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Yesterday, June 19, 26 year old SPC Eli Israel put himself at great personal risk by making the courageous decision to refuse further participation in the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Eli told his commanding officer and sergeants that he will no longer be a combatant in this illegal, unjustified war. Eli believes that the U.S. government used the attacks of September 11, 2001 as a pretense to invade Iraq and that “we are now violating the people of this country (Iraq) in ways that we would never accept on our own soil.” Eli is stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad with JVB Bravo Company, 1-149 Infantry of the Kentucky Army National Guard. This soldier’s decision to refuse orders puts him at great risk, especially because he is in Iraq, isolated from legal assistance and other support. The following is a message that Eli sent yesterday to a friend back home:
“I have told them that I will no longer play a ‘combat role’ in this conflict or ‘protect corporate representatives,’ and they have taken this as ‘violating a direct order.’ I may be in jail or worse in the next 24 hours.
Please rally whoever you can, call whoever you can, bring as much attention to this as you can. I have no doubt that the military will bury me and hide the whole situation if they can. I’m in big trouble. I’m in the middle of Iraq, surrounded by people who are not on my side. Please help me. Please contact whoever you can, and tell them who I am, so I don’t ‘disappear.’”
Eli is taking an incredible risk by refusing orders in Iraq and will most likely be court martialed. Please help him by contacting his Senator and requesting that he take any steps necessary to support and protect this soldier and ensure that the Army respects his rights and does not illegally retaliate against him.
Senator Mitch McConnell:
http://mcconnell.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Washington Office
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2541
Fax: (202) 224-2499"
meh. whether what he did had a purpose/was justified or not…you are in the military so you follow orders. thats your job. the consequences for not doing so are laid out for you before you sign up. if that dichotomy fails then the system is weakened.
that being said i dont blame him, shits all sorts of fuct up over there
Oh man he’s fucked. Good luck buddy. Shit is screwed up over there, you don’t have to be there to know that. Orders is orders and he has signed his life away to the military for however long he is in.
Good luck.
he completely deserves whatever happens to him. it’s not like he was drafted, he joined of his own accord
[quote=“ly555is,post:5,topic:31281"”]
he completely deserves whatever happens to him. it’s not like he was drafted, he joined of his own accord
[/quote]
+1
Well, in the grand scheme of things, he is completely fucked, but mabey he is hoping that others will follow.
[quote=“ly555is,post:5,topic:31281"”]
he completely deserves whatever happens to him. it’s not like he was drafted, he joined of his own accord
[/quote]
i am not saying that this is his case at all, but a lot of people see the military as “oh they will pay for my school”… Oh they will, until you have to go over seas and serve… thats what you signed up to do. you didnt sign up to train and get paid and never have to do anything. i know a few people who have made that mistake. thinking they could get away with a free ride.
I would agree with you guys but this war is a disgrace. A friend of mine is now getting his second bid in Iraq and he is in the reserves for the Marines. If he signed a standard 4 year bid he would only have seen half of time in action he will see now and would have spent less time training. After doing the math from his first 1 year he made $.13 an hour. Would any of you take orders like that for that price?
[quote=“nappy1380,post:9,topic:31281"”]
Would any of you take orders like that for that price?
[/quote]
You mean the price of being a man and upholding your word that you swore an oath to?
Sucks but no matter how much you may hate it, or how much you may disagree with everything thats going on, no one forced you to sign on the dotted line.
He needs to stfu and just finish up his deployment and get out of the military asap like i did :tup:
[quote=“nappy1380,post:9,topic:31281"”]
Would any of you take orders like that for that price?
[/quote]
wouldn’t sign up in the first place.
[quote=“ly555is,post:5,topic:31281"”]
he completely deserves whatever happens to him. it’s not like he was drafted, he joined in his own honda accord
[/quote]
word
[quote=“fairgentleman Z,post:10,topic:31281"”]
You mean the price of being a man and upholding your word that you swore an oath to?
[/quote]
[quote=“87FOXGT,post:11,topic:31281"”]
Sucks but no matter how much you may hate it, or how much you may disagree with everything thats going on, no one forced you to sign on the dotted line.
He needs to stfu and just finish up his deployment and get out of the military asap like i did :tup:
[/quote]
[quote=“audios,post:2,topic:31281"”]
meh. whether what he did had a purpose/was justified or not…you are in the military so you follow orders. thats your job. the consequences for not doing so are laid out for you before you sign up. if that dichotomy fails then the system is weakened.
that being said i dont blame him, shits all sorts of fuct up over there
[/quote]
[quote=“ly555is,post:5,topic:31281"”]
he completely deserves whatever happens to him. it’s not like he was drafted, he joined of his own accord
[/quote]
No sympathy here.
Isn’t there some law that says you can abstain from participating in a war you are morally object to? I could swear I’ve read that before…
It’s jump and how high, not jump off.
Obviously this is a subject that is very debatable and opinions are going to vary. I personally give him credit for standing up for what he feels is right. Unless you have actually been over there I really don’t think you have a good idea of what its like, that being said its no secrete that our government has a hidden agenda whether its protecting oil investments or government contracts.
Good luck Eli
[quote=“audios,post:2,topic:31281"”]
meh. whether what he did had a purpose/was justified or not…you are in the military so you follow orders. thats your job. the consequences for not doing so are laid out for you before you sign up. if that dichotomy fails then the system is weakened.
that being said i dont blame him, shits all sorts of fuct up over there
[/quote]
Bingo. I don’t like a lot of whats going on, but I’ll keep doing my job, even if it’s only to keep my buddies and myself alive.
[quote=“Silver,post:15,topic:31281"”]
Isn’t there some law that says you can abstain from participating in a war you are morally object to? I could swear I’ve read that before…
[/quote]
yeah…its called not signing up to be in the army. 
or back when there was a draft you could play that card, perhaps?
Sucks that he doesn’t want to continue his service in the army, but again you sign up, you follow orders. If they let him off, they have to let everyone else off and that will weaken our army big time. Nobody wants to make an example of him…but you kind of have to.
[quote=“SVT3945,post:17,topic:31281"”]
Obviously this is a subject that is very debatable and opinions are going to vary. I personally give him credit for standing up for what he feels is right. Unless you have actually been over there I really don’t think you have a good idea of what its like, that being said its no secrete that our government has a hidden agenda whether its protecting oil investments or government contracts.
Good luck Eli
[/quote]
He is volutarily in the Army. in the Army you do what you ae told. You don’t express your feelings. I AM “Over there” right now, in the middle of a sector in the Outpost I live on. Believe me, I know what its like.