MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands veteran Weston opposes Iraq War
A famous veteran of the 1982 Falklands War, Simon Weston, has joined other military figures in opposing a war against Iraq. And he has again attacked the British Government for being prepared to send troops into battle, at risk of their lives, with what has been widely condemned as faulty equipment, such as the SA80 rifle, prone to jamming in Afghanistan.
Former Welsh Guardsman Simon Weston, severely burned in the 1982 Argentine air attack on the troopship Sir Galahad, has voiced his views on television and figures prominently on the front page of the mass circulation newspaper, Daily Mirror, with the headline "This War is Wrong".
In a full page interview, headlined "Falklands Hero Simon Blasts strike threat to Iraq", he is quoted as saying "Saddam Hussein may well have evil weapons of mass destruction. But where is the proof? Where is the evidence? (Prime Minister) Blair has not given us any, just trite statements asking us to believe him.
"The British military is the best prepared, best trained and most committed in the world. They will do their job and they will win. But there is no heart and no belief for this one?.We are divided and disheartened.
"In battle, belief strengthens a warrior's arm. Without total belief and commitment, mistakes happen and people die?Right does not come with might. Might comes with right".
He says that although Saddam is an evil despot, the United States and Britain requires the lawful world authority of the United Nations to remove him.
The article says Simon Weston, married with three children, has learned the power of forgiveness since he suffered 46 per cent burns in the Falklands War. Having met the Argentine pilot, Carlos Cachon, whose missile caused his wounds, Simon says: "Carlos" was just doing his job. When we met ten years after the Falklands, he was carrying his own guilt. But we were professionals and I would have done the same thing to him".
Harold Briley, (MP) London.
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