U.S. Soldier Follows Orders to Kill, Is Sentenced to 10 years in Prison
The killing of the unarmed civilian took place in May of last year on a day when Vela had slept only several hours over the course of three days with little water in 100 degree heat. The Iraqi civilian and his son were detained by Vela’s fellow group of snipers when the two civilians stumbled upon the sleeping soldiers. The group of snipers let the son walk away but soon after the son left Vela was ordered by his commander to kill the unarmed civilian when the commander feared the civilian was making too much noise and possibly drawing attention to their hideout. In a matter of seconds of confusion, a man is dead and lives are ruined. The voiceless are jailed, the innocent dead and their families left alone; the war wears on with its ever widening scope of pain and loss.
This case is the latest example of how distorted the Pentagon’s logic has become.
Sgt. Vega will spend ten years in jail for the death of a single unarmed civilian while the Commander-in-chief of the military that gave the orders that lead to him serving in Iraq remains in office to finish his term. President Bush is ultimately responsible for thousands of “collateral damage” deaths of innocent Iraqi civilians, yet he will never spend a single night in prison.
The President can not continue to send this nation’s young men into the lion’s den for reasons that do not directly concern their own family and then not expect those same soldiers to fight tooth and nail for survival. Morale is extremely low amongst American troops in Iraq, and anyone in the Pentagon that even begins to argue that fact is simply delusional. Survival is the only clear objective.
The United States can not allow this to continue. This situation is only one of many that show the US will not play a roll in the stabilization of Baghdad or Iraq as a whole. The stabilization of Iraq is the role of the Iraqi people.
It makes my spine tingle to think of what this administration might do in the remaining months of this term. By the time January finally arrives, it may be too late for the candidate that will win the presidency to turn this war around. The war may by then be out of the clutches of the Oval Office, but it is important to remember that it will never be out of the reach of the American people to end this war. The most drastic of measures have not yet been taken. One thing is certain; there have already been hundreds of thousands of final consequences in the deaths of soldiers and civilians, so even if the end of violence ever comes in Iraq…it will be a bittersweet day as we look back over the wreckage of shattered lives.
Comment by Mike a US Army Vet on 11 February 2008:
This is complete insanity! These troops are being jerked around and used as tools for our illegal governments war! THIS IS INSANITY, AMERICA! Goddammit…Wake up and see what your government is doing to people!!!! Get some backbone and do something instead of acting like these problems are just going to go away!!! THESE ARE PEOPLES LIVES!!! Get it?!?!? Vote for Ron Paul….And even if you don’t have the common sense to vote for the ONE candidate that voted against this bullshit war and the candidate that the troops gave more donations to, than ANY other candidate, at least have the guts to speak out!! This IS NOT right!!! What is wrong with you people???
Comment by Shaun on 11 February 2008:
Thanks Mike,
The fact that is soldier is taking the lion’s share of the punishment and blame for this crime is simply unacceptable. For everybody that claims to support the troops, here is the opportunity. Like Mike said its time to speak out against this tragedy. Its only going to get worse, its not going to get better.
Comment by Crickett Baker on 11 February 2008:
Pretty soon it will be happening on the streets of America if no Ron Paul. There are so many things going on here..if you start to look at all the media is not mentioning you would think you were not living in America. It MUST be looked at before you see it at your door, folks…
Comment by B on 11 February 2008:
One more reason to vote for Ron Paul
Comment by Joshua on 12 February 2008:
Seeing stuff like this would make me think twice if I was in a similiar situation. (I am active duty military so it’s)
Comment by Eric on 14 February 2008:
It’s a pretty big stretch to tie this to Bush. The policy is this kind of crap doesn’t happen, and the way you enforce policy is to nail the offender’s hide to the wall when orders are disobeyed. Every US soldier and marine going into Iraq knows better than to deliberately kill unarmed civilians.
This kind of thing gets other soldiers killed, just as surely as fleeing in the face of the enemy. He deserves the time, and so does his commander.
By the way, morale is still quite high among the troops. The biggest complaint I’ve heard is they’re not getting the support they deserve from Congress.
Comment by Gary on 14 February 2008:
It is never the ones at the top that have to pay the price. I am a former combat infantry grunt. The REMF’s played their games with our lives on the line. I have been there and will be voting for Ron Paul as he is the only one running that seems to be in his right mind when it comes to supporting the troops.
Comment by pissed off texan on 14 February 2008:
Why is it that a soldier following orders is held accountable and not the officer who gave the order. This is how our government operates. No accountability for the real criminals only punishment of the patsies. WAKE UP PEOPLE!
Comment by Goldenrule on 15 February 2008:
Only RON PAUL will end this war. Don’t listen to the mainstream media. This story should be front page news. America should be outraged! Do your part — VOTE for RON PAUL — he is still in this presidential race until the bitter end! As far as I’m concerned voting for any other candidate is wasting my vote.
Comment by neoconned08 on 15 February 2008:
The TROOPS have given more money to Ron Paul’s campaign than to all the other candidates, both democrat and republican, COMBINED together.
According to the FEC reports, these are the total number and amount of military donations for each of the presidential candidates:
Ron Paul: 1160 $249k
John McCain: 438 $83k
Mike Huckabee: 126 $37k
Mitt Romney: 126 $24k
Barack Obama: 443 $76k
Hillary Clinton: 154 $41k
A vote against Ron Paul is a vote against our TROOPS.
Comment by Lynnopoly on 15 February 2008:
Thank you, neoconned08.
“A vote against Ron Paul is a vote against our TROOPS.”
All Americans claim to support the troops, but yet the refuse to listen to them.
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