Iraq Watch: Families of servicemembers killed in Iraq turned away at Pentagon! Please Take Action! Antiwar Sgt. Kevin Benderman Needs Your Support! Iraq Watch Specials: From Peace No War Network January 22, 2005 URL: _http://www.PeaceNoWar.net_ (http://www.peacenowar.net/) Lists of Articles: 1) Families of servicemembers killed in Iraq turned away at Pentagon (Stars and Stripes) 2) Soldier charged for refusing return to Iraq (Associated Press) 3) Please Take Action! Defend Sgt. Kevin Benderman! =================================================================== 1) Families of servicemembers killed in Iraq turned away at Pentagon By _Leo Shane III_ (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) , Stars and Stripes European edition, Friday, January 21, 2005
Leo Shane III / S&S Nancy Lessin, center, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, lists her complaints against Secretary Rumsfeld as Sue Niederer, left, and Bill Mitchell display photos of their sons, who were killed while serving in Iraq. Leo Shane III / S&S Cindy Sheehan clutches a photo of her son, Casey, at Wednesdayâs protest. Casey died during an April mission in Sadr City, Iraq. WASHINGTON â Pentagon police on Wednesday turned away family members of troops killed in Iraq who wanted to confront Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on the reasons for the war in Iraq. The group of about 20 was stopped before entering Pentagon property by about a dozen officers, who told the protesters they did not have the proper permission to enter the building. Organizers said they have been petitioning for the meeting for weeks, but department officials are ignoring their requests. âThe man who was too busy to personally sign the Killed in Action letters these families received is apparently too busy to acknowledge the request of the Gold Star families for this meeting,â Nancy Lessin, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, told reporters gathered for Wednesdayâs protest. Five Gold Star families â ones who have lost a son or daughter to fighting in Iraq â brought pictures and letters to the event to present to the secretary, and asked police to pass the items along to illustrate their loss and grief. Cindy Sheehan, a California resident whose son Casey was killed during a mission in Sadr City last April, sheltered a photo of her son from the snow with her arms as the group tried to convince police to let them by. âI wanted them to see my son,â she said, weeping. âI wanted them to see the consequences of his actions. ... I have the feeling they feel he was a dispensable asset to them.â Sheehan flew to Washington on Wednesday and planned to take part in the group âs inauguration protests on Thursday. Department of Defense officials did not return calls seeking comment. Police who confronted the families offered numbers where protesters could obtain permits and set up formal interviews, but said security concerns prohibited allowing any of the group onto Pentagon grounds. Lessin, whose son recently returned from his overseas service, said the goal of both protests is to show the war in Iraq is âa reckless military misadventure that never should have happened.â âShame on Secretary Rumsfeld for not recognizing these families, and shame on those who sent our children to war based on lies,â she said. Families said they also wanted Rumsfeld to explain why troops in many cases werenât properly trained or equipped for the fighting, and when the other troops will be brought home. âWeâre here to try and bring the truth to the Pentagon,â said Celeste Zappala, a Philadelphia resident whose son Sherwood was killed in Baghdad last April. ============================================================================ 2) Soldier charged for refusing return to Iraq Friday, January 21, 2005 SAVANNAH, Georgia (AP) -- The U.S. Army has brought charges against a soldier who refused to return to Iraq for a second combat tour because he now objects to war, officials said. Sgt. Kevin Benderman notified his commanders December 28 that he was seeking a discharge as a conscientious objector. He then refused orders to deploy with his unit January 8 while the Army processed his objector claim. Benderman was charged with desertion and a second count that accuses him of intentionally skipping his deployment flight. "My response to those charges is not guilty," said Benderman, 40. "I am prepared to deal with whatever consequences my action brings." Benderman, an Army mechanic with 10 years in the military, spent eight months in Iraq in 2003 with the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. He transferred to Fort Stewart after returning from the war. Though he never fired a gun in combat, Benderman says the misery he saw firsthand -- including a badly burned young girl and mass graves filled with men, women and children -- led him to seek objector status. Fort Stewart commanders contend Benderman still had an obligation to deploy with his unit while they considered his conscientious objector application. "The people that it hurts the most are those people who are a close-knit part of his team," Maj. Gen. William G. Webster, the 3rd Infantry commander, told reporters Thursday. "But if you talk to these soldiers here, it's sort of below the noise level." Army investigators must now decide whether to prosecute Benderman in a court-martial or allow his case to be handled administratively, said Lt. Col. Robert Whetstone, a Fort Stewart spokesman. If convicted by a court-martial, Benderman faces up to seven years in a military prison, reduction in rank and a dishonorable discharge, Whetstone