A US army sergeant who refuses to return to Iraq because, he says, the war is illegal has been convicted of desertion by a court martial.
Camilo Mejia, 28, born in Nicaragua and raised in Miami, was given a bad conduct discharge and sentenced to a year in jail on Friday.
He was convicted by a special court martial at Fort Stewart army base near Savannah, Georgia.
Last October, while on a two-week home leave, Mejia refused to return to his outfit in Iraq, saying the war was “illegal.”
He asked the military for conscientious objector status, was refused, and was charged with desertion instead.
[Source: Al Jazeera]
What’s that again? oh yeah, freedom of expression and choice.
Maybe we should change it to “freedom of oppression” so that nobody’s confused about what it really means.
Well, that’s complicated. When you join the army, you probably have this image of defending your country, democracy, etc., etc. But the thing is, when you join the army, you also agree that you will go to wherever the higher-ups send you without question. That’s just how the armed forces work. When you join the military, it’s a real commitment and you should know that before entering. It’s only to say that although I agree that this war is illegal, I can also see the flip side being that you can serve in the army, but you can’t just choose to not go whenever you please. That’s why although I am whole-heartedly against the war, I support the troops who have made the commitment to serve the country (and unfortunately Bush) and who really have no choice but to stick it out until the day they can return home to their families.
Yes I understand, and I know that.
It’s the same everywhere.
The rule in the army is that you have to follow orders without thinking whether you like it or not.
I know that, and I know that by doing what he did, this guy is actually breaking the military laws and that they have the right to punish him.
But still it sucks that he can’t defend his point of view and stand up to what he thinks is right.