Elaine here, still with you while Rebecca's on vacation. For those needing a Rebecca fix, she wrote a preface to a blog spotlight at Third Estate Sunday Review on something I wrote and on something C.I. wrote. In addition, she participated in the roundtable. So if you haven't already gotten your Rebecca fix, head over there quickly.
Iraqi Police Open Fire On Demonstrators
U.S. backed-Iraqi police offices opened fire on a crowd of Iraqis demonstrating in the town of Samawah. More than 1,000 people had taken to the streets to demand electricity, jobs and water. This marks the third summer that the residents of Iraq has suffered without regular electricity or water. Demonstrators threw stones at the governor's office and members of a Shiite militia were seen moving around the streets carrying grenade launchers. According to the Times of London, more than 50 people were wounded including 18 police officers. One demonstrator died.
I want to now move to Monica Benderman. She's the wife of Kevin Benderman and we've discussed him here. The military tried to railroad him with a larceny charge that got tossed out.
Today, Monica Benderman has her say.
Is Being a Conscientious Objector Now Criminal? (CounterPunch)
As I am certain you are all aware, my husband, Sgt. Kevin Benderman, was sentenced to 15 months confinement, loss of rank, forfeiture of pay and a dishonorable discharge last week, the charge being "Missing Movement" or failure to get on a plane. In actuality, the charge was "filing a Conscientious Objector packet against the recommendation of his commander, who had no intention of allowing my husband to follow his conscience, and therefore serving notice to the rest of our military that they should not follow suit."
I need to assure you that I do not make this statement out of anger, but rather by simply pointing to the facts. Not only did my husband's commander address this in a public comment to the media, the prosecutor used this in his closing statements, and the military representative was adamant about this in his public comments to the media immediately following my husband’s court martial.
I am not writing out of anger. I am writing to request the opportunity to meet with one of you to discuss my husband's case from our point of view, as this has not been allowed to this point. Even in my husband's court martial, he was not allowed to discuss his beliefs, his reasons, or the fact that he has given 10 years of honorable service to his country, including a combat tour in Iraq, for which he received two Army commendation medals for meritorious service.
My husband's case for Conscientious Objection was brushed aside and mishandled so that his entire career of service came down to a meeting with his Command Sgt. Major that lasted less than one hour. My husband's testimony regarding this meeting has remained unchanged, as has my witness to that meeting. The Command Sgt. Major's testimony was re-written and sworn to on at least 5 separate occasions, each testimony contradicting another, even as they were presented in my husband’s court martial.
In fairness to each of you, to the US Army, to the people of this country and mostly to my husband, who is paying the price for being falsely charged, I am respectfully requesting that the appeal process for his case be allowed to proceed without delay, and that he be given fair treatment not only in a re-presentation of the facts surrounding his court martial, but that he also be given the opportunity to have his application for Conscientious Objector status reconsidered as well.
You can find updates on Kevin Benderman at BendermanDefense.org. As Cindy Sheehan takes a stand that our senators seem to have trouble taking (there's a lot more bravery in the House, especially in the Black Caucus), maybe we can finally start to ask serious questions about this occupation/invasion. Not keep debating tactics, but get to the heart of the issue. Everyone's weary of the rising death toll.
The administration sold us a war built on lies and the press pushed it. Truth comes out though and it's coming out now. The idea that we can't have a national dialogue on this issue is a myth. We can have it and we need to have it.
I want to note Monica Benderman again.
Memorandum from Monica Benderman (BendermanDefense.org)
Taking a stand for what we believe, for a commitment to seeing that peace happens and that those who threaten this peace are neutralized does not have to involve weapons meant for killing. Animals on this earth were given their weapons; teeth, claws and a ravage tenacity to protect what is theirs and keep "enemies" at bay. Humanity was given something much different, a far more significant weapon. Humanity was given a mind. Somewhere along the way, we have forgotten the power of our mind and what it can be used for. It became easy to create weapons of destruction, far easier than to use our minds to think and create strong principles for preventing the use of these weapons. We believe that we should take pride in our abilities to use our mental strength. We believe that we should develop this asset and work with courage toward peace by drafting positive resolutions, knowing that while the implementation of these resolutions will result in some loss, it will be far less than the loss we face with weapons of destruction in our hands, no different than "the enemy" facing us.
That's where Monica Benderman is and where a number of us are. We can talk about the issues that our leaders don't want to and we can force the national discussion that should have taken place before the invasion. But that means we have to start the conversation and we have to keep it going.
"Peace Quotes" (Peace Center)
You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.
Malcolm X
