VFP LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA -

"WE ARE ANGRY" ABOUT AFGHANISTAN! {PDF}

VETERANS FOR PEACE
NATIONAL OFFICE: 216 S. Meramec Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63105
PHONE: (314) 725-6005 FAX: (314) 725-7103 Email
Working Together For Peace and Justice since 1985

NATIONAL BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Mike Ferner
President
Leah Bolger
Vice-President
Kenneth Mayers
Treasurer
Gary May
Secretary
Elliott Adams
William Collins
Anita Foster
Nate Goldshlag
Sharon Kufeldt
Patrick McCann
Michael Uhl
Hart Viges
Rev. Pierre Williams
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Michael T.
McPhearson

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
May 12, 2009

Dear President Obama,

We write to you again, this time to say we are saddened to see that you now clearly believe
in the tired, inhumane and unworkable assumption that violence will somehow work; that
might makes right. But that is not the only thing we need to tell you.
We are not just saddened. We are angry. We are outraged by these actions, this practice of
“death from above” you are ordering, causing the killing and wounding of hundreds of
innocent people, as exemplified by the recent horrific attacks in Afghanistan.
When will it be enough, Mr. President? What is the number of dead and injured at which
you will say “this can’t go on;” the number at which you will decide it’s time to turn away
from violence and find another way? This really is the question upon which everything else
will turn – how many bodies are too many? You know it is impossible to kill our way to a
resolution, if for no other reason than every death and injury creates even more people
willing to fight and die to remove us from their land.
We’ve been through this before, Mr. President, and I don’t mean that in a rhetorical way.
We have indeed been through this all before – unlike most of the people in our country or in
your administration. We have seen and heard and smelled and felt what “death from above”
actually means, not in a briefing report but right there in our hands and before our eyes.
We’ve seen the look in the eyes of the people we occupied. We felt their anger and their
humiliation. We remember these things well, Mr. President, because they will not go away
no matter how many years pass.
Veterans For Peace will continue to speak out against such crimes. We will do so along
with the growing numbers of people who are telling you that by going down this road you
are making a tragic mistake. We no longer face the old question of “guns or butter?” Now
the question is: will we completely destroy our economy with all that means, or will we step
back from the brink and do what our humanity demands of us before the slide into moral
and economic ruin is irreversible?
At some point, Mr. President, you will decide to turn away from violence, to end these
occupations. As we wrote before, we stand ready to assist you in any effort to find another way.
Until then you will find us in the streets.

Most Sincerely,
Mike Ferner
National President
Veterans For Peace


cc: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House
Steny H. Hoyer, Majority Leader of the House
John Boehner, Republican Leader of the House
James E. Clyburn, House Majority Whip
Eric Cantor, Republican Whip
John B. Larson, Chairman of the Democratic Caucus
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., U.S. Vice President
Robert C. Byrd, Senate President Pro Tempore
Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the Senate
Richard Durbin, Assistant Majority Leader of the Senate
Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader of the Senate
Jon Kyl, Assistant Minority Leader of the Senate

Vets on McCain & Life On The Ledge

The following video ad was produced by veteran inlookout and linked, in the replys, in an initial writeup posted at Vet Voice after the Debate.


John McCain Loves Cutting Veterans Health Benefits



This is what is in the video description:

After watching McCain in the first presidential debate pander about how much he cared about veterans, I found his statements so disingenuous I decided to put together this video highlighting the hypocrisy of his words.

Those early thoughts on the Debate were given by veteran Brian McGough on the front page of Vet Voice McCain Overstretches his Support of Veterans and Troops

In tonight's debate John McCain said "I know the veterans, I know them well, and I know that they know that I'll take care of them, and I have been proud of their support and their recognition of my service to the veterans, and I love them, and I'll take care of them, and they know that I'll take care of them."

The following is a cut from an E-News Alert and placed in a post I put up early on September 6th which had this video ad:





And this list of Congressional Bills and information:

McCain Record Opposing Healthcare for Veterans

McCain Has Voted To Cut, Eliminate, or Gut Veterans Health Care Funding At Least 27 Times. [HR 4939, Vote #98, 4/26/06; SCR 83, Vote #70, 3/16/06; SCR 83, Vote #67, 3/16/06; SCR 83, Vote #63, 3/16/06; SCR 83, Vote #41, 3/14/06; HR 4297, Vote #15, 2/13/06; HR 4297, Vote #7, 2/2/06; S 2020, Vote #343, 11/17/05; HR 2863, Vote #251, 10/5/05; HR 2528, Vote #242, 9/22/05; HR 2361, Vote # 165, 6/29/05; HR 2361, Vote # 166, 6/29/05; HR 2361, Vote # 168, 6/29/05; HR 1268, Vote #90, 4/12/05; HR 1268, Vote #89, 4/12/05; SCR 95, Vote #40, 3/10/04; S 1689, Vote #379, 10/14/03; SCR 23, Vote #81, 3/25/03; S 2168, Vote #185, 7/7/98; S 936, Vote #168, 7/10/97; HR 3666, Vote #276, 9/5/96; HR 3666, Vote # 275, 9/5/96; HR 2099, Vote #466, 9/27/95; HR 4624, Vote #256, 8/4/94; HR 1335, Vote #97, 4/1/93; S 2884, Vote #226, 8/4/90; HR 2519, Vote #132, 7/17/91]

McCain Was One of 13 Senators To Vote Against Increase In Veterans’ Healthcare. In 2006, McCain was one of 13 senators to vote against an amendment to add $430 million for outpatient and inpatient health care and treatment for veterans. Amendment passed 84-13. [HR 4939, Vote #98, 4/26/06]

McCain Voted To Cut Funding For Veterans’ Healthcare. In 2006, McCain voted against an amendment to strike a provision in the 2007 Budget that will hold farm programs, veterans, Social Security, and Medicaid hostage to rising health care costs by creating automatic cuts once an arbitrary level of spending is reached in the Medicare program. The amendment failed 50-50. [SCR 83, Vote #70, 3/16/06]

McCain Voted Against Increasing Veterans’ Funding By $10 Billion. In 2006, McCain voted against an amendment to eliminate a tripling of fees for veterans in the TRICARE health care program by raising the discretionary spending limit by approximately $10 billion. The provisions would have been fully offset by eliminating certain corporate tax breaks. The amendment failed 46-53. [SCR 83, Vote #67, 3/16/06]

McCain Voted Against Veteran’s Healthcare Program. In 2006, McCain voted against an amendment to make veterans’ health benefits a mandatory program, spending $104 billion over five years. The funding would have been offset by closing corporate tax loopholes and rolling back the Bush tax cuts for millionaires. Amendment rejected 46-54. [SCR 83, Vote #63, 3/16/06]

McCain Voted Against A $1.5 Billion Increase In Healthcare For Veterans. In 2006, McCain voted against an amendment that increased the discretionary spending limit by $1.5 billion to $874.5 billion to provide an increase in funding for veterans’ medical services. It would be offset by ending certain corporate tax breaks. Amendment rejected 46-54. [SCR 83, Vote #41, 3/14/06]

McCain Failed To Vote To Support Healthcare For Veterans In Lieu of Tax Breaks For Millionaires. In 2006, McCain failed to vote on a motion to instruct conferees to insist that the tax reconciliation conference report includes funding to support health needs of veterans and military personnel in lieu of an extension of capital gains or dividends tax breaks for individuals with incomes of more than $1 million. Motion failed 40-53. [HR 4297, Vote #15, 2/13/06]

McCain Voted Against $19 billion For Military And Veterans’ Hospitals. In 2006, McCain voted against an amendment that provided $19 billion for military and veterans’ hospitals, offset by limiting the dividend and capital-gains tax rates to individuals earning less than $1 million. Amendment failed 44-53. [HR 4297, Vote #7, 2/2/06]

McCain Voted Against Mental Healthcare For Veterans. In 2005, McCain Voted against an amendment that provided an additional $500 million per year for the next five years for mental health services for veterans. The funding would be offset by deferring tax cuts for those making $1 million per year. Amendment rejected 43-55. [S 2020, Vote #343, 11/17/05]

McCain Voted Against Considering Inflation In Veterans Funding Formula. In 2005, McCain voted against an amendment that would establish a future funding formula for health care for former members of the Armed Forces takes into account changes in population and inflation. Amendment failed 48-51. [HR 2863, Vote #251, 10/5/05]

McCain Voted Against A $10 Million Increase In Readjustment Counseling for Veterans. In 2005, McCain voted against an amendment that would provide an additional $10 million for the Readjustment Counseling Service, offset with a $10 million reduction in the HealthVet account. The amendment failed 48-50. [HR 2528, Vote #242, 9/22/05]

