PTSD? Bull!

PTSD? Bull! it’s soldier’s heart!

The late George Carlin did not like the phrase "post-traumatic stress disorder." He said, ' I don't like words that hide the truth. I don't like words that conceal reality. I don't like euphemisms, or euphemistic language. And American English is loaded with euphemisms. Cause Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality. Americans have trouble facing the truth, so they invent the kind of a soft language to protect themselves from it, and it gets worse with every generation.”...........

It is not, however, a medical “disorder”. That is, it is not an illness – something you catch and which generally can be “cured”. It is very definitely an imposed condition – something real that the soldier has experienced and from which recovery is never complete, no matter how hard they and we try. Those who claim that they came back from combat unaffected are either psychopathic or lying to you and themselves.

But, by calling it a disorder – an illness – we can then point out that it doesn’t seem to affect everyone, therefore it must affect only those with an underlying weakness, or perhaps “they weren’t brought up to be tough”. Worst of all, we dismiss them from service under the cover of a “preexisting condition”. The soldier who knows that he or she was just fine when leaving home and joining the service, now is told that he or she was really always just spoiled goods............>>>>>Rest Here

"War, we have come to believe, is a spectator sport. The military and the press ... have turned war into a vast video arcade game. It’s very essence – death – is hidden from public view."
Chris Hedges Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter ,New York Times

Summer Reading: A Childrens Book for You Adults

As we wait for the many coming books, I'm sure more will be surfacing, as many try to cleanse their souls, of these last eight years plus, in seeking their higher kingdom, we might have the time to take this seemingly telling descriptive tale into the fold of good reading. We could even make the copies a collective item reminding us, in a comfortable way, of what we've been put through, us and the rest of the world. Comfortable because it might not enrage as we read and study the pictures, like the hard reality of the history will.

And I give you the title right off, Intriqued?

I didn't catch this when it aired, but while a visit to the NPR site, to relisten to another report, I caught this little tidbit in their list.

All Things Considered had it on yesterday, July 8.

The full title is: Goodnight Bush: A Parody.

It's a riff of the Margaret Wise Brown's classic children's book Goodnight Moon and satirizes the Bush administration.

But look closer and you'll see that the painting over the fireplace shows an oil derrick with stealth bombers flying around it.

In the fireplace, there's a ballot box burning that says, "Florida 2000."

And snaking around the side of the fireplace is a tiny microphone.

In place of the bunny rabbit character in the children's book, a childlike George Bush is tucked safely in bed "surrounded by toys that represent different facets of the Bush administration's legacy," Golan says.

A tiny Osama bin Laden peeks out from many of the pages, and a shotgun-toting Dick Cheney whispers, "Hush."

"The book obviously isn't for children," Origen says. "At the same time, it lets us look at the past eight years through the eyes of a child.

And it lets us see how far Bush's reality is from the reality anyone would want for their children."

The authors say the book is illustrated with "naked simplicity" to show respect and sensitivity.

You can take a listen in with this link to bring up their player

I just ordered my copy before writing this, I'm Intriqued, it looks like a fun, but serious, look at the state we find our country, and our world standing, today and for the forseeable future, at 59 that future should cover any time I have left, plus!!

Winter Soldier 2008 - News Reports

And so from the spectre of the summer soldier who shrinks from the hard truths and his country's crises, comes the Winter Soldier who will not look away.

As September 11th happened this country went into shock quickly reverting to a want for revenge and retaliation. Quickly ridding ourselves of the apathy of what had already been occurring for years, Criminal Terrorism, here but mostly abroad, targetting U.S. Interests, Civilians, and Allies. We went after an obscure group, and it's leader, known as al Qaeda, as well as those harbering the Taliban, in Afganistan, we're still there, and not doing what we promised once we rid that country of the Taliban, Re-Building to help that country come back from years of Warring much of it Supplied, the Afgan/Soviet Conflict, by us. It's leader bin Laden still roams, al Qaeda has grown more World Wide than before, Why? because those that gain Wealth and Power from War saw their chance to replace the long running, so called, Cold War, Perpetual War, Long Running and Extremely Profitable. So they sent our military to invade an Innocent Country, Iraq, to take done a once Allie, who we installed, welcomed, supported, for years paid, and supplied with the needed military ordinance, and more, to sustain his dictatorship over it's people. We carry and Support, in our stable, a number of Dictators, we always have, reason many Hate Us!



Joplin Independent


Speaking out against war

A soldier has one paramount concern: coming back alive. But what happens when he or she does return but with a conscience wracked by guilt?

As one soldier said, he didn't want violence to conquer him and that he was at Winter Soldier 2008 as a way to deal with it.

where rules of engagement were changed to suit the need for retaliation by soldiers, some psychologically challenged by having to serve on a third tour of duty and, of course the overriding concern: to bring each other home alive.

And "Wave the flag. Let someone else fight your battles" was a message to the American people who've supported the war.

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony and opening statements and to listen to todays testimony. Someone asked about Transcripts yesterday, as they have hearing problems, Transcripts are now up at this site as well.

Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information. Should warn, this site was on Overload yesterday so you couldn't reach it.

We gave to the innocent of Iraq a Thousand 9/11's starting with 'Shock and Awe', not planes flying out of the sky's, but bombs dropped from planes, rockets from bases and ships, and thousands in a Military of the move of Invasion, Tons of Ordinance of WMD's and Destruct we did, five years later We're Still There as a Hated Occupation Force trying to Dictate to the people of Iraq how they should live and the Political Ideology we want to force on them as well as Religious Ideology!

Speaking of Religion, we went from Revenge towards an Obscure Group of partly Religious Fanatisism to Condemning and Waging War on a Whole Religious Ideology, Islam, and all that believe and follow that religion that most don't understand nor want to.

The People of Iraq are Living Their 9/11, 24/7, now for Five Long Years!

And some can't understand why they have growing Rage and Hatred seeking Revenge and Retaliation, those that can't understand that others are no differant than us seek some sort of Victory, something they can't define but desperately want, as the Numbers Of Killed and Maimed continuely rise, on all sides, with the Innocent Suffering The Most, they always do!


AlterNet


Who Supports the Troops?

If I were a far better writer, I might -- might -- be able to convey the intensity of these Winter Soldier hearings.

