Marine vet faces hearing over protest

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An Iraq war veteran could lose his honorable discharge status after being photographed wearing fatigues at an anti-war protest.

Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh and other veterans marked the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq in April by wearing their uniforms — with military insignia removed — and roaming around the nation's capital on a mock patrol.

After Kokesh was identified in a photo cutline in The Washington Post, a superior officer sent him a letter saying he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops from wearing uniforms without authorization.

Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded with an obscenity.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_re_us/military_protest_hearing_1

[keopeli]

1. Sgt. Kokesh is not only a patriot for speaking out, he's also damn cute!

Read every word of his personal blog: http://kokesh.blogspot.com/
It's worth it!



You rock, Sgt. Kokesh! We're on your side!

[bigscott]

2. wasnt he the guy photographed

at Gonzales' hearing? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

what a patriotic hunk-o-man:wow:

[keopeli]

3. i just added that picture. A true American Idol! n/t

[Downtown Hound]

16. Ha, I love his I don't recall scorecard!

I'll bet he's really glad he fought for the freedom of speech in Iraq given that he can exercise it so freely here at home, huh?

:sarcasm:

[fasttense]

4. This is very strange.

If the insignia was removed, then I don't see the problem. You can buy fatigues at any Army-Navy surplus store. I have uniform items left over from my years in the Navy and with the insignia removed, you would never know it was a uniform item. Heck some of the uniform items are nothing more than khaki colored T-shirts you could buy at any department store. This is clearly selective prosecution.

If you are a repuke, the government wont prosecute you. But do anything liberal and stand back, the bushes will hunt you down. Is this America anymore?

[MissMillie]

9. there isn't a problem

the only problem is that the fascists want their critics silenced and they'll do everything they can, legal or not, to silence them.

[Ian David]

5. Why don't they enforce the rule that you can't wear a uniform for a political campaign?

Oh, yeah.

It's ok when Republickers do it.

[KVMShyster]

6. There are some legit uniform wearers, like the dude/dudette carrying the "football" (nuke codes) -

the USSS definitely wants her/him in uniform, to ensure quick ID in case of an evac - don't leave the ID codes & SIOP options book behind! But wearing a uniform for partisan purposes is out of bounds. Events for or against candidates are on the "don't wear list" but there are nuances, e.g. the color guard in uniform is OK - who's going to run against the stars & stripes? And events for or against legislation aren't inherently partisan (a proposed law isn't running for office) and would not be on the proscribed list.

[Robb]

7. Like this fellow in 2004

I remember being surprised he could be in uniform.

[saigon68]

8. responded with an obscenity

I hope he told the MF to Fuck Off

Long tradition of opposing military Thugs especially "superior" Thugs






Ron Kovic in chair at right Miami 1972 Nixon's coronation

Looks like he's wearing his stripes

These motherfuckers want to convert the good discharges to bad ones

That way young men like Ron will be refused treatment and benefits at VA hospitals

Motto "Don't Fuck with the Reich"

[customerserviceguy]

10. It's interesting

that the people the right says are "fighting for freedom" don't get to excercise it themselves...

[Barrett808]

11. k & r

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. A Marine corporal knows an obscenity?

Imagine the odds.

[Peace Patriot]

13. When are we going to realize that the "war" is not just against people who have oil,

the "war" is also against the people at home, who hold the potential power to pull the corporate charters of the global corporate predators who are running the "war," and to dismantle them and seize their assets for the common good?

The ironic thing about the Bush State Department and its echo chamber, the war profiteering corporate news monopolies, in their criticism of Venezuela's denial of a license to use the public airwaves to a corporation that actively supported a violent military coup in Venezuela, is that this controversy highlights the inherent right of a sovereign people not only to regulate the public airwaves, but also to regulate, curtail and/or dismantle these artificial entities--corporations--in the public interest. We have that right. So do the Venezuelans. And we used to exercise it, too, prior to the Reagan Era of Greed, with various laws such as the "Fairness Doctrine," which, among other things, required that all TV/radio stations provide equal time to opposing political views. Killing the "Fairness Doctrine" was one of the requirements for the Bush Era of Naked Looting. If the entire spectrum of TV/radio bandwidth is controlled by five rightwing billionaire CEOS, then the American people won't even notice that their country is being drained of funds to the 7th generation, to make the super-rich richer--because they won't know about it.

This disgusting harassment of Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh is just more of the same--the war on us. But until we understand the mechanisms of power that are being used against us--not only war profiteer control of all public airwaves, but even more importantly, rightwing Bushite control our election results, with electronic voting machines run on "trade secret," proprietary programming code--there will be very little we can do about it. I hope the antiwar movement takes this up--"black box" voting. It WAS the coup. It is why we cannot stop either war.

[OneAngryDemocrat]

14. Marine War Protester Faces Discipline

Source: Military.com

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - A U.S. veteran who served in the Iraq war could lose his honorable discharge status after being photographed wearing fatigues at an anti-war protest.

Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh and other veterans marked the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq in April by wearing their uniforms - with military insignia removed - and roaming around the nation's capital on a mock patrol.

After Kokesh was identified in a photo caption in The Washington Post, a superior officer sent him a letter saying he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops from wearing uniforms without authorization.

Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded with an obscenity.



Read more: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,137601,00.html

---

I served with Btry E, 2dBn, 14thMar, 4thMarDiv, USMCR, 1985-1991, a 155mm artillery Marine Reserve unit IDENTICAL in task and function to Adam's.

I'm not in Iraq because I oppose the immoral war America's Republicans started, and didn't even consider re-enlisting to fight their Holy Oil War.

Please help out this patriot!!!

Adam Kokesh has a legal defense fund - please visit: http://kokesh.blogspot.com/2007/05/legal-defense-fund-for-adam-kokesh.html

Learn something - visit another Marine Corps veteran's anti-war website:

www.shockedandawful.com

[David__77]

15. We need hundreds and then thousands like him.

VVAW was very important decades ago. IVAW could be just as important, especially in light of the escalation that threatens to really turn this into a Vietnam-scale conflict.

[MethuenProgressive]

17. "Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded with an obscenity."

"I love the Marine Corps," Kokesh said. "I always have loved the Marine Corps, and that is why I'm particularly offended to see it being used for political ends."

Bush uses the military as a politcal prop constantly. Double standard here.