[Peace-discuss] INVITATION-Winter Soldier: Champaign-Urbana

[martin smith]

please forward widely...

Please
send a representative from your organization to participate in an
organizing meeting for Winter Soldier: Champaign-Urbana.


What?:   First Meeting of the Winter Soldier: Champaign-Urbana Organizing Committee
Who? :   Organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War and open to all Allies and Ally Organizations
When?:   Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 7pm



Where?: Noyes Lab Rm. 163, building located in the Main Quad at UIUC


Why?:

During March 13-16, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War
recreated the historic Winter Soldier Investigation first organized by
Vietnam Veterans Against the War in 1971.  Over forty members of IVAW
testified about their experiences in the military, revealing the
difficult and sobering truth about the realities faced day in and day
out as participants in the Global War on Terror. 


Iraq Veterans Against the War is now bringing Winter Soldier:
Iraq and Afghanistan to communities throughout the country.  In April,
the Seattle chapter of IVAW presented a local Winter Soldier that was
very successful, and the Central Illinois Chapter plans to recreate
their model for organizing (please see After Action Report
below). 
 
On
November 13, we plan to bring Winter Soldier to Champaign-Urbana and
have already scheduled Camilo Mejia, who spent nine months in jail for
refusing to serve in Iraq, to speak along with IVAW members throughout
the Great Lakes region.  There will be no censors, no political partisanship, just real
experiences shared with you by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)
members and ally speakers.

PLEASE ATTEND OUR FIRST ORGANIZING MEETING, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.  ALL ALLIES ARE WELCOME.  



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

AAR NORTHWEST WINTER SOLDIER

Overview

The Northwest Winter Soldier
event on May 31, 2008 was a tremendous step forward for IVAW and the
antiwar movement. Drawing a crowd of approximately 800 antiwar
veterans, resisters, and their cheering supporters, Northwest Winter Soldier
decisively stood against the empire's latest war. Veterans boldly spoke
out about how they are abused and used by the system to fight their
illegal and racist wars. Afterwards, they marched to further connect
the voices of veterans to the broader antiwar movement in protest. It
also showed just how much a local IVAW chapter can accomplish on its
own if it employs vision, strategic thinking, and a willingness to
collaborate with local antiwar forces. 
 
We have decided to write this After Action Report in response to the
desire expressed by other chapters who wish to replicate our success.
This report captures the core desires and efforts that we feel are
necessary to bring so many people to their feet as Northwest Winter Soldier
did. If you would like finer details of how we decided which events and
marches to flyer at, how we constructed our highway banners, or how to
deal with the police when negotiating for a march permit, please
contact any of the following IVAW members.
Program Chanan S. chananivaw at yahoo.com
Media Jan C. jan.critchfield at gmail.com
Security Seth M. sethmanz at gmail.com



Outreach Michael W. humility at gmail.com
March Route Mateo R. mateorebecchi at yahoo.com
Vet Support Eric S. hombredelatierra at hotmail.com



 
We look forward to working with you.
 
Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan (WS: I&A)
 
In March 2008, IVAW national organized a WS: I&A in Washington
D.C. that helped to build IVAW's profile within the movement and
featured very powerful testimony to illustrate the point that
atrocities in Iraq reflect war policy set at the highest levels of the
Pentagon and the Bush administration. With that being said, IVAW
Northwest identified a few weaknesses with the event that we wanted to
address in Seattle.
1. WS: I&A was restricted to invitation
only. This meant that many supporters who have been working with IVAW
from the beginning were kept out of the hearings.
2. Some members
felt "stage managed" or even "censored" by the heavy-handed use of
talking points and restrictions as to what could be said and even which
words not to use. Specifically, the words "truth," "lie," "war,"
"atrocity," and "war crime" were not allowed by the WS organizing
committee. What's more, only certain members were supposed to talk to
the media.
3. IVAW put the word out to other antiwar forces that
they should not organize any anti-war efforts in Washington D.C. that
weekend.
Northwest Winter Soldier largely succeeded in addressing these shortcomings.
1.
NWWS raised $6,000 for future organizing in the region through $5
donations at the door, other donations from attendees as well as
sponsoring organizations.
2. NWWS laid the groundwork for future collaboration and commitment from ally organizations. 
3. NWWS received good media coverage, from local news to Dahr
Jamail, even without the national organization's messaging strategy. 
4. NWWS encouraged members to discuss anything that they felt was relevant to the focus of Winter Soldier. 
5. NWWS was followed by a public protest on the streets of Seattle
that helped to build public support within the area for IVAW as well as
the broader antiwar movement. Building a demonstration also helped to
generate a buzz about the testimony itself. 
6. NWWS allowed IVAW members an excellent opportunity to take
ownership over the event and gain valuable organizing experience along
the way. 
The event concluded with a video from GI resisters in Canada and a
panel to express our solidarity with those resisters. If you would like
to see or hear more about the event, please watch or listen at: givoice.org. We encourage you to show this testimony as an organizing tool and to share it broadly. 
 
