Sgt. Ricky Clousing to face Court Martial for Desertion Charge TODAY!
Clousing and attorney to hold press conference at 10am
Supporters to gather at Noon in Fayetteville, N. C.


Darrell Anderson, Iraq veteran and war resister, released from Army
Darrell will receive an "other than honorable" discharge without
facing court martial.


General orders Suzanne Swift to face Special Court Martial
Swift to face charges of "absent without leave" and "missing
movement, could receive up to a year confinement if found guilty


Conscientious Objector, Agustin Aguayo, imprisoned in Germany
Agustin Aguayo is currently being held in Mannheim prison in
Germany for following his conscience



Sgt. Ricky Clousing to face Court Martial for Desertion Charge today Oct. 12
Clousing and attorney to hold press conference at 10am
Supporters to gather at Noon in Fayetteville, N. C.


Ricky Clousing at press conference outside Veterans for Peace conference on August 11, 2006 photo by: Jeff Paterson

Sgt. Ricky Clousing, who served as a U.S. Army Interrogator in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 has been charged with desertion by the Army and will face court martial on Thursday, October 12 at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina. Prior to the court martial Clousing and his attorney, David Miner, will hold a press conference at 10am at the Quaker House in Fayetteville, NC (223 Hillside Ave) and at Noon supporters will rally in downtown Fayetteville to demonstrate their support for Sgt. Clousing.

Clousing left Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he was stationed in 2005 after returning from Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division. He had been AWOL until August 11th, 2006, when he called a press conference in Seattle, WA coinciding with the annual Veterans for Peace national convention.

At the press conference, Clousing went public with his stand stating, "In Iraq I operated as an interrogator and was attached to tactical infantry units during daily patrol operations. As an interrogator I spoke to Iraqis each day. This gave me an idea of what local civilians thought of coalition forces. Throughout my training very appropriate guidelines for the treatment of prisoners were set. However, I witnessed our baseless incarceration of civilians. I saw civilians physically harassed. I saw an innocent Iraqi killed before me by US troops. I saw the abuse of power that goes without accountability. Being attached to a tactical infantry unit and being exposed to the brutalities of war, I began to doubt and reconsider my beliefs.”
Read entire statement...

Later in the day, he turned himself in to Fort Lewis military police where he was confined for two days and then ordered to report to Ft. Bragg. If Clousing is convicted for desertion he faces up to a year confinement and a bad conduct discharge.

The 82nd Airborne of the United States Army has opened two parallel investigations into disclosures made by Sgt. Clousing about the abuse of power and lack of accountability of the U.S. Military in Iraq, but has not yet released the findings of this investigation. Clousing will testify at his court martial about the abuses he witnessed while serving in Iraq and the defense may call other witnesses.

In response to charges related to his 14 months absent-without-leave, Ricky stated: "Since I left the army I have known that being court martialed was a possibility I could face. I am at peace with my decision. I followed my conscience and, if need be, I will feel honored to join the ranks of others who have been prosecuted for doing the same."

Clousing does not claim to be a conscientious objector, as is defined by the U.S. military, he is opposed to the war and occupation of Iraq based on his firsthand experience in country, which brought him to the conclusion that the Iraq war is a "war of aggression" that has "no legal basis to be fought".

Donations are urgently needed for legal fees. Please DONATE today!
For breaking news and for updates about actions you can take to support Sgt. Clousing visit: http://www.sdmcc.org/rickyclousing/


Darrell Anderson, Iraq veteran and war resister, released from Army
Darrell will receive an "other than honorable" discharge without
facing court martial.


Darrell Anderson hugs mom, Anita Dennis, at press conference shortly before turning himself in at Ft. Knox. photo by: Bill Luster/Courier-Journal

"All my fellow resisters in Canada and the U.S., we have to stay strong and stand our ground. Because if we keep speaking the truth and stand up for what's right we will always be free inside." - Darrell Anderson

Shortly past Noon on Friday, October 6, Iraq war veteran and war resister Darrell Anderson was released from Ft. Knox after turning himself in to military custody on October 3. According to his attorney, Jim Fennerty, Darrell will receive an "other than honorable" discharge without facing court martial. He expects discharge papers to be mailed to Anderson within days.

Driven in a car by his mother, Anita Dennis, Darrell Anderson crossed back into the U.S. from Canada on September 30, over the Peace Bridge, after holding a press conference in Ft. Erie, Canada where he told supporters, "I believed it was my human right to choose not to kill innocent people."

Darrell Anderson was deployed to Iraq with the Army's 1st Armoured Division in the spring of 2004. Darrell served most of his time in Baghdad where he was wounded by a roadside bomb after serving for 7 months. Facing the possibility of a second deployment to Iraq, Darrell's conscience kept him from returning to the military. After witnessing the abuse and killing of Iraqi civilians and being ordered to fire on an automobile containing Iraqi civilians, Anderson concluded that the war is wrong. He fled to Canada rather than face the possibility of returning to Iraq.