On the way in were a few dozen right-wing protesters organized by the "Gathering of Eagles" -- a spin-off from the "Vietnam Vets for Truth" started during the 2004 campaign to go after Kerry. I've seen them at antiwar protests, and what struck me was that their messages were unchanged -- 'support the troops.' The concept that those giving testimony inside were the troops -- several with chests weighed down with decorations and metals -- was the definition of cognitive dissonance.

I have a question for "Gathering of Eagles", and the other groups using political ideology to define, as a matter of fact Thousands of us Veterans wonder the same thing, "if you "Support The Troops" why is it that you carry Nothing on your Sites, nor in your Rethoric, about the Rage you should be feeling about All the reports, finally coming forward, as to the Care of these Same Troops when they Return or are Re-Deployed or Discharged?"!!!

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony and opening statements and to listen to todays testimony. Someone asked about Transcripts yesterday, as they have hearing problems, Transcripts are now up at this site as well.

Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information. Should warn, this site was on Overload yesterday so you couldn't reach it.




Uruknet.info, Italy

"We Reacted Out of Fear, and With Total Destruction"

"We were driving in Baghdad one day and found a dead body on the side of the road," Viges said. "We pulled over to secure the area and my friends jumped off and started taking pictures with it, smiling. They asked me if I wanted to join them and I said no, but not because it was unethical, but because it wasn't my kill. Because you shouldn't take trophies with those you didn't kill. I wasn't upset this man was dead, but just that they shouldn't be taking credit for something they didn't do. But that's war."

"We're disrupting the lives of our veterans with this occupation, not only the lives of Iraqis. If a foreign occupying force came here to the U.S., do you not think that every person that has a shotgun would not come out of the hills and fight for their right for self-determination?"

“Five Years Too Many”

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony and opening statements and to listen to todays testimony. Someone asked about Transcripts yesterday, as they have hearing problems, Transcripts are now up at this site as well.

Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information. Should warn, this site was on Overload yesterday so you couldn't reach it.


Watertown Daily Times

Former 10th corporal speaks out against war
Event in Maryland attracts dozens who participated in U.S. mission in Iraq

Philip Aliff isn't afraid to admit he was in the Army for the money. But even that — his salary, a $7,000 signing bonus and money for college — wasn't worth what he learned in Iraq.

Mr. Aliff, who was with the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team from Fort Drum, said the situation was far more violent than the rebuilding effort commanders advertised or were prepared to handle.
The result, he said, were contradictory messages for Iraqi civilians as U.S. forces arrested scores of fighting-age men on flimsy suspicion of wrongdoing, only to let them go a few days later.
"We'd hand kids soccer balls," said Mr. Aliff, whose duties included daily combat patrols in Abu Ghraib City and, later, the more violent area near Fallujah in 2005. "They'd see us on the one hand giving them things, and on the other hand arresting their families."

"My service in the military has been the greatest honor in my life," said Luis Montalvan, who left the Army as a captain with 17 years of experience and said he suffers post-traumatic stress syndrome. He wore his Army medals at a press conference Thursday, ahead of the event.

One of the many lessons Not Learned from Vietnam, Winning Hearts and Minds, no matter how much Good might be done It's Quickly wiped off the slate of Good Feelings and Intentions when there are Killings and Maimings, Homes Destroyed, and Occupation Dictates!

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony and opening statements and to listen to todays testimony. Someone asked about Transcripts yesterday, as they have hearing problems, Transcripts are now up at this site as well.

Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information. Should warn, this site was on Overload yesterday so you couldn't reach it.


The Daily Star, Oneonta

Listen to our soldiers speak-In LTE March 15th

Politicians have constantly changed the rationale for our being there, and media images avoid tough realities of what that war is actually like.

"This is a moment when veterans won't let anyone else speak for us. We hear from the pundits, we hear from the politicians, ... (but) ... We're the ones who can bring out the cruelties and dehumanization in U.S. foreign policy."

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony and opening statements and to listen to todays testimony. Someone asked about Transcripts yesterday, as they have hearing problems, Transcripts are now up at this site as well.

Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information. Should warn, this site was on Overload yesterday so you couldn't reach it.


Washington Post

War Stories Echo an Earlier Winter

Grim-faced and sorrowful, former soldiers and Marines sat before an audience of several hundred yesterday in Silver Spring and shared their recollections of their service in Iraq.

The stories spilled out, sometimes haltingly, sometimes in a rush: soldiers firing indiscriminately on Iraqi vehicles, an apartment building filled with Iraqi families devastated by an American gunship. Some descriptions were agonized, some vague; others offered specific dates and locations. All were recorded and streamed live to the Web.

For some of the veterans speaking yesterday, the experience was catharsis.

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony and opening statements and to listen to todays testimony. Someone asked about Transcripts yesterday, as they have hearing problems, Transcripts are now up at this site as well.

Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information. Should warn, this site was on Overload yesterday so you couldn't reach it.


Video - Iraq Veterans Speak Out On Both Sides of War

"I'm sorry for the hate and destruction I've inflicted upon innocent people," Turner said. "Until people hear about what is happening in this war, it will continue."

Part of the original, and now the present, Winter Soldier, is to voice the understanding, to those Invaded, of what has happened and how one now realizes what they have forced on others, the Death, the Destruction, and the Degradation and seek forgiveness!

After the first 'Winter Soldier', and once the conflict in Vietnam ended and it was safe to reenter the country, long before their government was recognized by the U.S., many Vietnam Veterans traveled to and started working with the Vietnamesse to help Right the Wrong, they Still Do!

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony and opening statements and to listen to todays testimony. Someone asked about Transcripts yesterday, as they have hearing problems, Transcripts are now up at this site as well.
Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information. Should warn, this site was on Overload yesterday so you couldn't reach it.


Stars and Stripes

Veterans groups offer different views of conflict

A pair of veterans groups on opposite sides of the country this week are offering drastically different views of the war in Iraq and the future of U.S. troops there.

In Washington on Thursday, Iraq Veterans Against the War launched its four-day Winter Soldier event, which organizers promise will show evidence of systemic war crimes, war profiteering and mismanaged strategy that has cost troops’ lives.

In San Diego on Friday, Vets for Freedom launched a month- long, 22-city tour to highlight stories of heroism from Iraq, and to encourage communities to continue their support of the mission overseas.

