Student Peace Action Network Speaks Out!

by Rhea Cutillo

Eli Israel, US Soldier, declines to further participate in the occupation.

Declaring that “we [USA] are now violating the people of this country [Iraq] in ways that we would never accept on our own soil”, Eli Israel told his commanding officer that he would no longer play a ‘combat role’ in this conflict or ‘protect corporate representatives.’ That same day [June 19, 2007] Eli wrote a letter to a friend saying that they have taken his decision as ‘violating a direct order’ and has asked that friend to tell everyone about his situation for fear that he might ‘disappear’.

You can read the story here: http://www.ivaw.org/node/1040

As well as from other various sources googled.

Eli will most likely be court-martialed (to be tried for an offense by a military court). The support for this is that he is breaking military law by disobeying direct orders.   However, the tacit agreement that one makes with the government in joining the army – whether volunteer or conscription - is that our country will not be careless with a soldier’s life by sending him off on ill-conceived, poorly-planned, and unnecessary military adventures. Even so, it is impossible to write a law determining when the military has engaged wrongfully as this will always be an opinion. So one can only act according to what he or she thinks is right, so be it if there are consequences. Eli became morally opposed to the war after he had seen what the United States were doing in and to Iraq. He took a courageous step, in not only defying his commanding officer, but to recognize what he was participating in and to want no part in it. Millions are against this war. But a soldier openly rejecting it is something that the government can not ignore. They will try to silence this story. We cannot let them. We can also not allow illegal mistreatment of this soldier, Eli Israel. Spread the word. Contact his Senator, Mitch McConnell (link to his info is in the aforementioned site), and encourage him to fend for this soldiers rights against any illegal retaliation.

‘What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.” – On the Duty of Civil Disobedience – Henry David Thoreau

For more up to date information on Eli’s situation, click here