Before turning himself in Darrell held a press conference at the Colvin Community Center in Radcliffe, KY "I feel that by resisting I made up for the things I did in Iraq," he said. "I feel I made up for the sins I committed in this war." Shortly after, surrounded by his wife, mother and step-father, military veterans, and representatives of both national and local Kentucky peace groups Darrell Anderson turned himself in to military police at Ft. Knox, KY. In spite of the risk of prosecution, Anderson decided that he wanted to return to home and family.
View video of press conference...

Anderson will now be seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress at a facility in Tennessee. Since being in combat, Anderson said that he has suffered panic attacks, nightmares, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

Send words of support to: resistwithdarrell@insighybb.com


General orders Suzanne Swift to face Special Court Martial
Swift to face charges of "absent without leave" and "missing movement"
Could receive up to a year confinement if found guilty


Spc. Suzanne Swift

Army Spc. Suzanne Swift to face special court martial for charges "absent without leave" and "missing movement". Last week Army officials reported that Lt. Gen. James Dubik, commander of Ft. Lewis, has referred Swift's case to a special court martial. A special court martial means that an Article 32, the military's form of a pre-trial, is not required.

Suzanne's case has garnered national attention since she was arrested at her mother's home in June 2006. She had gone AWOL just before her military police unit was to redeploy to Iraq in January 2006. In her time stationed at Fort Lewis,Washington and while in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, Swift was sexually harassed and assaulted by superiors.

The Army has reported investigating the allegations about the sexual abuse and stated last Wednesday in a news release, "The command substantiated one allegation she made against a soldier at Fort Lewis and did not substantiate two allegations she made against soldiers in Iraq."

Swift, who suffers from PTSD, and her mother, Sara Rich have become vocal spokespeople against sexual harassment, assault and coerced sex which is also referred to as "command rape." They and their supporters are committed to bring the issue to light and to empower more women and men to speak out against crimes that so often go unreported.

In support of the Suzanne Swift, last month members of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace staged a sit-in at Congressman Peter DeFazio's D.C. office demanding action on behalf of Suzanne. As a result, a Congressional investigation is in the works.

Swift is currently serving with a different unit at Fort Lewis, and could face up to a year confinement in a military prison if found guilty of the charges, a court date has not yet been set for the court martial.

Support Suzanne Swift today! Visit: www.SuzanneSwift.org to find out how.


Conscientious Objector, Agustin Aguayo, imprisoned in Germany
Aguayo is currently being held in Mannheim prison in Germany for
following his conscience


Agustin (center) is escorted through Frankfurt International Airport on October 3, 2006 photo by:Kevin Dougherty / Stars and Stripes

"I have come to believe that it is wrong to destroy life, that it is wrong to use war, that it is immoral, and I can no longer go down this path. Because I have taken this stand, I am free even though my body will probably be locked up for a period of time and it's something I can live with. Something I can't live with is being a participant of war anymore." -Agustin Aguayo

Agustin Aguayo arrived in Germany on Tuesday October 3, 2006 hand-cuffed and escorted by several soldiers as he made his way through Frankfurt International Airport. Aguayo was sent back to Germany on a commercial flight less than a week after turning himself in to military custody at Ft. Irwin just outside of Barstow, CA in the Mojave Desert.

Agustin Aguayo applied for conscientious objector status in February 2004 after serving in the military for just over a year."At the moment I signed up, I was ready and willing to do anything that was asked of me," Aguayo said. "However, over time, we as humans change. While Aguayo's conscientious objector claim was being processed he was sent to Iraq as a medic, but refused to load his weapon. He has continued to fight for his discharge ever since, even taking his fight to the federal court system after his claim was mishandled and rejected by the military.

Narrowly escaping a forced deployment to Iraq through a bedroom window at his base apartment at the Schweinfurt, Germany U.S. Army base, Agustin Aguayo went AWOL on September 2nd after his unit was ordered to deploy to Iraq for a second time. Standing in front of Mission Los Angeles, on September 26th, Agustin told supporters and the media about his decision to go AWOL and his plans to turn himself in to Ft. Irwin Army base, later that day, to continue his fight for a conscientious objector discharge. Photos and report...

On the scene at Frankfurt International Airport, Stars and Stripes reported, "Aguayo was taken from the Frankfurt airport to the U.S. Army Confinement Facility-Europe in Mannheim, Germany, where he will be in pretrial confinement while Army officials review the evidence to determine the status of his case, according to 1st Armored Division spokesman Maj. Wayne Marotto."

Agustin Aguayo is imprisoned for following his conscience and he and his family desperately need your financial support as they continue to fight for his discharge. Please donate today!

For additional information about Agustin's case visit: www.AguayoDefense.org