To 'Vets for Freedom', read above on 'Winning Hearts and Minds', and same Question as asked to 'Gathering of Eagles'!

Visit War Comes Home to Replay previous testimony and opening statements and to listen to todays testimony. Someone asked about Transcripts yesterday, as they have hearing problems, Transcripts are now up at this site as well.
Visit IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against The War to Watch, online, and get further information. Should warn, this site was on Overload yesterday so you couldn't reach it.

Winter Soldier - With Video's

Thomas Paine
These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.
—Published on 23 December 1776

Hundreds of veterans and active-duty soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars are gathered in Washington DC, from yesterday 3-13-08, to sunday 3-16-08, for the Winter Soldier hearings. The soldiers plan
to give eyewitness accounts of the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War, the gathering is modeled after
the 1971 Winter Solider hearings organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against
the War.

The soldiers plan to give eyewitness accounts of the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That is what 'Winter Soldier' is all about, Eyewitness Account to War, especially Wars of Choice!

It's about testimony of the policies of conflict, and war, under orders from the civilian and military leadership, as perceived by the individual recipients of those orders, the Military Personal!

For those not paying attention, and according to a recent survey 72% of you aren't really concerned with the Conflicts in Iraq and Afganistan in your busy lives, you can visit War comes Home and listen to the individual testimonies of those you sent into the Invasions and Occupations, especially Iraq, and Start Paying Attention!

They are posting up the testimonies right after they happen. So when you visit the link you'll see the most recent, or next, at the top. Click on the page numbers, at the bottom, to follow each individual testimony, from the opening statements back to today. The ones that have been loaded onto the site you'll find a player under each, you can click on these to listen to that individuals testimony.

Some of those who testitfied yesterday, 3-13-08, and are testifying today, 3-14-08:

Iraq Veterans Against the War's Kelly Dougherty's Opening Statement at Winter Soldier 2008
The Executive Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Kelly Dougherty, gives the opening remarks at Winter Soldier 2008. She speaks about how Iraq Veterans Against the War has grown from a small organization in 2004 to a larger force with more than 800 members -- 200 of whom are in attendance this weekend in Washington, DC.

Barry Romo of VVAW's Opening Remarks at Winter Soldier 2008
Barry Romo of Vietnam Veterans Against the War's emotional opening remarks on the 1971 Winter Soldier gathering Detroit Michigan and what it means of this weekend's gathering.

Hart Viges
Testimony from the March 14, 2008 Rules of Engagement, Part One Panel. Hart Viges joined the Army after September 11th 2001 and was shipped out to Iraq from Febuary 2003 until January 2004. He says that while he was stationed in Iraq he "saw the beauty of the land and the people." When he returned to the US, he filed for Concientious Objector and recieved my Honorable Discharge. Now he works with the GI RIGHTS HOTLINE and goes into High Schools to talk to kids on a weekly basis. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Jesse Hamilton
Testimony from the March 14, 2008 Rules of Engagement, Part One Panel. Former US Army Staff Sergeant Jesse Hamilton has received the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal. His grandfather was a sergeant in World War I, his great-great-grandfather served in the Civil War and his great-great-great grandfather served in the war of 1812. He lives in New Jersey.

Adam Kokesh: Testimonial and Bio
Testimony from the March 14, 2008 Rules of Engagement, Part One Panel. Former Marine Corps Sergeant Adam Kokesh served in a Civil Affairs Group in Iraq’s Western Anbar Province from February to September 2004. Since his return from Iraq, Kokesh has become a leading activist with Iraq Veterans Against the War. He was arrested for disrupting General Patreaus’ testimony before Congress last September.

Jason Hurd: Testimonial and Bio
Testimony from the March 14, 2008 Rules of Engagement, Part One Panel.

Eric Estenzo: Testimonial and Bio
From the March 14, 2008 "Crisis in Veteran's Healthcare" panel. Eric Estenzo is a Marine Corps Reservist who served in the initial invasion of Iraq. He hurt his back in Iraq and when he returned home in the US he ended up in line for food at a shelter for homeless veterans. He's also an artist.

Adrienne Kinne: Testimonial and Bio
From the March 14, 2008 "Crisis in Veteran's Healthcare" panel. Adrienne Kinne served in the US Army and Army Reserves from 1994 through 2004 as an Arabic linguist in military intelligence. She was activated in the Reserves for two years following the events of 9/11 and served stateside in direct support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as a voice interceptor. She now works in the Department of Veterans Affairs as a health science specialist (psychology) and as the New England Regional Coordinator for Iraq Veterans Against the War. She lives in Vermont.

Kevin Lucey: Testimonial and Bio
From the March 14, 2008 "Crisis in Veteran's Healthcare" panel. Joyce and Kevin Lucey are the parents of Corporal Jeffrey Lucey, who
killed himself on June 22nd, 2003 after returning from a tour in Iraq.
Joyce and Kevin Lucey are currently suing the Department of Veterans
affairs arguing the VA was negligent in caring for their son. A VA
Inspector General’s Report notes VA officials turned Jeffrey Lucey a
few days before he took his own life.

Euegene Martin: Testimonial and Bio
From the March 14, 2008 "Crisis in Veteran's Healthcare" panel. Euegene Martin is a labor organizer with the American Federation of Government Employees.

Kelly Dougherty: Testimonial and Bio
Kelly Doughrety is Executive Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War. An eight-year veteran of the Colorado Nat. Guard, she served as both a medic and in the military police. She was deployed both to the Balkans and to Iraq.

Winter Soldier - Testimony About Military Contractors
The testimony today has been so riviting that I just pulled away to write to you. There are people listening from London, Japan, germany, Italy, France, Costa Rica, and Canada as well as all over the US. We've received emails from all over the country. If your local Pacifica affliliate isn't carrying the coverage, you can stream the broadcast all weekend at warcomeshome.org or kpfa.org. I've received many emails that the mainstream press has ignored this. If you come across an interesting news article or tv report, post it here.
By the way, we're posting audio from those testifying and some background about the people. You can listen to this later - it's archived and available as soon as we can post it.

Captain Luis Montalvan: Testimonial and Bio
Former US Army Captain Luis Montalvan served two tours in Iraq. Before joining the officer corps in 2003, Montalván spent over a decade as a communications specialist, military policeman and infantryman in the enlisted ranks, having joined the U.S. Army on his 17th birthday in 1990. He personally witnessed the September 11th attacks in New York. He currently lives in Brooklyn.

