U.S. Sergeant Refuses to Go to Iraq: "This Occupation is Unconstitutional and Illegal"

via AlterNet:



U.S. Sergeant Refuses to Go to Iraq: "This Occupation is Unconstitutional and Illegal"

By Karin Zeitvogel, Middle East Online. Posted May 16, 2008.

On Capitol Hill yesterday, an American soldier named Matthis Chiroux publicly announced his refusal to deploy to Iraq.



Matthis Chiroux is the kind of young American U.S. military recruiters love.

"I was from a poor, white family from the south, and I did badly in school," the now 24-year-old said.

"I was 'filet mignon' for recruiters. They started phoning me when I was in 10th grade," or around 16 years old, he added.

Chiroux joined the U.S. army straight out of high school nearly six years ago, and worked his way up from private to sergeant.

He served in Afghanistan, Germany, Japan, and the Philippines and was due to be deployed next month in Iraq.

On Thursday, he refused to go, saying he considers Iraq an illegal war.

"I stand before you today with the strength and clarity and resolve to declare to the military, my government and the world that this soldier will not be deploying to Iraq," Chiroux said in the sun-filled rotunda of a congressional building in Washington.

"My decision is based on my desire to no longer continue violating my core values to support an illegal and unconstitutional occupation… I refuse to participate in the Iraq occupation," he said, as a dozen veterans of the five-year-old Iraq war looked on.

Minutes earlier, Chiroux had cried openly as he listened to former comrades-in-arms testify before members of Congress about the failings of the Iraq war. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/85612/

What a courageous and principled young man!

Not an easy way to be in this day and age.

He's probably gonna be receiving some White House directed torture over this one!

-90% Jimmy

I don't give a damn what military culture says.

The troops are not mindless robots. They have brains and hearts and consciences. When they go against everything they know is moral, just to follow orders, just to maintain military discipline, they share in the guilt.

What if a significant number of German foot soldiers had refused to invade Poland or anywhere else?

What if a significant number of Soviet soldiers had refused to occupy the Baltic States?

What if a significant number of Japanese soldiers had refused to invade China?

But meekly following their leaders into immoral ventures, they found themselves committing acts that they would never have committed as civilians.

I applaud anyone who has the guts to buck military culture and say, "I'm not your cat's paw."

We're not talking about someone refusing to "defend his country" here. We're talking about someone who is refusing to participate in an illegal and immoral invasion and occupation.

If he were a Japanese in 1931 or a German in 1939 or a Russian in 1944, we'd consider him a hero.

Agreed. It's about saving the country from the grips of despotism at this point.

Bravo young man.