& Please remember and support those who resist within the military!!

[G_j]

one example

Soldier Gets 15 Months in Prison for Refusing Iraq Duty
(links to the stories below can be found here:

http://www.bendermandefense.org/



Kevin with fellow conscientious objectors Aidan Delgado (left) and Camilo Mejía (right) on the day of the Court-Martial, July 29, 2005. Photo credit: Maritza Mejía, distributed by www.bendermandefense.org. For more pictures, click here.

Amnesty International Declares Kevin Benderman a "Prisoner of Conscience," Initiates International Campaign of Support

"Amnesty International Urgent Action: Prisoner of Conscience Kevin Benderman," Amnesty International, August 9, 2005.

Note: The link above is to the text of the Amnesty International (AI) Urgent Action Declaration on August 9, 2005. When we have an appropriate link to the AI website, we will provide it.


From Monica Benderman,
"Memo to President George Bush," by Monica Benderman, Kevin Benderman Defense Committee, August 7, 2005.

A Letter of Thanks from Monica Benderman, Kevin Benderman Defense Committee, August 1, 2005.

Kevin Transferred to Ft. Lewis
Kevin was transferred on August 1 to Fort Lewis in Washington state. As soon as we have a mailing address for him there, we will provide it.

Most Decorated Green Beret Commander Transfers Medal to Kevin

"Award of the Soldier’s Medal to Sgt. Kevin Benderman (Regular Army)," by Lt. Colonel James Bo Gritz, July 29, 2005.

Kevin's Supporters React to Court-Martial Verdict


"War Objector Simply Put Conscience First," by Stuart Cashin, Atlanta Journal Constitution, August 10, 2005.


"Other Voices: Oath to Defend the Constitution," by Benjamin Cuker, Hampton Roads Daily Press, August 8, 2005.

"Where Do I Live?" by Cindy Sheehan (co-founder, Gold Star Families for Peace), CommonDreams.org, August 3, 2005.

"Dishonorable Discharge," by Karen Kwiatkowski, LewRockwell.com, August 3, 2005.

"The Conviction of Kevin Benderman," by Debbie Clark, Anti-War.com, August 1, 2005.

"Free Kevin Benderman Now!" T-Shirt Design by Yasemin.

"In Praise of Kevin Benderman," by Norman Solomon, Alternet, July 29, 2005.

"Oakland Rally for Iraq War Veteran, Objector Kevin Benderman" by Jeff Paterson, Indybay.org, July 29, 2005, (For more pictures of the event, see Jackie Thomason's website, and for more information, see CouragetoResist.org).

"Words Against War," Interview with activist and organizer David Solnet, Pacifica Radio, July 29, 2005.

"Support Kevin Benderman," by Camilo Mejía, Iraq Veterans Against the War (See also: http://www.freecamilo.org/benderman.htm)

Court-Martial Verdict: Kevin Acquitted of Desertion, Guilty of Missing Deployment to Iraq, Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison, Taken Into Custody


"Soldier Gets 15 Months in Prison for Refusing Iraq Duty," by Russ Bynum (AP), CNN, July 29, 2005.

"Sergeant Who Claimed Conscientious Objector Status Goes to Prison," by Sean Harder, Savannah Morning News, July 28, 2005.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Absolutely!

[G_j]

2. this is not intended to draw attention from Cindy, but

a request that DUers also remember to support the courageous people who resist within the military.

[brandxj]

3. sorry

but military members refusing to do the duty which they took an oath to obey the orders of the officers and President of the United States, no matter how much you may disagree, are called DESERTERS!!

[G_j]

4. really?

I guess you never payed attention to the Nuremberg war tribunals.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/NurembergIndictments.html

ARTICLE 8

The fact that the defendant acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior shall not free him from responsibility, but may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Tribunal determine that justice so requires.

<snip>



& if you want to see a deserter, just look at Bush

[G_j]

5. "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States"

http://vikingphoenix.com/politics/Election2000/Issues2000/NationalSecurity/oath.htm

§ 3331. Oath of office
An individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services, shall take the following oath:

''I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.''

[undergroundpanther]

7. I would rather desert than torture prisoners

I do not think the so called leaders of the military are worthy of "leading" and people who unquestioniingly obey corrupted"leaders"and think the chain of copmmand will wash the blood of torture off thier hands are fools,the soldiers blindly obedient to leader's commands that are immoral ARE IMMORAL,An Immoral rouge military especially the brass making the orders deserves no respect out of me,because of the TORTURE they do.Torture is wrong.I do not honor ANY torturers.

[Spike from MN]

9. So which branch of the military are you in brandxj?

And please note that our pResident also took an oath. I think any obligation the troops had went out the window the minute Dubya broke his oath. The troops are not obligated to serve in an illegal war.

[IrateCitizen]

15. You can't even get your terms right!

Kevin Benderman is not a DESERTER, because at no time did he leave. Rather, he announced that he would not be joining the rest of his unit -- AFTER he had already applied for CO designation based upon the things he saw in his first tour -- and was subsequently arrested and court-martialed.

Rather, he was legally guilty of disobeying a direct order, which is quite a different thing than being a deserter.

You have all the right in the world to disagree with what he's doing (and I would staunchly disagree with you), but at least get your terms right in describing what it is he has done.

