Privilege

Sounds fair, doesn't it?

A veteran who spent 14 months in prison for filing a conscientious objector application against redeployment to Iraq has spoken out against the commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence by President Bush.

"I was imprisoned for 14 months after trying to apply for conscientious objector status after seeing the reality of the Iraq war," Kevin Benderman, who had to serve his sentence at a prison 3,000 miles from home, said.

Kevin Benderman had served as an army mechanic for 10 years when he developed moral and religious objections to the war in Iraq, after serving there in 2003, and refused to deploy there again. After seeing scenes of devastation in Iraq, and through his readings of both the Bible and the Qu’ran, Kevin Benderman filed an application for conscientious objector status on 28 December 2004.

He was then sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment at a court martial.

Decade more of military service than Scooter Libby, after serving one tour, doesn't want to see more action in the war Scooter helped make.

Naturally, he gets 14 months jail in Iraq, while Scooter gets a pat on the back for his service in covering up a crime.

It's an injustice alright.