An SAS soldier has refused to fight in Iraq and has left the Army over the "illegal" tactics of United States troops and the policies of coalition forces.

After three months in Baghdad, Ben Griffin told his commander that he was no longer prepared to fight alongside American forces.

This is pretty surprising, because in the British Army, the SAS are the “snake eaters.” They’re trained for dirty work, and during the troubles in Northern Ireland racked up quote a score of covert atrocities against the various IRA factions. But, then, that was an internal guerrilla war. But certainly not a civil war, the UK government will hasten to add. Just like the US government insists Iraq is not in a state of civil war.

He said he had witnessed "dozens of illegal acts" by US troops, claiming they viewed all Iraqis as "untermenschen" - the Nazi term for races regarded as sub-human.

We’ve always guessed it, but it’s certainly not comforting to learn we were apparently right. Once Again. Not that Abu Ghraib, Bagram, Guantanamo and countless unnamed places in Eastern Europe and Northern Africa, as well as the wholesale slaughter of Fallujah and Najaf didn’t already lend clues.

The decision marks the first time an SAS soldier has refused to go into combat and quit the Army on moral grounds. It immediately brought to an end Mr Griffin's exemplary, eight-year career in which he also served with the Parachute Regiment, taking part in operations in Northern Ireland, Macedonia and Afghanistan.

Eight years. This soldier was on the career path, and wanted to walk away because of a crisis of conscience.

Mr Griffin, 28, who spent two years with the SAS, said the American military's "gung-ho and trigger happy mentality" and tactics had completely undermined any chance of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi population. He added that many innocent civilians were arrested in night-time raids and interrogated by American soldiers, imprisoned in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, or handed over to the Iraqi authorities and "most probably" tortured. Mr Griffin eventually told SAS commanders at Hereford that he could not take part in a war which he regarded as "illegal".

He added that he now believed that the Prime Minister and the Government had repeatedly "lied" over the war's conduct.

"I did not join the British Army to conduct American foreign policy," he said. He expected to be labelled a coward and to face a court martial and imprisonment after making what "the most difficult decision of my life" last March.

There’ve been small stories about the trigger happy responses of American troops in attacks and stress situations that have of course been adamantly denied by Bu$hCo and the Pentagon. It’s not surprising, actually, because the US Army teaches massive fire suppression at points of conflict. I guess the denials by the US government should be considered as verification of Trooper Griffin’s accusations.

In the American Army a soldier acting like this, making public accusations, would get 15 years in Leavenworth, a Dishonorable Discharge, and his family history scoured to provide grounds for personal attack by the political wing of the White House, funneled through the Pentagon, and handed off to a tame “reporter.”

Instead, he was discharged with a testimonial describing him as a "balanced, honest, loyal and determined individual who possesses the strength of character to have the courage of his convictions".

In related news:

On Wednesday, the pre-trial hearing will begin into the court martial of Flt Lt Malcolm Kendall-Smith, a Royal Air Force doctor who has refused to return to Iraq for a third tour of duty on the grounds that the war is illegal. Mr Griffin's allegations came as the Foreign Office minister Kim Howells, visiting Basra yesterday, admitted that Iraq was now "a mess".