Jeremy Hinzman granted
deportation stay! Refusing to kill vs.
murder Winter Soldier: Iraq and
Afghanistan Write to imprisoned
objector Robin Long
Becoming a conscientious objector after Iraq
By Courage to Resist Benjamin “Hart” Viges joined to defend America in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Hart quickly found himself as a mortar man attached with the 82nd Airborne. Later he participated in the initial invasion of Iraq. “After we killed enough people (with artillery), we moved into the town… I saw dogs fighting, donkeys fighting, birds fighting in the sky. It seemed like the violence from humans fighting spread out to the rest of life that lived there....I came head on with the question of how can I be a Christian and live the teaching of Jesus, and be a soldier at the same time?” Listen to Hart's 27:15 min. interview with Courage to Resist
Jeremy Hinzman granted Canada deportation stay!
The first U.S. Army deserter to seek refugee status in Canada, Jeremy Hinzman, was scheduled for deportation today, however, Crown Justice Richard Mosley granted a stay on the deportation order. Sign the "Dear Canada" letter: "Cease deportation proceedings against Jeremy Hinzman" Hinzman's lawyer, Alyssa Manning, had argued that "evidence suggests U.S. soldiers who have spoken out against the 2003 U.S.-led Iraq invasion have been facing more punishment than other deserters." Furthermore, Manning stated that the immigration officer had not properly assessed the hardship Jeremy and his family would endure. Read more and view Jeremy's video message
When refusing to kill has a higher sentence than murder
By Army Col. Ann Wright (ret.) From the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States military has come under intense criticism and scrutiny for the deaths of civilians. This week, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff made trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan to "acknowledge" the deaths of innocent civilians in attacks in those countries. In the five and one-half years of the US occupation of Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed by US military personnel at checkpoints, during convoy movements and during operations to find the "enemy." In the half-decade of US military presence in Iraq, a very small number of US military personnel and an even smaller number of CIA and contractors have been charged with manslaughter or murder in these deaths. The deaths of most civilians are counted in the "costs of war." A few dozen military have been court-martialed on allegations of mistreatment, manslaughter and murder of Iraqi civilians. With a very few exceptions, most who were court-martialed have been acquitted. Those who were convicted have generally served light sentences. Read complete article by Col. Ann Wright (ret.)
Winter Soldier: Iraq and
Afghanistan:
“The only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name.”—Kelly Dougherty, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War In spring 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered veterans to expose war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic gathering, which show the reality of life in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraq Veterans Against the War argues that well-publicized incidents of American brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the massacre of an entire family of Iraqis in the town of Haditha are not the isolated incidents perpetrated by “a few bad apples,” as many politicians and military leaders have claimed. They are part of a pattern, the group says, of “an increasingly bloody occupation.” |
Becoming a conscientious objector after
Iraq
September 23, 2008
Available now from Courage to
Resist