McCain Failed To Vote For A $1.5 Billion Increase In Veterans’ Healthcare. In 2005, McCain failed to vote for an amendment that would add $1.5 billion of funding to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for medical services provided by the Veterans Health Administration. Amendment passed 96-0. [HR 2361, Vote # 165, 6/29/05; HR 2361, Vote # 166, 6/29/05; HR 2361, Vote # 168, 6/29/05]

McCain Voted Against $1.9 Billion In Emergency Funding For Veterans’ Hospitals. In 2005, McCain voted against an amendment that designated $1.9 billion in emergency funding for veterans’ hospitals. The $1.9 billion provided for the VA by the underlying amendment will help the VA to cover the costs of caring for these new veterans, and ensure that the VA is able to provide them with the care they deserve. The amendment failed 46-54. [HR 1268, Vote #90, 4/12/05]

McCain Voted Against A $2 Billion Increase In Veterans’ Funding. In 2005, McCain voted against an amendment that would increase funding for the Veterans Affairs Department by $1.98 billion and designate it as emergency spending. It would stipulate that $840 million be used for veterans’ regional health networks; $610 million be used to address the needs of service members deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan; and $525 million be used to provide mental health care and treatment. Amendment failed 46-54. [HR 1268, Vote #89, 4/12/05]

McCain Voted Against Creating A Reserve Fund For Veterans’ Health Care. In 2004, McCain voted against an amendment that would create a reserve fund to allow for an increase in veterans medical care by $1.8 billion, the amount determined by Veterans’ Affairs Committee to meet existing needs; and is fully offset by closing tax loopholes. Amendment rejected 46-51. [SCR 95, Vote #40, 3/10/04]

McCain Voted Against A $1.3 billion Increase In Veterans’ Health Benefits. In 2003, McCain voted to table an amendment that included a $1. Billion increase in funding for health benefits. The amendment would reduce the amount provided for Iraqi reconstruction by $5.03 billion, and redirect that funding for domestic programs, including $1.8 billion for veterans’ health benefits, $1 billion for school reconstruction, renovation and repair and class size reduction, and $1.5 billion for capital improvements for federal highways. It also would express the sense of the Senate that Congress should consider an additional $5.03 billion in funding for Iraqi reconstruction during the fiscal 2005 budget and appropriations process. The motion to table passed 59-35. [S 1689, Vote #379, 10/14/03]

McCain Voted Against Increasing Veterans’ Health Care Program. In 2003, McCain voted against an amendment that would increase spending on the TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to give members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts. Amendment rejected 46-51. [SCR 23, Vote #81, 3/25/03]

McCain Voted Against Increasing Veterans’ Health Administration By $1 Billion. In 1998, McCain voted against an amendment that would add $1 billion for Veterans’ Health Administration Medical Care. The funding would budget neutral and would come from the termination of the space station program. The amendment failed 33-66. [S 2168, Vote #185, 7/7/98]

McCain Voted Against $400 Million In Veterans’ Funding. In 1997, McCain voted to table an amendment that would permit $400 million in DOD funds to be transferred to Department of Veterans’ Affairs to provide health benefits under laws administered by Secretary. Motion to table agreed to 58-41. [S 936, Vote #168, 7/10/97]

McCain Voted Against Covering Spina Bifida For The Children of Veterans. In 1996, McCain voted against the germaneness of an amendment that would extend veterans health care and related benefits to the children of Vietnam Veterans suffering from spina bifida, a spinal cord birth defect that causes neurological damage. The amendment was judged germane 62-35. [HR 3666, Vote #276, 9/5/96]

McCain Voted Against Preventing Cuts In Veterans’ Healthcare Funding. In 1996, McCain voted to table an amendment that would prohibit the Department of Veterans’ Affairs from reducing funds to any state for health care facilities in fiscal 1997 below the fiscal 1996 funding level. Motion to table passed. [HR 3666, Vote # 275, 9/5/96]

McCain Voted Against Increasing Veterans’ Healthcare Funding By $511 Million. In 1995, McCain voted against an amendment which would increase the funding for veterans’ medical care by $511 million; and offsets the cost of this amendment by limiting any tax cut to families with incomes of less than $100,000. Amendment failed 51-49. [HR 2099, Vote #466, 9/27/95]

McCain Voted To Restrict Funding For Veterans’ Care Facilities. In 1994, McCain voted against tabling an amendment that the amendment would prohibit the construction of three inpatient facilities, located in Hawaii, California, and Tennessee. The projects in Hawaii and California will provide access to acute care for large numbers of veterans in the areas to be served, without which they would not have access to VA inpatient services. The project in Tennessee involves the correction of serious seismic deficiencies in the Memphis VA facility, which is located in a dangerous earthquake area. Motion to table passed 62-36. [HR 4624, Vote #256, 8/4/94]

McCain Voted To Cut $25 Million From Veterans’ Health Programs. In 1993, McCain not to table an amendment that transferred $25 million of veterans’ health funding to programs for the Veterans Department to occupation conversion and employment training programs for veterans. Motion to table passed 57-43. [HR 1335, Vote #97, 4/1/93]

McCain Voted Against Increasing Veterans’ Healthcare & Research Funding By $431 Million. In 1991, McCain voted against an amendment to increase veterans’ program funding by $378 million for medical care and $53 million for medical and prosthetic research. Amendment failed 35-64. [HR 2519, Vote #132, 7/17/91]

McCain Voted Against $200 Million For Veterans’ Healthcare. In 1990, McCain voted to table an amendment that transferred $200 million to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs medical account. The money would be transferred from the Strategic Defense Initiative. Motion to table passed 54-43. [S 2884, Vote #226, 8/4/90]

McCain Record Opposing Funding for Veterans’ Programs

McCain Voted To Gut, Eliminate, or Cut Funding for Veterans Programs At Least 18 Times. [SCR 21, Vote #114, 3/23/07][SCR 18, Vote #55, 3/16/05][HR 2673, Vote #3, 1/22/04][SCR 23, Vote #74, 3/21/03][S 2400, Vote #136, 6/23/04][HR 2861, Vote #449, 11/12/03][SCR 23, Vote #83, 3/25/03][HR 2620, Vote $334, 11/8/01][HR 2620, Vote #269, 8/2/01][HR 4635, Vote #272, 10/12/00][HR 2684, Vote #328, 10/15/99][SCR 57, Vote #115, 5/16/96][HR 2099, Vote #470, 9/27/95][HR 2099, Vote #465, 9/27/95][SCR 13, Vote #226, 5/25/95] [S 1, Vote #76, 2/22/95][S 869, Vote #259, 11/20/91][HR 4624, Vote #306, 9/27/94]

McCain Voted Against A $3.5 Billion Funding Increase For Veterans’ Healthcare. In 2007, McCain voted against the 2008 Budget Resolution that included at $3.5 billion increase in funding for veterans’ healthcare programs. The bill passed 52-47. [SCR 21, Vote #114, 3/23/07]

McCain Voted Against Increasing FY 2006 Veterans’ Health Care Funding By $2.8 Billion. In 2005, McCain voted against an amendment that would increase funding for veterans health care by $2.8 billion for fiscal 2006 and reduce the deficit by $2.8 billion. Amendment rejected 47-53. [SCR 18, Vote #55, 3/16/05]

McCain Voted Against $62 Billion In Funding For Veterans Affairs. In 2004, McCain voted against an appropriations bill that would provide $62 billion for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The bill passed 65-28. [HR 2673, Vote #3, 1/22/04]

Two Days After Iraq Invasion, McCain Voted Against A $1 Billion Increase In Veterans’ Programs. Two days after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, McCain voted against an amendment that would increase spending on veterans’ programs by approximately $1 billion and put the same amount toward deficit reduction. The amount would be offset by a decrease in tax cuts. The amendment failed 49-51. [SCR 23, Vote #74, 3/21/03]

McCain Voted Against Modernizing Retirement Packages For National Guardsmen And Army Reservists. In 2004, McCain voted against an amendment that would reduce from 60 to 55 the age at which certain members of the National Guard and Army Reserves could receive retirement benefits. Motion rejected 49-49. [S 2400, Vote #136, 6/23/04]

McCain Voted Against $122.7 Billion For Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 2003, McCain voted against an appropriations bill that included 122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. The motion failed 44-49. [HR 2861, Vote #449, 11/12/03]

