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Writing Workshop
for Vets
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What Now?
By Stewart Nusbaumer
Neocons drive the nation toward ruin, Iraqi guerrillas kill our soldiers, veterans are ignored, and Americans fall asleep
CLICK HERE!
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If you can make a contribution to help keep us going, please do.
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A Mother's Tears
By Elliot Michael Gold
Reviewed by Jan Barry
CLICK HERE
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US Deaths in the Iraq War
They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.
--Laurence Binyon
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Your country needs you, again!
Big and small things, all important, that you can do, that we can do, to make a difference.
CLICK HERE!
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To read why veterans and their families opposed this war, go to the Sound Off Board:
CLICK HERE!
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The forum is being moved to a new server. We're meeting here for now:
CLICK HERE!
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Cost of the War in Iraq
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In their youth Chickenhawks were extremely skillful at evading the military, while today they are fervent advocates for war.
CLICK HERE!
There has always been a higher percentage of veterans in Congress than in society as a whole, but not today.
CLICK HERE!
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Support the Troops, Oppose the Policy
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The Opposite Of Good Is Apathy
By Cindy Sheehan
...the longer we let the illegitimate pretender to the White House and his conniving and callous gang of co-conspirators to continue, the more our collective humanity is damaged.
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Blogs Offer Taste Of War In Iraq
By Kevin Anderson
A new generation of soldier bloggers in the US, known as milbloggers, are both fighting in the field and writing about their experiences.
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Military Service Chiefs Demoted In Line Of Pentagon Succession
By Associated Press
The three military service chiefs have been dropped in the Bush administration's doomsday line of Pentagon succession, pushed beneath three civilian under secretaries in the inner circle of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
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'Marlboro Marine' Faces Woes On the Home Front
By CBS Broadcasting
"For the most part, I mean, it was a big adjustment (when I got home) just trying to get in that mindset of being able to just roam, run around without fear of being shot at or where to look for danger."
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Veterans Against Iraq War is a coalition of American veterans who support our troops but oppose war with Iraq or any other nation that does not pose a clear and present danger to our people and nation.
Until and unless the current U.S. Administration provides evidence which clearly demonstrates that Iraq or any other nation poses a clear, direct and immediate danger to our country, we oppose all of this Administration's pre-emptive and unilateral military activities in Iraq. Furthermore, we cannot support any war that is initiated without a formal Declaration of War by Congress, as our Constitution requires.
Although we detested the dictatorial policies of Saddam Hussein and sympathized with the tragic plight of the Iraqi people, we opposed unilateral and pre-emptive U.S. military intervention on the grounds that it established a dangerous precedent in the conduct of international affairs, that it could easily lead to an increase of violent regional instability and the spread of much wider conflicts, that it places needless and unacceptable financial burdens on the American people, that it diverts us from addressing critical domestic priorities, and that it distracts us from our goals of tracking down and destroying international terrorists and their lairs.
Furthermore, we do not believe that the American military can or should be used as the police force of the world by any administration, Republican or Democrat. Consequently, we believe that the lives and well being of our nation's soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines should not be squandered or sacrificed for causes other than in the direct defense of our people and nation.
Finally, we believe that a doctrine of pre-emptive and unilateral U.S. military attack on Iraq or any other nation is illegal, unnecessary, counter-productive and presents a truly dire and distressing threat to our vital international interests and basic national security. As military veterans, we have a unique understanding of war and know the many hidden truths that lie behind war's easy theories and promises, as well as behind the tragic consequences that even, "victory" brings. We therefore call on all like-minded veterans and family members to endorse this statement and support us in our efforts to help avert, mitigate or stop a national tragedy and an international calamity.
We ask that you support our troops, by demanding that they be brought home from Iraq immediately. We ask that you support our nation's vital interests, by demanding that our troops should never be placed in harm's way except to meet and defeat any direct and immediate threat to our people. |
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VETERANS, to Endorse Veterans Against Iraq War CLICK HERE!
FAMILY MEMBERS, to Endorse Veterans Against Iraq War CLICK HERE!
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"The Army took initial steps Monday to expel dozens of reservists who failed to report for active duty, in effect warning hundreds of others that they too could be penalized if they don't heed orders to return to active service."
By Robert Burns
Associated Press, January 10, 2005
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"Enemy bombs are the biggest killer of American troops in Iraq, but the United States has lost more men and women to illnesses and noncombat injuries than it has to enemy fire."
By Drew Brown
Knight Ridder Newspapers, January 4, 2006
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"Since Jerry’s incarceration in Aug, 2006, I have worked quietly behind the scenes to obtain Jerry’s release. I have tried to respect the fact that our troops are involved in Iraq and have been very fearful that Jerry would be held up as an example to the many Iraqi war deserters. However, due to recent events, unkept promises by the military, and the false allegations of larceny “leaked” to the press by the military, it is time I speak out."
By Elaine Smith
Jack's Straight Speak, January 10, 2006
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"This is from a friend of mine whose son is in the Army, stationed in Baghdad. And the Peace Community is accused of not supporting our troops???...GRAPHIC..."
By Cindy Sheehan
Daily Kos, January 9, 2006
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"...the longer we let the illegitimate pretender to the White House and his conniving and callous gang of co-conspirators to continue, the more our collective humanity is damaged."
By Cindy Sheehan
BuzzFlash, January 9, 2005
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"Iraq Captain John McLaughlin's company of U.S. combat veterans has returned to Iraq. His paratroopers have brought far fewer illusions this time around, exchanging unalloyed enthusiasm for the war in Iraq in the spring of 2003 for a mix of professionalism, resignation and cynicism."