Antonia Juhasz: Testimonial and Bio
Antonia Juhasz is a Tarbell Fellow, Oil Change International and a
Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies. She is author of
The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time

Jeremy Scahill: Testimonial and Bio
Jeremy Scahill is an American investigative journalist. He serves as a correspondent for the U.S. radio and TV program Democracy Now! He is a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute, and a frequent contributor to The Nation magazine.

Vincent Emanuele: Testimonial and Bio
Vincent Emanuele served in the Marine Corps in Iraq in the Spring of 2003 and again in the winter of 2004-2005. He turned against the war because of the poor condition of the military equipment used by American soldiers in the war-zone.

Rules of Engagement, when an occupying military starts making up their own it creates the tragic deaths and maimings of the innocent, in an Insurgent/Guerilla War the Support of the Populace is the only reason it can continue, the more tragic events to the innocent the more Support to their fellow citizens trying to rid their country of the invaders and occupiers!

Visit War Comes Home to listen to these testimonies, and find much more.

After the first Winter Soldier Testimony of 1971 those who gave testimony were condemned as were those who organized it and especially the spokesperson for VVAW and the 'Winter Soldiers', and still are today.

Those who were actually Veterans and Veterans of Vietnam knew full well what happened during that Conflict. The DoD and Administration, of that time, choose not to investigate fully the testimonies, nor did anyone who were with those soldiers come forward to dispute their testimonies. Yet there are some who would rather Re-Write the History than Admit that Vietnam was an Atrocity of major proportions and an ugly destructive stain on our History, that still exists in this Nation.

The Country, as one, stated we would learn the lessons of and not Repeat, We Are Now Repeating and this 'War On Terrorism', going through Afganistan and especially Iraq, are going to be much worse than Vietnam, for the Hatreds we made will Haught this Nation for Decades!

As Was Just Spoken, "The Problem Is The Occupation!!!"

Wars of Choice are an Atrocity

**********

Catherine Fenton: Winter Soldiers

On August 25, 2004, Carlos Arredondo's son, Alexander, would die there.

And so from the spectre of the summer soldier who shrinks from the hard truths and his country's crises, comes the Winter Soldier who will not look away.

**********

Winter Soldier Testimonials

A Land Called Paradise

Meeting Resistance

Finally after five long very destructive years Reality comes to Iraq, in the form of a Film!



To Late!!!!!

Upcoming Screenings

* Denotes directors Steve Connors & Molly Bingham will be in attendance for post-screening Q&A

Meeting Resistance Trailer

Lets Examine Some More of Our 'phoney' Soldiers

The 'rush' would have enjoyed this series from NPR's All Things Considered, Women in Combat, as would his minions. 'Phoney's' one and all! Their experiances, their treatment, their dedication, their service to country and fellow 'phoney' soldiers. If the 'rush' and his minions had listened that is.

You see the 'rush', as well as most who bow to his hypocrisy, being so articulate and knowledgable, with understanding and experiances beyond us all, Know War, Know Real Soliers, Know The Experiances In Theaters of Actions, hell he, they, know everything, just ask him, them, if you can get beyond his screeners when even bothering to take calls. He gives the talking points to the 'think tanks'{?} of those who refer to themselves as republican{?} and conservative{?}.

And as we all know most of those minions are big strong tough males, just like the 'rush'. Who, like the 'rush', don't bother with living the experiances before commenting on same, hell they don't read about nor watch, to much to fill their 'beautiful minds', they Just Know, and will band together to pass on All That Knowledge!

You see those who actually live the experinces can't have Minds to think for themselves, so the 'rush', and his minions, need to fill that 'void' and stop others from 'manipulating' those empty minds.


The series started on monday Oct 1st and covered differant reports by Michele Norris each day till friday the 5th.

You can read and listen to each report by visiting the differant pages of the All Things Considered NPR site.

The first report, Roles for Women in U.S. Army Expand, reports just as the subject title states, the roles of women in the military.

Since 2002, women have served nearly 170,000 tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pentagon rules dictate that women may not be assigned to ground combat units. That means they are not allowed to serve in the infantry or as special operations commandos.

But women are serving in support units as truck drivers, gunners, medics, military police, helicopter pilots and more.

On tuesday Michele brings to us The Experiances of Three Women, on the Ground, In Theater

Women serving in the U.S. military make up about 10 percent of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although they aren't assigned to ground combat units, they are experiencing combat nonetheless.

On wednesday she takes a look at Both sides of the issue of Women in the Military

The current Pentagon policy governing women in combat dates back to 1994. Then-Secretary of Defense Les Aspin wrote that "women shall be excluded from assignment to units below the brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground."

Thursday brings us a Report on Sexual Assaults on Women in the Military

Since 2002, the Miles Foundation — a private, nonprofit organization that tracks sexual assault within the armed forces — has received 976 reports of sexual assault in the Central Command Area of Responsibility, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan.

This page also gives us a related report by Gloria Hillard on The Deep Scars for Many Female Vets

Female soldiers have been returning from Iraq with not only combat-related trauma, but also with deep emotional wounds known as military sexual trauma. A 2003 survey of women using the Veterans Administration health care system reports that 28 percent experienced at least one sexual assault during military service. And that sexual trauma, combined with combat trauma, makes women far more vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder.

On friday, the last and final day of these reports, we are given a report by one female soldier On Her Injuries and Military Service

To date, more than 80 women have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, and hundreds have come home with combat injuries.

Her injuries, loss of both legs, and rape by rank.

"We were out there every day, patrolling, doing checkpoints, raiding villages, searching villages, searching females. That's what I was used for primarily," she says with a laugh. "We were out there doing everything."

Now if that isn't enough about our 'phony soldiers' you may want to visit This Report in todays LA Times

For 15 months, their platoon was sent where the violence was worst. Many lost friends or faith in their mission, but 'at least we made it alive,' said one soldier.

On the battalion's first run through the city, it was pounded at every turn with automatic-weapons fire, rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs. By the end of the day, one soldier was dead, 12 were wounded and two vehicles had been destroyed.

"That kind of overwhelming show, we had never seen before," Oliver said. "So we pulled back, took a deep breath and realized, yeah, this AO [area of operation] really is that bad."

