CNN: Soldier refuses return to Iraq, believes the war is immoral

[Turborama]

Run time: 02:12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLkfU7opn9k   Posted on YouTube: February 24, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: February 24, 2009 By DU Member: Turborama Views on DU: 812

 

Synopsis of PBS's Soldiers of Conscience

Soldiers of Conscience is a dramatic window on the dilemma of individual U.S. soldiers in the current Iraq war — when their finger is on the trigger and another human being is in their gunsight. Made with cooperation of the U.S. Army and narrated by Peter Coyote, the film profiles eight American soldiers, including four who decide not to kill, and become conscientious objectors and four who believe in their duty to kill if necessary. The film reveals all of them wrestling with the morality of killing in war, not as a philosophical problem, but as soldiers experience it — a split-second decision in combat that can never be forgotten or undone.

Soldiers of Conscience is not a film that tells an audience what to think, nor is it about the situation in Iraq today. Instead, it tells a bigger story about human nature and war. The film begins with a little-known fact: After World War II, the Army's own studies revealed that as many as 75 percent of combat soldiers given a chance to fire on the enemy failed to do so. The studies showed that soldiers, despite training, propaganda and social sanction, retained a surprising inhibition when it came to taking human life. The statistics surprised and alarmed America's generals, who developed training techniques to overcome the reluctance to kill. But if the military found a solution to its problem, the moral contradiction for the individual soldier remained. The mental and emotional burdens carried by soldiers who have killed affect America's families and communities after each of its recent wars. As this film shows, every soldier is inescapably a "soldier of conscience."

The military's very success in "reflexive fire training," which has steadily raised firing rates in combat to as high as 90 percent, may well have intensified the soldier's personal burden. Major Peter Kilner, a West Point professor of ethics and former 82nd Airborne Infantry Commander, addresses the issue in the film: "When you train them reflexively, they learn to make those decisions much more quickly, but the price of that is they're not thinking through the great moral decision of killing another human being."

Major Kilner is clear that, at times, there is a moral imperative to kill. "The million people who are out defending our country, fighting our wars, and the millions who have done it throughout history are not immoral people. No one likes to kill — no healthy person.... It may be nasty, it may be unpleasant, but the alternative is worse." But facing the brutal responsibility to kill another person compels some soldiers to undergo a profound transformation that turns them into conscientious objectors. The film follows the transformation of four such soldiers. Two are honorably discharged from the Army as conscientious objectors: Joshua Casteel, an Evangelical Christian, and Aidan Delgado, a Buddhist. The other two go to prison: Camilo Mejia, the first combat veteran to come back from Iraq and publicly refuse to return and Kevin Benderman, a 10-year veteran Army sergeant from Tennessee.

=snip=

The film's surprising revelation is how many beliefs these soldiers, in fact, share. All are eloquent about the moral dilemma of having to kill in war. Where they disagree is how each should act — as soldiers and as human beings. Mejia, Benderman, Casteel and Delgado are strong spokespeople for the idea that peace need not be an unrealistic idea, and that achieving it must begin as an individual responsibility — just as, in the field, the decision to kill becomes a devastatingly personal one. Major Kilner and the three drill sergeants feel their responsibility differently. "War is necessary sometimes because it's been brought upon peace-loving people by people who are ... not willing to let another society ... live in peace," says Major Kilner. "You can't say that you believe in human dignity and human rights if you're not willing to defend them."

Soldiers of Conscience is a timely and powerful look into a central drama of our time — how the soldier decides to kill or not — and the life-changing consequences that come with either choice.

"This film is about the burden of conscience," says co-director Gary Weimberg. "If you break the taboo and talk to a soldier about killing in war, as we did for this film, you'll learn that if soldiers have to kill, almost every single one suffers the rest of his or her life for doing so. We previewed the film for West Point cadets and for Quaker pacifists, and both audiences learned something new about the question of ‘to kill or not to kill.'"

"Another goal we had in making this film was to build respect for one another — even when we disagree," says co-director Catherine Ryan. "We tried to make a war film that examines and explores our common ground. Where we can find common ground, we can eliminate problems. Perhaps even war."

Full synopsis http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/soldiersofconscience/about.html">here

Warning: contains graphic images

PBS stream (only available within the US): http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/soldiersofconscience/fullfilm.html:

Full documentary on Google Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3643788528127179145&ei=aWKjSb-6LYmmwgPmtui3Bw&q=+soldiers+of+conscience&hl=en&dur=3

(formatting edit)

[ooglymoogly]

1. My thoughts are with this brave guy and I hope for the best for him. nt

[burning rain]

2. He should convert to Quakerism or Buddhism!

Religious motivation makes almost anything legal in the US; secular motivation is much less privileged.

