March 12, 2006

A British SAS soldier has refused to go into combat in Iraq alongside US forces after branding their tactics ``illegal'', it was reported today.

Ben Griffin, 28, left the Army after three months in Baghdad over the behaviour of US troops and the policies of coalition forces.

He is believed to be the first SAS soldier to refuse to go into combat and quit the Army on moral grounds.

Mr Griffin told the Sunday Telegraph that he witnessed dozens of illegal acts by US fighters who viewed Iraqis as ``sub human''.

He said: ``I saw a lot of things in Baghdad that were illegal or just wrong.

``I knew, so others must have known, that this was not the way to conduct operations if you wanted to win the hearts and minds of the local population.

``And if you can't win the hearts and minds of the people, you can't win the war.''

Earlier today British Foreign Office minister Kim Howells admitted that Iraq was ``a mess'' during a visit to the country to inspect the oil industry.

But he played down the prospects of civil war and praised the enthusiasm of ordinary Iraqis for change.

``People describe Iraq as a mess,'' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

``But it is a mess that can't launch an attack now on Iran; a mess that won't be able to march into Kuwait; it's a mess that can't develop nuclear weapons.

``So yes, it's a mess but it's starting to look like the sort of mess that most of us live in.''

The SAS has served alongside its American equivalent, Delta Force, in all parts of Iraq, targeting al Qaida cells and insurgents.

The Hereford-based unit, formed in 1941 to conduct raids behind enemy lines during World War Two, is the principal special forces organisation of the British Army.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson in Britain said the department does not comment on matters involving SAS personnel.