Sir! No Sir! Exposing and Debunking Military Lies from Vietnam to Iraq

Shutting down the machine - Afghanistan War Resister to "Put the War on Trial"

This article, by Dahr Jamail, was posted toTruthOut, July 14, 2009.

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US Army Specialist Victor Agosto served a 13-month deployment in Iraq with the 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion. "What I did there, I know I contributed to death and human suffering," Agosto told Truthout from Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, in May, "It's hard to quantify how much I caused, but I know I contributed to it."
His experience in Iraq, coupled with educating himself about US foreign policy and international law, has led Agosto to refuse to deploy to Afghanistan. "It's a matter of what I'm willing to live with," he said of his recent decision, "I'm not willing to participate in this occupation, knowing it is completely wrong."
Agosto's lawyer, James Branum, who is also the legal adviser to the GI Rights Hotline and co-chair of the Military Law Task Fore, told Truthout during a phone interview on July 10 that, contrary to mainstream opinion that believes Afghanistan to be a "justified" war, the invasion and ongoing occupation are actually in violation of the US Constitution and international law.
"Victor is approaching this from the standpoint of law and ethics," Branum explained, "It's his own personal ethics and principles of the Nuremburg Principles, that the war in Afghanistan does not meet the criteria for lawful war under the UN Charter, which says that member nations who joined the UN, as did the US, should give up war forever, aside from two exceptions: that the war is in self-defense, and that the use of force was authorized by the UN Security Council. The nation of Afghanistan did not attack the United States. The Taliban may have, but the nation and people of Afghanistan did not. And under US Law, the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution, any treaty enacted by the US is now the "supreme law of the land." So when the United States signed the UN Charter, we made that our law as well."
The Supremacy Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution, Article VI, Paragraph 2. The clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and US treaties as "the supreme law of the land." The text establishes these as the highest form of law in the American legal system, mandating that state judges uphold them, even if state laws or constitutions conflict.
This was also the basis for the stand taken by Lt. Ehren Watada of the US Army, who in 2006 was the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse a combat deployment to Iraq.
In an article for Truthout published August 14, 2006, I posted the text of a speech given by Watada at a National Convention of Veterans for Peace in Seattle, Washington, where I was present.
Watada outlined the principled stand he took, which applies to that of Victor Agosto today:
"The oath we take swears allegiance not to one man but to a document of principles and laws designed to protect the people. Enlisting in the military does not relinquish one's right to seek the truth - neither does it excuse one from rational thought nor the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. "I was only following orders" is never an excuse.
"The Nuremburg Trials showed America and the World that citizenry as well as soldiers have the unrelinquishable obligation to refuse complicity in war crimes perpetrated by their government. Widespread torture and inhumane treatment of detainees is a war crime. A war of aggression born through an unofficial policy of prevention is a crime against the peace. An occupation violating the very essence of international humanitarian law and sovereignty is a crime against humanity. These crimes are funded by our tax dollars. Should citizens choose to remain silent through self-imposed ignorance or choice, it makes them as culpable as the Soldier in these crimes.
"Aside from the reality of indentured servitude, the American Soldier in theory is much nobler. Soldier or officer - when we swear our oath - it is first and foremost to the Constitution and its protectorate, the people. If soldiers realized this war is contrary to what the Constitution extols - if they stood up and threw their weapons down - no president could ever initiate a war of choice again. When we say, "... Against all enemies foreign and domestic" - what if elected leaders became the enemy? Whose orders do we follow? The answer is the conscience that lies in each soldier, each American, and each human being. Our duty to the Constitution is an obligation, not a choice."
In a victory for Lieutenant Watada, the Justice Department decided in May to drop any further attempts to retry the officer for his refusal to deploy to Iraq.
Having served three years and nine months in the US Army, Agosto was to complete his contract and be discharged on August 3, but due to his excellent record of service and accrued leave, he was to be released at the end of June. Nevertheless, due to the stop-loss program (a program used to keep soldiers enlisted beyond the terms of their contracts which has affected over 185,000 soldiers since September 11, 2001) the Army decided to deploy him to Afghanistan anyway.
When Agosto refused, the Army issued him a Counseling Statement (a punitive US Army memo) on May 1, which outlined actions taken by the Army to discipline Agosto for his refusal to obey a direct order from his company commander, Michael J. Pederson. Agosto wrote on the form, "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," and posted it on his FaceBook page.