[brandxj]

19. you got me..on that

by legal definition you are right....however to all the others in his unit which felt the need to fulfill their obligations, i guarantee they feel that he deserted them.

[IrateCitizen]

20. I'm certain he feels it in some way too.

In fact, I'm certain that this decision is one that will haunt him for the rest of his life. However, everything he saw in Iraq on his first tour will haunt him as well, as he has repeatedly stated.

Kevin Benderman found himself in a very difficult situation, and simply tried to make the greatest moral good come about as a result. For him to ignore his conscience and re-deploy would have been a greater crime than the legal one he was convicted of, or the "letting down" of his fellow soldiers.

Espirit d'corps is a great thing, until you realize how it is used as a conditioning tool to get people to engage in unconscionable actions out of a fear of letting down their fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen or marines.

[lildreamer316]

6. KIck

and recommended.
Get the freep........

[brandxj]

8. how strong

of a military would we have if every individual was able to take a free walk if they didn't agree with the military policy of the President, regardless of how you may feel about the current Pres. This is not to say that soldiers who receive an "unlawful order" should obey it, in fact they are obligated to report such an order.

[G_j]

10. in case you missed it, Bush, Rumsfeld etc.

are the ones who have weakened the military

[brandxj]

11. i'm sure

that supporting the troops that wish to abandon their units because they don't agree with the war doesn't weaken the military at all either, right?

[lildreamer316]

12. You didn't answer Spike's question

Which branch do you serve in again?

[brandxj]

13. Oops...

I'm in the Air Force, 8 years.

[lildreamer316]

23. Thank you for your service.

I respect your dedication.

[G_j]

14. no they don't

but an illegal war and war crimes certainly do.

[brandxj]

16. i'm just saying

that regardless if the war is illegal, unjust, and all of the other things that are wrong with this war, it still doesn't make good sense to let soldiers think it is okay to walk out if you don't agree. that would only weaken our military, as a whole and at the unit level.

[IrateCitizen]

18. What are you more concerned with, the military or the nation?

Would you place the immediate needs of the military ahead of the greater good of the country? Or do you believe that those in a position to act against injustice being committed on their country's behalf have some moral obligation to oppose that injustice, to stop it from soiling the nation in which they live?

[G_j]

21. we have a different perspective

I respect your opinion on this but disagree.
First as Irate Citizen has pointed out, Kevin Benderman had already applied for CO status.

Allowing people to become COs is a strength not a weakness.
If the military was acting out of strength (moral and otherwise)
Benderman would have been granted CO status.



~~Also the lines have blurred badly, nobody took an oath to become an arm of the GOP neocons.

[IrateCitizen]

22. Benderman's CO claim was AIRTIGHT.

The guy's entire claim was based on the fact that he was so traumatized by what he saw while he was in Iraq, that it convinced him that all war is immoral.

But, the DoD decided that they needed warm bodies more than they needed to do the right thing. So, his claim was denied, and he was placed in the unfortunate position of having to follow orders or follow his conscience.

Then again, this kind of thing is becoming SOP. In my old Reserve Readiness Command, our 2-star CG stated that he was accepting absolutely no officer resignations -- NONE -- regardless of whether or not said officers had any committment left or not. I had a commanding officer who was sent to Iraq after his resignation was declined.

[G_j]

27. no officer resignations

that reflects a very serious breakdown in trust.

[IrateCitizen]

17. That's quite irrelevant, really...

Perhaps we would have a stronger SOCIETY and NATION if people stopped to think about exactly what they were being asked to do, and the greater impact of their actions, as opposed to saluting crisply and blindly following orders.

And I don't think we would be in a position where other sovereign nations would be lining up to attack us if our military were significantly "weakened" from your point of view.

[brandxj]

24. just so you know

i'm not a lurker trying to start a ruckus or anything. i am admittedly a 28 yr old in the Air Force whom has never voted. i never felt educated enough so i held my vote. now with things going on the way they are, and having a new baby, i am trying to get educated on issues to see where i am politically. just didn't want you guys thinking i was trying to start stuff.

[IrateCitizen]

25. I never said you were trying to start trouble...

The fact that you are currently in the military -- well, as much as you can realistically call the AF "the military ;-) -- speaks volumes to me as to where you get your point of view from, and the value you place upon espirit d'corps.

However, if you are a person of an open mind and become exposed to certain influences that are often shut out of the mainstream, that sense of espirit d'corps can become a source of tremendous inner conflict. You become literally torn in two between the sense of duty you feel to your fellow soldiers, and your own conscience. It's not a pleasant place to be, and becomes increasingly uncomfortable the longer you try to straddle those two worlds.

I say that with all sincerity because it's what happened to me -- I used to be a junior officer in the Army Reserve (Engineers). I eventually filed for CO (never resolved), was discharged for turning down promotion to CPT, and now volunteer services as a counselor to other prospective CO's in addition to speaking out against the current war.

[G_j]

26. welcome to DU brandxj

my apologies if my answers were a bit short, I am very upset that our troops are being used by chicken-hawk war profiteers who continually lie and attempt to cover up their duplicity by wrapping themselves in the flag and religion.

I hope you continue to dialog with us here. Your posts have been respectful and as far as I'm concerned you are welcome to express your views.