How We Did It: The Formation of the Coalition
The success of the
event was hinged on the organizing work of a tireless coalition, which
was formed for the purpose of holding Northwest Winter Soldier.
On April 22nd, IVAW and our IVAW allies held the first organizing
meeting at Seattle Central Community College to discuss NWWS.
Representatives of many anti-war organizations arrived to hear what we
had envisioned (listed at the end of this report are our endorsers).
Working in solidarity, these groups made a commitment to promote
Northwest Winter Soldier
to their respective memberships and among the public more broadly. Some
groups aided us financially, and many sent representatives to each of
our coalition meetings. We announced at the first meeting that the only
requirement for membership in the coalition was agreement with IVAW's
three points of unity and a willingness to work to make NWWS a success.

At the first coalition meeting we formed committees for program
direction, media, grassroots outreach, march logistics, security, and
veteran support.
Seattle Chapter 8 met weekly in the lead-up to the event. At these
meetings, we would discuss the direction of our efforts in the
coalition, which was also meeting weekly. Coalition members contributed
in countless ways. They took the initiative in helping create a network
for veteran support for the event itself (and beyond). It was
astounding how many hours some of our allies dedicated to all manner of
tasks—from highway bannering, outreach at high-schools, postering,
flyering, to speaking—all alongside a dedicated core of Northwest
Regional IVAW members. The community was so proud to see us out there
doing what it takes, and the admiration and inspiration went both ways.
For the chapter, all of the long hours brought us together and taught
us how to more effectively organize within the antiwar movement. It
gave our members confidence and a sense of organizing experience. The
event also drew new veterans from the surrounding area.
The event
also succeeded in energizing many within the antiwar community who will
be able and willing to help our chapter with future projects that we
would like to undertake, such as GI outreach and building a GI
coffeehouse. 
 
After Northwest Winter Soldier
IVAW needs to make plans for more Winter Soldier events in the coming year. We should have Winter Soldier
events held by any chapter that is capable of putting one on—on
campuses, in communities, and throughout the entire organization. Think
of how amazing it would be to have 50 Winter Soldiers. That is a grassroots approach to mass awareness, and it's achievable if we work with allies in the antiwar movement.
Links : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvgyco3KawE
http://publish.seattle.indymedia.org/en/2008/06/267013.shtml



You can also check out our Seattle IVAW myspace page.
 
Endorsers
Veterans for Peace (Chapters: 92 Seattle, 72 Portland, 132 Corvallis, 109 Olympia, 139 North Olympic Peninsula, Grants Pass, 913 Wenatchee, 141 SW Oregon, 143, Everett, 134 Tacoma)

Dorris Kent – Gold Star Families for Peace
Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist
Military Families Speak Out, Washington and Oregon
Recruiter Watch, Portland, OR
Green Party of Washington
Evergreen Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane



CollateralRepairProject.org
Code Pink
Eastside Fellowship of Reconciliation
Tacoma Students for a Democratic Society
Students Educating Students About the Middle East
Teen Peace Institute
White Feather Peace Community



Washington Truth in Recruiting
International Socialist Organization
Youth Against War and Racism
Freedom Socialist Party
Seattle Central Community College Anti-War Collective
Courage to Resist
Backbone Campaign



Progressive Democrats of
 America
Women in Black Seattle
Port Townsend Peace Movement
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Oregonians Against the War
Whatcom Peace and Justice Center
Sound Nonviolent Opponents of War



Lake Forest Park for Peace
World Can't Wait
Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation
El Centro de la Raza
African-American Longshoremen Association
Muslim Student Association
MEChA



      
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