O'Reilly
Interview--3
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O’Reilly: Right. So you don’t have to desert, you can go in and say, as you did, you know, my conscience now dictates that I can’t kill people, or what ever it may be –
Fager. He filed such an application. It was turned down.
O’Reilly: Okay.
Fager: That was not–
O’Reilly: [Split screen O’Reilly-Fager] Now. Perhaps he’s a charlatan--
Fager: -- that was not the end of his conscience.
O’Reilly: Perhaps he’s a charlatan. Perhaps he’s a coward. Perhaps he’s a guy who wanted to go into a military to get the benefits--
[Back to video, a repeat of Jeremy pushing stroller]
-- and then when it came crunch time, he wasn’t willing to fight for his country. Isn’t that a possibility, sir?
Fager: That may be your opinion, sir. I believe it’s completely mistaken. I know him to be a man of honor, a man of courage, and a man of deep moral convictions.
O’Reilly: And how do you know that?
[Back to Fager onscreen]
Fager: I knew him and worked with him over the course of almost two years, while he was in and out of Fayetteville and Ft. Bragg, which is where we’re located, while he was considering all the issues that were involved.
O’Reilly: Now, do you feel that anybody who participates in the Iraq war is doing something immoral?
Fager: Not necessarily. We ask and invite people to clarify and follow their conscience.
[Switch to scene of US troops in combat gear, carrying weapons and walking down unidentified streets.]
And that’s what we do. We do not preach to people. We don’t call them, they call us. We do have convictions about the war, sir, and we’re quite clear about what those convictions are.
O’Reilly: No, no Quakers historically are pacifist and don’t like war. And we understand that, everybody understands that,
[Back to split screen O’Reilly-Fager]
and I think it’s respected. Many of the --
Fager: Many of the people who call us are people who are in the military and who examine the issues, they are in tough situations. There are many thousands of families who are being put through tremendous strain by this immoral and unchristian war--
O’Reilly: Well that’s what happens in war, sir. You know, I mean, don’t give me any tremendous strain business, these people are defending the United States of America, they have enlisted in a voluntary capacity to do that, and when the going gets tough, some people run to the Quakers,. And there you are for their service.
Fager: Many people are being kept in the military past their due date by these stop-loss policies –
O’Reilly: That’s up to, that’s up to the legal system to adjudicate, sir. And it’s certain we have a system that does that. My last question for you is this: How would you defend yourself against Al Queda, should Al Queda actually step up their operations into the Unites States, against your facility in Raleigh? How would you defend yourself?
[Switch to Fager only onscreen]
Fager: Well sir, we’re not in Raleigh we’re in Fayetteville, near Ft. Bragg. And we would defend ourselves the way we have for the last 36 years. We would follow the teachings of Jesus. You know that Jesus ended up on a cross. But his followers are still around, and the empire that put him on that cross is lost in the dust of history.
O’Reilly: All right, but you --
Fager: – And that’s what I believe is going to happen now.
[Back to split screen O’Reilly-Fager]
O’Reilly: But you wouldn’t take up arms against Al Queda?
[Back to Fager only onscreen]
Fager: We do not have weapons in our house, and I do not think that we would do that. That would be my aspiration and my value.
[Back to split screen, O’Reilly-Fager]
O’Reilly: And you’re entitled to it in the Unites States of America. And you know what? Guys died for your ability to do that. Mr. Fager, thank you for coming on, we appreciate it very much. When we come right back . . . .
[End of Interview]
But don't miss the Postscript