McCain Voted Against A $13 Billion Funding Increase For Veterans’ Programs. In 2003, McCain voted against an amendment that would provide an additional $13 billion for veterans’ programs. The substitute amendment would reduce all tax cuts in the resolution by $1.24 trillion, fund President Bush’s proposed $75 billion war supplemental bill, and increase homeland security spending by $80 billion, spending for a Medicare prescription drug benefit by $194 billion, spending on veterans’ programs by $13 billion and spending on transportation and infrastructure by $71 billion. The amendment failed 43-56. [SCR 23, Vote #83, 3/25/03]

McCain Voted Against $51 Billion In Veterans’ Funding. In 2001, McCain was one of seven senators to vote against the adoption of the conference report to provide 51.1 billion for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs; $30.1 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development; $7.9 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency; $3.1 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and $14.8 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The conference report was approved 87-7. [HR 2620, Vote $334, 11/8/01]

McCain Voted Against $51 Billion For The Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 2001, McCain was one of five senators to vote against approval of a bill including $51.1 billion for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs; $31.0 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development; $7.8 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency; $14.6 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and $3.2 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The bill passed 94-5. [HR 2620, Vote #269, 8/2/01]

McCain Failed To Vote For $47 Billion In Veterans’ Funding. In 2000, McCain failed to vote for a bill that would appropriate $47 billion to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs as well as $23.6 billion for the Energy Department and Army Corps of Engineers, and other independent agencies. The bill passed 85-8. [HR 4635, Vote #278, 10/19/00]

McCain Voted Against $47 Billion In Funding For Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 2000, McCain was one of eight senators to vote against an appropriating bill that provided $47 billion for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. It included $453 million for new rental assistance vouchers and language that incorporates a slightly amended version of the fiscal 2001 energy and water appropriations bill. The bill passed 87-8. [HR 4635, Vote #272, 10/12/00]

McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion For Veterans’ Programs. In 1999, McCain was one of five senators to vote against an appropriations bill that provided $44.3 billion for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, $26.0 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, $7.6 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, $3.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and $13.7 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The bill passed 93-5. [HR 2684, Vote #328, 10/15/99]

McCain Voted Against A $13 Billion Increase In Funding For Veterans’ Programs. In 1996, McCain voted against an amendment to increase veterans’ spending by $13 billion in fiscal 1997-2002 to be offset by closing corporate tax preferences and reinstating expired taxes. Amendment Rejected 45-53. [SCR 57, Vote #115, 5/16/96]

McCain Voted To Underfund Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 1995, McCain voted for an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs & Housing and Urban Development by $8.9 Billion. The bill passed 55-45. [HR 2099, Vote #470, 9/27/95]

McCain Voted To Withhold Benefits From Mentally Disabled Veterans. In 1995, McCain voted against an amendment striking the provision that withholds benefits to mentally incompetent veteran who does not have spouse, children, or dependent parents, and has estate valued in excess of $25,000. Amendment failed 47-53. [HR 2099, Vote #465, 9/27/95]

McCain Voted Against Closing Tax Loopholes To Increase Veterans’ Funding By $74 Million. In 1995, McCain voted against an amendment eliminating tax breaks and closing tax loopholes in order to provide revenue to restore some of the proposed cuts in Veterans’ Affairs spending. Amendment failed 45-55. [SCR 13, Vote #226, 5/25/95]

McCain Voted Against Protecting Veterans’ Benefits From Budget Cuts. In 1995, McCain voted to table an amendment to exempt current veterans’ benefits from cuts required by the balanced-budget amendment. Motion to table passed 62-33. [S 1, Vote #76, 2/22/95]

McCain Voted Against Funding The Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 1994, McCain was one of nine senators to vote against appropriating $90,118,186,061 in budget authority for the Veterans’ Affairs and the Housing and Urban Development departments. The bill passed 90-9. [HR 4624, Vote #306, 9/27/94]

McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost of Living Adjustments To Veterans. In 1991, McCain voted against an amendment to provide automatic annual cost of living adjustments (COLA) for certain veterans’ benefits. Amendment failed 24-71. [S 869, Vote #259, 11/20/91]

McCain Has Failed To Support Expanded Benefits For GIs

McCain Has Refused to Endorse Webb’s GI Education Bill. According to the Politico, “Yet the former Navy pilot and Vietnam POW makes himself a target by refusing to endorse Webb’s new GI education bill and instead signing on to a Republican alternative that focuses more on career soldiers than on the great majority who leave after their first four years.” [Politico, 4/30/08]

Webb’s GI Bill The Top Legislative Priority For Veterans Groups. According to The Hill, “Webb’s bill is the top legislative priority for several veterans’ groups, including the nonpartisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). Its projected cost to the federal treasury is about $4 billion per year.Webb has argued his bill is necessary because the current GI bill cannot pay for today’s cost of higher education. [The Hill, 4/22/08]

Current GI Benefit Woefully Inadequate to Meet Educational Needs of GI’s. “The most a veteran can receive now is approximately $9,600 per year for four years. Those who served combat tours with the National Guard or Reserves are eligible for even less — typically just $440 per month, or $5,280 a year. By contrast, the College Board reports that the average four-year public college costs more than $65,000, or about $16,250 a year, for an in-state student. A private university costs on average about $133,000 for four years.” [The Hill, 4/22/08]

McCain Missed Vote Passing Webb’s GI Bill. The Iowa Independent reported that Webb’s version of the GI Bill passed 75-22. Despite his “concerns that Webb’s bill would persuade service members to leave the military early and pursue higher education,” McCain “was AWOL on the day of the vote, reportedly raising money in California for his presidential bid.” [Iowa Independent, 6/20/08]

RHETORIC: McCain Favored Troop Retention Over Benefits For Veterans. In response to the CBO analysis of S. 22, Senators Graham and McCain released a joint statement in which McCain commented: “Congress must enact legislation that will increase education benefits, aid in recruitment and, importantly, encourage continued service in the military… As our armed forces fight a war on two fronts, we must do everything we can to maintain and encourage reenlistment…Unfortunately, S. 22 could greatly harm retention rates in our All Volunteer Force.” [McCain Press Release, via States News Service, 6/17/08]

McCain Against GI Bill Based On Fears Of Retention Loss. CNN reported: “McCain has defended his opposition to the bill that would expand education benefits for veterans, saying it would hurt the military that he hopes to lead… McCain, a former Navy officer and prisoner of war during Vietnam, says the bill would hurt military retention by 16 percent and be a disincentive for service members to become noncommissioned officers, which he called ‘the backbone of all the services.’" [CNN, 6/10/08]

REALITY: CBO Found That Benefits Would Increase Recruiting 16 Percent. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that “while the better benefits [of the GI Bill] might lure 16 percent of experienced soldiers out of the service…it would be so attractive to civilians that it would increase recruiting by 16 percent” completely offsetting the loss in retention. [U.S. News & World Report, 6/23/08]

The above was part of a *** Media Advisory for Saturday, September 6th @ 11AM EDT at Walter Reed Army Medical Center *** Press conferance by OIF and OEF Veterans and was brought by Americans United for Change

An UpDate on a recent Action calling for Accountability, 24 hours on a Ledge:


Life On The Ledge:


Veterans for Peace Surge on the National Archives






(swiped those words from VFP friend-Will Covert) A first person account from one of the Veteran National Archive Occupiers, AFTER a good night's sleep!


Given by:

Ellen Barfield served in the Army from 1977 to 1981, in West Germany, TX, South Korea, and KS. She lives in Baltimore, MD, and works as a full-time peace and justice activist on several national and local organizational boards including Veterans for Peace.

Who participated with Brother and Sister Veterans and Veterans For Peace members:

Others who participated in the "Ledge-In" were Elliott Adams, 61, NY, Veterans For Peace President and former Army paratrooper in Viet Nam; Kim Carlyle, 61, NC, mountain homesteader, former Army Spec 5,; Diane Wilson: 59, TX, shrimp boat captain, former Army medic; Doug Zachary: 58, TX, Veterans For Peace staff, former USMC LCpl discharged as a conscientious objector; and Tarak Kauff (ground support) 67, NY, painting contractor, former U.S. Army Airborne.

Take a visit over and read Ellens' first hand description.


I have a post up over at my site, and was posted on a few other site boards, that has more on the 'surge' to the National Archive Building as well as some added information about Iraq. It also has this video of:


Ret. Col. Ann Wright



With her thoughts on the Archive 'surge'!!

Veterans Occupy National Archives Building and Much More

"Arresting Bush and Cheney for war crimes will honor our oath to the Constitution," vets say.





