The outdated concept of treason

What is treason?  Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines it as: the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family. 

Here are three historical examples of alleged treason.


William Wallace was executed for treason in 1305 on the orders of the King of England.  Wallace argued that as a Scotsman he owed no allegiance to the King of England, and so could not be guilty of treason, but he was convicted regardless.

Michel Ney was executed for treason against France in 1815, even though he pointed out that he had fought a hundred battles for France and not one against her.

John Amery was executed for treason against the United Kingdom in 1945.  He pleaded guilty at his trial, and the reason for his guilty plea remains a mystery.  Nevertheless he had never attacked his own country, and neither had he sought to do so.

In short, the above cases are arguably not genuine examples of treason, but rather of victimisation for political advantage.

As I write, the major preoccupation of the national press is the ongoing crisis in Iraq.  At least one newspaper is urging military action.  I feel compelled to comment on an essay by the evil Conservative MP David Davis in which he remarks:

Imagine that in my youth during the Cold War, I had gone off to join the Soviet Army with the intent of taking action against NATO, or that my father had gone to join the Nazis in the Second World War. Those actions would quite properly have been viewed as treason.

It seems to me that the traditional concept of treason is essentially a form of nationalisation.  It is the nationalisation of conscience.  Suppose your country is at war, but you are convinced that your country is on the wrong side.  If you then go and fight for the other side, then you are a traitor.  The state owns your conscience.

There is also a stench of hypocrisy about the notion of treason.  During the Second World War there were instances of Germans fighting with the Allies against their own nation.  (For example, Major Sepp Gangl fought alongside the Allies at the battle of Schloss Itter.)  Surely the Allies should have rejected this assistance on the grounds that it was tantamount to treason.

If the United Kingdom were to go to war against Iraq yet again, then I would not fight on either side.  I would have a low opinion of any British citizen who took part in that war on either side, but I am not sure I would regard any of them as traitors.

Surely it is time to discard the outdated view of treason, and replace it with something meaningful.  Treason should be defined in ways such as leading the country into an illegal war, or signing a treaty which is not in the national interest.

Rather than seeking another war against Iraq, we should be seeking to address the root cause of the problem.  Consider this quote from Lord Carey:

The menacing advance of the Islamic State in Iraq should not prejudice Western people against Muslim people and the Islamic faith. 

This is wrong, and quite immoral.  The carnage in Iraq is founded on a book which says what The Koran says.  I have previously noted some of its contents.

I repeat what I have said in an earlier post, which is that no one needs to be a Muslim.

As a final point, both Davis and Carey want British citizens who fight with the armies of ISIS to be stripped of their British passports, and that is an idea worthy of consideration.  Nevertheless Davis has taken the Conservative whip in the House of Commons since 1987.  In that time he has supported the governments of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, and David Cameron.  Each of these Prime Ministers allowed Britain to be flooded with immigrants, and in the case of David Cameron the flood continues.

How many of these immigrants were screened on arrival to see if they had criminal convictions?  Or if they held belligerent views such as those found in The Koran?

Maybe David Davis should be stripped of his British passport.  Feel free to comment.

Related previous posts include:

Air strikes against Iraq are wrong
The Express comments on Islam