27 January 2015

“What Does it Matter?”

The miscarriage of justice in the case of Army SPC Michael New (court-martial, 1996) has never been corrected, nor is it likely to ever be. 

The Army, the Pentagon, the Supreme Court and two presidents had ample opportunity to correct it.  Appeals to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, then the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces upheld the decision of the kangaroo court-martial.  The Supreme Court refused to even consider the matter.  After that, the US District Court in D.C., and then the US Court of Appeals refused to consider the matter, and the Supreme Court as well refused to consider that appeal. 

The net result of the decision to dismiss Michael New from the Army with a Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) was that he was the first American soldier ever convicted of the “crime” of wanting to serve his own country — exclusively.  We have come a long way since WWII, and not in a good direction.  At issue is the very sovereignty of our nation (and every other nation).  If we are not free to serve our own country, exclusively, then we are not a free nation.

There remain two more avenues of appeal.  One is Congress, which offers dim hope, but is an avenue that must be exhausted.

The other avenue is to appeal to the Court of Public Opinion.  That one may already be won.  Ask any number of American citizens if they think it is right that American soldiers should be forced to serve under the authority of the United Nations, and a solid majority will respond in the negative. 

Two issues were decided in that court-martial, and have used to deny all further litigation in related cases.  Not only must our soldiers go where they are sent, without regard to the constitutionality of the orders, but if they have the temerity to challenge the legality of the orders — any orders — they are told they may not do so.  This represents a total violation of the entire concept of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  They call it “the Michael New precedent” and are quite open about it. 

There is a bill now written up and proposed for consideration by Congress, and it now awaits its first sponsor, and hopefully a long list of cosponsors.  The Citizen Soldier Protection Act of 2015 can be found at www.SoldierProtectionAct.com. 

Individual citizens can do the following to help promote this bill, both in Congress and in your respective state legislatures:

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