9-23-2008


11 AM Yesterday, A Snippet:

Adams said they have been receiving a lot of waves of approval from passersby. Will continue to update.

2:20 PM Yesterday, A Snippet:

Kauff reports that the City Police have been handling the situation very well. Would like them to come down, but are respecting their First Amendment Rights. One officer told them they could "stay up there all month if they wanted." The National Archives security are not as supportive as they see it as a security breach, but are not currently taking action.

5:30 PM Yesterday, A Snippet:

Eight hours into their occupation of the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., Veterans For Peace members report they have called all 40 members of the House Committee on the Judiciary, urging them to actively support impeachment hearings.

9:15 PM Last Night, A Snippet:

Regarding exchanges with authorities Elliott reports, "We’ve had a few more proposals of the ‘great deal’ we could get if we’d just get off the damn ledge. We respectfully declined."

Plans for the night? "We’re on the ledge trying to settle down. We’ve got lights on the banner. We’ve setup five two-hour watches so we’ll have somebody on watch all night, we brought up sleeping pads and space blankets." Elliott reported a steady stroll of curious onlookers and folks on the ground handing out flyers.

He continued, "The Archive guards have mounted a watch on us to make sure we don’t do…whatever...but, the other police forces have shown up periodically. It was pretty funny, for a long time they were trying to figure out who had jurisdiction.

Ret. Col. Ann Wright



More updates will probably be posted at this site page, coming in to today.


You Can Digg The Above Here


We are having the first of the Presidential Debates this week, on friday night, it will take place at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, known colloquially as Ole Miss. NPR has a very good writeup as a leadin: Site Of Presidential Debate Has Come Far From Past for this historic event in more ways than one.


What does this have to do with the purpose of this post and my Brother/Sister Veterans now occupying a ledge outside of the National Archives Building?


Well this first, even with all the news riveting on the financial collapse, will focus on Foreign Policy and National Security of this country. A foreign policy followed these last eight years that has greatly damaged our countries standing and leadership, as a democracy of peace, freedom, tolerance and diplomacy, even amoung those who consider themselves our allies. A foreign policy that has placed this country and it citizens in grave danger as to national security for decades to come, not only us but any who align with us!


There will probably be a number of questions on the policies followed in this so called War on Terror especially as to the two theaters it is being fought in. Some of those questions I'm sure will cover the false propaganda being fed on how the policy of Counter Insurgency 'the surge' in Iraq has worked so well, It Hasn't! The goals of the 'surge' have not been met, just ask the people of Iraq:


Introducing Iraqi Refugee Stories:


Voices Missing From Media Describe Life in Exile


Watch "Hiba's Story," one in a powerful new series of video accounts by Iraqis who have had to flee their home.

Beyond the violence and instability of Iraq is the largely untold story of Iraqi displacement and exile and its enormous human consequences. A new website, Iraqi Refugee Stories, is now giving voice to the growing crisis and providing concerned individuals viable avenues to take action.

"The silent story of Iraq has been that of the millions who've been displaced within their country or who have fled to neighboring countries and are now living in limbo. In countries like Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, Iraqi refugees can't work legally and are often hiding at home for fear of deportation because they're unable to renew their visas," said Jennifer Utz, a video journalist, founder and creator of Iraqi Refugee Stories. "The media coverage of the issue has largely focused on the plight of military interpreters, while countless other vulnerable individuals have virtually gone unnoticed, such as single mothers, members of minority religions, the elderly and those in need of serious medical assistance."

In this video clip, a young woman named Hiba, whose family fled Iraq in 2003 only to be denied entrance to Jordan, describes the four years they spent living in a tent in Ruwayshed, a refugee camp on the border, saying that she often thinks about her classmates and wonders whether they lived or died.

To learn more, visit Iraqi Refugee Stories.

Or how about one of the main reasons the violence has dropped, even though Iraqi's and Soldiers are still being killed and maimed:


After Siege, Wall Sadr City’s New Oppression - 09.22.2008

Iraq, Baghdad/Sadr City – After the failure of many security plans proposed by the Iraqi government and US military strategists, a recent plan, hand-in-hand with the so-called “Surge,” was designed. It was a desperate attempt by the US and Iraqi military forces to control the Sunni-Shia militia. At the suggestion of military leaders, the Iraqi and US governments decided to build walls to separate neighborhoods and to control militias and insurgents from entering or exiting any neighborhood without passing a checkpoint. The first wall was built in Adhamiya, in April 2007. Despite protests and opposition, United States military and Iraqi National Guard forces began to erect a wall surrounding the neighborhood of Adhamiya. The people living in the neighborhood engaged in several demonstrations against building the wall, and even Prime Minister Maliki, a Shi’a critical of the neighborhood, publicly protested the plan. Despite his intervention and public discontent, the wall was built and finished by late April 2007.

These walls tend to be approximately 3 meters in height and made from concrete. In some areas the top of the wall is covered with concertina wire to prevent intruders from climbing over the wall. There are patrols set to guard the wall and they are present around the wall daily, and at all hours, to protract the wall from being attacked or bombed by insurgents.

Another wall built at end of April 2007, but this time in Ameriya, this wall is approximately 10 kilometers in length and again 3 meters high. In September 2007 yet another wall was built in the Saidiya neighborhood. The wall surrounding that district was 23 kilometers, and by the end of 2007 there were over 50 different walls built around different neighborhoods across Baghdad.

In May 2008 a wall was built in Sadr City after battles between the US military and the Mahdi Army. There are approximately two million citizens living inside the area now known as Sadr City, probably the largest single group impacted by one of Baghdad’s walls. Previously they could come and go via nine major entrances. Many shops were force to close because of the wall, the shop owners found they could not complete there work anymore due to the wall sitting just in front of their shops.

Would you want to live like this, Would you develop growing Hatred for being forced to live like this in your destroyed country, Would you search for retribution for the loved ones, friends, and killed and maimed, and your country destroyed, in an occupation by an outside military force, What Would You Do??


And what happens in Wars of Occupation and Wars of Choice, the Soldiers know:


Winter Soldier: OIF and OEF Soldiers the Book


Back in March of this year History repeated itself. A history many of us Vietnam Veterans felt would never be repeated for we swore we wouldn't allow the country we served to ever allow itself to be led into another debacle of human destruction, a War Of Choice, an Occupation Of Innocent Others!! The country, back than, even seemed to grasp the huge mistake we had made in the policies set forth by those we elect to lead, they themselves said "We will learn from the mistakes made!", we didn't, and others don't neither!


Book Exposes Iraq Occupation Through US Soldiers' Eyes

Aside from the Iraqi people, nobody knows what the U.S. military is doing in Iraq better than the soldiers themselves. A new book gives readers vivid and detailed accounts of the devastation the U.S. occupation has brought to Iraq, in the soldiers' own words.

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations, published by Haymarket Books Tuesday, is a gut-wrenching, historic chronicle of what the U.S. military has done to Iraq, as well as its own soldiers.

Authored by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and journalist Aaron Glantz, the book is a reader for hearings that took place in Silver Spring, Maryland between Mar. 13-16, 2008 at the National Labour College.

"I remember one woman walking by," said Jason Washburn, a corporal in the U.S. Marines who served three tours in Iraq. "She was carrying a huge bag, and she looked like she was heading toward us, so we lit her up with the Mark 19, which is an automatic grenade launcher, and when the dust settled, we realized that the bag was full of groceries. She had been trying to bring us food and we blew her to pieces."

Glantz admits that it would be difficult for the average U.S. citizen to read the book, and believes it is important to keep in mind while doing so what it took for the veterans to give this historic testimony.

"They could have been heroes, but what they are doing here is even more heroic -- which is telling the truth," Glantz told IPS. "They didn't have to come forward. They chose to come forward."

Visit Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan where you find links to the following:


* Watch testimony video
* Listen to audio archives at warcomeshome.org (a project of KPFA)
* High-quality video of Winter Soldier is available - click here for more information.
* Winter Soldier media coverage and press information
* Winter Soldier Liveblog
* Winter Soldier on the Hill (May 15th) on CSPAN
* Winter Soldier on the Hill (May 15th) audio from KPFA
* Winter Soldier on the Hill PBS NewsHour coverage
* More info on Winter Soldier on the Hill


The PBS NewsHour covers Winter Soldier on the Hill, where IVAW members testified before Congress on the Rules of Engagement.



UpDate on Archive Occupation


Veterans For Peace END ARCHIVES OCCUPATION ON HIGH NOTE


"We may be back again soon," Vets add.

