Soldiers of Conscience

Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan's documentary Soldiers of Conscience, originally broadcast as part of the PBS series POV, examines moral decisions facing U.S. soldiers in the midst of battle, focusing on four soldiers who came to abhor the act of killing as a part of their military duty in Iraq. Two GIs formally sought official recognition as conscientious objectors and were later honorably discharged, while the other two went AWOL and were later court-marshaled and imprisoned. Ethical dilemmas related to killing enemy combatants are not new to the U.S. military (“conscientious objector” status dates back to the American Revolution), but the preemptive invasion and occupation of Iraq has reopened these questions. The most compelling interviewee here is Joshua Casteel, an evangelical Christian and right-wing Republican who graduated from West Point and served as an interrogator at the Abu Ghraib prison. During this period, Casteel's encounters with a self-described Jihadist of unshakeable fundamentalist Islamic persuasion forced him to reevaluate his own faith. Casteel was one of the honorably discharged conscientious objectors, and the story of his trajectory from gung-ho warrior to articulate critic of military policy is compelling. Soldiers of Conscience does not denigrate the work of the U.S. military or the sacrifices made by soldiers in harm's way, but instead presents a balanced and mature acknowledgement that some people will follow the dictates of their own consciences over the commands of a temporary “superior.” Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)