'There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan'
The Army has told Specialist Victor Agosto that he will be deployed to Afghanistan. He has told the Army he won’t go.
Case dropped against Lt. Ehren Watada!
Two weeks ago
Courage to Resist supporters took action to ask the
Solicitor General to drop the Army's appeals against Iraq War refuser
Lt. Ehren Watada. He did just that!
Iraq vets
rally
against Stop-Loss at Ft. Lewis
Iraq vets rallied directly outside Fort Lewis in
Washington State on Saturday to oppose the Stop-Loss policy of
recalling soldiers for repeated overseas deployments.
Free Cliff Cornell now!
Write imprisoned Iraq War resister Cliff Cornell directly at: Clifford Cornell, Bldg 1041, PSC Box # 20140, Camp
Lejuene NC
28542. Cliff was recently sentenced to 12 months in the brig after being forced to return from Canada. Request that
his
sentence be reduced.
'There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan'
The Army has told Specialist Victor Agosto that he will be deployed to Afghanistan. He has told the Army he won’t go.
By Alice Embree, The Rag Blog. May 7, 2009
In a photo taken at Under the Hood Café in Killeen, Texas (right), Victor Agosto stands soldier tall, flanked
by two older women peace activists from Fort Worth. Victor doesn’t talk
a lot, but when he does he reveals a resolve and intelligence that
seems far older than his 23 years. Victor has served three years and
nine months in the U.S. Army, including one tour in Iraq. His Estimated
Termination of Service (ETS) date was until very recently August 3,
2009.
With his impeccable record and accrued leave, he was slated for
release at the end of June. That date slipped away, apparent victim to
the Stop Loss clause that renders the phrase “voluntary service”
meaningless. The Army has told Specialist (SPC) Victor Agosto that he
will be deployed to Afghanistan. He has told the Army he won’t go.
Victor’s Facebook page posts the specifics. His Counseling Form dated May 1st states the Army’s position:
“You will deploy in support of OEF on or
about [XXXXX] with 57th ESB. This is a direct order from your Company
Commander CPT Michael J. Pederson.”
Victor’s Session Closing statement is succinct:
“There is no way I will deploy to
Afghanistan. The occupation is immoral and unjust. It does not make the
American people any safer. It has the opposite effect.”
Victor has been something of a fixture at Under the Hood. In the
small house turned gathering spot, a free speech zone has been created
for GIs, military families and friends. Coffee, snacks and GI Rights
literature is available.
A large world map featuring U.S. interventions takes up one wall.
The first interventions posted were Iraq and Afghanistan. Gradually,
more countries and dates have been added: Chile, 1973, the CIA-backed
military coup; Guatemala, 1954, the Marine invasion; Iran, 1953, the
CIA-backed overthrow of the democratic government.
Under the Hood is a place where GIs can talk, relax, and think. It
is the thinking that has brought Victor to his decision. In his words,
“The supportive ‘family’ that I have found at Under the Hood helped me
muster up the courage to resist.”
[Under the Hood Café is a project of the Fort Hood Support Network. Donations can be made at underthehoodcafe.org.:
Rag Blog contributor Alice Embree is a founder of Austin's original
underground paper The Rag and serves on the Board of the Fort Hood
Support Network.]
Case dropped against Lt. Ehren Watada!
Two
weeks ago Courage to Resist supporters took action to ask the
Solicitor General to drop the Army's appeals against Iraq War refuser
Lt. Ehren Watada. Recently he did just that!
Mark Jensen. May 8, 2008
On Wednesday, at the request of the Justice Department, the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals dropped the government's case against Lt.
Erhen Watada, which has been followed closely on this web site since
June 7, 2006, when Lt. Watada publicly stated at Associated Ministries
in Tacoma the reasons for his principled refusal to deploy to Iraq. --
The Associated Press said that "Watada's attorney, James Lobsenz, said
in a news release that his client anticipates he will soon be released
from active duty and 'plans to return to civilian life and to attend
law school.'"[1]
-- Army officials at Fort Lewis said they were considering pursuing
still unresolved aspects of the case and complained that Watada was
escaping punishment on a "legal technicality," the *Seattle
Post-Intelligencer* reported.[2]
COMMENT: This assertion is simply
false: the preponderance of the evidence is that an Army judge
deliberately aborted Watada's court-martial when it was clear that it
was going in his favor.
[1] Justice Dept won't pursue war objector case
By Gene Johnson, Associated Press. May 6, 2009
[2] No court-martial for Watada on refusal to deploy
By Vanessa Ho, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. May 6, 2009
Iraq vets
rally
against Stop-Loss at Ft. Lewis
Seth Manzel and Andrew VanDenBergh, GI Voice. Updated May 13, 2009
Iraq veterans
led a rally directly outside Fort Lewis in
Washington State on Saturday to oppose the Stop-Loss policy of
recalling soldiers for repeated overseas deployments. Fort Lewis, the
largest Army base on the West Coast, will deploy three infantry
brigades to Iraq and Afghanistan over the next four months. Of the
10,000 soldiers previously deployed, some have been involuntarily
stop-lossed.
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