[Peace-discuss] What we're doing in Iraq

[Paul M. King]

This looks like a hopeful sign for enlisted personnel who
would seek conscientious objector (CO) status; the military
decided to slap this guy with a CO label rather quickly.

Also, the fact that this guy is a staff sergeant is a good
sign. It's one thing for a lower ranking private to speak out
against the military and express dissidence (as difficult as
it is), but another thing entirely for someone of his rank. A
staff sergeant is more or less a middle manager in the
military. They are often in direct charge of troops and act as
liason between higher ranking officers and lower ranking
soldiers. Consequently, they hold a lot of sway, sometimes
commandeering more respect than the captain or commander
themselves (as was the case in my platoon and company). This
is going to make a lot of soldiers think.

The question is, are our soldiers getting this information? Do
they know about this story?

..:: Paul

---- Original message ----
>Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2005 05:56:49 -0600
>From: "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu>  
>Subject: [Peace-discuss] What we're doing in Iraq  
>To: peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>
>	U.S. veteran: "We're committing genocide in Iraq"
>	1/13/2005 12:30:00 PM GMT  
> 
>The list of critics of the U.S.'s presence in Iraq is growing
each day.
>Former Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey is a 12-year Marine
veteran who's
>returned from Iraq, airing some very disparaging views on his
country's
>role in the Middle Eastern nation.
>
>The American marine entered Iraq as part of the initial
American invasion
>in March 2003 and was witness, and in some cases took part
in, the killing
>of innocent civilians.
>
>He says that in one 48-hour period, he witnessed the killing
of some 30
>civilians by U.S. gunfire at highway checkpoints.
>
>What changed Massey's view of the occupation was the sheer
brutality of
>the American military's actions.
>
>The former Staff Sergeant was horrified by what was happening
and began to
>speak out to his superiors about the actions undertaken by
the U.S.
>military.
> 
>Massey was bundled out of Iraq and 'diagnosed' with
depression and
>post-traumatic stress disorder. He was labeled as a
conscientious objector
>by his commanders but sought legal advice and won his
honourable discharge
>in December 2003.
>
>As a recruiter with the American military, Massey began to
question the
>methods used by the Marines which targeted young people from
economically
>depresses areas.
> 
>"I'm not going to say that the Marine Corps is all flat-out
lies, but it
>is very misleading the way we enlist recruits. A lot of the
kids joining
>the military are from the 'barrios' and 'hoods,' or the poor
parts -so
>they're sweeping them up."
>
>Massey believes that due to the economic situation in the
U.S. there
>exists what can be called an 'economic draft' of young
Americans into the
>military.
>
>"A large percentage of the so-called growth in this country
is associated
>with the military. The bottom line is, for the Halliburtons
and Enrons war
>is good, but for the poor and for all of the soldiers coming
home,
>especially the ones coming home wounded, there's not much of
a future. But
>for a lot of the kids getting ready to graduate high-school,
the military
>is looking pretty good because their families have no money
to send them
>to college."
>
>Massey's disillusionment with the war in Iraq came to head
when he saw the
>army the U.S. military faced. The world's strongest military
carrying the
>most technologically advanced weapons up against the military
of a country
>devastated by a decade of sanctions.
> 
>Massey says, "There wasn't a whole lot of direct fighting to
speak of.
>There were some firefights but it wasn't like major combat
action…They
>had no artillery; they had no air support. They were so
weakened by all
>the sanctions. All of their equipment was in very bad shape.
Most of their
>hardware was left over from the war against Iran. The first
Gulf War just
>devastated them. I don't think they had the will or the
opportunity to
>fight."
>
>Massey believes the hostility the Iraqi people have towards
the American
>presence has grown in direct response to the brutal methods
used by his
>country's troops against the entire population.
>
>A study recently commissioned has put the number of Iraqi
deaths since the
>war began at around 100,000. Massey agrees but says it
doesn't include the
>number of those who died from before the war started due to
the sanctions
>nor those who will from the lack of medical supplies, clean
water or
>proper sanitations.
>
>"We are committing genocide in Iraq, and that is the
intention," he says
>
>http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/article_full_story.asp?service_ID=6634
> 
>
>_______________________________________________
>Peace-discuss mailing list
>Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace-discuss