http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/29/60II/main609216.shtmlDespite his commanding officer's suspicions that the bloodshed was taking a heavy toll on Mejia, he was allowed to take a short leave to work out the problems he was having renewing his green card. (Like almost 40,000 other soldiers who have spent time fighting in Iraq, Mejia is a legal alien.)
It was during that leave that Mejia tells Rather he first began thinking of going AWOL. "When you look at the war and you look at the reasons that took us to war and you don't find that any of the things that we were told that we're going to war for turned out to be true," says Mejia.
"When you don't find there are weapons of mass destruction and when you don't find that there was a link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda and you see that you're not helping the people and the people don't want you there and, to me, there's no military contract and no military duty that's going to justify being a part of that war."
In addition to his moral questions about the war, Mejia thought he had a legal right not to go back. He says he satisfied his agreement with the Army and National Guard to serve eight years, but like many in the military, he was ordered to serve more time because of the war.
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