By the time the Regulars left Iraq in September, 21 of their 300 or so soldiers had been killed. About 50 were so badly injured that they never returned to the fight.

Their 3,700-strong 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Ft. Lewis, Wash., lost 48 soldiers in all, and nearly 650 were injured.

With a reflection by one 'phoney soldier' on the realities of Guerilla Warfare:

"I had this romantic vision of going to war that just doesn't exist anymore, not in this kind of war," he said.

In the movies, he said, there was always a "band of brothers" going after the enemy with honor and glory. But in Iraq, it felt like the enemy was always one step ahead, melting away before a major assault, only to strike back with even greater fury.

Most of those 'enemies' are protecting their own in atttempting to rid their small country of univited invasion and occupation forces, of which the leaders of same want to control the lives and wealth of the occupied.

Just like the 'rush', and his minions, big brave and tough males, preach about being their right to own any and all types of weapons made, from single shot to fully automatic, not to hunt but to protect their own and their surroundings from all those evil forces ready to destroy them!

As the 'rush', and his minions, blather through the crack, which looks rather familiar to another bodily crack, on their faces!

The War as We Saw It

By BUDDHIKA JAYAMAHA, WESLEY D. SMITH, JEREMY ROEBUCK, OMAR MORA, EDWARD SANDMEIER, YANCE T. GRAY and JEREMY A. MURPHY
Published: August 19, 2007

LTE To New York Times

Baghdad

VIEWED from Iraq at the tail end of a 15-month deployment, the political debate in Washington is indeed surreal. Counterinsurgency is, by definition, a competition between insurgents and counterinsurgents for the control and support of a population. To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day. (Obviously, these are our personal views and should not be seen as official within our chain of command.)

The claim that we are increasingly in control of the battlefields in Iraq is an assessment arrived at through a flawed, American-centered framework. Yes, we are militarily superior, but our successes are offset by failures elsewhere. What soldiers call the battle space remains the same, with changes only at the margins. It is crowded with actors who do not fit neatly into boxes: Sunni extremists, Al Qaeda terrorists, Shiite militiamen, criminals and armed tribes. This situation is made more complex by the questionable loyalties and Janus-faced role of the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army, which have been trained and armed at United States taxpayers expense.

A few nights ago, for example, we witnessed the death of one American soldier and the critical wounding of two others when a lethal armor-piercing explosive was detonated between an Iraqi Army checkpoint and a police one. Local Iraqis readily testified to American investigators that Iraqi police and Army officers escorted the triggermen and helped plant the bomb. These civilians highlighted their own predicament: had they informed the Americans of the bomb before the incident, the Iraqi Army, the police or the local Shiite militia would have killed their families.
As many grunts will tell you, this is a near-routine event. Reports that a majority of Iraqi Army commanders are now reliable partners can be considered only misleading rhetoric. The truth is that battalion commanders, even if well meaning, have little to no influence over the thousands of obstinate men under them, in an incoherent chain of command, who are really loyal only to their militias.

Similarly, Sunnis, who have been underrepresented in the new Iraqi armed forces, now find themselves forming militias, sometimes with our tacit support. Sunnis recognize that the best guarantee they may have against Shiite militias and the Shiite-dominated government is to form their own armed bands. We arm them to aid in our fight against Al Qaeda.

However, while creating proxies is essential in winning a counterinsurgency, it requires that the proxies are loyal to the center that we claim to support. Armed Sunni tribes have indeed become effective surrogates, but the enduring question is where their loyalties would lie in our absence. The Iraqi government finds itself working at cross purposes with us on this issue because it is justifiably fearful that Sunni militias will turn on it should the Americans leave.

In short, we operate in a bewildering context of determined enemies and questionable allies, one where the balance of forces on the ground remains entirely unclear. (In the course of writing this article, this fact became all too clear: one of us, Staff Sergeant Murphy, an Army Ranger and reconnaissance team leader, was shot in the head during a time-sensitive target acquisition mission on Aug. 12; he is expected to survive and is being flown to a military hospital in the United States.) While we have the will and the resources to fight in this context, we are effectively hamstrung because realities on the ground require measures we will always refuse namely, the widespread use of lethal and brutal force.

Given the situation, it is important not to assess security from an American-centered perspective. The ability of, say, American observers to safely walk down the streets of formerly violent towns is not a resounding indicator of security. What matters is the experience of the local citizenry and the future of our counterinsurgency. When we take this view, we see that a vast majority of Iraqis feel increasingly insecure and view us as an occupation force that has failed to produce normalcy after four years and is increasingly unlikely to do so as we continue to arm each warring side.

Coupling our military strategy to an insistence that the Iraqis meet political benchmarks for reconciliation is also unhelpful. The morass in the government has fueled impatience and confusion while providing no semblance of security to average Iraqis. Leaders are far from arriving at a lasting political settlement. This should not be surprising, since a lasting political solution will not be possible while the military situation remains in constant flux.

The Iraqi government is run by the main coalition partners of the Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance, with Kurds as minority members. The Shiite clerical establishment formed the alliance to make sure its people did not succumb to the same mistake as in 1920: rebelling against the occupying Western force (then the British) and losing what they believed was their inherent right to rule Iraq as the majority. The qualified and reluctant welcome we received from the Shiites since the invasion has to be seen in that historical context. They saw in us something useful for the moment.

Now that moment is passing, as the Shiites have achieved what they believe is rightfully theirs. Their next task is to figure out how best to consolidate the gains, because reconciliation without consolidation risks losing it all. Washington's insistence that the Iraqis correct the three gravest mistakes we made de-Baathification, the dismantling of the Iraqi Army and the creation of a loose federalist system of government places us at cross purposes with the government we have committed to support.

Political reconciliation in Iraq will occur, but not at our insistence or in ways that meet our benchmarks. It will happen on Iraqi terms when the reality on the battlefield is congruent with that in the political sphere. There will be no magnanimous solutions that please every party the way we expect, and there will be winners and losers. The choice we have left is to decide which side we will take. Trying to please every party in the conflict as we do now will only ensure we are hated by all in the long run.

