From the BBC : More than 1000 members of the British military have deserted the armed forces since the start of the 2003 Iraq War...
It comes as Parliament debates a law that will forbid military personnel refusing to participate in the occupation of a foreign country.
Some 900 have evaded capture since the Iraq war started, official figures say.
Ben Griffin was a member of the elite SAS. Earlier this year he told his commanding officer earlier he was not prepared to return to Iraq because he said he saw American forces carrying out what he thought were illegal acts."I was disturbed by the general day-to-day attitude of the American troops. They treated Iraqis with contempt, not like human beings. They had a complete disregard for Iraqi lives and property."
".... there's a lot of dissent in the Army about the legality of war and concerns that they're spending too much time there".
He says Iraq is different to other conflicts because, in other operations, the main aim is to improve life for the local population and he believes that is not what has happened in Iraq.
"There's contempt for the locals. We don't even know how many have been killed."