Washington -- Five military veterans, all members of Veterans For Peace, are breaking camp from their perch on the National Archives building this morning, taking with them their 22x8-ft. banner demanding “DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION. ARREST BUSH AND CHENEY: WAR CRIMINALS!” that has overlooked their 24-hour action on a narrow ledge 35 feet above Constitution Ave.

Tarak Kauff, 67, former Army Airborne, who provided ground support throughout, said in a phone interview, "We're always told to 'write your Congressman,' and we have. Only this time we brought a letter they couldn't miss. We've made our point writ large that Bush and Cheney are war criminals and must be arrested and prosecuted. Impeach them if we can, but we're not holding our breath for Congress to act. The kingpins of this criminal administration will be brought to justice, along with many of their lieutenants."

Elliott Adams, VFP president, by phone from his spot on the ledge overlooking the entrance to the Archives Building, said "This turned out excellent. We're very happy with the response we've gotten to arrest Bush and Cheney for war crimes. We considered staying longer this time but we are not prepared for longer than this...although we may be back again, soon."

VFP members participating in the Archives action are: Elliott Adams: 61, NY, VFP President and former Army paratrooper in Viet Nam; Ellen Barfield: 52, MD, former U.S. Army Sgt., full-time peace and justice advocate; Kim Carlyle: 61, NC, mountain homesteader, former Army Spec 5; Diane Wilson: 59, TX, shrimp boat captain, former Army medic; Doug Zachary: 58, TX, VFP staff, former USMC LCpl discharged as a conscientious objector; and Tarak Kauff (ground support) 67, NY, painting contractor, former U.S. Army Airborne.

FIVE VFP MEMBERS OCCUPY NATIONAL ARCHIVES BUILDING

On Tuesday morning, September 23, 7:30am, at the front of the National Archives Building on Constitution Ave. in Washington, D.C., five military veterans will risk arrest as they climb a 9-foot retaining fence and occupy a 35-foot high ledge to raise a 22x8 foot banner stating, "DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION. ARREST BUSH AND CHENEY: WAR CRIMINALS!"



Those participating are Veterans For Peace Board President Elliott Adams, Board Member Ellen Barfield, staff member Doug Zachary, Kim Carlyle, Diane Wilson, and Tarak Kauff.

CITIZEN’S IMPEACHMENT:

The Veterans for Peace has two missions. One is Peace and the other is working for Justice. If we don't have Justice; Peace may never have a chance. Therefore, the Veterans for Peace is working to impeach George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney. We hope to impeach them for sake of Peace. I hope you will work with us for all our sake. Welcome to the VFP Impeachment Project. Now, Gung ho - pull together.

Semper pacificus,
Daniel I. Fearn,
Co-chair, VFP Impeachment Project
CITIZEN'S IMPEACHMENT

Veterans For Peace encourages it's members to take part in After Downing Street.org impeachment campaign.

Declaration of Impeachment

Issued by Veterans for Peace for July 4

Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are instituted to secure the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But

“…whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

…all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations…design(s) to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

…The history of the present King (George) of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny…To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
§ He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
§ He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
§ He has…deprive(ed) us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury…transport(ed) us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
§ He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us…
§ He is at this time transporting large Armies…to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
§ He has constrained our fellow Citizens…to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

A (President) whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
We, therefore…do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People…solemnly publish and declare, That these…Free and Independent (People)…are Absolved from all Allegiance to the (Bush Administration), and that all political connection between them and (this Administration), is and ought to be totally dissolved…And for the support of this Declaration…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

(Note: Except for the first two lines above and words in parentheses, this Declaration is quoted directly from the original Declaration of Independence.) Veterans For Peace

If we don't hold Accountability we loose the Constitution, the Nation as it should be, and All Moral Values of a Society!

Conyers - Now Is the Time to Impeach - VFP

Veterans For Peace Requests Meeting with Representative John Conyers About Impeachment

A national veterans’ organization today sent a letter to Representative John Conyers, head of the House Judiciary Committee, requesting a meeting with him to deliver over 10,000 signatures on a petition to impeach George W. Bush. Impeachment hearings would have to be convened by the Michigan Democrat.

The president of Veterans For Peace, Elliott Adams, wrote Conyers requesting a meeting in early June to deliver their petitions. In it, he pointed out that by invading and occupying Iraq, the Bush administration has violated the U.S. Constitution, domestic laws and international treaties.

Adams’ letter said, “Having taken an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic, our members take…the obligation to impeach George W. Bush most seriously...we must hold this administration accountable for waging a war of aggression against Iraq.”

The former paratrooper and Viet Nam combat vet reminded the 21-term Representative from Detroit that, “You have taken the same oath, Congressman Conyers, and we expect you will hold it just as sacred as we do and begin impeachment hearings at the soonest possible moment.”

Read More

Radio Listening for Active Duty and Vets

On Saturdays, I'm listening now and have listened in for awhile.

The show runs for an hour and is hosted by three of members of the VFP Chapter out of Phoenix AZ on 1480 KPHX, the Phoenix Progressive radio station, that can be streamed via the net, if not near the Phoenix area.

They have been running this program for awhile and carry some Great Interesting Topics with some Great Special Guests and Call-In's.

One thing you have to keep in mind is that the Phoenix area doesn't do day light savings, so when the clock changes the times for the show switch, like from 5pm to now 6pm.

The show starts at 3pm, on Saturdays, Phoenix time, right now is 6pm ET, before the 'spring ahead' the show was on at 5pm ET.

It's called About Face and the hosts are Vietnam Vets. They'll referance Vietnam but the show discusses the more recent history of this Country and it's Military.

Here's the information from the 1480 KPHX 'About Face' page

Host : Dennis Stout, Mark Fleming and John Henry
Call In : 602-258-8800 or 800-989-1480
Web Site : Veterans For Peace Phoenix Chapter 75, 15825 S 28th Place, Phoenix
E-Mail : ekjh7470@cox.net

“About Face” is a program brought to you by the Phoenix Chapter of Veterans For Peace. Veterans For Peace is a national organization that draws on the personal experiences of veterans to raise awareness of the true costs and consequences of militarism and war and to seek peaceful, effective alternatives. There are over 135 {Now well over 150} active chapters across this country and is spreading. They have helped Cindy Sheehan in her work to bring awareness of the human cost of war. They were one of the first groups to arrive in New Orleans and begin working to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and they established and set up “Arlington West” sites in beach areas across California and other locations in the United States to bring awareness of the cost of war.

Here are some of the subjects of past shows:

*HOMELESS VETERANS
*PUNISHING DISABLED VETERANS
*PTSD: THE REALITY VS THE RHETORIC
*DEPLETED URANIUM: DIRTY BOMBS, DIRTY MISSILES, DIRTY BULLETS
*COUNTER RECRUITING BASICS
*WOMEN IN THE MILITARY
*MILITARY FAMILIES
*ETHICS OF WAR
*MILITARY WAR CRIMES

For those not familiar with Veterans For Peace, the Statement Of Purpose

Veterans For Peace, Inc. (VFP) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolishment of war.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others
(a) Toward increasing public awareness of the costs of war.
(b) To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
(c) To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
(d) To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
(e) To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.
To achieve these goals, members of Veterans For Peace pledge to use non-violent means and to maintain an organization that is both democratic and open with the understanding that all members are trusted to act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world peace.
We urge all people who share this vision to join us.
Our membership is comprised of veterans from all wars spanning from The Spanish Civil War to the Gulf War, and the Iraq War. These members are distributed amongst 135 nationwide chapters, and dozens of international affiliations.
Our international activities include working with our affiliations in El Salvador, Russia, Canada, Japan, Guatemala, Viet Nam, the Netherlands, Chiapas (Mexico), France, England, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vieques (Puerto Rico), and numerous others. A member of the Nobel-Peace Prize winning Coalition to Ban the Sale and Use of Landmines, VFP has been undertaking arduous tasks since its inception. From bringing medical aid to Central American nations, to evacuating wounded children from war-torn Bosnian hospitals and securing medical treatment elsewhere around the globe, or just sitting down with American high school kids so that they may make choices for themselves based on reality, and not myth. We remain firmly committed to the abolition of war.
We know the consequences of American foreign policy because once, at a time in our lives, so many of us carried it out. We find it sad that war seems so delightful, so often, to those that have no knowledge of it. We will proudly, and patriotically, continue to denounce war despite whatever misguided sense of euphoria supports it 1985 - 2005 Twenty Years of Waging Peace.