On another Counseling Statement dated May 18, Agosto wrote, "I will not obey any order I deem to be immoral or illegal."
On May 27, rejecting an Article 15 - a nonjudicial punishment imposed by a commanding officer who believes a member of his command has committed an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice - Agosto demanded to be court-martialed instead.
In words prophetic of Agosto's ethical and lawful refusal to deploy to Afghanistan, Watada said:
"I have broken no law but the code of silence and unquestioning loyalty. If I am guilty of any crime, it is that I learned too much and cared too deeply for the meaningless loss of my fellow soldiers and my fellow human beings. If I am to be punished it should be for following the rule of law over the immoral orders of one man. If I am to be punished it should be for not acting sooner."
Agosto continues to show up for duty at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, where he is currently stationed, but refused to take part in any duties that supported either the occupations of Iraq or Afghanistan. He told Truthout during a recent telephone interview he was "cleaning the motor pool" and "pulling weeds," and that the Army was being careful not to order him to do anything that would cause him to refuse to comply.
Meanwhile, Branum was in negotiations with the Army in efforts to seek a lower-level court-martial so that Agosto would suffer the minimum penalties possible.
"We were working with the Army's Trial Defense Services (TDS), and Victor has a military lawyer on his side as well, which I recommended he have," Branum told Truthout during a July 10 phone interview.
"TDS had communicated to the prosecution for me that we were willing to accept an Article 15 and do a month of extra duty, then if he (Agosto) got a summary court-martial we'd take it - which would mean Victor would serve a maximum of 30 days in jail, and receive an Other Than Honorable discharge," Branum explained, "So TDS said they took this offer to the CG (Commanding General) who was to sign off on it, but they said he made a mistake and wrote "special" rather than "summary" on the court-martial and sent it back down."
Branum explained that "a summary court martial is little more than an Article 15. Supposedly there was an "honest" mistake made by them handing down this special court martial, but I think they are playing games with us."
Branum, angered by this recent turn of events, explained the difference between the types of court martial, "They (the Army) are not acting in good faith here. What this still means, is the cap went from 30 days (of possible jail time for Agosto with a summary court martial) to a year (with a special court martial), so a pretty big jump I would say, and a leap from an Other Than Honorable discharge (summary court martial) to a bad conduct discharge (special court martial), which means once he is convicted his pay would stop."
Due to the perceived breach of good faith by the Army during the negotiating process, Branum believes he has no choice now but to up the stakes in Agosto's upcoming court-martial.
"Now we're going to put the war on trial with their special court-martial," Branum said, "They had their chance to keep this quiet and move on, but now we're going to pull out all the stops and put the war on trial, and show how the whole thing is illegal."
The most significant factor in Agosto's case is that he has taken a principled stand against the occupation of Afghanistan long before the "point of crisis," according to Branum. The "point of crisis" to which he refers is generally an ethical crisis a soldier experiences when he or she is getting on the plane to deploy.
"He connected the dots long before that point of crisis," Branum explained, "To me, this is a very morally developed point of view. Most resisters don't reach that point until much later on."
It is a similar point reached by Watada, who in the aforementioned speech precisely articulated this experience:
"Now it is not an easy task for the Soldier. For he or she must be aware that they are being used for ill-gain. They must hold themselves responsible for individual action. They must remember duty to the Constitution and the People supersedes the ideologies of their leadership. The Soldier must be willing to face ostracism by their peers, worry over the survival of their families, and of course the loss of personal freedom. They must know that resisting an authoritarian government at home is equally important to fighting a foreign aggressor on the battlefield. Finally, those wearing the uniform must know beyond any shadow of a doubt that by refusing immoral and illegal orders they will be supported by the people not with mere words but by action."
Agosto spoke with Truthout on July 8, immediately after receiving the news of his "special" court-martial. "I was escorted over to the headquarters of Fort Hood and was handed a folder with the paperwork that said he (Commanding General Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch) approved this kind of court-martial. We were in the middle of negotiating a deal where I would have taken a summary court-martial, where the maximum penalty is 30 days in prison and an Other Than Honorable discharge. But somehow during this process someone submitted the case over to the general's discretion, and that' s not something that is supposed to happen in this negotiation phase. I'm surprised, because I thought this deal was going to go down last week and it didn't. I was with my military lawyer, and we were talking about the case, and during that discussion she got the call from the prosecuting attorney that the case had been referred to the general, and then we knew it wasn't likely we would get the deal I'd sign ed off on. So yesterday I went to the III Corps building and got the news."
