NORTH MIAMI, Fla. - A 28-year-old U.S. soldier who refused to return to Iraq because of his opposition to what he calls an \'\'oil-driven war'' reported to his unit Tuesday in preparation to seek conscientious objector status.

Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia walked into the building housing his Florida National Guard unit at the North Miami Armory after repeating his determination not to return to the Middle East and fight

\'\'I'm prepared to go to prison because I'll have a clear conscience,'' Mejia said.

Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, a Florida National Guard spokesman, said Mejia would likely be transported to Fort Stewart, Ga., where he could meet with the military's legal services team.

Mejia, 28, of Miami Beach, was in Iraq for about five months last year until October, when he returned home on leave. He did not return to duty. He surrendered Monday at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts and was ordered to return to Florida and report to his unit, the 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment of the Florida National Guard.

\'\'This is an oil-driven war, and I don't think any soldier signs up to fight for oil,'' Mejia said Monday after arriving at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Mejia was accompanied by his mother, an aunt and Spc. Oliver Perez, who served with him, when he reported to the Florida armory Tuesday.

Perez said Mejia is \'\'a brave leader'' and should not be prosecuted.

\'\'I fought next to him in many battles. He is not a coward,'' Perez said.

Mejia's attorney, Louis Font, said he believes Mejia is the first soldier to turn himself in after refusing to return to Iraq.

Mejia said he was particularly upset over an incident in which he and others were ambushed and innocent civilians were hit in the ensuing gunfire.

\'\'That's one of the things that tells me there's no such thing as a fair war, no such thing as a just war,'' he said.

He did not believe his refusal to return to service in Iraq affected morale among the troops, saying: \'\'I think the morale of the soldiers is already affected.''

A native of Nicaragua, Mejia is a permanent resident of the United States who served in the Army for three years. He had served in the National Guard for five years when his unit was called to active duty. In civilian life, he was a psychology student at the University of Miami.

Mejia said he joined the military upon his arrival in the United States so he could work his way into American society. He could not say whether he might be deported because of his refusal to serve, but said \'\'whatever sacrifice I have to make, I have to go there.''

Tod Ensign, director of Citizen Soldier, a New York-based group that provides counsel and defense to military resisters and is organizing Mejia's defense, said Mejia could face up to one year in prison for being absent without leave and up to five years in prison if he is convicted of desertion.

\'\'I am saying no to war; I have chosen peace,'' Mejia said Monday at an anti-war news conference. \'\'I went to Iraq and was an instrument of violence and now I have decided to become an instrument of peace.''

yeah, and execute some retards while we're at it!

amen

He sounds just like that other deserter who is seeking refuge in canada.
Instrument of peace, shut the fuck up. Coward, plain and simple

well, if this is how he feels, great. Good for him for being an 'instrument of peace.' But its his own damn fault for signing up for the military, knowing damn well eventually he may have to kill, or be killed. So, i feel no pity for this man.

nazism is on the rise.

bornsovile, I'm off to burn some copies of the grapes of wrath.
you want to come?

Hahahahahahahahaha

there are no innocents in iraq, they are all american hating terrorists, and the children are just future terrorists. Good, Im glad some 'innocents' got mowed, it saves a u.s. soldier from an 8 y/o with a grenade attack. yep, shoot him in the face, fuckin pussy. Youre goin back to nicaragua, in a glad bag, you faggot.

i don't blame the guy... you wanna go into war be my fucking guest.

jim why don't you join the army since you're so patriotic? you could have faught in desert storm.

Kill every fucking one of them and let God sort the fucks out.......hopefully he will be able to recognize their remains by looking at the Glad bags.

This guy is a fucking hippy cunt and I hope they fry his ass. The penalty for desertion during a time of war in this country is DEATH. I will feel no pity for this asshole if they shoot him. "Hey I'll just leave because I don't believe in the war, or being there to help protect my fellow Americans while they get their asses blown to shit."

If I was in his unit, and I got back to the states, I would hunt his faggity ass down personally and cut every protruding part of his body off. What makes this fag so special that he thinks that he can just leave?? He took an oath to defend the Constitution and the interests of his country be they for oil or poontang. Fry his ass!!

how can you not blame him IT'S HIS FUCKING JOB he signed up for it he outta be hanged at dawn as an example


actually i did look intot he air force but they wanted me to cut my hair and i said sorry have a nice day (thats the dogs honest truth) the guy was stunned thatt hats the only thing that kept me from going i wanted to be a military police officer

Cheers, Rev.