At the same time, the most important front in the counterinsurgency, improving basic social and economic conditions, is the one on which we have failed most miserably. Two million Iraqis are in refugee camps in bordering countries. Close to two million more are internally displaced and now fill many urban slums. Cities lack regular electricity, telephone services and sanitation. Lucky Iraqis live in gated communities barricaded with concrete blast walls that provide them with a sense of communal claustrophobia rather than any sense of security we would consider normal.
In a lawless environment where men with guns rule the streets, engaging in the banalities of life has become a death-defying act. Four years into our occupation, we have failed on every promise, while we have substituted Baath Party tyranny with a tyranny of Islamist, militia and criminal violence. When the primary preoccupation of average Iraqis is when and how they are likely to be killed, we can hardly feel smug as we hand out care packages. As an Iraqi man told us a few days ago with deep resignation, We need security, not free food.

In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are an army of occupation and force our withdrawal.

Until that happens, it would be prudent for us to increasingly let Iraqis take center stage in all matters, to come up with a nuanced policy in which we assist them from the margins but let them resolve their differences as they see fit. This suggestion is not meant to be defeatist, but rather to highlight our pursuit of incompatible policies to absurd ends without recognizing the incongruities.
We need not talk about our morale. As committed soldiers, we will see this mission through.

Buddhika Jayamaha is an Army specialist. Wesley D. Smith is a sergeant. Jeremy Roebuck is a sergeant. Omar Mora is a sergeant. Edward Sandmeier is a sergeant. Yance T. Gray is a staff sergeant. Jeremy A. Murphy is a staff sergeant.

Inside Iraq

"Inside Iraq"

Chronicles daily life in a war zone through the words of Iraqi journalists in McClatchy's Baghdad Bureau as they risk so much each day to survive. These are unedited first hand accounts of their experiences. Their complete names have been withheld for security reasons.

Drawn Into Jihad

Seventy Percent of Baghdad's Youth Are Not in School and Are Vulnerable, Officials Say

This was aired tonight on the ABC World News.

For all who are still young and have little ones nearby take a long hard look at them, than start thinking how you're going to explain the 'Why are we fighting these people?", when they are older and you're in that perverbial rocking chair. Because they are going to ask and you had better have a Damn Good Reason, because I'll be long gone, or to damn old, and I don't have one now nor will I than.

There isn't one!

One things for sure they probably won't ask "Why do they hate us so?" as the greater majority did here not long ago, they'll probably know at least a little bit of the past!

Iraqi Kids Drawn Into Jihad

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 24, 2007 — A video that Iraqis are trading via e-mail and cell phones shows young boys reenacting the hanging of Saddam Hussein, child's play in the Iraq.
In this country, where nearly 50 percent of the population is under 18, a new generation is being raised on violence.
"A lot of my friends have been killed by explosions," said Zeen who has endured eight operations on his legs after a being hit by a terrorist bomb.

WE ARE DOING THIS, WE HAVE GIVEN THEM THIS LIFE, WE HAVE SHOWN THEM WHAT DEATH DESTRUCTION AND HATRED LOOKS LIKE!

The Education Ministry states elementary school attendance rates dropped from 75 percent in 2005 to 30 percent last year.

So much for these new schools that really aren't anyway. And as each day goes by We create more of the Hatred to come!

Video: Children of War

"These aren't kids who are terrorists or extremists," he said. "These are kids who have nothing else to do. Because they can't get to school, there's no clubs for them to join, they're being brought into this community of jihad."
Powers now heads War Kids Relief , which offers youth programs in Iraq.

They won't be joining into the destructive forces because of a lack of things to do, it'll be because of the death and destruction we have wrought!
And keep in mind the trauma of the deaths and destruction they are witnessing bringing on the PTSD nightmares of their daily lives, and that many will turn those nightmares into a destructive force within!

Put the above together with this Life During Wartime: Young Iraqis Speak Out
Video: Being a Twentysomething in Iraq

Which apparently aired this morning will I was at work

You can also visit this post I placed a short while ago on a few of these sites:
The Next Jihadists: Iraq’s Lost Children

Or this one The Suffering Children of Iraq? Who cares? posted two days ago.

Or read this by Jan Berry, Vietnam Vet, Children of War

For Americans to break our addiction to war, it will take families working together to live year-round the peace and joy to the world that we sing in Christmas and New Year’s greetings.

One of the tragedies of the war in Iraq is that our soldiers, many of whom are sons and daughters of Vietnam veterans, marched off to a war that bore all the warning signs of the disaster in Vietnam. Like their parents, they eagerly went off to fight in a foreign land they knew nothing about, for a cause that collapsed in the light of the actual facts. What does it take to break such a cycle of excitement and disaster?

And again, take a good long hard look at the little ones in your life, or those you might see while out and about, and keep the thought in mind, "What have we done and what will they be living through because of our actions?"!!!

They won't be fighting them "Over There"!

"I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of
gratitude" - The pResident {Yep up to 655,000 are really Grateful, many in
their Mass Graves, as are their Survivors}


"I think once they get in harm's way, Congress's tradition is to
support those troops," Mr. Hadley said. {Harms Way, shows what the
administration thinks of the Troops, it's called a Strong Defense!}

The Failed Policies will Haunt Us and the World for Decades!

The Next Jihadists: Iraq’s Lost Children

Newsweek has another Powerful Report coming out in it's Jan 22nd Issue.
Many, well before this Debacle started, and in the lead up to and since, were warning about this scenario of the youth growing up under Occupation, Death, Destruction of their Country and their People and what it might bring in the future.
This is Much Worse than Vietnam, than they only wanted us Out Of Their Country, now National Security, not only here but Around The World, are The Aces In The Deck!!
And those Aces have already been dealt!

Not only the young of Iraq and possibly Afganistan, but the youth of that whole region, and the children they may have will share in the hatreds that have been wrought!

The 64 thousand dollar question is "For How Many Generations?"!

My belief now is that it has gone way to far and will be an extremely long time, if ever, when the realities and common sense can bring about change in peoples minds and hearts, especially in that region but also here!

The universal question in the U.S., after 9/11, was "Why Do They Hate Us So?". That question was easy to answer than, if one wasn't apathedic of world affairs, because of our failed foreign policies for decades in that region, and it's even easier to answer now, it's laid out before us! Not just in a War Waged for Absolutely NO REASON, but also in the rethoric of hate and childish hateful name calling spoken on our public airways and read on many of these online boards and in the main stream media as well! Not only as to those who are fighting our occupation and now their own sectarian griefs, but we lump a whole peoples, because of religious beliefs and regional ideologies into the same label 'Terrorists', which is a criminal act by the few, but growing number, and should be looked at as same, Criminal!