Agosto said he has "gotten the indication" that he will be leaving the company he is currently in to be moved to the Battalion's rear-detachment company "because that's the one that will stay here. I think they want to avoid a Jeff Paterson moment, I guess that's their thinking. They won't try to deploy me, they just want to punish me for my intentions and for what I've done so far."
Jeff Paterson was a US Marine during the US attack against Iraq in 1991. Paterson opted to apply for conscientious objector status. When that was denied, he refused to board the plane that was heading to Saudi Arabia during the build-up to the war by literally sitting down on the tarmac and refusing to move. Eventually his unit left without him. Paterson told his story to Truthout last summer in Oakland, California.
"Leaving without me is what I thought they were going to do. I was a sort of liability. Also I had been on a hunger strike the previous week, and had at that point become a medical issue for them. So they left me behind, and I was taken instead to the Pearl Harbor brig, where I did the next two months in pre-trial confinement. I was court-martialed for a number of offenses. Ultimately they chose to cut their losses and give me a quiet discharge even before the court-martial ended."
Agosto's stand has already inspired another member of his unit to refuse to deploy to Afghanistan as well. Sgt. Travis Bishop, who served 14 months in Baghdad with the 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion - the same battalion as Agosto, who served north of the Iraqi capital - recently went AWOL from his station at Fort Hood, Texas, when his unit deployed to Afghanistan. He insists that it would be unethical for him to deploy to support an occupation he opposes on moral grounds.
On his blog, he writes about his position:
"I love my country, but I believe that this particular war is unjust, unconstitutional and a total abuse of our nation's power and influence. And so, in the next few days, I will be speaking with my lawyer, and taking actions that will more than likely result in my discharge from the military, and possible jail time ... and I am prepared to live with that."
Truthout spoke with him briefly after he turned himself in at his base in early June. He said he'd chosen to follow Specialist Agosto's example of refusal, which had inspired him, and wanted to be present at his post to accept the consequences of his actions. Like Agosto, he, too, hoped others might follow his lead.
Agosto and Bishop are not alone. In November 2007, the Pentagon revealed that between 2003 and 2007 there had been an 80 percent increase in overall desertion rates in the Army (desertion refers to soldiers who go AWOL and never intend to return to service), and Army AWOL rates from 2003 to 2006 were the highest since 1980. Between 2000 and 2006, more than 40,000 troops from all branches of the military deserted, more than half from the Army. Army desertion rates jumped by 42 percent from 2006 to 2007 alone.
Branum, who has defended over a dozen war resisters, told Truthout, "As far as I know, this is the first time since Vietnam that we've had two resisters in the same unit."
Adam Szyper-Seibert, a counselor and administrative associate at Courage to Resist, an organization that supports war resisters, recently told Truthout that "in recent months there has been a dramatic rise of nearly 200 percent in the number of soldiers that have contacted Courage to Resist." Szyper-Seibert suspects this may reflect the decision of the Obama administration to dramatically increase efforts, troop strength and resources in Afghanistan. "We are actively supporting over 50 military resisters like Victor Agosto," Szyper-Seibert says. "They are all over the world, including André Shepherd in Germany and several people in Canada. We are getting five or six calls a week just about the IRR [Individual Ready Reserve] recall alone."
The IRR is composed of troops who have finished their active duty service but still have time remaining on their contracts. The typical military contract mandates four years of active duty followed by four years in the IRR, though variations on this pattern exist. Ready Reserve members live civilian lives and are not paid by the military, but they are required to show up for periodic musters. Many have moved on from military life and are enrolled in college, working civilian jobs, and building families.
Agosto told Truthout he stands willing to face the consequences of his actions.
"Yes, I'm fully prepared for this. I have concluded that the wars [in Iraq and Afghanistan] are not going to be ended by politicians or people at the top. They're not responsive to people, they're responsive to corporate America. The only way to make them responsive to the needs of the people is for soldiers to not fight their wars. If soldiers won't fight their wars, the wars won't happen. I hope I'm setting an example for other soldiers."
"One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law," Dr. Martin Luther King Junior said, words that concisely explain the ramifications of Agosto's position.
As evidenced by the stand being taken by Sergeant Bishop, Agosto's hope has already been realized. However, with 19,000 US soldiers recently added to the occupation of Afghanistan (bringing the total to 68,000) and violence continuing to escalate, there is an increasing likelihood for more to follow Agosto's lead.

