Free Republic

“I, _______, 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; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” — U.S. Armed Forces Oath of Enlistment This oath is administered to all entering members of the armed forces. As it clearly states, the Constitution is the...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday by a U.S. soldier who received a bad conduct discharge after refusing to serve on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia. Former Army medic Michael New has been fighting his discharge for the past 11 years. New argued that he was not afforded all his legal rights in the course of the court-martial that stemmed from his refusal to wear the U.N. insignia on his Army uniform. He was supposed to be among a few hundred soldiers who were sent to Macedonia, a former Yugoslav republic, to guard...

On October 10, 1995, the 1/15 Battalion of the 3rd infantry Division of the U.S. Army came to attention at 0900 in Schweinfurt, Germany. All but one of the 550 soldiers were wearing a sky-blue baseball-style cap with a United Nations insignia on the front. One was wearing the olive-drab flat cap that is authorized to be worn with the Battle Dress Uniform. With this simple act of disobeying a direct order, Spc. 4 Michael New set the stage for a legal battle that has profound implications for the future of American soldiers into service of the United Nations without...

A Lesson in Data and Analysis for the New York Timesby Michael J. New, Ph.D. WebMemo #1009 Yesterday, The New York Times published a front-page article, “Scant Drop in Abortion Rates if Parents are Told,” that reported the newspaper’s conclusion that recently-enacted parental involvement laws have not reduced the incidence of abortion among teens.[1] On its surface, the newspaper’s statistical analysis appears convincing, but a closer look at its data and methodology call its conclusions into question. The article’s reporters tracked the percentage of pregnancies among girls under age 18 that end in abortion before and after the passage of...

Go to the link for an article that I wrote regarding the story, and check out his website www.mikenew.com

A U.S. soldier court-martialed for refusing to wear the insignia and blue beret of the United Nations and serve under the world body's command is now appealing his case to a federal appeals court. Michael New was among several hundred troops sent to Macedonia by President Clinton in 1995 on a U.N. peacekeeping mission. But New refused to obey the order, calling it illegal for him to serve under a foreign power.

Army Specialist Michael New's objection to serving in Macedonia during the Clinton administration -- under the insignia and tactical command of the United Nations -- has gained him no court victories. For his "disobedience" -- at muster he would not wear the U.N. blue beret and shoulder patch -- New received a "bad conduct" discharge in 1996, upheld by a military appeals court and in December by a federal judge. Mr. New is not a coward; he says his orders were unlawful. The volunteer for the U.S. armed forces would have been unconstitutionally ordered to serve under a foreign commander,...

The U.S. military can force its personnel to wear the blue beret of the United Nations and serve under the world body's command, a federal judge ruled. Judge Paul Friedman upheld the military's conviction of former Army specialist Michael New, who refused to don the U.N. cap and shoulder patch and to serve in a peacekeeping mission in Macedonia nearly 10 years ago, the New York Sun reported. New argued that the Constitution and the law governing U.S. participation in the world body prevent the president from sending American troops into possible combat under U.N. command without express authorization from...

GIs Can Be Ordered To Wear U.N. Beret BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun December 24, 2004 URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/6763 A federal judge in Washington has upheld the right of the American military to place its personnel under United Nations command and force those soldiers to wear insignia designed by the world body. The ruling from Judge Paul Friedman came in the case of a former Army specialist, Michael New, who resisted orders that he serve in a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Macedonia nearly a decade ago. He also refused, during unit muster in 1995, to wear the...

At a time when President Bush is pleading with the United Nations for permission to wage war on Iraq, he has assigned U.S. troops to wear U.N. uniforms and report to a foreign U.N. commander.The pro-U.N. policy represents a violation of a Bush campaign promise and the 2000 Republican Party platform. It also represents a continuation of a policy that began under former President Clinton, who ordered the prosecution of a U.S. Army soldier who refused to join the U.N. Army.The United States Military Observer Group in the Pentagon confirms that U.S. soldiers wear U.N. blue berets and U.N....

President Bush:  "No World Court" Spc. New Again: "No World Army"May 8, '02 WASHINGTON,D.C. - Former Army Specialist Michael New supports President Bush's decision to reject any U.S. participation in the International Criminal Court because of its threat to American soldiers and attack on American sovereignty. New, who in 1996 was court-martialed and kicked out of the Army for refusing to wear a United Nations uniform, filed suit May 8th, against the Pentagon and the Army at Federal District Court in Washington. New will carry on his six year fight to win back his good military record. Spc. New contends...