By Thanassis Cambanis
The Boston Globe, January 8, 2006
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"Everyone one of us need to get involved with this in no uncertain of terms. I’m as anti-war and anti Iraq invasion/occupation as any one Nam vet can be. At the same time, when it comes to veterans issues, I’ll stand with any and all vets in the fight for veterans rights. Besides, the pro war vets usually end up with us thru things like this. Been there, done that, seen that and will again.~Jack"
By Jack Dalton
Jack's Straight Speak, January 8, 2006
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"There has been no organization like this in recent American history. That may be an understatement, since no record of a similar organization has been found at any point in American history. Prisoners Against The War hopes to inspire other prisoners, both in civilian and military prisons, to organize their own chapters, and spread the movement nation-wide."
By Stanley Howard
G.I. Special, January 2006
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"the Bush administration very publicly said it is essentially scrapping U.S. support for NATO and the United Nations."
By David Sirota
OpEd News, January 6, 2006
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"Hugh Thompson Jr., a former Army helicopter pilot honored for rescuing Vietnamese civilians from his fellow GIs during the My Lai massacre, died early Friday. He was 62."
By Jessica Bujol
My Way News, January 6, 2006
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"A secret Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor. Such armor has been available since 2003, but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials."
By Michael Moss
The New York Times, January 7, 2006
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"More U.S. soldiers than ever are sustaining serious brain injuries in Iraq. But a significant number of them are being misdiagnosed, forced to wait for treatment or even being called liars by the Army."
By Mark Benjamin
Salon.com, January 5, 2006
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"In its push to hold Jerry Texiero out as an example to those in today’s military (to dissuade them from walking away from another of this country’s unnecessary and created wars), the Marine Corps is breaking every law on the books."
By Jack Dalton
Jack's Straight Speak, January 6, 2006
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"Push For Peace is a collective of veterans, progressive activists, and everyday citizens working together through education, motivation, and truth to bring America’s troops home from the war in Iraq and to help bring healing and peace to our nation."
By Cheri
Push For Peace, January 6, 2006
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"But I’m telling you we are not even close to winning Bush’s war in Iraq. We have been in Iraq almost three years, and American troops are still in a lock down."
By James Glaser
Lew Rockwell, January 5, 2006
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"More journalists and media staffers have been killed during the Iraq war than during 22 years of conflict in Vietnam, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday."
WTHN
January 4, 2006
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"' Gulf War syndrome', a debilitating multi-symptom affliction identified in many soldiers after the 1991 conflict in Kuwait, is likely to strike US troops fighting in Iraq, a new study shows."
AFP
January 05, 2006
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"Here we are in the first days of 2006. What does the ‘6’ symbolize? How about- 6 hours of no electricity for every one hour of electricity? Or… 6 hours of waiting in line for gasoline that is three times as expensive as it was in 2005? Or an average of six explosions per day near our area alone?"
By Riverbend
Baghdad Burning, January 4, 2006
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" The U.S. military on Friday announced the deaths of six more American troops killed in the recent barrage of violence that has swept Iraq, bringing to 11 the number of troops killed on the same day."
<fontclass=author>By Jason Straziuso
Associated Press, January 6, 2005
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"The observant will have noticed that we hear little from the troops in Iraq and see almost nothing of the wounded. Why, one might wonder, does not CNN put an enlisted Marine before a camera and, for 15 minutes without editing, let him say what he thinks?"
By Fred Reed
The American Conservative, January 31, 2005
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"For the most part, I mean, it was a big adjustment (when I got home) just trying to get in that mindset of being able to just roam, run around without fear of being shot at or where to look for danger."
CBS Broadcasting
January 3, 2006
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"...excerpts from the David Letterman Show..."
By Michael Z. McIntee
Wahoo Gazette, January 3, 2006
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"Many are drawing parallels between Vietnam and Iraq, while noting that the two situations aren’t closely analogous."
By Gary Leupp
Dissident Voice, January 2, 2005
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"Local organizations have planned over 70 Out of Iraq events around the country on or about January 7th."
ByDavid Swanson
Op Ed News, January 2, 2006
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"The words "hero" and "patriot" focus on the death, not the life."
By Paul E. Schroeder
Washinton Post, January 3, 2006
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"Rep. John Murtha, a key Democratic voice who favors pulling U.S. troops from Iraq, said in remarks airing on Monday that he would not join the U.S. military today."
Reuters
January 3, 2006
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"U.S. airmen are increasingly on the ground in Iraq, driving in convoys and even working with detainees _ a shift in the Air Force's historic mission that military officials call necessary to bolster the strapped Army."
By Kim Gamel
Associated Press, January 2, 2006
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"Much of Iraq ushered in the new year under a near blackout Sunday as a week-old power crunch worsened across huge sections of northern and central Iraq."
By Doug Smith and Borzou Daragahi
Associated Press, January 1, 2006
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"Chapter 4. Invisible Wounds: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through the end of the book which is Chapter 8. A New Generation of Veterans Learns from the Unfinished Business of the Last One. Taught me the basics that ties it all together my brothers and sisters."
By Bobby "Indy Thinker" Hanafin
Veterans for Common Sense, December 31, 2005
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"Increasing numbers of men and women in uniform are seeking honorable discharges as conscientious objectors. Others are suing the military, claiming their obligation has been wrongfully extended. Many have simply deserted, refusing to appear for duty."
By Martha Mendoza
Associated Press, December 31, 2005
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