Pablo Paredes statement to the court

[IChing]

Democracy now, Unbelievable wonderful statement, he's reading it now
We need to find this.

[LuPeRcALiO]

1. yep pretty amazing

"There is no haven in the defense that they were only following orders in the eyes of international law"

"I am guilty of believing this war is immoral ... I have a duty to refuse to participate"

(paraphrasing)

[IChing]

2. The total statement needs to be on the front page

Very articulate,
do you have a link yet?
I searched but couldn't find one

[Benbow]

3. Is this the statement you are looking for?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1780883

[IChing]

4. No thanks it was even more moving

It was related to documented illegalities of the war
and very informative . Where did that speech come from.
He read it to amy this morning on democracy now.

[IChing]

5. That statement was issued before the trial

It is very similar, but he mention the internet on where he got his truths
about the war and influential writers ie. Chomsky, and others.

[IChing]

6. The statement is up at democracy now

Your Honor, and to all present, I'd like to state first and foremost that it has never been my intent or motivation to create a mockery of the Navy or its judicial system. I do not consider military members adversaries. I consider myself in solidarity with all service members. It is this feeling of solidarity that was at the root of my actions. I don't pretend to be in a position to lecture anyone on what I perceive as facts concerning our current political state of affairs. I accept that it is very possible that my political perspective on this war could be wrong. I don't think that rational people can even engage in debate if neither is willing to accept the possibility that their assertions, no matter how researched, can be tainted with inaccuracy and falsehoods. I do believe that accepting this in no way takes away from one's confidence in their own convictions.

I am convinced that the current war in Iraq is illegal. I am also convinced that the true causality for it lacked any high ground in the topography of morality. I believe as a member of the Armed Forces, beyond having duty to my Chain of Command and my President, I have a higher duty to my conscience and to the supreme law of the land. Both of these higher duties dictate that I must not participate in any way, hands-on or indirect, in the current aggression that has been unleashed on Iraq. In the past few months I have been continually asked if I regret my decision to refuse to board my ship and to do so publicly. I have spent hour upon hour reflecting on my decision, and I can tell you with every fiber of certitude that I possess that I feel in my heart I did the right thing.>>>>snip

I have long now been an ardent reader of independent media, and, in my opinion, less corrupted forms of media, such as TruthOut.org, Democracy Now!, books from folks like Steven Zunes, and Chalmers Johnson, articles from people like Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein. These folks are very educated in matters of politics and are not on the payroll of any major corporate news programming, such as CNN or FOX News network. They all do what they do for reasons other than money, as they could earn much more if they joined the corporate-controlled ranks. I have come to trust their research and value their convictions in assisting me to form my own. They have all unanimously condemned this war as illegal, as well as made resources available for me to draw my own conclusions, resources like Kofi Annan's statements on how under the U.N. Charter the Iraq War is illegal, resources like Marjorie Cohn's countless articles providing numerous sources and reasons why the war is illegal under international, as well as domestic law. I could speak on countless sources and their arguments as to the legality of the war on Iraq quite extensively. But again, I don't presume to be in a position to lecture anyone here on law. I mean only to provide insight on my actions on December 6

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/13/1437208#transcript