US soldier left patrol duty to marry Iraqi

[Turner]

US soldier left patrol duty to marry Iraqi
Julian Borger
Wednesday December 3, 2003
The Guardian

An American soldier is expecting to be dismissed from the army for taking a break from patrol in Baghdad to marry his Iraqi girlfriend, says his lawyer.
Sergeant Sean Blackwell has not been allowed to see his bride, Ehdaa, since the wedding on August 17, but the couple have recently been allowed to talk by phone, Sgt Blackwell's lawyer, Richard Alvoid, said.

The US army has accused the soldier, 27, from the Florida National Guard, of revealing the timing and location of his patrol to his bride and the Iraqi judge who married them, in organising the wedding.

The sergeant and another soldier, Corporal Brett Dagen, converted from Christianity to Islam to marry Iraqi women, both doctors, in a double wedding. Cpl Dagen and his wife have since divorced under pressure from her parents.

Mr Alvoid said Sgt Blackwell's only crime was passion in time of war. "He is guilty of falling in love. The more they punish him, the more negative publicity the military likely will receive."

The couple met when he was on guard duty outside the health ministry in Baghdad. Their marriage, after a couple of months of courting, appears to be the first such US-Iraqi union produced by the war.

Sgt Blackwell's mother, Vickie McKee, told Associated Press he could be home by Christmas. "He's a little ticked off at the government now. I'd hate for him to get a discharge because he fell in love." Mr Alvoid is helping the newly-weds clinch a book deal and a film has not been ruled out.

Ehdaa may flee to Europe this month in the hope of being reunited with her husband while applying for a US visa.

I'm kinda conflicted on this. I'm a romantic at heart. But shouldn't he know better than to disclose patrol routes when an enemy agent can find them? Sure, setting an ambush up has happened more than once. . .

 

[The Yankee]

I had a thread on this back in August or September about this. It raged a debate over whether he should have or not and whether he should be punished. I think maybe a little punishment would do, he did leave his post for a little bit, but not terribly long. Other than that, I hope the soldiers can use their pay to send their new wives back to the US, if they're expected to live there, I guess.

 

[amadeus]

What seems quite ridiculous to me is that you need to change your own beliefs to match someone else's in order to marry them.

 

[Turner]

I guess that's not weird to me. My dad did it with both of his wifes. First he converted to Mormanism, then after divorcing wife number one, he tried to convert to catholicism, but they wouldn't have him because of his first marriage. He's been married to my mom for 35 years this month, and I've noticed that their two belief systems have merged somewhat. So when I read that, it was nothing new to me.

 

[Stapel]

Originally posted by rmsharpe
What seems quite ridiculous to me is that you need to change your own beliefs to match someone else's in order to marry them.

My mother did!

But still, I think it is quite weird.

 

[Dr Jimbo]

How much faith (forgive the pun) could you have in a conversion for the sake of marriage?
'Of course honey, your belief system is obviously right, and the one I've held dear since birth, it is clear to me now, is false - how could I not see it before? I do.'

 

[Turner]

How to explain it. . . I suppose one could say that you're taking your spouse's faith seriously, and that it means something to you.

Really, when you think about it, they're all pretty much the same. So it's not all that big a leap to go from one to the other. Rather, it's more about taking your partner's belief system seriously, and supporting it.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

I wonder why none of the women converted to Christianity instead.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Originally posted by Dumb pothead
I wonder why none of the women converted to Christianity instead.

They still lived in Iraq. I'm sure they wanted to continue living.

 

[The Yankee]

I believe it is in fact Iraqi law for such a conversion to happen before marriage.

 

[Cactus_Jack]

Make love not war

 

[Riesstiu IV]

The question we need to be asking is not religious one... Is she hot?

 

[GrandAdmiral]

I was wondering the same thing. Also would I like any of the food she cooks?

 

[The Yankee]

What do you care? You're not marrying her.

 

[EdwardTking]

Originally posted by rmsharpe
What seems quite ridiculous to me is that you need to change your own beliefs to match someone else's in order to marry them.

....quite... and that is why I am still a bachelor...

 

[bobgote]

Originally posted by Riesstiu IV
The question we need to be asking is not religious one... Is she hot?

hard hitting question that

couldn't he have married her WITHOUT leaving patrol duty? applied for leave if necessary?

 

[The Yankee]

Dunno. I don't know if soldiers are allowed to go outside their "bases" while off-duty.

Soldiers have done worse....

 

[sourboy]

what ever happened to marriage being about to individuals who want to share their lives together, forever?

 

[Riesstiu IV]

Originally posted by sourboy
what ever happened to marriage being about to individuals who want to share their lives together, forever?

Nope! The women always gain control of the men once you have fallen into the trap that is marriage.

 

[ShiplordAtvar]

Originally posted by Dr Jimbo
How much faith (forgive the pun) could you have in a conversion for the sake of marriage?

Not much, since you're converting to get easy access to sex.

I'm against the idea of anybody being forced to change religions in order to marry. I think its a complete load of equine fecal matter. If the children grow up in a house where two faiths are observed, won't they learn more spiritually than they would if there was only one?