IRR war protester says he was offered deal

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IRR war protester says he was offered deal - Military News, Marine Corps News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Marine Corps Times

By Heather Hollingsworth - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 21:26:16 EDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Iraq veteran who faces a discharge hearing for making anti-war statements in a speech and wearing parts of his uniform at a protest has essentially rejected a deal from the Marines to end the proceedings.

Liam Madden, 22, of Boston, was one of at least three Marines investigated for their protest activities. One of those protesters, Adam Kokesh, who is from Santa Fe, N.M., but is living in Washington, D.C., was kicked out of the Marines earlier this month with a general discharge for wearing his uniform during a demonstration and using an obscenity in an e-mail to an investigating officer.

Madden, like Kokesh, contends he is not subject to military rules because he is a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, which consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations.

An investigating officer disagreed and has recommended that Madden receive an “other than honorable” discharge from the IRR.

But Col. Pat McCarthy, chief of staff of the Marine Corps Mobilization Command, confirmed Wednesday in an e-mail that Madden “may not have to get ANY discharge.” He said Madden’s compliance with the regulations would keep him in good standing and allow him to avoid a discharge hearing in Kansas City.

Madden, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded in an e-mail Tuesday that he will agree to stop wearing his uniform at protests if the Marine Corps puts in writing “that my statements are neither disloyal nor inaccurate.”

Madden, speaking on his cell phone from Jacksonville, N.C., where he is participating in a bus tour of East Coast military installations along with Kokesh and other veterans, said he doubts the Marines will agree to the offer.

In the February speech in New York that led to the charge of “disloyal statements,” Madden accused President Bush of betraying service members and called the fighting in Iraq a “war crime.” The speech was posted on the Internet.

Madden also was cited for a uniform violation, which occurred in January when he wore a camouflage, button-down shirt and jeans at a demonstration in Washington, D.C.

“I believe that the statements I make and the protest I engage in is necessary,” he wrote in his letter. “If it’s not true that the war in Iraq is illegal, then I believe it would be indeed disloyal to declare such a position.”

He ended the letter, “I understand men in your position have their careers to think about, as I’m positive many German Colonels did in 1939.”

McCarthy said the Marines are reviewing Madden’s response. He stressed that Madden swore to obey the orders of the president and his superiors when he joined the Marines.

“While military service is like no other profession, look at the actions of Cpl. Kokesh and Sgt. Madden as if they had done these things as civilians wearing the uniform or credentials of a company,” McCarthy wrote. “The company then advises them that they have violated the company rules, with the expectation that they will comply with rules like most other employees do, and the matter can then be dropped. Would the subsequent actions these two men took be acceptable? How would the company handle it?”

Art Spitzer, legal director of the ACLU in the Washington area, has consulted Madden and taken particular interest in the “disloyal statement” charge.

“Our view, speaking for the ACLU, is that Mr. Madden is a civilian,” he said. “He’s been discharged from active duty. He has the same right as you and I do to speak out against the war in Iraq or any other issue of public policy. And it’s just improper for the Marine Corps to try to punish him for engaging in that free speech.”