Monday, June 11, 2007

Ex-Navy chief 'took private legal advice on Iraq'

The Independent is reporting the the former head of the British Navy was so concerned about the possibly illegal invasion of Iraq that he sought outside, private, legal advice.
Admiral Sir Alan West, the First Sea Lord, approached lawyers to ask whether Navy and Royal Marines personnel might end up facing war crimes charges in relation to their duties in Iraq. The extraordinary steps taken by Sir Alan - which The Independent can reveal today - shows the high level of concern felt by service chiefs in the approach to war - concern that was not eased by the Attorney General's provision of a legal licence for the attack on Iraq.
Read the rest...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The moral of that story is that unless we string up the government lawyers who give corrupt assurances to the military brass of the legality of their actions (Lord Goldsmith AG over there, Gonzales, Yoo, etc. over here), the generals will always be told there is legal justification for their bosses' imperialism.