Army 'Journalist' Refuses Call-Up

Naturally, AFP giddily runs a headline saying it's an illegal war and also conveniently leaves a few facts out of their story.

Matthis Chiroux is the kind of young American US military recruiters love.
"I was from a poor, white family from the south, and I did badly in school," the now 24-year-old told AFP.

"I was 'filet mignon' for recruiters. They started phoning me when I was in 10th grade," or around 16 years old, he added.

Chiroux joined the US army straight out of high school nearly six years ago, and worked his way up from private to sergeant.

He served in Afghanistan, Germany, Japan, and the Philippines and was due to be deployed next month in Iraq.

On Thursday, he refused to go, saying he considers Iraq an illegal war.

"I stand before you today with the strength and clarity and resolve to declare to the military, my government and the world that this soldier will not be deploying to Iraq," Chiroux said in the sun-filled rotunda of a congressional building in Washington.

Some details AFP omits.

Matthis enlisted in the Army days after graduating from high school. During his five-year enlistment, Matthis served as a journalist in the Army, with tours in Germany, Japan, Afghanistan and the Philippines.

While serving in Afghanistan and Palawan, Philippines, Matthis experienced hostile environments fighting against Islamic insurgents.

Can you believe it? Actually entering hostile environments while playing a journalist?

Hmm, no agenda here, I'm sure.

And the 24-year-old Army sergeant’s dream was on track when he was honorably discharged last September. He wasted no time moving to New York City to attend college as a journalism and pre-law major.

But less than six months after relocating, the Army came calling again. This time, they needed him to deploy to Iraq.

On Thursday, Matthis, joined by members of the nonprofit organization Iraq Veterans Against the War, publicly announced in Washington, D.C., his plans to ignore the Army’s orders to report to Iraq on June 15.

In a press conference held in the Cannon House Office Building, Matthis read a statement that said, in part:

“As an Army journalist whose job it was to collect and filter service members’ stories, I heard many stomach-churning testimonies of the horrors and crimes taking place in Iraq. For fear of retaliation from the military, I failed to report these crimes, but never again will I allow fear to silence me. “Never again will I fail to stand. … This occupation is unconstitutional and illegal, and I hereby lawfully refuse to participate, as I will surely be a party to war crimes. …”

He heard about the stories. Never saw them, but heard about them.

Well, isn't that just too damn bad. You signed up for your hitch, so either fulfill your obligation to your country or pay the consequences.

Oh, another convenient omission is the fact Iraq Veterans Against the War are a group of frauds. Does the name Jesse MacBeth ring any bells?

Apparently not with the media.

Here's a dispatch filed while Chiroux was undergoing a grueling tour of Poland in 2006. No doubt he's suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after that arduous ordeal. He clearly suffered further from that deployment in Japan.

Here he receives comfort from a notorious America-hater.

Ironically, Criroux got a photo credit in the NY Times that accompanied a story about--get this--an Army deserter!

Update: Thanks to Just a Grunt for reminding me about Jonn Lilyea's account yesterday of the IVAW Traveling Road Show.

This is the next big battle in the GWOT

The next big battle in the GWOT (Global War on Terrorism) is shaping up and it is going to be fought in the ballot box. The Republicans have a slate of candidates to challenge some of the firmly entrenched enemy, er congress critters and we know from the last mid term election that the Dems have theirs also. From my personal observations on how political party lines are drawn among military members it would appear that Army and Marine Corps veterans trend to Republican or conservative parties while the former members of the Navy and Air Force tend to be more liberal. My own personal theory on this is that it has to has to do with proximity to the enemy that the veteran experienced. When you have seen the enemy face to face and been on the ground and seen just what sorrow and suffering can be inflicted onto people by brutal dictators and oppressive regimes it tends to make you real conservative real quick.
Here are the veterans running for Congress on the Republican side and here is a slate of those running under the Democrat banner.
Let me state that in the upcoming election it is apparent we will wind up with a liberal in the WH, it just depends on which flavor of liberal you want. It is therefore more important then ever before to get conservatives, notice I didn't say a party, into some seats in the congress to oppose what will surely be another era of big government and nanny state thinking. Yes I do think that those on the Republican ticket tend to be more conservative, but as the last couple of years have shown us that is no longer a hard and fast rule.
Being a veteran does not grant you any sort of superiority over anybody else, but it does give you is a value system and I would hope the moral fortitude to stand up in the face of criticism and not shift your stance based on the pop culture headline of the day. Moral courage is far harder to come by in some cases then physical courage. That is why teenagers worry more about how they are perceived among their peers then they are the outcome or consequences of their actions. We don't need people with teenage mentalities serving in federal government.
So give the vets a look, they are not all misfits who only went into the service due to a lack of other options no matter what the prevailing wisdom is in newsrooms across this country.
One last tip, if a candidate proclaims himself to be a member of the IVAW, Iraq Veterans Against the War, it is probably best to pass on that person. That group has been found to be filled with so many phonies, fakes, and outright liars that the entire group should be avoided.

Anti-war Marine Gets the Boot

He'll no doubt become a hero to the useful idiots.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - An Iraq war veteran was kicked out of the Marines early with a general discharge after he wore his uniform during an anti-war demonstration, the military announced Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. John W. Bergman, commanding general of Marine Forces Reserve in New Orleans, agreed Monday to give Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh a general discharge under honorable conditions, based on a military panel's recommendation. The general discharge, which is one notch short of honorable, was effective Monday.

Kokesh got in trouble after The Washington Post published a photograph of him in March roaming the nation's capital with other veterans on a mock patrol.

A superior officer e-mailed Kokesh, saying he was being investigated because he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops from wearing uniforms at protests.

Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded to the superior with an obscenity, prompting the Marines to take steps to remove him with an "other than honorable" discharge.

Kokesh, who is from Santa Fe, N.M., but is living in Washington, stressed that he removed his name tag and military emblems from his uniform, making it clear he was not representing the military. His attorneys also argued the demonstration was "street theater," exempting it from rules governing where troops can wear uniforms.

He's already been fawned over here and here.