Two weeks ago and last weeks show on 'About Face':

Last week we had a surprise visit by Ray McGovern on the show. He made a case for impeachment of Bush and Cheney. I think that horse has left the gate and we should be pressing for an investigation for War Crimes and pushing for a trial. We discussed the paper, “Why I don’t Support the Troops” and how that may be the thought of the mainstream young guy of today because of the volunteer military. We discussed with Doug Zackary about the Veterans For Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War efforts to get the active military to rebel. Project Engagement is a very great effort and needs to get everyone involved. We need to get involved in any effort to stop this occupation.
This week we will be talking with Dr. Dahlia Wasfi about “How do we get out of Iraq?” and is it on the horizon. I feel that I will be sitting at this station in March 2009 talking about the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war (If we have not been cancelled). How many more we have killed, murdered, maimed, raped, and how much more we have destroyed in that country. Will the people ever forgive and forget what we have done? Do we really want to get out of Iraq? After all, we are building the largest and most expensive embassy in the world in Iraq. We are building permanent military bases in Iraq. I think the people of the United States are afraid of leaving Iraq! I think in the sub-conscious of the people of the U.S., they want us to stay because they want a war to support their way of life. I think the people of the United States are a very selfish lot and do not really care about the people of Iraq. Why should we care as long as we can go to our plays, restaurants, schools, sports events and churches. We worry more about our failing health care than we do about the health care system we destroyed in Iraq. We care more about an over paid idiot catching a ball than we do about the suffering of the children in Iraq because of our bombs and jack booted volunteer troops. The same people, our congressmen and women, the presidential candidates, all of them know what is happening in Iraq but do not have the balls to hold those responsible accountable for their actions. They want a meaningless impeachment. I want an investigation and a trial with conviction!!! If you say you care then get involved! Write letters, make phone calls, write letters to editors, get out on the streets. Get Involved!!!! Less than 10 percent of those who say they want the war to end take any action! So, do you really care???
Listen to “About Face” with your host, Dennis Stout, Mark Fleming and John Henry at 1480AM KPHX or on the Internet at 1480 KPHX at 3PM Phoenix time (same as Pacific Time) this Saturday.

Todays, 4-26-08, show discussed some about those who resisted serving in the occupation and counter recruiting.

Next weeks show, 5-03-08, will be a discussion on War Crimes, which should be another interesting show, listen in to see what I mean, all three are very good with discussing their topics with common sense and intelligence from their experiances.

Another radio show, by another VFP Chapter, Veterans for Peace - Chapter 099 Asheville, North Carolina just recently started up at an independant station The Progressive Voice of the Mountains WPVM out of Asheville.

It's called 'Veterans Voices' and airs for only a half hour from 5pm to 5:30pm EST on Wednesdays.

I've only been able to catch them a few times, but each had an interesting discussion with guests. Their in the startup mode and growing and can also be streamed by visiting the WPVM Website. If you're free catch their show as well.

Veterans To Commemorate Detroit Winter Soldier Hearings

Members of Veterans For Peace and the Vietnam Veterans Against the
War will commemorate the 1971 Winter Soldier hearings on Saturday,
March 15th at 2pm at the original hearing site, 2921 West Grand
Boulevard in Detroit. The Detroit commemoration is being held at the
same time Iraq veterans are holding their own Winter Soldier hearings
in Washington, DC.

The "Winter Soldier Investigation" was a gathering sponsored by the
Vietnam Veterans Against the War intended to
publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces
and their allies in the Vietnam War. The VVAW challenged the morality
and conduct of the war by showing the direct relationship between
military policies and war crimes in Vietnam. The three-day gathering
of 109 veterans and 16 civilians took place in Detroit from January
31-February 2, 1971. Discharged servicemen from each branch of
military service, as well as civilian contractors, medical personnel
and academics, all gave testimony about war crimes they had committed
or witnessed during the years of 1963-1970.

On Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16, 2008, the Iraq Veterans
Against the War will hold their own Winter
Soldier hearings. The event will feature testimony from U.S. veterans
who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, giving an accurate account
of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground. The
four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country
to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and
present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be
panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to
give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything
from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for
veterans' health benefits and support.

The original Winter Soldier hearings were held at the Howard
Johnson's New Center, which was torn down in the late 1990's. The
commemoration event in Detroit on March 15th will be at the site of
the Howard Johnson's hotel, on the corner of West Grand Boulevard and
3rd Street, which is now a parking lot. The event will consist of
veterans reading the names of the first 100 soldiers killed in both
the Vietnam and present Iraq war, along with statements by veterans
about the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam. The public is invited.

The event is being sponsored by Veterans For Peace – Michigan.

Lead Up To Winter Soldier II - SOLDIER'S STORIES

On Sunday, 3-9-08, a fundraiser was held at the First Congregational Church of Long Beach for Iraq veterans eager to talk about the war they saw; a war rife with death, anger, courage and lies. The fundraisers intent was to help defray the costs needed to send the same vets to speak in Washington D.C. at Winter Soldier II, to be held from Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16, prior to that The District Weekly of Long Beach asked several of them to tell them their stories.

Below you will find some snips about each and what they had to say, with the link above taking you to the rest.

“IT’S BEYOND ME” | SPECIALIST WENDY BARRANCO, COMBAT MEDIC | ARMY

Wendy Barranco was 19 when she served as an anesthesia technician at a Tikrit field hospital—from October 2005 to July 2006. She was just out of high school, like so many of her patients, including the first one she saw die.
Now she is 22, a full-time student and anti-war activist
Barranco still sounds young, with the sleepy voice of a teenager. She’s deferential, too—true to her military training—and wonderfully patient as she spells out every acronym and explains every bit of army shorthand. Her poise falters occasionally: When describing three badly burned Iraqis, she suddenly stops speaking, pausing for a full 12 seconds to steady herself. And certain aspects of the military experience are so ludicrous as to absolutely require the strongest of obscenities.
There are also moments of emotional disconnect: She talks about a “guy” with a chronically infected leg, but it soon becomes clear that she is speaking of a child who may be as young as eight.
With all of this in mind, I thank her for her time and willingness to engage in a conversation that must be very difficult—either because the stories are so gruesome and terrible, or because frequent retellings have rendered the subject so tiresome that she feels as if she’s going to go out of her mind if she has to go over it one more time. “Both,” she says.

“HOW WOULD I BE ABLE TO LOOK MYSELF IN THE MIRROR?” | SGT. JASON LEMIEUX | MARINES

“I got to Marine Corps boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina, on Sept. 10, 2001. Boot camp is a media blackout so we didn’t realize the gravity of what was going on. The drill instructor told us the country had just been attacked by terrorists. But for all we knew he could have been exaggerating to scare us into submission.
“My first deployment was to Kuwait on Jan. 21, 2003, in preparation for the invasion. I was part of a huge boot drop. That’s not official terminology—boot drop—but it’s what they call dropping fresh infantry school graduates straight into combat. Our boot drop comprised 50 percent of the manpower of the unit we were joining. Normally they wouldn’t put so many fresh, inexperienced soldiers together in combat, but that’s the way they’re doing it in this war. I invaded Iraq on March 21, 2003, and went all the way to Baghdad. Most of the units we were supposed to attack fled when they found out we were coming. After the invasion we moved down to Karbala, the safest city in the country at the time. We supported the local businesses with our money, and were welcomed for our ability to maintain order. I came home in September.
“My second deployment was to Husaybah, from February to September of 2004. It was a meat grinder, incredibly violent, a whole different world than the Iraq I had left five months before.

“I SWORE TO THE HOLY FAMILY” | SPEC. EDGAR CUEVAS | ARMY

Edgar Cuevas hated the Iraq war long before he landed in Tikrit where, 24 hours into his first Iraq assignment, he watched medics haul in two soldiers injured in a roadside bombing.
“From the beginning of the war, I was like, ‘Why are we even invading?’ There was no connection between Iraq and 9/11,” Cuevas says.
He grew up in Burbank, joining the Army out of high school, in January 2001.“At that time I didn’t think we’d be in a war, so I thought it was good timing,” he says.
The Army sent Specialist Cuevas to Schweinfurt, with tours in the Balkans—“police actions,” he calls them. “Both the Serbs and Albanians were really happy we were there,” he says. “We helped them and they helped us. Nothing there made me say, ‘I don’t like this, I want to get out.’”
Then, in Nov. 2003, just 12 days from the end of his service, the Army hit Cuevas and thousands of other military men and women with a stop-loss order.
“If you remember the election of 2004, John Kerry was talking about the ‘backdoor draft.’

