Posted on 05/14/2005 9:35:44 AM PDT by viva la france
TWO MEN are being put on trial by the military this week because they answered their consciences.
Pablo Paredes and Kevin Benderman refused to accept the lies they were told about the U.S. war on Iraq. Refused to accept the racist dehumanization of the Iraqi people. Refused to participate in the violence of the most lethal military machine in the history of the world. Refused to go to war for oil and empire in Iraq.
Paredes, a third class petty officer, refused to board his Navy ship bound for the Persian Gulf, bringing 3,000 Marines to the battlefield--to kill and be killed. Benderman, an Army sergeant, applied for conscientious objector status before his unit deployed to Iraq for a second tour of duty.
Now, the military wants to punish them for it--to silence their voices before the spirit of resistance reaches more soldiers. Pablo and Kevin will appear at separate court-martial trials this week, where they will face prison time--up to one year for Pablo, and as many as seven years for Kevin.
But both men say they are prepared to go to jail rather than participate in an unjust war--one that causes the kind of atrocities Kevin described in an interview with Socialist Worker. He talked about the haunting memory of a young girl standing alongside the road, whose “arm was burned all the way up her shoulder, and I don’t mean just a little blistered...She had third degree burns the entire length of her arm, and she was crying in pain because of the burns.
“I asked the troop executive officer if we could stop and help the family, and I was told that the medical supplies we had were limited, and that we may need them. I informed him that I would donate my share to that girl, but we didn’t stop to help her.”
Pablo and Kevin are the real heroes--for standing up against Bush’s war. And around the U.S., people are rallying to their defense--and turning the tables on Washington’s war machine.
They will hold pickets and protests to put George Bush’s war--and not the war resisters--on trial. Here, Socialist Worker convenes a court of the people--to hear testimony in the trial of an immoral and unjust war.
IN HIS OWN DEFENSE Pablo Paredes
Naval petty officer third class, facing a special court-martial for refusing to board his ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard, last December when it left for the Persian Gulf.
I ELECTED to carry a cross with me--a cross that will take away my freedom, and incarcerate me for a time. My family and a community of caring people who have embraced this struggle help me carry this minor cross.
But it is those for whom I carry this minor cross who truly need our help. It is the Iraqis--who die for nothing more than believing they have a right to exist in their own country--who need help. It is the Iraqi families who lose children, mothers and fathers for no other reason than believing they have a right to breathe their own air.
It is the misled soldiers, with heroism in their heart and courage in their blood, who die at the hands of those they are misled into believing they are helping--it is they who need help carrying their cross. It is the families here at home who are left alone to mourn these unjust losses. It is the communities who are losing their leaders of tomorrow and their resources of today, who desperately need our help.
It is humanity as a whole that is carrying the mighty weight of unprovoked, unnecessary and unjust violence.
Unfortunately, many have removed themselves so far from the realities of places like Iraq that they can use a warped sense of cost-benefit analysis to make decisions--such as how much money can be made versus how many American lives can be lost before public opinion shifts.
These same war profiteers who never look their victims in the eye expect the citizenry of the world to follow suit and give up the quality which makes us human. They want us to watch filtered news and cleansed reports, and give a thumbs-up to the brutal murders that happen daily in Iraq and elsewhere. They want us to pretend Iraqis are not human beings--they are “Islamic fundamentalists,” they are “terrorists,” they are “insurgents” trying to murder our young boys over there.
The beneficiaries of war--measured easiest as those who wouldn’t dream of taking part in war themselves, yet who reap the profits daily--would like us to believe that American lives matter, and Iraqi lives don’t.
I call on everyone who hears my voice, or reads these words, to reclaim their humanity. Refuse, as every member of humanity should, to promote this mass violence against innocent people.
That pic is 100% cool.
hey vlf, very pretictable. A pre-emptive surrender.
You are laughable, weak and arrogant in your ingnorance all at the same time. But, try again tomorrow someone may need whining lessons.
Both men say they are ready yo go to jail. I fervcently hope they get their wish. And that they stay there a long time.
There will be. I read the Novel adaption of the movie.
LOL! A game like that would be funny!
Mais la puissance des Francais, c'est dans leur merdre.
oauis, c'est vrais.
I love Lance Corporal Miller. He's my hero, and my computer wallpaper. :)
More nutcases today. But thanks for calling the US military "the most lethal military force in the history of the world," it made me feel good.
I know what you mean. I had that picture in the rear window of my truck for a time. Now I have the cover from American Legion mag. If you heven't seen it, it is a Marine saluting. Amazing!!!!! picture.
You're right. Simply awesome. *SNIF*
Why did Paredes and Benderman join the military in the first place? To meet men?
Thanks, I don't feel comfortable posting pics yet.
It is something isn't it? 'Proud' does not come close to explaining the feeling.
Have a nice day, troll.
Bye, viva la france."He's
deadFrench fried, Jim!"
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Viking Kitty/ZOT ping list!. . .don't be shy.
100
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
