US Army Chaplain Resigns in Protest Over Drones, 'Policy of Unaccountable Killing'

[kadaholo]

Source: CommonDreams by Staff Writer Andrea Germanos

An Army chaplain has resigned in protest over the United States "policy of unaccountable killing" through drone warfare and the nation's continued investment into nuclear weapons, which "threaten the existence of humankind and the earth."

In his letter sent April 12, 2016 to President Barack Obama, Rev. John Antal, a Unitarian Universalist Church minister in Rock Tavern, New York, wrote, "The Executive Branch continues to claim the right to kill anyone, anywhere on earth, at any tie, for secret reasons, based on secret evidence, in a secret process, undertaken by unidentified officials."

Antal served as a chaplain from September 2012 to February 2013 at the Kandahar Airbase in southern Afghanistan. "While deployed," he wrote in Feb. 2015 a the Times Herald-Record, "I concluded our drone strikes disproportionately kill innocent people."

"From the perspective of both religious wisdom and military values, drone warfare, as conducted by the United States today, is a betrayal of what is right. My faith affirms the inherent worth and dignity of all people, everywhere. I believe Americans who share that affirmation have a responsibility to advocate for a U.S. foreign policy that reflects our regard for human dignity. Military leadership also has a responsibility to advocate for a method of war-fighting consistent with military values like respect, integrity, and personal courage. Too often, I worry, our program of drone warfare falls short of these ideals. I resign because I refuse to support U.S. policy of preventive war, permanent military supremacy, and global power projection," his letter of resignation states.

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/13/us-army-chaplain-resigns-protest-over-drones-policy-unaccountable-killing

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[wildbilln864]

1. America! Home of the brave!?

[atreides1]

11. Not so much

The US gave up that description the first time it fired a missile into an Afghan village and murdered women and children!!!

[msongs]

2. but accountable killing is ok, nothing to resign about nt

[Midnight Writer]

13. I'm with you. Is the choice of weapon his only moral dilemma?

How is drone killing worse than bombing, shooting, poisoning, starving, land mines, radioactive ammo? But drones? That crosses a moral line?

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Good for hm.

I don't undersand why he is not among hundreds of religious people taking this stand.
I am not surprised that his church is Unitarian Universalist, either.

[LiberalEsto]

5. +100

In my experience, UUs often take the initial step, and pretty soon others follow.

[sinkingfeeling]

14. +100

[scscholar]

4. As if other killing is accountable...

He knew before he joined how they be.

[onwardsand upwards]

6. That's why I can't laugh with Obama when he makes his smug jokes.

When you are responsible for killing innocent people in this way, smugness is the wrong attitude.

[babylonsister]

8. John McCain and Sarah Palin would have been so much better. nt

[onwardsand upwards]

16. What a silly response ...

... the problem is faux progressives in the Democratic Party, like Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

They all bow to corporate power, and allow themselves to drink champagne while poor people are massacred through their policies.

There are real alternatives (not just McCain and Palin), Bernie Sanders is an example.

[philosslayer]

7. Thank goodness at least we aren't waterboarding anymore

The torture conducted under the Bush administration was even more of an abomination.

[Marthe48]

9. Too sad that most people don't take a stand

I have been wondering how people get talked into joining a military unit, and going off to fight and die. How can we make it more attractive to grow crops, transition to renewable power, do something constructive?

[TeddyR]

10. Provide jobs that pay money

Or for college in return?

[Marthe48]

15. Soldiers don't get paid much

at least U.S. soldiers. Being a warrior is seen as glory, but living a constructive life is seen as boring and dull. Everything is backwards.

[TipTok]

12. Bye Felicia...