8 y/o with grenades was vietmom.

if there were a draft and I were drafted, I would have to say that I would run to canada. I'm not about to fight a douche war. It's all great for us to say what we would do sitting here in the usa... but when you see a kid next to you turn into a pile of goo, you might turn into this guy.

freedom of thought is the american way. telling people what they should do is for russia and mass. Someone here sure sounds like a pinko commie bastard.

oh.. and I was just going to say what annonymous said.
you signed up for the job thinking you are just going to fuck hookers in germany on our tax bill.. and then you end up shooting iraqians in caves... that sort of surves him right.

it still his job none the less he knew it and what the punishment for desertion

DEATH

that guy is a pussy and should be shot i signed up for the marines and i plan on going to kill sandniggers so fuck him and all that shut shit he has to say

not to mention he's not even an american so he was probly just using the military to get his education

the_reverend said:

By the way, Rev.

The 8 year olds carrying grenades IS happening in Iraq, I promise. They fire at us from the midst of crowds of women and children. They do not value human life whatsoever. The Vietnamese had more value and honor.

http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2003/0410/bz6-1.html

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1013-02.htm

2 perfect examples.......make sure you pay attention to the lines that state the ages of the Iraqi guerillas....10-20!?!??! What the fuck?!?!

and an other thing when you sign the papers to become military it says that in times of war you must be prepared to fight and die for your country and if you desert it;s like time in jail or some shit i forget

there is a reason why these used to be called a peacemakers

hoser: thos links are wonderful examples of articles in which there are no 8 year olds bringing granades to soldiers.

saying that god will short shit out from people that like music that
a) claims there is no god
b) claims god is an asshole and satan is better
is kind of funny.
I guess an american baby is worth more than an iraqi baby. I guess in the orwellian sense, some people are more equal than others.

I agree with hoser. Also, if you see american soldiers fanning out in the street and establishing 50-cal gunning stations and a tank rolls through the neighborhood, only a fucktard would think what a wonderful time it would be to go out and get some goat's milk, or equally horrendous thing they eat, let alone send little habib out to play "stone the infidel" with his little friends. For christ's sake, on news clips i see people gathering around to watch a fire fight. Do they think we have magic bullets that only hit bad guys? WTF?

oh, and i think that deserter should be shot in the legs and stomach until he bleeds to death. stupid fuck. you joined the military, you weren't paid to think or object, just to act how the country assigns you to. Nobody wants to get the shit blown out of 'em pal, but you happened to sign up for it in times of war. Deal with it.

pardonthemess said:
If you read the first post in this topic thoroughly, you would realize that the man in question was well aware he could spend time in jail.

As far "dying for your country", was the USA ever in danger of being singlehandedly conquered by Iraq? No, the whole "war on Iraq" is just a pathetic foreign campaign to appease a small nation of former camel dealers.

While it was wrong of this man to try to take advantage of the system and sign up for the military in the first place, the people who coordinate these Middle Eastern military campaigns are much more deserving of some bullet wounds. Most of you are getting too worked up over nothing.

hoser went all intelligent on us again! well
said and good examples! we're so patriotic
because of what our soldiers do for us. this
guy's betraying our patriotism in a sense.

I'm just going to shut up now.....you fucks have struck the only single nerve that I have.