Iraq's Young Blood
There's also a photo gallery at the site with descriptions of each photo.

Newsweek

Jan. 22, 2007 issue - Ammar will tell you he's proud to be carrying a gun. His father was a brigadier in Saddam Hussein's Army, a man who saw combat in his country's several wars, and from an early age Ammar had accompanied him to the shooting range. "I got used to the sound of guns then," Ammar says. So he was ready, last fall, when the imam in his Baghdad neighborhood urged residents to take up arms against the invader—who in this case happened to be members of a Shiite militia trying to push into the predominantly Sunni area. Ammar joined the neighborhood watch, a ragtag bunch of men who stand guard nightly at improvised roadblocks and rooftop observation posts. In mid-October Ammar fought his first big battle against soldiers from the Mahdi Army—"the garbage collectors and robbers," as he contemptuously refers to the Shiite militia. He says he put his Kalashnikov assault rifle to good use: "I think I injured or even killed two of them. Our group killed more than six of them that night."

There is no need to brainwash a child into becoming, in that region, a Jihadist. they are there, it is their countries, it is their regions, they are living the hell 24/7, and many can't leave. They don't serve a tour of one year, they serve a tour of duration, if they survive!

Sectarian warfare is reshaping Iraq in all sorts of malevolent ways day in and day out. But it is also forging the future by poisoning the next generation of Iraqis. Like many of its neighbors, Iraq is a young country: nearly half the population is under the age of 18. And those children have had a particularly turbulent upbringing. Kids like Ammar were born in the aftermath of one debilitating war, against neighboring Iran, then suffered two others and years of impoverishing sanctions in between. They are especially vulnerable to the demons that now grip Iraq. Hassan Ali, a sociologist at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, estimates that at least 1 million Iraqi kids have seen their lives damaged by the war—they've lost parents and homes, watched as their communities have been torn apart by sectarian furies. "These children will come to believe in the principles of force and violence," says Ali. "There's no question that society as a whole is going to feel the effects in the future"—and not only Iraqi society. From the Middle East to Europe to America, violence may well beget violence around the world for years to come.

As generations grow farther away from old hatreds and failed policies they become very distant memories to each succesive generation, untill the fires are stoked, than those hatreds come roaring back and grip the newer generation into actions they never would have been involved in only a short time before. Than the Pandora's Box is completely broken, leaving nothing to encase those hatreds in, and they run rampant for long periods of time leaving death and destruction in their wake!

Blood and Memory: The Cycle Has Started
Iraq's vendettas could haunt the west for years.

Blood feuds flourish where family ties are strong and the rule of law is weak. Add the righteousness of competing faiths along with fierce memories of ancient wrongs and you have the makings of savage, seemingly endless conflicts from Northern Ireland to the Balkans, the lake regions of Africa to the arid Holy Land. And Iraq—well, Iraq is in a class by itself: a breeder reactor where explosive hatreds were both incited and contained by Saddam Hussein's brutality, only to become an uncontrolled chain reaction after the U.S.-led invasion liberated both the country and its vendettas. Arab culture cannot be solely blamed for the furies that have been unleashed in Iraq since 2003. But it guarantees they will not be soon, or easily, tamed.

We allowed the Flood gates to be open to these old hatreds and have made more growing hatreds the reality now. We invaded a country, once again for No Reason, we destroyed and killed and are still carrying out that death and destruction, we installed another puppet government, in a country we had already done the same before, we are picking sides in the sectarian violence that those who led the charge for this War had Absolutely No Understanding of before and still don't!

The tradition of "an eye for an eye" is so ancient and dangerously ingrained among the desert Arabs that 1,400 years ago the Qur'an called on good Muslims to forgo vengeance in order to expiate their sins. But the old codes of honor remained, and in the most troubled parts of Iraq today, increasingly, they prevail. When governments cannot or will not protect the people, then families, clans, tribes, gangs and militias will. (Indeed, among the Shiites of Karbala, gang rule has a history as old and complex as the mafia in Sicily.) As these groups gain strength, the central government and its modern institutions weaken further.

Blame for the Top Brass
And I would add to their title the Extreme Blame to the Civilian Leadership of This Country!

Given all the recriminations over the mess in Iraq, it is remarkable how little criticism has fallen on the U.S. military. Americans want to honor the sacrifice of the troops in the field and they may feel guilty about the cold reception given many veterans returning from the Vietnam War. But in the public blame game that's erupted on Capitol Hill and on the cable news talk shows, the armed services are largely given a free pass.
Some top soldiers, however, aren't so sure they should be let off the hook. Is there, NEWSWEEK asked retired Gen. William Nash, who commanded U.S. forces in Bosnia in the 1990s and remains plugged in, a sense within the Army of mistakes made in Iraq? "It's pervasive," he answered. Gen. Jack Keane, the Army vice chief of staff at the time of the Iraq invasion in March 2003, told NEWSWEEK: "Everyone recognizes that we made mistakes. The harder part is what to learn from them."

MISTAKES!!! The Mistake was going in in the first place The Mistake was not understanding that one does not Kill and Destroy others into their thoughts of 'Freedom' and their ideology of 'Democracy', especially as they redefine that 'Democracy' in their own land which is looking more and more like a redefined ideology of the old Fascisms that was thought to be beaten down!

A Defining Realignment

Ted Kennedy speaks with the voice of history. White-maned and nearing 75, the brother of two assassinated heroes and a veteran of 44 Senate years, he is—in defiance of the odds—again in his prime: a chairman in good health with a doting wife and a packed legislative agenda.
No one tells Ted Kennedy what to do; in any case, the Senate's Democratic leaders were fine with his plan to give a big speech two days before President George W. Bush announced a troop "surge" in Iraq. They are generally glad to let Kennedy play the role he relishes: Irish-American Isaiah, calling his party to account even as legislative insiders keep their distance.
This time party brass got more than they bargained for. Summoning the authority of his years as an intimate witness to history, Kennedy made an eloquent case for a Senate vote on the surge and for a court test of its legitimacy under the War Powers Resolution. "Iraq is George Bush's Vietnam!" he thundered. "Echoes of that disaster are all around us today!"
It was, in its own way, a defining moment. He got a standing ovation and, the next day, congratulations all around on the Hill. By the end of the week—in the aftermath of Bush's tepid speech and Condi Rice's evasive testimony—Kennedy looked prescient.

