[Peace-discuss] Re: winter soldier flier

[Stuart Levy]

On Fri, May 02, 2008 at 10:20:13PM -0500, Karen Medina wrote:
> Attached are the .doc and the .pdf of the Winter Soldier flier.


Unless someone else is already going for a flyer, I'm aiming to
make 300-odd copies of this one and bring it to tomorrow's Main Event.

I've made small changes -- mostly added a new quote from Jason Hurd:

    [a medic, on patrol in Baghdad] ... part of our mission was to meet
    and greet the local population and find out what their problems
    were—and so, I approached a man with my interpreter on the side
    of the road, and I asked him, “Look, are your lives better
    because we’re here? Are you safer? Do you feel more secure?
    Do you feel like we are liberating you?” And that man looked at
    me straight in the eye, and he said, “Mister, we Iraqis know that
    you have good intentions here. But the fact of the matter is, before
    America invaded, we didn’t have to worry about car bombs in our
    neighborhoods, we didn’t have to worry about the safety of our own
    children as they walked to school, and we didn’t have to worry about
    US soldiers shooting at us as we drive up and down our own streets.”

     Ladies and gentlemen, the suffering in Iraq is tearing that country
    apart.  And ending that suffering begins with a complete and immediate
    withdrawal of all of our troops.

> 
> Winter Soldier event by Iraq Veterans
> Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan was a resounding success. The March 2008 
> event collected powerful eyewitness testimony of the wars in Iraq and 
> Afghanistan. Testimony was given by dozens of veterans, active-duty troops, 
> military family members, Iraqi civilians and other civilian experts. The event 
> brought together hundreds of IVAW members -- the largest number of veterans 
> and active-duty troops opposed to the occupation of Iraq yet to assemble in one 
> place. Though the mainstream media would not cover this historic event, the 
> independent media covered it widely and streamed the proceedings live over 
> their web sites.  
> 
> 
> A few quotes from Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
>  
> •	The reason I am doing this today is not only for myself and for the rest of 
> society to hear, but it's for all those who can't be here to talk about the things 
> that we went through, to talk about the things that we did. At one point, it was 
> okay.  But reality has shown that it is not, and that this is happening, and that 
> until people hear about what is going on with this war, it will continue to 
> happen and people will continue to die. I am sorry for the things that I did. I am 
> no longer the monster that I once was.
> 
> •	The men I served with were honorable soldiers. They were professionals. 
> The truth of the matter is that the war is the atrocity.
> 
> •	It would be a mistake to point at individual soldiers. And it would be an 
> equal mistake to point at individual leaders. This is not a failure of leadership: 
> the problem is the occupation.
> •	Our rules of engagement are not doing their job and I want to apologize to 
> all the people in Iraq and I hope this is going to be over as soon as possible.
> 
> •	I oppose this war because I love America. I speak out against this war, not 
> in anger, but with a great sorrow in my heart. I speak out against this war 
> because I am disappointed with America. There can be no great disappointment 
> where there is no great love. I am disappointed with our failure to deal positively 
> and forthrightly with the evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism. 
> We are presently moving down a dead-end road that will lead to national 
> disaster, and I don't want a national disaster.
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 4 days of testimonies can be viewed online from http://www.ivaw.org/ 
> 
> To contact the Central Illinois Chapter of IVAW:  ivaw.champaign at gmail.com
> 
> 
> 
> Why are veterans, active duty, and National Guard men and women opposed to 
> the war in Iraq and call for immediate withdrawal?
> Here are just some of the reasons:
> •	Overwhelming civilian casualties are a daily occurrence in Iraq. 
> Large-scale civilian death is both a direct and indirect result of United States 
> aggression in Iraq.
> For further reading: http://www.nomorevictims.org/ 
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1338749,00.html ,
> http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?
> res=F70A1EF73C5A0C758DDDA10894DE404482
> 
> •	Service members are facing serious health consequences 
> Many of our troops have already been deployed to Iraq for two, three, and even 
> four tours of duty averaging eleven months each. Upon a soldier's release, the 
> Veterans Administration is far too under-funded to fully deal with the 
> magnitude of veterans in need. Combat stress, exhaustion, and bearing witness 
> to the horrors of war contribute to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a 
> serious set of symptoms that can lead to depression, illness, violent behavior, 
> and even suicide (120.3 veteran suicides per week). Additionally, depleted 
> uranium, Lariam, insufficient body armor and infectious diseases are just a few 
> of the health risks. Walter Reed Hospital and other Veterans Administration 
> facilities are overflowing with maimed and traumatized veterans.
> For further reading:    http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/  ,     http://www.vets4vets.us/
> 
> •	The war dehumanizes Iraqis and denies them their right to self-
> determination.
> Iraqis are subjected to humiliating and violent checkpoints, searches and home 
> raids on a daily basis.  The current Iraqi government is in place solely because of 
> the U.S. military occupation.  The Iraqi government doesn’t have the popular 
> support of the Iraqi people, nor does it have power or authority.  For many Iraqis 
> the current government is seen as a puppet regime for the U.S. occupation.  It is 
> undemocratic and in violation of Iraq’s own right to self-governance. 
> For further reading: http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
> 
> •	Our military is being exhausted by repeated deployments, involuntary 
> extensions, and repeated activations of the Reserve and National Guard. The 
> majority of troops in Iraq right now are there for at least their second tour.  
> Deployments to Iraq are becoming longer and many of our service members are 
> facing involuntary extensions and recalls to active duty.  These repeated, 
> extended combat tours are taking a huge toll on our troops, their families, and 
> their communities.
> For further reading: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-
> military12jan12,0,7198945.story?coll=la-home-headlines
> 
> For more details, to watch the Winter Soldier testimonies, or to make a financial 
> contribution: http://www.ivaw.org/
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