“WE DON’T GO ANYWHERE” | SGT. JABBAR MAGRUDER | ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

“I joined the Army National Guard in 2000. I was a high school kid who wanted to learn a trade while serving my country. The day of September 11, I called my National Guard unit and asked them, ‘Are we going to get involved, are we going to go anywhere?’ And they told me, ‘We’re the National Guard. We don’t go anywhere.’

Visit The District Weekly to Read the Rest of the interviews.

The Sunday Times Magazine, March 1, 2008 The veterans are not against the military and seek not to indict it – instead they seek to shine a light on the bigger picture: that the Abu Ghraib prison regime and the Haditha massacre of innocent Iraqis are not isolated incidents perpetrated by “bad seeds” as the military suggests, but evidence of an endemic problem. They will say they were tasked to do terrible things and point the finger up the chain of command, which ignores, diminishes or covers up routine abuse and atrocities.
Some see it as their responsibility to speak out – like Jason Washburn, a US marine who did three tours in Iraq; Logan Laituri, a US Army forward observer in Iraq; and Perry O’Brien, an army medic deployed to Afghanistan in 2003. They believe that, as veterans, they are the most credible sources of information. They say they were put in immoral and often illegal positions. They will speak about what they saw, and what they were asked to do.
Read the article from the London Sunday Times

Winter Soldiers march to Valley Forge
Dozens of members of IVAW participated in a 25-mile march in Philadelphia from March 1-2, starting at the Constitution Center and ending at Valley Forge. In spirit, Valley Forge is the first Winter Soldier event. "230 years ago, a group of soldiers gathered at Valley Forge to stand up against oppression on behalf of their people. And we aim to do the same here today," said Steve Mortillo, president of the Philadelphia chapter of IVAW and former Calvary Scout in Iraq.
Read the Philadelphia Daily News' coverage of the Valley Forge March

Iraq Veterans Against The War-Winter Soldier

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground.

The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.

When: Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16

For those interested in watching or organizing around the proceedings at Winter Soldier, there will be a number of ways to watch and listen to the event.

**Live television broadcast via satellite tv, accessible through Dish Network as well as public access stations that choose to carry our broadcast - Friday and Saturday only

**Live video stream on the web - Thursday through Sunday { no site url given, as yet, on this video stream }

**Live radio broadcast via KPFA in Berkley California and other Pacifica member stations - Friday through Sunday

**Live audio stream via KPFA's website - Friday through Sunday

Please return to the IVAW website for specific details in the coming weeks.

You can find out more at the IVAW - Winter Soldier - Site, on the left you will find links to the needed information, as well as some embedded links in page text.

Winter Soldier Preview

Winter Soldierizing

The following comes from Jack Dresser, Ph.D., Behavioral Scientist, Co-founder, Lane County Veterans for Peace: Capt., US Army (psychologist, Vietnam era)
Squadron 13 ; Veterans Against Torture via G.I. Special-Military Project, Volume: 6B Issue: 16 Ft. Dix, you can read it in Word or in PDF for the rest of the News Letter.

****************

In the winter of 1777-78, after suffering three terrible defeats by the much larger British force and marching hundreds of miles, the 11,000-man Continental Army retreated to a winter headquarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Food was in desperately short supply, 2,000 men were without shoes, and many were without blankets. Typhoid fever, dysentery, malnutrition and exposure claimed some 2,500 lives that winter.

American Patriot morale had declined severely and whole militia companies had deserted to return home. Those that remained to weather the arduous winter formed powerful bonds that led them to eventually prevail in our war for independence.

Of these men and the 700 women who fed, nursed and warmed them through that winter, political activist and revolutionary thinker Thomas Paine wrote, “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 all men and women.”

Those that endured have come to be called the “winter soldiers.”

As veterans, we once swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” We do not foreswear that oath upon removing the uniform.

Two Vietnam Veterans visit the My Lai Memorial, Vietnam.

Upon that basis in 1971, following prosecution of Lt. Calley for the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, over 150 honorably discharged, many very highly decorated members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War {VVAW} gathered in Detroit to share their stories. Remaining faithful to their oath beyond their obligated service and harkening back to Paine’s words, they named this the “Winter Soldier Investigation.”

Atrocities like My Lai had ignited popular opposition to the war, but political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions.
The members of VVAW testified at that time on the systematic brutality and war crimes they had witnessed and inflicted upon the people of Vietnam, stating that unspeakable atrocities such as “free fire zones” were in fact US government policy, violating the Geneva Conventions and other international treaties which are defined by Article VI of the Constitution as “the supreme law of the land.”

Asked by Chairman William Fulbright to present their findings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Lt. John Kerry delivered ringing testimony on behalf of the group. He explained, “We who have come here to Washington have come here because we feel we have to be winter soldiers now. We could come back to this country, we could be quiet, we could hold our silence, we could not tell what went on in Vietnam, but we feel because of what threatens this country, not the reds, but the crimes which we are committing that threaten it, that we have to speak out.”

Kerry concluded his testimony, “We wish that a merciful God could wipe away our own memories of that service as easily as this administration has wiped away their memories of us. But all that they have done and all that they can do by this denial is to make more clear than ever our own determination to undertake one last mission - to search out and destroy the last vestige of this barbaric war, to pacify our own hearts, to conquer the hate and fear that have driven this country these last ten years and more... And so when thirty years from now our brothers go down the street without a leg, without an arm, or a face, and small boys ask why, we will be able to say ‘Vietnam’ and not mean a desert, not a filthy obscene memory, but mean instead where America finally turned and where soldiers like us helped it in the turning.”

But thirty years have passed and America has failed to turn.

Thirty-two years later, America launched another equally brutal, equally mindless, equally unjustified attack on the nation of Iraq, again in violation of international treaty laws - the UN and Nuremberg Charters - that prohibit wars of aggression, and once more violating Article VI, the “Supremacy Clause,” of our Constitution. So once again winter soldiers are needed.

Thankfully, a current generation of outraged veterans is arising and a Winter Soldier II investigation is scheduled for March 13-16 in Washington, DC, where members of Iraq Veterans Against the War {IVAW} will replicate the model of their VVAW predecessors. All other peace organizations nationwide have been asked to suspend public events during that time so that media attention can be focused on this testimony. Information about the event may be found on the group's Web site.

“Over 30 years later,” IVAW states, “we find ourselves faced with a new war, but the lies are the same. Once again, troops are sinking into an increasingly bloody occupation. Once again, war crimes in places like Haditha, Fallujah and Abu Ghraib have turned the public against the war. Once again, politicians and generals are blaming 'a few bad apples' instead of examining the military policies that have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan.”

IVAW is planning to provide live broadcasting of the sessions for those who cannot hear the testimony firsthand.

Our blue-and-white Veterans for Peace bus, “Squadron13 Deployed,” will be there - our gas budget willing - following a 3,400 mile coast-to-coast awareness raising tour taking the southern route around the Rockies.

We will film and post on YouTube as we go and as we witness.

Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

On the 22nd 'War Comes Home' posted a DKOS diary on Information on Live Streaming Audio Feed to 'Winter Soldier II' on KPFA with feed available at the War Comes Home website as well.

More is now up at the Iraq Veterans Against The War-Winter Soldier website:

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground.

The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.

When: Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16

For those interested in watching or organizing around the proceedings at Winter Soldier, there will be a number of ways to watch and listen to the event.

**Live television broadcast via satellite tv, accessible through Dish Network as well as public access stations that choose to carry our broadcast - Friday and Saturday only

**Live video stream on the web - Thursday through Sunday { no site url given, as yet, on this video stream }

**Live radio broadcast via KPFA in Berkley California and other Pacifica member stations - Friday through Sunday

**Live audio stream via KPFA's website - Friday through Sunday

Please return to the IVAW website for specific details in the coming weeks.

You can find out more at the IVAW - Winter Soldier - Site, on the left you will find links to the needed information, as well as some embedded links in page text.

Winter Soldier I site page.

In February 1971, one month after the revelations of the My Lai massacre, an astonishing public inquiry into war crimes committed by American forces in Vietnam was held at a Howard Johnson motel in Detroit. The Vietnam Veterans Against the War organized this event called the Winter Soldier Investigation. More than 125 veterans spoke of atrocities they had witnessed and committed.

With Video Trailer and much more.

In the leadup to the present Winter Soldier we get words from one who participated in the one of the past.

Joe Bangert, Smedley Butler VFP, Star of "Winter Soldier" and "Sir! No Sir!" speaks at the Moonakis Cafe, Falmouth, Mass- 2/9/08- film by Paul Rifkin and David Souza:

Joe Bangert, a Vietnam Vet, of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace, who gave testimony at the 1971 Winter Soldier Hearings, lays the groundwork for Winter Soldier 2.

