Marc Hall: Iraq trial for hip-hop song?
Army intends to deploy Marc "in ten days" for an expedited court martial in Iraq.Take action! "Free Marc Hall!" leaflet. Sign the petition. Please donate to Marc's defense.

US Policy: More war, less relief
As Haiti asks the world for help turning around the destruction wrought by the January 12th earthquake, the U.S. is funding destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Support Alexis Hutchinson!
Single mom with a one-year-old son who missed deployment in early November 2009 when her childcare plan fell through continues to await court martial at Ft. Stewart, GA.

Howard Zinn (1922-2010)
"As a veteran myself I know how difficult it is to break out of the stranglehold the military has on one's mind, and how much courage that takes."

 


Army Spc Marc Hall remains jailed for song

marc hallBy Courage to Resist and Iraq Veterans Against the War.
February 2, 2010

Update: Army intends to deploy Marc "in ten days" for an expedited court martial in Iraq; Courage to Resist fronts $2,500 to retain long-time military law lawyer David Gespass to represent Marc.

After nearly two months of confinement Army Specialist Marc Hall still sits incarcerated in the Liberty County Jail near Fort Stewart, GA. The U.S. Army jailed Hall on December 11, 2009 and charged him under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, claiming that he “communicated a threat” when he recorded a hip hop song expressing anger over the Army’s stop-loss policy. Marc, an Iraq War veteran, recorded the song entitled “Stop-loss” and mailed a copy to the Pentagon after the Army involuntarily extended his contract for a second Iraq deployment. 

 


US Policy: More war, less relief

haitiBy Sarah Lazare, Courage to Resist for ZNet. January 24, 2010.

As Haiti asks the world for help turning around the destruction wrought by the January 12th earthquake, the U.S. is funding destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Obama is expected to ask for another $33 billion for the military budget this year, on top of the $1 trillion that has come out of U.S. taxpayers' pockets since 2001, to fund the so-called War on Terror.

In contrast, the president has pledged $100 million in aid to Haiti, amounting to not much more than the mortgage on a rich person's house.

The U.S. government has sent over 5,000 U.S. military personnel to Haiti, with the total expected to reach 10,000, as aid becomes increasingly militarized in the wake of this disaster. Some aid groups are openly complaining about the U.S. military presence: Doctors Without Borders said that five of its airplanes carrying medical equipment were turned away by the U.S. military and rerouted to the Dominican Republic. French and Mexican planes carrying medical aid were also turned back. U.S. soldiers are now patrolling the streets of Haiti, many with large weapons slung over their shoulders.

And many Haitians are suspicious of the influx of U.S. troops, claiming that the U.S. has been looking for excuses, for a long-time, to regain U.S. military control of their country.

With the inundation of images of death, injury, and collapse in Haiti, realities are emerging about the global relationships that set the stage for these kinds of catastrophes and divert resources to war and militarism instead of real relief.

Read more...

 


Drop the charges against Alexis Hutchinson!

Courage to Resist will print and mail these letters on your behalf. We will also CC President Obama and the commanding general of US Army FORSCOM

"I appeal to you to find a compassionate resolution to a difficult situation. Please drop the charges against Spc. Hutchinson."

Dear Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Phillip,

I am shocked and disappointed that four separate court martial charges have been brought against Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single parent with a one-year old son, who missed deployment in early November 2009 when her childcare plan fell through at the last moment, due to circumstances beyond her control.

Read more and sign online...

 


Howard Zinn (1922-2010)

ImageBy Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist. February 1, 2009

Historian. WWII veteran. Author. Activist. GI resistance supporter.

I remember reading Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" in 1989. At the time, I was a 20-year-old Marine artillery controller becoming disillusioned with what I was seeing stationed in Okinawa, the Philippines, and Korea. Reading “People’s History” was certainly an unknowing step I took towards later refusing to fight in Iraq in August 1990. It enabled me to see my individual actions as a part of something much larger—yes, even larger than the Marine Corps.

Within a matter of weeks in late 1990 and early 1991, nearly a hundred Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors pledged to refuse to fight—most eventually did time in stockades and brigs. Twice as many service members publicly spoke out against the Gulf War at anti-war protests and rallies—sometimes to dozens, sometimes to 200,000 people. However, unless you were there, or have read a recent edition of “People’s History”, you wouldn’t know any of that ever happened.

Professor Zinn never wavered in his support of the troops who refused to fight. Last year he shared:

“I would urge people to support Courage to Resist in whatever way they can. I can think of nothing more important in stopping the war in Iraq than for the soldiers themselves to refuse to fight. As a veteran myself I know how difficult it is to break out of the stranglehold the military has on one's mind, and how much courage that takes. Those who make such a decision need all the support we can give them, and Courage to Resist does just that.”


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