I was listening to Randi Rhodes yesterday on the way home from work and she was talking about how a Vermont soldier was making use of a military whistle-blower deal to protest the Iraq War.

I didn’t hear much of the detail, but luckily Vermont’s Own™ Christian Avard had written about it for both the Vermont Guardian and Raw Story and was able to fill in the details.

He writes (at the Guardian)…

Marine Corps Sgt. Liam Madden of Rockingham spoke to the media today after filing the redress, expressing his support for the effort because he opposes the war the Iraq.

“None of the Marines know that there is a policy available to them and that it’s everybody’s duty to support democracy and do it much more effectively than we are in exercising these rights in Iraq,” said Madden.

Madden, like others in the group, does not consider himself a pacifist, a conscientious objector, and is not urging any action that may be deemed illegal.

But he and others are saying to family, friends, and other active duty members that military whistleblower protection gives members of the military the right to send an appeal to a member of Congress without any fear of reprisal.

“The real grievances are if democracy is our goal than I believe we are going about it all wrong. The occupation is perpetuating more violence and I think it is the biggest de-stabilizing thing we can do to the Middle East. It’s costing way too many human lives — Iraqi civilians and American service member lives — and brings us no benefits,” Madden said. “The only people who benefit in my eyes are corporations like Halliburton. I don’t think that the war is being paid for in the right manner, and I think that if people want to support the troops then they should support us coming home.”

Madden serves in the U.S. Marine Corps and is stationed in Quantico, VA. He is a 2002 graduate of Bellows Falls High School and is the son of Oona Madden, former owner of Oona’s restaurant in Bellows Falls,and the brother of Darry Madden, a reporter for the Brattleboro Reformer.

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy praised Madden’s courage.

Well done, Christian!

And, just like in VDB’s inaugural post, Vermont continues to sink its tiny little teeth into the current cheese-filled administration.