Court Backs Soldier's Anti-Iraq War Stance (Germany)

[CHIMO]

A German court ruled Wednesday that a soldier, who refused to follow orders because he did not want to support the US-led war in Iraq, had every right to do so.

Judges at Germany's Federal Administrative Court said that members of the military could not be forced to comply with orders that go against their conscience.

The court added that the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of conscience also applied to soldiers in active service.

"The court found that the fundamental right to freedom of conscience ... cannot be superseded by an order," it said in a statement summarizing the ruling. "This order was thus invalid for the soldier. The soldier gave a credible account of the seriousness of his moral decision."

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1625524,00.html

Powerful ruling.

[Karenina]

1. And check THIS out!!!

German law protects objectors :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

As a result, a military court demoted the man from the rank of major to captain in February 2004. The soldier appealed the decision, as did the lawyer for the military, where officials wanted the man's complete removal from the service.

But the appellate court judges now said members of the military have to adhere to German laws and cannot set aside basic rights guaranteed to everyone. They reinstated his rank of major, noting that his right to reject an order applied even if he had not filed a formal conscientious objector application.

German law offers strong protections for soldiers who refuse to follow orders on ethical grounds, rooted in the abuses of the Nazi past.

The German government strongly opposed the Iraq war and has steadfastly refused to send troops to the country.

[Oversea Visitor]

4. Woah

They did learn how to treaure freedom liberty after Hilter screwed them.

[hippiechick]

2. Very nice.

Wish some of it would happen in courts over here.

[Cha]

3. Germany sounds like they've learned

their lesson about hitler..but guess who didn't?

[Oversea Visitor]

5. Ouch

Same wavelength. :rofl:

[reprobate]

6. Of course not. The bush family helped put Adolph in power.

It was Mad George's grandpa Prescott Bush who, with his partner Harriman, helped finance Hitlers rise to power and helped arm Germany thru their business Union Banking. Later this was seized under the Trading with the Enemies Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescott_Bush

"Prescott Bush's business interests seized under the act in October and November 1942 included:

* Union Banking Corporation (UBC) (for Thyssen and Brown Brothers Harriman)
* Holland-American Trading Corporation (with Harriman)
* the Seamless Steel Equipment Corporation (with Harriman)
* Silesian-American Corporation (with Walker)

Bush's interest in UBC consisted of one share. For it, he was reimbursed $1,500,000. These assets were later used to launch Bush family investments in the Texas energy industry."

So, you see, The entire bush family fortune was started by his financing of ol' Adolph (another bush family friend) Hitler. Kind of reminds me of how close they are with the bin Ladins, huh?

If you go back in time to WWII, and include all the war dead, the total deaths that can be credited to the BFEE would certainly go far beyond those of Ghengis Khan, Attilla the Pun, and Alexander the Grape. Probably more than the total of all tyrants of the past.

To me, the final proof that there IS NO God of Justice is the fact that this blood line was allowed to take seed. A true God of Justice would have not allowed sperm and egg to combine to produce Prescott.

[Niccolo_Macchiavelli]

11. tsk tsk tsk you haven't finished your lesson ...yet

give * a third term and you will have the 12-13 years adolf had on germany (and EU, etc.)

[sweetheart]

7. German law trumps american faux-law

American soldiers who refuse to follow orders out of conscience are
not guilty and those who violate their consciene are guilty of war
crimes.... what a twist... God bless germany for telling the truth.

[Miss Chybil]

8. Germans have compulsory service. Two years, I believe. It makes

sense they shouldn't be forced to do what they find unconscionable. Especially, considering what many of them were forced to do in WWII. It seems like a very important safety net to keep such things from happening again. I wish we were so enlightened, but then we've never been defeated so badly.

[Karenina]

9. A college age friend paid me a visit

this evening and said, "America is a nation constituted on the highest principles covering the LIES of its reality. They never had bombs dropped on their heads and maybe that's the problem. They just don't get it."

[K-W]

10. That is amazing, excellent law Germany, excellent law. EOM