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Jailed for upholding law at
Guantánamo Marines to review discharged vets for
anti-war activity Lt. Watada retrial on hold for double
jeopardy ruling Road from Ar
Ramadi
Iraq vet marching California capitol to oppose war
Still walking 59 hours! Courage to Resist. May 30, 2007. 7:00 pm PST SACRAMENTO, CA – An Iraq War veteran – who insists on remaining anonymous as "only a representative" of his fallen comrades – began walking laps around the state capitol building Monday morning at 8:00 am. Fifty-nine hours later, he is still walking. Although some on the scene are now summing up his condition as a “health crisis” due in large part to weather extremes, he has told supporters he will not rest until he has finished walking laps for every U.S. service person killed in Iraq. As the unnamed vet carries the name of a different fallen comrade around the capitol with each lap, others carry the names Iraqis killed during the U.S. attack on their country. At this time the vet has completed over 330 nearly half-mile loops around the building, nearly one lap for each of the 350 troops from California killed in Iraq. Come out to support this action at a press conference tomorrow morning (Thursday, May 31) in front of the Capitol Building on L Street at 12th Street, Sacramento. The Iraq War vet served in Iraq during the initial invasion in 2003 as an Army medic attached to an infantry unit. During yesterday’s early morning Memorial Day kick off press conference, and for some of the laps, he was joined by Patrick Sheehan, father of Army Spc. Casey Sheehan who was killed in Iraq in April 2004, and Casey’s younger brother Andy. The unnamed vet has been supported by members of Veterans for Peace Chapter 87, Military Families Speak Out, Sacramento Coalition to End the War, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Courage to Resist. View the Courage to Resist photo gallery
Jailed for upholding law at Guantánamo On May 18, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Diaz was sentenced to six months in a Navel brig and removal from the Navy for courageously upholding the constitution of the United States. Apparently this is a very serious crime in America today. Lt. Cmdr. Diaz is actually counting himself lucky, as the 41-year-old officer with 19-years of service to the U.S. Navy faced a possible 14 years in prison. Diaz was a military attorney assigned to investigate abuses of prisoners at Guantánamo, the legal black hole dungeon that operates outside of domestic and international law according to the Bush administration. Taking this assignment seriously not only some-what predictably ended his military career; it might have landed himself in prison until the year 2021. On orders from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the U.S. had refused to release the names of the prisoners that were being held at Guantánamo. The U.S. continued to stonewall all requests for this information even after a federal court ruled that the names must be turned over. Diaz took action to uphold the law, knowing the risks involved. Concerned about this abuse of human rights, Diaz sent a Valentine’s Day card to the Center for Constitutional Rights in February 2005. The year earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in support of C.C.R.’s right to represent these prisoners. Included with Diaz’s card, printed in very small type, was a list of about 550 names of prisoners held at Guantánamo. “My oath as a commissioned officer is to the Constitution of the United States,’’ Diaz told the Dallas Morning News. “I’m not a criminal. I had observed the stonewalling, the obstacles we continued to place in the way of the attorneys,’’ Diaz told the media before his sentencing. “I knew my time was limited. ... I had to do something.’’ What is illegal, he said, is the Bush administration's prosecution of the war on terror. He accused officials of violating international law, such as the Geneva Conventions on the humane treatment of war prisoners, and the Constitution's guarantee of due process. "I felt it was the right decision, the moral decision, the decision that was required by international law," Diaz said. "No matter how the conflict was identified, we were to treat them in accordance with Geneva, and it just wasn't being done."
Marines to review discharged vets for anti-war activity May 28, 2007 Adam Kokesh and Liam Madden are active members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). Both are former Marine sergeants who served in Iraq and were later honorably discharged. Due to their outspoken opposition to the war, the Marine Corps is now formally threatening to revoke their discharges and retroactively change them to “other than honorable.” This is a new, unprecedented step the military feels is necessary in order to suppress a growing anti-war voice from within the military itself. We cannot allow this suppression of free speech to occur! Adam Kokesh’s hearing is scheduled to be held in Kansas City, Missouri on June 4th.
Lt. Watada retrial on hold for double jeopardy ruling Courage to Resist. May 29, 2007 Nearly one year after Army Lt. Ehren Watada very publicly announced that he would be the first commissioned officer of the U.S. military to refuse to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that the war there is illegal under U.S. and international law, the U.S. Army court of appeals has issued a partial stay to consider arguments that a second court-martial would constitute double jeopardy. Lt. Watada's first court-martial ended in a mistrial in February when military Judge Lieutenant Colonel John Head ended the trial over the objections of both parties. "The court gave no indication when it would review lawyers' arguments," reported Melanthia Mitchell for the Associated Press. Up until the stay was issued, the Army had intended to attempt a retrial beginning July 23. It is still possible that the military appeals court may rule in favor of the Army in time for the Army to still attempt a July 23 trial. However, defense attorneys anticipate this possibility and are readying the double jeopardy arguments for civilian court of appeals as the next step if needed. Road from Ar Ramadi
Hardcover prepublication copy signed by the author—the first Iraq combat veteran to refuse to return—in support of Courage to Resist. Available now for only a $25 donation to Courage to Resist. Limited quantities available. The issues [Mejía] has raised deserve a close reading by the
nation as a whole. "Most powerful are his firsthand experiences of prisoner abuse,
senseless patrols that invite insurgent attacks, discord among his
demoralized comrades and their careerist officers, and the constant
brutalization of Iraqis" This signed hardcover prepublication edition is available for only a $25 donation from Courage to Resist. Limited quantities available. |