The voices of intelligent experiances and lessons learned, not just a Kennedy but millions strong, were completely shut off, called 'Focus Groups' by what has been shown over and over an extremely unintelligent group of power brokers and their minions!
I believe these minions would follow this group into another 'Jonestown' if called upon, that's how empty headed they frankly are, empty words, empty rethoric, consistantly wrong, and consistantly biggotted!

We Might 'Win', But Still Lose
Colonel Duke says the Mahdi Army is 'sitting on the 50-yard line, eating popcorn, watching us do their work for them.'
'Win', one does not win a Guerilla War, they may shutdown, for a short time, sectarian violence, but as has already been seen that violence will rear it's ugly head once again for the hatreds have been unleased and by us still being there and supporting our puppets those hatreds will remain!

Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's Rape Of Iraq - At Least 655,000 + +
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America's Rape Of Iraq 3,017 - plus
The Rape of Iraq Costs $357,490,957,418 and counting by the minute
See the cost in your community

The Failed Policies will Haunt Us and the World for Decades!

VFP ACTION E-Bulletin - 10 Jan 07

Veterans For Peace Launches Defend and Support the Constitution
(Stop The Madness of George Bush)
When: January 25th, 2007
Where: In the vicinity of or on the grounds of the National Capitol Building, Washington DC. (Exact time and place TBA)

On Thursday, January 25 Veterans For Peace will kickoff our Support and Defend the Constitution effort, to advocate for impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, force the President to follow the will of the people and Bring The Troops Home Now, stop illegal acts of the Bush administration such as unwarranted surveillance and torture and repeal laws that are in violation of the Constitution such as the Military Commissions Act. This VFP action will lead up to the January 27th Mobilization in Washington, DC to remind congress they were elected to end the war.
All veterans are welcomed to participate. The general public is welcomed and encouraged to attend.
The goals of the action are to:
To demand congress follow the will of the people, de-fund the war, use the money to Support Our Troops, Bring Them Home Now!
To restate our oath of service as veterans to support and defend the Constitution.
Remind Congress (House and Senate), that they took a similar oath, thus they have a responsibility to hold in check the powers of the Executive. Tell Congress they are a branch of our government, not an arm of the President.
To invite veterans across the nation to unite with us in our effort to defend and support the Constitution by advocating for the impeachment of President George Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney.
To highlight President Bush’s disregard for his oath of service and office, in contrast to VFP and other veterans continued commitment to Support and Defend the Constitution.
We ask Chapters and members to organize a similar event any date from January 25 to February 19th, President’s Day. We would like as many events as possible on Jan 25th.
Event components:
Reading of appropriate sections from Constitution.
Retaking oath to Support and Defend the Constitution
Review of Veterans For Peace charges for impeachment.
Try to follow up with a visit to your local Congressional Representative or Senators

There's abit more Information at Title link site above.


Appeal for Redress Takes Action
Soldiers deliver care packages to soldiers

Liam Madden is a Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corp. He is stationed at Quantico, Va and co-founded the Appeal for Redress. Madden, along with Navy Seaman Jonathon Hutto, formed the organization which is comprised of active duty personnel appealing to Congress to "support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq."
Just in time for the holidays, active duty personnel and their families handed out hundreds of care packages to military personnel. The packages consisted of baked goods, the movies "Sir! No Sir!" and "The Ground Truth", along with a pre-addressed envelope for the Appeal for Redress, and information about various groups like VFP.
To date, the Appeal for Redress has over 1,000 signatures. It plans to wrap up it's signature and appeal drive on Martin Luther King's Birthday, January 15, 2007. For more information, go to Appeal for Redress

United for Peace and Justice

March on Washington D.C.
Join Veterans For Peace and United For Peace and Justice in Washington D.C. January 27 for a massive rally and march. We will call on Congress to bring an immediate end to the war and BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!

Congress has the power to end this war through legislation. We call on people from every congressional district in the country to gather in Washington D.c. - to express support for those members of Congress who are prepared to take immediate action against the war; to pressure those who are hesitant to act; and to speak out against those who remain tied to a failed policy.

Stay tuned to VFP for some action ideas, tips for contacting congress, and more details regarding the march on Washington.

Fayetteville Peace March & Rally

Veterans For Peace will travel to Fayetteville, North Carolina to join the Fayetteville Peace March & Rally. The two day event includes a march and concert on Saturday and an activist conference on Sunday.

Rebuilding in the Gulf Coast

Although this plan is still in the works, VFP plans to return to the Gulf Coast to rebuild houses in anniversary of the beginning of the War in Iraq.

Occupation Project

Voices for Creative Nonviolence is organizing the Occupation Project, a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience aimed at ending the U.S. war in and occupation of Iraq. The campaign will begin the first week of February 2007 with occupations at the offices of Representatives and Senators who refuse to pledge to vote against additional war funding.
We invite your participation and your organization's endorsement. To become involved with this campaign, please contact us via phone at 773-878-3815 or via email, Occupation Project.
Read the campaign's foundational document: The Occupation Project: A Campaign of Sustained Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the Iraq War

Before You Enlist

OBJECTIVE: "Before You Enlist!" provides a rational voice to counter the seductive and often deceptive recruiting practices of the U.S. military. The message is not "don't enlist" but rather to provide young people and their families a more complete picture of the life-altering consequences of joining the military - especially in wartime. Release date: September 2006. Length: 14:30.
UPDATE: DVD copies are now available from the AFSC Store - $5 each (including shipping & handling!) or $30 for 10 copies. The program is also freely available for Internet viewing and download.
The video provides a brief introduction to the subject of military enlistment. For in-depth information, visit AFSC's Youth & Militarism site Youth4Peace.org.

The Meaning of Life

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:

Bryan Anderson

Soldier, 25, Rolling Meadows, Illinois

Brian Mockenhaupt
January 2007, Volume 147, Issue 1



This year's installment has got wisdom and damn good advice from Bryan Anderson, who lost two legs and one arm in Iraq.