His experience in Iraq—which included a bloody ambush where civilians were caught in the crossfire and confusion led to the death of an Iraqi child—changed his mind about all wars. He was reported as saying that the war in Iraq was “oil driven.”
I see... so he gets in a bad firefight where civilians are killed and suddenly he starts claiming the war is entirely oil driven..
Well, I hope he sold his car and never opts to drive again...
It would be one thing for him to assert that he was suffering from Traumatic Stress Syndrome over what occurred, but trying to insert some specious politico-economic statement to justify his desertion is the mark of a coward.
Here's a little story I'll share with you. I once had a neighbor who lived upstairs from me back in 1986. He was a Master Gunner instructor at a tank training facility. Just the nicest guy and ready to do anything for anyone.. (I had a broken knee and was hobbling around in a cast, but he was always willing to old gimpy me a hand).
Well, one Saturday (Sunday?) afternoon, I hear this god-awful, blood curdling screaming from upstairs. It was so loud I could hear it through my ceiling. So I limp my lame @ss up the stairs and knock on his door.. He doesn't answer.. So I try the handle (unlocked) and walk in..
By this time the screaming had ended and I was actually in fear that I was going to be witnessing the aftermath of some fight, the screaming had been that bad..
Well, there was my neighbor curled up in a fetal position on the living room floor sobbing his head off. I tried to ask him what was wrong and calm him down. He reached out to me and just hugged me with all of his might (and he and I are both pretty tall guys, and he was pretty husky).. Literally squeezed the air out of me...
Well, after I got him calmed down, he started telling me about these night-terrors he'd been having for years. He'd been sleeping on the couch and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor....
Turns out he'd been involved in the invasion of Cambodia.. His unit had gone into a village with children running around when they came under mortar fire from the NVA (the VC were effectively hors d'combat by that point)..
Well, he'd been smiling and waving at a young Cambodian boy, about the age of 8 when the shelling started. Then there was an explosion and he was hurled back and rendered senseless.
When he came to his senses, the boy was gone... Nothing left but a hole in the ground and vapor on the wind...
All except the boy's leg, which had wound up in his lap...
This was in 1970, and this poor guy was still having night terrors in 1986 over the incident...
Yet he still did his job, didn't desert, and went on to have a very fulfilling professional career....
Now, you tell me if I should feel sorry for Sgt. Mejia when there are literally thousands of other soldiers who have endured the same, or even worse, in wars that had far less political support, or international justification than the current war in Iraq.
He's a disgrace. He had all kinds of legitimate excuses he could have used, but he had to play politics.. Why not just claim he had a religious epiphany that would not permit him to engage in combat anymore. They could have found a desk job for him.
Instead, he has to sum up all the sacrifices of his fellow soldiers as "oil driven"..
Well, I call it the Kerry syndrome..
Hawk |
