Conscientious Objector charged

Dahr Jamail: Omar Kahn's interview with Kevin and Monica Benderman. On December 20, 2004, Kevin applied for conscientious objector status and refused orders to return to Iraq for his second tour of duty. The U.S. Army has charged Benderman with desertion.

At a time when the corporate news media machine sees fit to replace the word "victim" with "hero" on a daily basis, I am struck by the Bendermans' genuine heroism in summoning the courage of their convictions. Exercising one's conscience is often difficult, particularly at a time when the test of jingoistic patriotism requires complete subservience to the government.

Those who refuse to kill for the king are owed a debt of gratitude from a nation that gives much lip service to freedom and liberty.

This is a fine example of how the ever duplicitous Pentagon gets to have its cake and eat it, too. Abu Ghraib personnel are prosecuted for following orders to "soften up" Iraqi detainees. Kevin Benderman is prosecuted for rejecting further participation in the whole illegal, immoral, unconscienable debacle that is United States policy in Iraq. The American soldier, thanks to George W. Bush and his neocon apparatus, is once again placed in a situation of "damned if you do, damned if you don't."