A MESSAGE FROM KEVIN BENDERMAN

[Guest guest]

A Message From Kevin Benderman

 

by Karen Kwiatkowski

 

by Karen

http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski139.html

Last Saturday night, I had the opportunity to talk with Monica

Benderman about the travails of her imprisoned husband, Sgt. Kevin

Benderman. Sgt. Benderman declared his intention to seek

conscientious objector status after he returned from his first tour

in Iraq in 2004. His reasons, published here by Lew Rockwell along

with other Benderman essays, serve as a moral exposé and a window

into the heart of an American soldier sent to fight in Iraq for

reasons Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld have yet to explain.

 

Monica Benderman recalled the Army's reactive, paranoid strategy to

deal with Sgt. Benderman's CO request, and she witnessed it up close.

At one point, Mrs. Benderman was even asked to sign paperwork for her

husband, and she was encouraged to try and change his mind.

 

Right and wrong are not something easily or casually impressed upon

someone. Ethics and morality are not a suit of clothing worn until

something more comfortable is offered. Too bad for the U.S. Army. And

in some ways, too bad for Prisoner Benderman – convicted and

sentenced to fifteen months confinement, then transferred in the dark

of night 3000 miles away from Kentucky to Washington in what may only

be assumed was punitive harassment of both Benderman and his spouse.

 

In a fascinating irony, at the time the Army was fumbling Benderman's

CO paperwork, one of the officers in Sgt. Benderman's chain of

command was under investigation for and later convicted of privately

selling bulletproof vest plates purchased by taxpayers for our

soldiers deploying to Iraq. A military court sent down a far shorter

sentence than the one they deemed appropriate for Sgt. Benderman. It

is clear which type of " crime " the Army brass considers more

dangerous.

 

Sgt. Benderman had provided Monica with a message for the radio

listeners, and only part of it was heard on air. It is shared below,

and is well worth reading at a time where this country seems intent

on betraying allies and seeking new enemies, even as it persists in

manipulating both Iraqi and Afghan politics. The betrayal and

antagonism are not only outwardly directed. Soldiers like Kevin

Benderman are also targets. He writes,

 

First of all, I would like to say thanks to everyone who has

supported Monica and me while we deal with the madness the Army has

put us both through because of my decision to stand up for what is

right.

 

I have served a little over 5 months of a 15-month sentence given to

me because I developed a conscience and would no longer participate

in a war that we were lied into.

 

I consider it an honor to be put in prison for standing for what is

right and all that I can say to the men responsible is " I feel sorry

for you. " The reason I feel for them is because they refuse to see

the truth, and self-deception is the worse kind.

 

But on a larger scale, the American people were lied to by men who

care for nothing but their own personal agenda and are willing to

abuse the goodwill and patriotism of the American people in order to

reach their personal goals. This is not what our founding fathers

envisioned for this country. They did not want the elected

representatives to use fear as a governing tool and they did not want

the citizens to give over all of their rights to people who would let

absolute power corrupt absolutely.

 

I, for one, believe in the Constitution when it says that the

ultimate responsibility for ensuring that this country is run

correctly lies with the American people and not solely with this

government. While we do hire people to do the work of government it

is up to us, the citizens, to ensure that they are doing this in

accordance with the law of the land.

 

True freedom requires eternal diligence and it will take everyone

doing their share of keeping watch to prevent freedom from slipping

out of our hands.

 

It is the small things that add up to keep all of us in line. Which

brings to mind three small words spoken by a woman who had had

enough, " I ain't movin'. " The woman was Rosa Parks. We should think

about her courage when we feel as if we are too small to matter.

 

" I ain't movin'. " Are you?

 

 

Sgt. Benderman's case is detailed here, and here. It was an honor for

me to speak with Monica Benderman last week. This coming Saturday, 9–

11 EST, we have another esteemed guest on the program. Lew Rockwell

has graciously agreed to be interviewed, to answer my questions, and

to give us all some hope and optimism in this era where Americans

shout " Freedom! " on command, while simultaneously sacrificing real

American liberty in a thousand ways. Join us!

 

January 19, 2006

 

Karen Kwiatkowski, Ph.D. [send her mail], a retired USAF lieutenant

colonel who spent her final four and a half years in uniform working

at the Pentagon's Near East/South Asia bureau. She lives with her

freedom-loving family in the Shenandoah Valley, and among other

things, has written on defense issues with a libertarian perspective

for militaryweek.com, hosts the call-in radio show American Forum on

Saturday nights, and blogs occasionally for Huffingtonpost.com.

 

2006 LewRockwell.com