There never was a good war or a bad peace. ~Ben Franklin
James Branum, lawyer for Conscientious Objectors in the U.S. Military, interviewed on Democracy Now! about Bergdahl case (POW exchange)
Branum: "It is unfortunate he [Bergdahl] did not know the full range of options yet under the law. But, one of the problems is the military does not inform soldiers of their rights under the law to seek a discharge on the grounds of conscience."
Watch the video / read the transcript here:
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/6/4/there_were_no_good_options_bowe
Also in the DN! video segment, Charles Glass, a historian and former ABC News chief correspondent, author of, "The Deserters: a Hidden History of the Second World War." In it he tells the stories of three men whose lives dramatize how the strain of war can push a soldier to the breaking point. They are among some 50,000 American soldiers who deserted in the European theater during World War II.
http://centerforconscience.org/
CCA is a pacifist organization and the state affiliate in Oklahoma of the War Resisters League (WRL)
Views: 41
Comment
-
Comment by Steve Woodall on June 12, 2014 at 12:40pm
-
Good to see some accurate info and awareness of the CO options in military. Someday maybe the military will release some data on the number of applications vs denials and so forth. Asserting one's conscience in an environment like the military is a difficult thing. Even obtaining information and support for such things (such as from a chaplain) is difficult. Talk about being isolated! I doubt Bergdahl will apply for CO status, or that he will be granted it if he applies. But perhaps this incident can become a milepost in progress toward opening up CO status as an option. Maybe even inserting a little reason into the regs that govern such matters.
-
Comment by Tony Nuspl on June 8, 2014 at 1:04pm
-
Bergdahl's father: Son's captor lost child in US drone strike -- June 06, 2014 --
reporting by Rebecca Shabad, for The Hill
The father of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl said in a 2010 speech that one of his son’s Taliban captors lost his own son in a drone strike launched by the United States.
"The man who we believe holds Bowe grew up on the lap of his mother learning the Koran. He is a powerful man," Robert Bergdahl said, according to a report Friday by The Daily Beast. "We pray for him. He recently lost a son to a CIA missile drone strike. The fact that he didn't kill Bowe right then is incredible. So we pray for him."
In the winter of 2010, U.S. drone strikes allegedly killed members of the Taliban branch's Haqqani network, The Daily Beast noted.
The elder Bergdahl was speaking to an Idaho Republican Party fundraiser that included other speakers such as Sen. Jim Risch (Idaho) and then-Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.
In a YouTube video Bergdahl posted in May 2011, Bergdahl spoke directly to his son’s captors.
"No family in the United States understands the detainee issue like ours," Bergdahl said. "Our son's safe return will only heighten public awareness of this. That said, our son is being exploited. It's past time for Bowe, and the others, to come home."
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/208531-bergdahls-f...
About
Forum
Who We Are - The TPF Steering Committee
TPF is a registered non-profit organization in the State of Oklahoma, a non-partisan and non-sectarian civic sector organization, devoted to peace, social uplift, and nonviolence.
16 discussions
Book Reviews, Film Reviews, Review Articles
TPF members post reviews, as part of a previously organized monthly book/dvd exchange or other occasional reading circles
10 discussions
Peace Building, Mutual Aid, and Local Grassroots Community Efforts
People to come together to solve shared challenges at the grassroots level. This discussion forum is for events, plans, strategies and tactics to support sustainability and justice, including mutual aid and self-bootstrapping. Put your reviews of peace-promoting games and nonviolent disobedience training here as well.
15 discussions
© 2024 Created by Tony Nuspl.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Tulsa Peace Fellowship to add comments!
Join Tulsa Peace Fellowship