What he did is no > doubt illegal. > > But this war is illegal. > > Suddenly it is no longer an abstract question whether the Bush and Blair > will be taken before the new International Criminal Court. It becomes > exeedingly urgent and valuable that this man has a vigorous campaign for > his legal rights. He has placed the illegality of this war at the centre of > legal proceedings. > > His case must not be swept under the carpet in disgrace. He must have full > access to natural justice. He needs a defence campaign with funds to ensure > he gets the best lawyers in his defence. The arbitrariness of military > justice must be broken open. The defence must be able to argue in > mitigation that the war is illegal, with all the votes and speeches in the > Security Council being part of the evidence. The Defence campaign > obviously needs to be mainly US , but there are some very good progressive > civil rights lawyers in the UK who should be recruited into the campaign. > > Hopefully the man is not mentally ill, though they may be trying to make > him mentally ill now. > > If this man faces execution, as presumably he must, there needs to be a > campaign across the USA and perhaps the world, in his defence. That would > have a tremendously dynamic effect on the balance of opinion in the USA and > the world, about the lynch mob hegemonistic policies of George Bush. > > If the Bush administration is wise, it will hush this all up very quickly. > If the anti-war movement is canny, it will give it publicity. But already > preemptively every US officer in Iraq is going to have to think much more > carefully about the morale of his exhausted troops. He must look over his > shoulder and under his bed. Oh, and soldiers had better not be allowed to > have grenades in their possession. > > Chris Burford > London > >