said. Military courts can also opt for no punishment, even for defendants found guilty. Benderman has since been assigned to a rear-detachment unit with no restrictions. He said he has even been granted two weeks of leave that he will use to prepare his case. "We're still going to treat him with honor and respect. He's a soldier, he's wearing the uniform and he's a veteran," Whetstone said. "But when regulations are broken and orders are disobeyed, we've got to do what we've got to do." Please Read: Images Behind Soldierâs Iraq Refusal URL: _http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=418383&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312_ (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=418383&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312) Please Take Action! Defend Sgt. Kevin Benderman! Antiwar Sgt. Needs Your Support, Defend Kevin Benderman If you want to send a message of solidarity to Kevin, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) On Friday, January 7, 2005 Sgt. Kevin Benderman, stationed at Ft. Stewart Georgia, refused an order to deploy to Iraq. He has requested a General Courts-Martial, and applied for Conscientious Objector status. See: _http://www.mfso.org/Benderman.html_ (http://www.mfso.org/Benderman.html) email [EMAIL PROTECTED] for additional info [Below is a letter from Sgt. Benderman. Read it with loving care, consider carefully what it means, carry it with you, and draw strength from it. And if you come across one or some of our troops, have spare copies to pass along.] November 20, 2004 To: George W. Bush From: SGT Kevin M. Benderman When are you going to tell the truth to the people of the United States? Why don't you tell them why you want to be in Iraq so bad? I was there for six months and I did not see the first weapon of mass destruction. I did receive orders from the company commander to shoot children if they threw small rocks at us and that was when I figured out that the entire thing was way over the line. Over 1200 soldiers have died in Iraq so that you can have a couple billion more dollars, that should make you feel very good about yourself. The soldiers that have died for this sham that you have put over on the American people are so much more deserving than that. You are not worth the dust off of their boots. If you truly had respect for the military and the people that serve then you would not continue to kill them in your war. I joined the Army to protect my country and not to be a mercenary for a political despot. If you wish to put me in prison because of my views then you should make room for about 75% of the military. And while you are at make some room for yourself and about half of your administration. You are responsible for what happened at Abu Gharaib and you are shirking your responsibility. The commander in chief is not above the UCMJ, as you would like to believe. I want to fulfill my contract that says I joined the Army to protect my country against all enemies foreign and domestic, and as far as I am concerned you are a domestic enemy of the United States. You care nothing for this country; you just care about the profits that are to be made from the oil in Iraq. That much is evident to me from the way the contracts were passed out to Halliburton and KBR. It must be nice to have the deck stacked in your favor by the president of the USA. Since your are raising the debt ceiling of America so that we can pay the bills that you have run up, why don't you forgive the debts of every one in the armed forces since they are the ones that are making it possible for you to make billions from the oil from Iraq. Sincerely, SGT Kevin M. Benderman Useful Links: Photos of U.S. Military Torture in Abu Ghraib Prison _http://www.peacenowar.net/Iraq/News/April%2004-Photos/Abu%20Ghraib.htm_ (http://www.peacenowar.net/Iraq/News/April%2004-Photos/Abu%20Ghraib.htm) Los Angeles Times has a complete biographical Information on U.S. Soldiers Killed: _http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/external/fmmac2.mm.ap.org/war2/adv_search.php?SI TE=CALOS&SECTION=MIDEAST_ (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/external/fmmac2.mm.ap.org/war2/adv_search.php?SITE=CALOS&SECTION=MIDEAST) For more photos and Videos from Iraq, visit: "Report from Baghdad" July, 2003 _http://www.actionla.org/Iraq/IraqReport/intro.html_ (http://www.actionla.org/Iraq/IraqReport/intro.html) ============================================================= Peace, No War War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate Not in our Name! And another world is possible! Information for antiwar movements, news across the World, please visit: http://www.PeaceNoWar.net Please Join PeaceNoWar Listserv, send e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please Donate to Peace No War Network! Send check pay to: ActionLA/SEE 1013 Mission St. #6 South Pasadena CA 91030 (All donations are tax deductible) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> *To Translate this page to Arabic, please visit ajeeb.com: http://tarjim.ajeeb.com/ajeeb/default.asp?lang=1 *To Translate this page to French, Spanish, German, Italian or Portuguese, please visit Systran: http://www.systransoft.com/ <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> **"Report From Baghdad" CD-ROM** Pacifica Radio KPFK Los Angeles Reporter Lee Siu Hin's July 2003 trip to U.S. occupied Iraq. An interactive CD-ROM with articles, photos, audio and video interviews includes: people of Iraq, U.S. military, human rights workers, religious leaders and more! 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