Tony Norman in The Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Adam Kokesh, a brave Marine at home, too
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
By Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteSeveral months ago, Marine Cpl. Adam Charles Kokesh exercised his constitutional rights to speak out against an immoral, unjust and stupid war.
When he returned from his first tour, Cpl. Kokesh joined Iraq Veterans Against the War, a group of citizen soldiers who preferred to fight the instigators of the war here so that their fellow citizens wouldn't have to die there.
On the fourth anniversary of the invasion, Cpl. Kokesh and 12 other Iraq war vets staged a mock patrol in downtown Washington. As a result, Cpl. Kokesh's photo landed on the cover of The Washington Post's Style section.
He thought nothing of his newfound notoriety. After all, the ink on his honorable discharge from the Marines was still wet. His eight-year military commitment ends June 18.
Until then, Cpl. Kokesh, a George Washington University graduate student, considered himself a proud member of the Individual Ready Reserve. He was ready, willing and able to serve his nation if called upon to do so.
In the meantime, Cpl. Kokesh kept himself busy at anti-war protests. (And he famously heckled the Alberto Gonzales hearings in April, holding up a sign indicating how many times the U.S. attorney general uttered the phrase "I don't recall.")
Unfortunately, Cpl. Kokesh's superiors at the Pentagon weren't inspired by his March exercise of free speech. Despite the absence of Marine Corps insignia on his uniform, a military bureaucrat decided that Cpl. Kokesh had, in fact, marched in uniform on the war's anniversary.
In late March, an officer e-mailed Cpl. Kokesh, a prolific blogger and activist, about possible violations of Defense Department regulations regarding the use of a military uniform without authorization. In his return e-mail, the artillery unit reservist didn't mince words.
As if recycling an old Woody Allen joke, Cpl. Kokesh suggested politely to the officer that he "be fruitful and multiply" -- but not in those words.
Because he responded to the obscenity of the Iraq war with an obscenity of his own, Cpl. Kokesh found himself standing before the administrative separation board of the Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City, Mo., yesterday.
With two weeks left on his military contract, Cpl. Kokesh is facing a other-than-honorable discharge from the Reserve, a punishment that could result in the loss of some health benefits. He would also have to repay $10,800 in GI Bill college benefits.
But what does any of that matter when weighed on the scales of a moral and strategic catastrophe that is the Iraq war?
Cpl. Kokesh is, indeed, guilty of using common vulgarity in his response to a superior officer. Still, one has to wonder which is the bigger obscenity -- using a vulgarity familiar to every Marine at boot camp or sending thousands of young people to die in a meat grinder in Babylon?
Yes, Cpl. Kokesh, a veteran of Fallujah and many battles, violated military protocol by marching for peace in his insignia-less uniform.
But failing to protest the injustice of the Iraq war, whether in uniform or not, is a far more shocking violation of conscience to someone used to fighting for his ideas.
Fourteen Americans died in Iraq last weekend, kicking off what may be another grim record of military deaths in June. In May, 127 Americans were shipped home in flag-draped coffins, the third deadliest month since the occupation of Iraq began in March 2003.
Into this fog of war strolled the Iraq Veterans Against the War. Few demonstrators are as compelling in their denunciation of the war as those who have experienced it firsthand.
Because they've been there, they offer an invaluable perspective. They've witnessed the war's devastation and have suffered for it. Their wisdom is hard fought.
More than anyone, these citizen soldiers should be allowed to exercise their inalienable right to free speech. Even before they stepped foot on a battlefield, they had the right to be heard by virtue of their citizenship.
Yesterday, Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh's lawyer reminded the tribunal sitting in judgment of his client that his many years of military service shouldn't abrogate his right to free speech. The irony of punishing someone who has served his country with honor and distinction for speaking out would not be lost on anyone watching the case, including the Iraqis he was fighting to liberate.
Maj. John R. Whyte, the officer who put yesterday's hearing into motion by e-mailing Cpl. Kokesh, testified that the Marine's discharge should be "other than honorable."
The board of the Marine Corps Mobilization Command disagreed, recommending an immediate discharge under general conditions. The decision is not final, however; the commanding general will make that within two weeks.
If only we had more Americans like Adam Charles Kokesh.
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