robin long court martial today

Robin Long, a war resister who lived in Canada for several years, will be court martialed today.

As I type those words, tears come to my eyes.

It's just so wrong.

I'm speechless and heartsick. So I'm going to borrow someone else's words. Gerry Condon, a peace activist and organizer of military resistance, wrote this statement in support of Robin.

Statement of Gerry Condon, Project Safe Haven
on the occasion of the U.S. Army's court martial of Robin Long, August 22, 2008

My name is Gerry Condon. As director of Project Safe Haven, I have been working with U.S. war resisters in Canada for the last 4½ years. During this time, I have met many young men and women who were absent without leave from the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marines, and the U.S. Air Force. I can truthfully testify that none of these young Americans were in Canada due to cowardice or because they were shirking their duty. Quite to the contrary, they uniformly impressed me as thoughtful young Americans who were struggling conscientiously to do the right thing by themselves, their families, their religious and ethical beliefs, their country, and even the military.

On Thursday, July 17, I had the pleasure of meeting Robin Long, though under difficult circumstances. Robin was being held in jail in Buckley, Washington, near Fort Lewis. Along with a lawyer friend, I was able to meet with him for one hour in a small, spare jail cell. Robin was led out to meet us wearing a bright orange prison jumpsuit, not unlike jail garb in many places perhaps, but reminiscent of the pictures of terrorism suspects being held in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo, Cuba.

Robin was wary at first, but was quite relieved when he realized we were there to offer him our friendship and our support. He was able to show some emotion for the first time since he had been arrested by Canadian police two weeks earlier on alleged immigration violations. Robin told us a harrowing tale of the abuse he had suffered as he was transported through three Canadian jails and three U.S. jails in two weeks. In one Canadian prison he had been twice attacked by a group of prisoners. In another, he was made to share a cell with a pathologically violent prisoner who threatened to kill him if he slept. He had been kept isolated from friends and family and did not know what was going to happen to him.

The circumstances of Robin's arrest seemed very political, as the fate of U.S. war resisters in Canada was coming to a head. After being rudely arrested and dragged away from his dear family and friends, being shuttled from one prison to another, and facing abuse and privation, Robin felt more like a victim of extraordinary rendition than someone who was being deported from Canada because of immigration technicalities.

Robin is small in stature, but he spoke proudly about having fought back against multiple attackers in prison. I knew I was talking to a man who had a lot of heart, and courage to spare. He was not feeling sorry for himself. And he seemed ready to accept whatever consequences might befall him. He was at peace with himself. His main concern was that he would be separated from his two-year-old son in Canada.

Robin says that he joined the Army despite being opposed to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq. In fact, he says that an Army recruiter promised him he would not have to go to Iraq. Should he have believed this recruiter? Probably not. But Robin's account rings true. I have heard this same story many times from other GIs. And it is now well documented that many Army recruiters, under great pressure to meet their quotas, have resorted to fraudulent tactics, including deception and intimidation.

It has been suggested that soldiers who refuse to deploy to Iraq and/or speak out against the U.S. occupation of Iraq are undermining the morale of their fellow troops. I do not believe this is the case. Instead, they are the ones who are brave enough to point out that the king has no clothes. They are expressing out loud what many in the Army know to be true.

When Robin Long joined the Army, he raised his right hand and swore to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. He didn't sign up to fight a war that many experts believe is neither legal nor winnable. The deceit and incompetence of the politicians who sent the Army to war in Iraq has been exposed for the whole world to see. These politicians have done grievous injury to the fighting forces of the United States of America. Over 4,000 of our troops have been killed. Tens of thousands are wounded. And hundreds of thousands of Iraq veterans, according to a study by the Rand Corporation, are now suffering from brain injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Is it any wonder the recruiters are having trouble?

Despite this terrible misuse and abuse of our military, the generals and the officer corps have not protested, at least not publicly. So this horrible war that has already destroyed a nation, including perhaps one million Iraqi dead, continues today in its sixth year. It has been left to low-ranking military personnel such as Robin Long to tell the truth and to suffer the consequences. This is not fair to Robin Long. And it is not fair to the U.S. Army. They both deserve a lot better.

It is not hard to argue that the U.S. went to war against Iraq without a legal basis for doing so. It was not a war waged in self-defense. There was no imminent threat to the United States. There was no UN Security Council resolution. There were no weapons of mass destruction, and no ties to terrorism. The lies of those who, for their own reasons, led us into this tragic war, are being exposed on a regular basis. Even now, there are those in the Congress who are considering the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, two men who managed to dodge the Vietnam draft, and yet carelessly ordered our military into mission impossible.

Robin Long is no coward. There can be little doubt that he has acted from deeply held beliefs. Unflinching obedience to military orders is not what is called for by the Nuremberg Principles. Nor the Geneva Conventions on War. Nor U.S. law, which embodies these international treaties. Not even the Uniform Code of Military Justice calls for blind obedience.

Whether or not you believe that Robin Long did the right thing, please keep an open mind to the possibility that he has acted bravely and honorably, and that he has already paid a high price for doing so. This court martial will not be serving justice or strengthening military discipline by treating Robin Long as a criminal and sending him off to languish in prison. Rather, justice and even the honor of the U.S. Army would be better served by showing leniency in this case.

There are those who should be imprisoned for a long time because of the role they played in unleashing the dogs of war. But Robin Long is not one of those. In every society, there are times when regular citizens, even citizen soldiers, must stand up for what they believe is right. This is the spirit in which Robin Long has acted. And this is the spirit that should guide those who sit in judgment of him.

By being lenient with Robin Long, you will not be sending the wrong message to the troops. Rather, you will be sending the right message to politicians who think they can treat the military as if it is their own little toy. Robin Long is giving you the opportunity to do the right thing. I pray that you will be able to seize this golden opportunity. Thank you.

Thank you, Gerry. I wouldn't have known what to say this morning without you.