JOE BANGERT, WINTER SOLDIER


Visit IVAW-Iraq Veterans Against The War and Support These Brave Soldiers who have Served for You!

Nixon, and the government agencies under his control, tried to stop and slander the Soldiers of 'Winter Soldier I' and that continues today by his loyalist and those still bent on the twisted ideologies, from the very top to the tv and radio talking heads to the print media and today to the internet.

Who will be the first to Attack the Soldiers of 'Winter Soldier II', which 'chickhawk' will try to Slander their Service and their Testimony on the Realities of War, take your pick, plenty to choose from!!

By Dennis Serdel, Vietnam 1967-68 (one tour) Light Infantry, Americal Div. 11th Brigade, purple heart, Veterans For Peace 50 Michigan, Vietnam Veterans Against The War, United Auto Workers GM Retiree, in Perry, Michigan
****************
Bridging The Gap

There is a broken bridge that they call America
between the people and their government.
Stressed out cracked TV's, broken fractured newspapers
with jagged concrete facts that they call Iraq.

There's a broken bridge between our Soldiers
and what they were told they were fighting for.
There is a broken bridge across the Euphrates river
like a broken bridge across the Mississippi too.

Rivers of darkness and light that flow
a lightning bolt currents dark and dangerous,
pieces of humans lay at the bottom and who is responsible,
who does not care at all as the rain and sand
fall like teardrops trying to see through the murky waters,
trying to find a way out, trying to stop the bleeding,
trying to kill the cause and Americans
stand and watch the horror of civilization
pounded by combat boots, they want to stop it
but they doubt it like by voting the war away.

Captain Amerika still acting like superman,
the Statue of Liberty is cracking like the economy,
who cares about a war debt, put it on a Chinese credit card,
green back dollars going down and down drowning
another bridge falling into the water.

To the energy poor depression crashed civilians
of a war wreck they once called America,
the Answer is within our Soldiers
when they come back from another tour.

The Answer is within Americans
when they stand behind the Soldiers
when they refuse to deploy on a no way next tour.

Pete Seeger to Winter Soldiers



VVAW Dec 26th \'70
Once again Country living in Distress!

“ Every war, when viewed from the undistorted perspective of life's sanctity, is a "civil war" waged by humanity against itself."
- Daisaku Ikeda

Dave Cline 1947-2007

Red Hill Films
54 min 25 sec - Jan 15, 2008

RIP Brother


A Documentary film on the life of peace activist Dave Cline by Andrew Courtney and Emily Perry Red Hill Films

You can find out more about Dave, that I have put together Here, collected from various sources after Dave passed away.

Message from Jim on IVAW Bus Fire

Yellow Rose of Texas Blogspot

You can read more about the IVAW Bus Fire in This Recent Post on this site, or at the Above Link for 'The Yellow Rose of Texas'.

Veterans Talk Peace

VFP, and others, will have Another Radio Program to Stream on the Internet, besides "About Face" from Chapter 075 out of Phoenix, on Saturdays from 5pm to 6pm EST, Chapter 099 out of Asheville NC will give it a go as well on WPVM - The Progressive Voice of the Mountains.

Tune In

After 4 years on Pack Square, protesters expand to radio
by Ashley Wilson
published January 10, 2008 12:15 am

ASHEVILLE — In the middle of Pack Square, Kindra Phillips stood on a makeshift pedestal dressed as the Statue of Liberty with her mouth gagged. The light green fabric of her costume blew in the wind as honking cars drove by.
Phillips is one of 20 locally active members of Veterans For Peace. The organization, along with the local chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, holds weekly demonstrations on Pack Square to get more people involved in anti-war efforts.

The two organizations are working together to launch a radio talk show on WPVM-FM 103.5 next week.

“We just had enough,” said Phillips, who joined the organization six months ago and served in the U.S. Navy for 10 months. “I couldn’t just sit at home and not do anything.”

Two members of Iraq Veterans Against War and one member of Veterans For Peace will host the 30-minute talk show. The organizations plan to feature news, interviews and guest speakers on the show. They also hope to discuss benefits and resources for veterans and air spoken word and music from area veterans.

“We want to give a voice to veterans because we don’t feel they are represented on a national, local or state level,” said Jason Hurd, Asheville chapter president of Iraq Veterans Against the War. “As much as a stake people put in us, we might as well have our opinions heard.”

Members hope that the radio show will get the same positive community response as that the rest of their work gets. In addition to the weekly demonstrations, they have collected almost $20,000 to rebuild an orphanage in Afghanistan. They also organize tabling, counter recruitment in area high schools and bus trips for local and national rallies.

“The response we get is normally very positive — much more than when we first started,” said Lyle Petersen, president of Veterans For Peace’s North Carolina chapter. “We used to get gestures and a lot of negativity at the start, but now it’s become more positive.”

For more than four years, members of the organization have been standing on Pack Square. They started the demonstrations on the day U.S. troops entered Iraq.
WPVM is a low-powered FM radio station broadcasting in Asheville and globally on the Internet and is run completely by volunteers and donations.

Vets Take to the Air

Unless a meteor hits the programming committee, “Veterans Voices” is scheduled to take to the air on WPVM every Wednesday at 5 pm, with Kindra Phillips (minus the gag) at the board.

Look for other new shows as the new schedule kicks in next week. Welcome to WPVM, all you new folks! This is your community radio station!

Learn more
• For more information on Veterans For Peace visit: VFP Chapter 099 or Veterans For Peace.
• For more information on Iraq Veterans Against The War visit: IVAW-Iraq Veterans Against the War

Is 'Funding' Really For Troops?

What Happened To Funding and Oversite For Military/Veteran Care In Previous Congresses

Saturday Jan. 12th Radio Tribute to Dave Cline

RADIO ON SATURDAY

Tune in to the radio tribute to David Cline on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York on Saturday, January 12, Noon - 3 PM EST {WBAI is streamed live over the Internet in multiple formats:
MP3: 24K or 64K or .ram
OGG: 24K or 64K

See WBAI Stream


Expected guests: Paul Zulkowitz, Michael McPhearson, Thomas Brinson, Ken Dalton, Jerry Hassett, Steve Hayes, Stephan Smith, Bryan-David Kee, Marcy J. Gordon, Sue Schnall, Jesse Myerson, Jose Vasquez, Joe Cross, Cindy Sheehan, Eric Laursen, Clark Kissinger, Lori Purdue, Medea Benjamin, David Swanson

IN PERSON ON SUNDAY

A Tribue to Dave Cline
(January 8, 1947 - September 15, 2007)
Antiwar Activist, Labor Organizer, Humanitarian, Vietnam Veteran Against the War, Veteran For Peace

Medal "For Peace and Friendship between Nations" awarded to David Cline by Vietnam Union of Friendship Association

SUNDAY, January 13, 2 - 6 PM

Featuring: STEPHAN SAID aka SMITH, RANDY CREDICO, BRYAN & MARCY, PAT SCANLON, BRIAN JONES as 'Dave Cline', and The Bush Chain Gang; MCs John McDonagh of WBAI & Michael McPhearson of Veterans For Peace; Lori Purdue, Joel Landy, Ron King, Steve Bloom, Jackie Sheeler, Sue Schnall, Sgt. Geoff Millard, Joe Cross, Yonathan Shapira, Video by Andrew Courtney

FREE Refreshments/Cash Bar & Menu Service/Auction & Raffle

CONNOLLY'S
121 West 45 Street, New York NY 10036
(Between Broadway & Sixth Avenue)
SUBWAY: #1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, Shuttle to Times Square Station
PARKING GARAGE: Manhattan Parking, 137 West 45 Street, 212-944-5118

DONATION SUGGESTED
Donations to Veterans For Peace will go toward antiwar events in David Cline's honor.

RSVP & INFO: zool at zoolTheArtandPolitics@hotmail.com or 646-549-1615

David Cline was a highly decorated, disabled Vietnam War combat veteran. A leading member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Dave is prominently featured in 'Sir, No Sir!' an award-winning documentary about GI resistance. As President of Veterans For Peace, David oversaw tremendous growth in membership and helped found Iraq Veterans Against the War. A true humanitarian, David Cline was a co-founder of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign.

Veterans For Peace, founded in 1985, is a 501(c)3 national membership organization and an official NGO represented at the United Nations.

AUCTION ITEMS STILL NEEDED!

Dave Cline plays "Touch a Name on The Wall" by Joel Mabus