Who cares why or how we got there. All I know is that your boys are over there dying and you all sit back in reletive comfort and tell the rest of the world about why you object to any war. Until you have been there, until you have held your dying friend and comrade in your arms while screaming for a medic, and until you have seen the eyes of the enemy in a 10 year old child, then please shut up...you don't rate an opinion and nobody will care. Shout your protests in the streets as the boys come home and we'll see just who the American public rolls the red carpet out for. God bless our boys regardless of the cause, they would gladly fight and die for your protesting ass any day. You be the Marine or soldier holding a rifle as a 10 year old picks up an RPG and the YOU decide whether or not to waste the fuck BEFORE he aims and fires into you and your comrades. If you know only what the media tells you, then you know absolutely nothing. If you know only what your war protesting liberal college professors have taught you, then you know nothing. I would go anywhere and do anything for the country that provides me with the comforts and safety that I have. Your forefathers did it so that you may have the freedoms that you have. What the fuck makes you so fucking special that you wouldn't do it for the safety and comfort of the generations ahead?? Every comfort that you all have in this country you can attribute directly to war and death. Someone died so that you may have the freedoms that you do. Don't damn your government just because you don't agree with what is happening. If you were so damned smart...maybe the people would have elected you, don't you think? They do what they have to, and they do it whether or not they think that you're going to vote for them. They have a job to do. As do our troops. I challenge anyone who sides with the enemy to go live in their country for 5 or so years. When you come back...let me know what you think and then tell me if you love everything about this country AND its policies. Without war there will be no peace people. Get used to it. There must be war at times to preserve peace. It's ugly and no fun, but it's a fact of life. I love this fuckin' country and every true American in it. Now I said that I was gonna shut up......I lied. Sorry.....

Now quit firing me up and let me get back to writing polls about poop....

Hoser, this is an interesting thread!
WORSE ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. PASS IT ON

Did he really say sandniggers? Wow. Ignorance abounds.

By the way, the Vietnamese weren't honorable, they were defending their homes and families. They fought dirty, as would you if an invading force were trying to occupy your home and kill your parents and siblings.

There's no honor in war. Its naive to think that. That is just a romantic ideal given to you by authors of fiction.

(the Vietnamese would booby-trap babies so that the sympathetic American soldiers would go over and pick them up. There were also dog-bombs where Vietnamese would boobytrap, you guessed it, dogs)

Hoser said:

Fair enough.


TRUE Americans question every single decision that the government makes. That is how they built the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Ben Franklin and T.Jefferson knew that to blindly follow a government is pure folly, and if they were alive at the moment, would be fuming angry at what has become of us. They would balk at our 'patriotism', laugh at us for our lack of commitment to the electoral system and shame us for our arrogance in world politics.



Without war there would be no peace? Do you really, truly understand what you are saying? Peace is achieved though education and understanding. Peace through war only serves to extend the vicious cycle. Don't get me wrong, if I'm drafted, I will serve with pride, but I certainly understand what that guy is feeling and can sympathize. He's willing to pay the price, so let him think his own thoughts.

SmallBrownRatFuck, you are wise, I look forward to meeting you on this Saturday.
Guerilla Warfare is a cornerstone for all Revolutions and Wars. Wait a sec, back up the train, the Revolutionary War! How else could we have won it!? (poor attempt at being Jon Stewart) Basically it's been said before and said again where dem WMD at? Dubyah lied to us so much, remember he said Africa sold Al-Qaeda Uranium!? The list goes on and on too many fallacies to name. People say Clinton was a disgrace cause he got some head, what self respecting man doesn't want to get a little head here and there? Plus look at successful times we had then!
Anyways, I'm not supporting this war, I'm supporting the troops. I have 4 good friends currently enlisted in the Marines.

i am disgusted at the blatant ignorance that most of you people are spewing forth into this thread. "i cant wait to kill sandniggers" yeah ok, tough guy. why wait to go to Iraq? go down to boston and pick off some cab drivers or something. what? afraid you will get put in jail? ohhhhhh... going to another country to kill is infinitely better and is somehow justified. now i dont agree with any of the reasons the middle east has to hate the USA but i also dont agree with any of the reasons that have to hate them. patriotism is fine and dandy but most of this country takes it too far. doesnt anyone have logic anymore?

i do believe we've really blown this thread out of the water.
did this soldier do wrong for leaving? YES
should he be punished? YES
it's as simple as that, if i was a follow comrade i would have killed him
he did sign up for this and he should have stuck it out, considering don't they have only a year or so until they're tranfered?
it's war he should have expected to see the kinds of madness the middle east contains

BornSoVile said:

Thanks man, that means a lot to me. I'll buy you a beer at the Block.

Good points, man. Our international relations at the moment are so bad it will take at least 10 years to pull ourselves out of 'completely hated' status. Thanks Bush administration, you've made us the assholes of the world.

OK, beated thread, although I enjoy talking politics and freedom.

Davyp illustrated it beautifully before, 71% of Europeans feel GWB is the greatest threat to world peace.