Liam Madden from Iraq Veterans Against the War sends the following:
In 1969, the My Lai massacre helped fuel popular opposition to the Vietnam War. U.S. political and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions. Members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War knew differently.
In January of 1971, over one hundred Vietnam Veterans gathered in Detroit to testify their experiences to America. Their testimony, called the Winter Soldier Investigation, revealed that atrocities were systemic and responsibility laid at the highest levels of government.
The U.S. Government lied to get us into war and continues to conceal the true nature of military occupation.
On the weekend of 13-15 March, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will assemble history’s largest gathering of US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors. They will provide first hand accounts of their experiences and reveal the truth of occupation.
Click here to sign the statement of support.
I am so proud of these guys. Thanks to them I can still say that I am an American without hiding in a closet.
I traveled to Washington D.C. on Sept.15 to participate in the antiwar demonstration and civil disobedience day sponsored by them and the ANSWER coalition and them. I felt elation and joy to walk by their side. They are the best our country has to offer. It was most heartbreaking to see nearly 200 of them get arrested after having gone through the grind of this unholy crusade. They saw firsthand the horrors that are being perpetrated and have shown ultimate bravery by not fearing to stand up to their superiors and this corrupt body politic. They are the true heroes. The very minimum we can do is to stand with them!
Since 9/11, I’ve had many people thank me in a roundabout way for being economically persuaded to join the military.
But since realizing this war is a farcical waste of lives and joining Iraq Veterans Against the War, I’ve had more people thank me for what I personally do.
I’m still in Baghdad for the time being, but I won’t be missing Winter Soldier unless I’m in jail.
It is very fortunate we did not elect that rapist, murderer, war criminal, Kerry eh?
Instead we got two guys who weren’t involved directly in the pillage of Vietnam.
BTW with all the rapist and murderers who returned from ‘Nam it is a wonder our country has survived.
Ron you are in Iraq? You must be a war criminal. Just like Al Hubbard.
M Simon,
your unintelligible post is either an inappropriate attempt at sarcasm or the spawn of a blustering imbecile. While we are armchair moralists, he is the real field moralist who unlike us is risking it all to speak out and face the wrath of a military machine that can easily cut short his future!
Ronn, if you are a soldier presently in Iraq, I wish you the best and hope you can stay out of harm’s way until you can come back home to help expose to the people the reality that you and your comrades have come across.
And in addition, I too pray that you do not do harm to any of the citizens of Iraq or their children, while you are there, soldier boys and girls.
M. Simon,
Thank you for demonstrating, in graphic detail, how our soldiers are considered heroes only when they are willing to play Simon Says.
Simon says, “capture all females and kill all males over the age of 14.” Simon says, “It’s a free fire zone…kill anything that moves.” Simon says, “Shut your mouth when you get home.”
If our own soldiers cannot exercise their right to freedom of speech without being treated like scum, then what is it, exactly, that makes this country worth dying for to protect?
I went there in ’91. I did as I was told. When it was over I volunteered for an early out because I could not be a part of it any more. In ’03, I protested the war, taught concientious objector workshops, and got death threats from good patriots like you. So, tell me again, why should any of us support this attrocity?
M. SImon,
What a bizarre, half-baked rant. You really should stick to your meds.
I was privileged to sign. Thank you.
I say “Right On!†to the IVAW for organizing this exposing action. I was a soldier in Vietnam in 1969 when the news of the My Lai Massacre became public. Most of the GIs back then were not surprised by these horrors exposed in a Life Magazine article because we knew that this atrocity was just “Business as Usual” and all part of America’s military war-fighting strategy. Following this I was based at Fort McClellan, Alabama in 1971 and active in soldiers group known as “GIs & WACs United Against the War†when the first “Winter Soldier Investigation†in Detroit occurred. Several members of our organization were sent as observers to these WSI hearings and gave us a complete report upon their return. This inspired us to greatly increase our anti war activities on base. Over thirty years later we’re in the middle of a new war—but the politicians’ lies are the same. Once again, American troops are sinking into increasingly bloody occupations. Instead of My Lai today’s US war crimes are occuring in places like Haditha, Fallujah, and Abu Ghraib. As a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (AI) and one of the spokesmen for the Stop The War Brigade based in Europe I will do everything in my power to support the IVAW’s campaign and continue to support the troops that Refuse, Resist and Rebell against today’s unjust war….Dave Blalock
I too thought that My Lai was an American aberration. It was Scott Peck’s book ‘The People of the Lie’ that opened my eyes to reality.
The commonality with Vietnam does not stop with the massacres. Even the some of the participants are the same. An excerpt from “The Taking of Tigert Hall: Reminiscences from a Bygone Era” :
” News and rumors of the utter barbarity displayed by the Americal Division in its rampage through central Vietnam, including the village of My Lai, were spreading like wildfire on college campuses. The story of My Lai, where four to five hundred civilians with children were lined up in a ditch and raked with machine gun fire, was broken by the indefatigable Seymour Hersh working from Southeast Asia for the little known Dispatch News Service. The story was picked up by French newspapers but ignored by the American press until later. My Lai was by no means an isolated incident. Testimonials from veterans and letters written home to family by GI’s in the field confirm that such occurrences were more commonplace. In 1971, a Colonel Oran Henderson of the Americal Division, in a rare display of candidness, told reporters: “Every unit of brigade size has its My Lai hidden some place.†Whereas Major Collin Powell, future Secretary of State, then Operations Officer for the Americal, declared not to have known anything about a massacre in My Lai(a performance worthy of his UN charade on the eve of George Bush’s attack on Iraq). “