This Article, by Kristofer Goldsmith, was originally published on the IVAW website, June 8, 2008
As many of you know by now, Matthis Chiroux has made his refusal to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that this is an Illegal Occupation, a very public affair. Matthis and I have been attempting to gain Congressional Members to come out in support of War Resisters... And things are going better than I could have imagined.
Two weeks ago Matthis and I came down to the DC IVAW Chapter house with a mission, an idea, and a plan. We were going to attempt to talk to Congresspeople from the Out of Iraq Caucus, and see if we could get them to come out in support of Matthis' decision not to go to Iraq.
Our first time in a Congressional building was for Winter Soldier on the Hill and the Whistle Blowers Testimonies. Neither of us had been working with the DC guys to set up these events . . . So basically, we hit the Hill completely clueless.
But with coaching and advice from Geoff Millard, we figured out that getting your foot in the Congressional door, figuratively and literally, was a lot easier than most people would assume. First of all, to all IVAW members who haven't at least met with their local congress people . . . What are you waiting for!? It is your RIGHT to speak with the representative who votes in YOUR NAME in the House of Reps. If your Congressperson doesn't know you exist, he or she may not know that there are Veterans who are against the Occupation of Iraq.
When I met with my Congresswoman, Carolyn McCarthy, last month on Long Island, it was the first time she ever heard of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Long Island has the most dense population of Veterans of all wars . . . But I was only the fourth Iraq Veteran who had ever contacted her office! As a Democrat who opposes the continuation of needless death overseas, she has been searching for a way to justify voting against funding. Now that she knows about me, she has an answer to the mindless masses of the Gathering of Eagles, who have a huge, very active group here on Long Island.
So moral of the story is -- Step One: Set up a meeting with your local Congressperson as a CONSTITUENT and representative of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Step Two: Build a working relationship with the Congressional Office's Veterans Contact. Pro-War or Anti-War, they need to hear our side -- in a respectful, professional manner. They know about the protests and rallies for peace set up by Code Pink and other activist groups, but we are the experts on Iraq and our organization has set a precedent with Congress and is building a respected reputation. Work with that in mind. Step Three: Make sure your Congressperson knows about Winter Soldier, both the March and May events. Testimony from Winter Soldier on the Hill is in the Congressional Record, so they have access to it. Directing the staffers to specific testimony on YouTube or IVAW.org is effective, I did it with McCarthy's office!
...Anyway, back to whats happening in DC-
Last week we met with various staffers, and eventually members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Out of Iraq Caucus. Most offices wanted us to meet with their Veterans contact or Scheduler to throw our pitch. Each meeting with staffers gave us experience and sometimes even direct advice towards sharpening our skills to present an argument, or "list of asks," to the Congressperson that they worked for.
Nicole, our own Dr. Scribe, took notes to help us keep track of everything we accomplished, and more importantly, everything we were learning. One night after a particularly hard-ball staffer meeting, we figured out that we needed to get everything on paper. So we set up a few dozen folders with all the essentials: Matthis' Statement/Refusal to deploy (and media coverage of that to add credibility and recognition), our own research of why it would help the Congresspeople to End the Occupation by supporting those who refuse orders on the grounds that the occupation inherently is illegal in nature, information about IVAW and Winter Soldier, and clear instructions on how Congress can help us.
By the end of our second week in DC we had spent time with Congresswomen Clarke, and Woolsey, and Congressmen Kucinich and Conyers. We got our foot in the door with a bunch of others too because we met with tons of staffers and they had interest in what we were trying to get across.
The most satisfying moment of all the time we spent in meetings came when we met with Chairman Conyers, and the moment Matthis said "I am refusing orders to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that this Occupation is illegal by international law, federal law, and Constitutional law..." and Congressman Conyers, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee interrupted Matthis and said "You're right! I agree! It is illegal."
We're on our way to getting Congressional support for war resisters, and as I said before, it's going better than I ever could have imagined. We, IVAW, are not only the Warriors Against the War, but are the very ammunition of the Congresspeople who want to end the war but just don't know how. By encouraging members or the House to come out and say they support those who refuse to deploy, we are breaking the chains of indentured servitude that the Military has wrapped around it's own "all volunteer force."
While we don't expect legislation to come out in support of war resisters, what we're asking for is a commitment -- that members of Congress will truly SUPPORT THE TROOPS, ALL OF THE TROOPS, and not abandon those who refuse to take part in an illegal war which was based on Lies.
So, to other members of IVAW, and all our supporters, I have two requests:
First- help us fight, and raise the confidence of Members of Congress who want to end the war but don't know how. Make sure your Representative knows who you are, and what IVAW is, and what we stand for.SUPPORT GI RESISTANCE!
Second- see if you can come down to DC next weekend for Matthis' next press conference. Sunday, June 15th, is the report date for Matthis' forced deployment orders. On that day he will not be reporting for duty, but instead be in our nation's capital letting the world know that not every Soldier who is overseas is fighting by their own will. We, the members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, stand in solidarity and support of those who choose not to be used by a government who has betrayed its Veterans and Service Members.
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