[kas125]

3. Maybe he's talked to IVAW, they've been doing a lot of recruiting

Or http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/ is a great resource for resisters.

Here's the text from IVAW's latest pamphlet:

IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR IVAW.ORG

IVAW HAS A STRATEGY TO END THE WAR

IVAW is leading a renewed anti-war movement that will directly confront our government’s ability to
continue the Iraq War, using direct action, education, and media. The main objective of our strategy is to mobilize the military community to withdraw its support for the war and occupation in Iraq. We
have a three-pronged campaign to bring our brothers and sisters home from Iraq now:

1 IVAW is organizing on and around military bases to bring this war to an end.
IVAW members will be touring the country, visiting military bases and their surrounding
communities to recruit new members and inform servicemen and
women about their rights.

2 IVAW is supporting members of the military who resist this war.
More and more troops are courageously coming out against the war at great
personal risk to themselves and their families. IVAW members will put
themselves on the line to protect these service members.

3 IVAW is spreading the truth about recruiting and military service.
IVAW members, including former recruiters, will bring the Truth in Recruiting
campaign to recruiting centers and schools around the country to reach out
to active duty recruiters and to inform potential recruits about the realities of
military service and the Iraq war.

Background
Since January, the members of Iraq Veterans Against the War have held a series of meetings around the country where they formulated a strategic campaign to bring the Iraq war to an end. IVAW members studied successful mass movements in order to determine the most effective strategy to bring the troops home now. We determined that IVAW has a unique role to play: without the support of the military, the Republicans and Democrats will be unable to continue this war.

By weakening support for this war from within the military, IVAW will also deprive many other sectors of their central justification for continuing the war. The President, politicians, and media pundits continually suggest that they defer to the military on decisions about the war; we will expose the opposition to the war within the military and undermine the “We must support the troops” argument. We are the troops, we know that there is no military solution in Iraq,and we
know that the policies of our government are hurting the troops, destroying the military and violating the Iraqi people.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? TURN THIS PAGE OVER FOR A LIST OF WAYS
TO SUPPORT IVAW’S WORK TO END THE WAR —NOW.
Iraq Veterans Against the War P.O. Box 8296, Philadelphia, PA 19101 215.241.7123

The main objective of our strategy is to mobilize the miliitary community to withdraw its support for the war and occupation in Iraq. IVAW will lead this campaign, but we need your help. Supporters and allies can assist IVAW in many ways:

1. Make a donation and help with fundraising
You can make a donation on our website and find information on hosting a house party to help make
IVAW’s campaign a success. Your fundraising and direct donations will allow us to hire much-needed
staff, recruit and train new members, pay for legal defense, print and distribute materials, expand our website, and keep up our momentum as we push to end the Iraq war. Go to www.ivaw.org/support or
call 215.241.7123 to find out how you can support IVAW.

2. Support outreach to active duty troops
Many troops have turned against this war and IVAW’s membership of active duty troops in Iraq is
growing each week. IVAW is forming chapters on military bases to spread the word to GIs about their
rights and involve them in the work of IVAW. We need funds to train active duty leaders, and we need
supporters who live near military installations to support the growing GI resistance to this war. Call 215.241.7123 to find out how you can support an active duty chapter of IVAW.

3. Support service members who are refusing to fight
More and more service members are acting on their conscience and refusing to fight in Iraq at great
personal risk to themselves and their families. Several of our members are facing military prosecution as a result of their courageous stand against the war. Log on to our website and join our email list to find out ways to support resistors and conscientious objectors, from calling elected officials, to attending court martials, to raising funds for legal defense.

4. Support Truth In Recruiting
IVAW members are telling the truth about military service to young people across this country. They
are speaking in schools, standing watch at recruiting stations, and debating the war on college campuses.
If your child is considering joining the military, an IVAW member can speak to them about the
truth of military service. Call 215.241.7123 for more information, or to arrange for an IVAW member to speak at your local school.

5. Spread the word
If you know a veteran or active duty service member, please tell them about IVAW.
HAD ENOUGH? JOIN WITH IVAW TO BRING THIS WAR TO AN END NOW.
IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR IVAW.ORG
IVAW HAS A STRATEGY TO END THE WAR
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP
— Iraq Veterans Against the War P.O. Box 8296, Philadelphia, PA 19101 215.241.7123

[Turborama]

4. Wow, they appear to be quite well organised. Any idea how long this campaign has been running? n/t

[kas125]

6. They're getting more members and chapters all the time; and

they are pretty well organized. I think that this campaign is several months old, but I'm not sure. I did send this video to IVAW and Courage to Resist; hopefully they'll contact the soldier in it so he's not fighting them alone.

[ProfessorPlum]

5. But . . . but . . I thought all the soldiers just wanted a chance

to "finish the job".

K&R