This is a great short documentary about a friend and colleague of mine who is a military wife and anti-war activist. Even though I’ve known Lisa for more than a few years now, my respect for her has increased even more after viewing this…
Tag Archive for 'War'
Hopefully you had the opportunity to listen to the Winter Soldier Hearings last week. Their testimonies, sponsored by the Iraq Veterans Against War bring light to the unjust war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much like the Winter Soldier of the Vietnam War, soldiers speak of racism and civilian killings. It is disgusting. Even if you are for the war–how do you justify the illegal and brutal actions described in these testimonies? The only way to justify it is through dehumanizing our “enemies.” Mike Prysner’s testimony, particularly part two, speaks to this racism and who it profits.
From the NY Times,
“We had fired automatic weapons into the middle of a wedding party, wounding and killing several guests, and we were told to drive away and forget about it.”
Hicks was one of scores of US soldiers who, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, delved into wounded memories and gave testimony at “Winter Soldier” about what they had seen and done in Iraq.
and
Private Steve Casey recalled how his commanding officer once said “there were ‘no friendlies’” in a residential area and announced: “Game on, all weapons free.”
“I saw personal weapons fired into windshields and radiators of cars,” he said, his gaze fixed on a spot on the floor.
The majority of victims of that operation were not the 700-800 enemy combatants claimed by officials but “civilians trying to flee the battleground,” he added.
and
“General Petraeus and company have done everything they can do to propagate to the American public that 30,000 American troops have brought a reduction in violence,” said Montalvan, who left the military last year after 17 years’ service.
“They claim a reduction of violence in Baghdad. Well, 70 percent of residents have fled, so no wonder,” he said.
He also accused the US of skewing the civilian death toll to give credence to the surge.
“Every time a bomb goes off, the Americans count a smaller number of dead and wounded than the Iraqis. This is to skew the statistics to suggest the surge is successful,” Montalvan said.
He added that US generals have no oversight over American contractors in Iraq, some of whom get billions of US taxpayer dollars to procure and distribute weapons for the Iraqi security forces, but refuse to work with US soldiers on the ground.
Montalvan, who is now tied to a cocktail of medications for ailments ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to chronic pain resulting from an attack, slammed the Bush administration for “perpetrating high crimes and misdemeanors, committing dereliction of duty, lies and mismanagement” in Iraq.
Mike Prysner’s testimony is posted here in two parts.
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