Singer James Blunt has told the BBC how he refused an order to attack Russian troops when he was a British soldier in Kosovo.
Blunt said he was willing to risk a court martial by rejecting the order from a US General.
But he was backed by British General Sir Mike Jackson, who told him "I'm not going to have my soldiers be responsible for starting World War 3".
Blunt was ordered to seize an airfield - but the Russians had got there first.
In an interview with BBC Radio 5Live, to be broadcast later on Sunday, he said: "I was given the direct command to overpower the 200 or so Russians who were there.
"I was the lead officer with my troop of men behind us ... The soldiers directly behind me were from the Parachute Regiment, so they're obviously game for the fight.
"The direct command [that] came in from General Wesley Clark was to overpower them. Various words were used that seemed unusual to us. Words such as 'destroy' came down the radio."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11753050
Blunt said he was willing to risk a court martial by rejecting the order from a US General.
But he was backed by British General Sir Mike Jackson, who told him "I'm not going to have my soldiers be responsible for starting World War 3".
Blunt was ordered to seize an airfield - but the Russians had got there first.
In an interview with BBC Radio 5Live, to be broadcast later on Sunday, he said: "I was given the direct command to overpower the 200 or so Russians who were there.
"I was the lead officer with my troop of men behind us ... The soldiers directly behind me were from the Parachute Regiment, so they're obviously game for the fight.
"The direct command [that] came in from General Wesley Clark was to overpower them. Various words were used that seemed unusual to us. Words such as 'destroy' came down the radio."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11753050
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