Posted on 05/20/2004 3:18:58 PM PDT by bin2baghdad
FORT STEWART, Ga. - A soldier who said he refused to return to duty because he opposes the war in Iraq left his unit as its job became more dangerous, his commanding officer testified Thursday.
Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, an infantryman with the Florida National Guard, is charged with desertion after failing to return to his unit in Iraq after a two-week furlough in October. He said his experiences in Iraq turned him against the war, and he claims he deserted his unit partly to avoid orders to abuse Iraqi prisoners.
Capt. A.J. Balbo, the lead prosecutor, said in his opening statement the case was "about a squad leader who abandoned his men when they needed him the most."
The unit deployed to Ramadi with 131 soldiers and returned with 95. Most of those who didn't return were wounded by explosives, gunfire and mortar rounds.
(Excerpt) Read more at comcast.net ...
1) he broke faith with his fellow soldiers and put them in greater danger by leaving them a weapon and a leader short
2) IF he saw violations of military law, his duty was to report it - not to desert
3) he signed a statement (like all soldiers) that he was NOT a conscientious objector in order to be in the Army. IF he suddenly became conscientiously opposed to war in all forms, the Army has a process by which a soldier can claim this. He didn't use the process, most likely because he knew that such a claim under fire is suspicious on its face, and because he would have to serve in a non-combatant role in the danger zone while his claim was processed.
I guess they won't execute him. Send him to Leavenworth, put him in the same cell with the Baghdad bugger boys, and then kick him out of the country (he's not a US citizen) as soon as he serves his time.
He'll be an anchor on Cnn in no time..
Defended by Ramsey Clark. Don't think a court martial panel is going to be impressed.
Seems to me that Mejia and Clark are attempting to capitaliza on the prisoner abuse scandal by claiming that was one of his reasons. Mejia needs to be hung.
What he really needs to be is hanged.
He's nothing but a lying chickens**t bastard with a traitor for a lawyer.
Convict this coward of desertion in the face of the enemy and hang him.
Now you know why Costa Rica doesn't have an army...
"Mejia needs to be hung."
I don't care if he is hung or not; I would like to see him hanged! (:-)
After conviction for desertion, lock him up in military jail for two years, take his green card and or citizenship away and return him to Mexico. For good.
Do you have a source for that? The issue of his citizenship wasn't in the article...um...at least I didn't see it.
I'm not surprised.
Until I read your post I didn't realize he was being defended by Ramsey Clark. That's about the dumbest decision he could have made.
A lot of us here would like a harsh penalty for this deserter -- it looks like he's done us all a favor with his choice of representation, since I bet his unwise choice is going to guarantee a harsh reaction from the judge.
What part of the article got you so worked up? I think I'm usually pretty sensitive to press bias, but I didn't notice much in this article.
I've read other article that confirm he's not a U. S. citizen. Some say he's a citizen of Nicaragua, and I think others have said Costa Rica.
GOD GRANTS LIBERTY TO THOSE WHO TRULY LOVE IT AND ARE PREPARED TO DEFEND IT!
Good grief! Ramsey Clark! I thought that old traitor was dead.
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