Where's the Outrage 148 - War Resisters Held in Legal Limbo

This article by Sarah Lazare, was originally posted to Truthout, 16 June, 2009

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At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, AWOL soldiers find themselves detained for months under difficult conditions in an extended legal limbo they cannot escape.
Dustin Stevens is one of about 50 soldiers being held at Fort Bragg awaiting likely AWOL and desertion charges that seem like they will never arrive, he says.
A former soldier who refused to continue military service seven years ago because he did not want to fight a war, Stevens says that he and his colleagues are being held in legal limbo - a no man's land of poor living standards and arbitrary punishments - while awaiting charges and possible court-martial. Stevens has been in a holdover unit for five months without charges, and he says that others have been held for up to a year in conditions he describes as harrowing.
The unit is overcrowded and filthy, he says, with four people to a room. The command verbally abuses the soldiers, with one commanding officer proclaiming, "We should just shoot you all," according to Stevens. Troops are not receiving the medical and mental health care they need. "People around me are literally going crazy. I hear people threaten suicide on a daily basis," says Stevens. "They won't give us leave passes unless it's a dire emergency, so we're just sitting here, day by day."
The command offered the soldiers a free pass if they agreed to deploy to Afghanistan, according to Stevens. About ten people took up the offer, he says. Those who decline must find a way to endure.
At least 50 AWOL troops are being held right now in the holdover unit at the 82nd Replacement Company, constituting about three-quarters of its population, with the rest medical holdovers, says Stevens, who is corroborated by his civilian lawyer, James Branum. A holdover unit is a special unit for people who are on a legal hold of some kind, whether it is because they are seeking medical discharge, switching assignments or, as in Stevens's case, waiting for charges.
Branum says that at this particular holdover unit, AWOL soldiers are being held for long stretches of time before receiving charges. "People are in this unit for months and months. They take forever to do anything," says Branum. "You are going to be there six months if you're lucky, 12 if you're not."
Maj. Virginia McCabe, 82nd Airborne Division spokesperson, confirmed that AWOL soldiers are in the Holdover unit at the 82nd Replacement Company at Fort Bragg, but could not say how many are there, how long they are being held, or what their conditions are like. She acknowledged that soldiers are confined to the unit if they are deemed a flight risk, but could not provide details on how that is determined. "Each AWOL soldier has his or her own special circumstances," she says. "They stay in a holding platoon until a legal decision is made. Or they might say they made a mistake and are ready to serve."
Kathy Gilbert, head of the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, says that holdover units can be very unpleasant. "In reality, a lot of times these units are run by senior enlisted personnel who are obnoxious and give people a hard time," she says.
Gilbert also says that legal hold makes it structurally difficult to make complaints. "People on restriction would have to request to see a commanding officer, the person officially in charge of restriction, if they wanted to make a complaint. There is not an official way to do that," says Gilbert. "Most people who are on restriction don't even know whose authority places them on restriction and don't know that senior enlisted personnel don't have the authority they often claim to have. Command doesn't have an open door policy or encourage people to speak up."
In a military where desertion is still technically punishable by death, Stevens says he has found military "justice" to be cruel and arbitrary.
In May 2002, after five months in the Army, Stevens refused to stand in formation at his Airborne graduation and declared that he no longer wanted to serve. Stevens had joined the army to escape a broken home, thinking he had few other options. Yet, since day one, he had been having panic and anxiety attacks, finding himself morally opposed to his service, and to the prospect of deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan sometime in the future. "I knew in my heart and in my mind, I couldn't kill anybody and couldn't be a part of an organization that did so," he says. Upon his refusal, Stevens's command told him to simply go home and wait for his discharge papers, he says. The papers never showed up, but he didn't think anything of it, he says.
Seven years later, during a routine traffic stop, Stevens was told that there was a warrant for his arrest and he was whisked off to military custody, torn away from his girlfriend and his job. "This whole time, I've been living my life. I've been working, paying taxes, had a car and apartment," he says. Since January 15, 2009, he has been in a holdover unit, biding his time while he awaits charges that might be months away. These months of detention will not count toward his sentence.
Stevens says that the people being held in the 82nd Holdover Unit went AWOL for various reasons, some because they were opposed to the war, some because the Army wouldn't let them leave to tend to family problems, and some because of medical problems.
"It is horrible here. We are treated like animals," he says. "We're all just lost, wanting to go home. Some of us are going crazy, some were already crazy, some are sick," he says. "I'm bouncing on a pin needle. I read all of the time, I talk to people all of the time to try to stay out of this place in my mind. It's really hard."
"AWOL troops being held in a replacement unit is totally absurd and unusual and is an example of how the command has plenty of ways to punish people and enforce discipline, bypassing the formal justice system. Smoking people, giving them unofficial duties, mistreatment, and in this case, making an example out of people and segregating them, are all informal mechanisms of punishment commonly used in the military." says Carl Davison, Iraq war resister and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. "People who follow their consciences deserve our support, and there needs to be a highly vocal community out there to let them know they are not alone."
"Every single person here should not be here. There are people here who should be in mental hospitals, who are just sitting here. This place is hell, it really is," says Stevens. "And in my mind, I didn't even do anything wrong."

SANCTUARY DENIED (CANADA) - Iraq War resister Cliff Cornell deported from Canada

This alert was posted by Courage to Resist, February 10, 2009

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Reports to Fort Stewart today, court martial expected
U.S. war resister Cliff Cornell surrendered himself to U.S. border police on February 4 after being ordered to leave Canada. He was promptly arrested for being AWOL from the U.S. Army, and taken to the Whatcom County Jail in Bellingham, Washington. During a vigil by local supporters the next day (photo below), Cliff was released! Upon release he was ordered to travel on his own to Fort Stewart, Georgia. This morning Cliff and his civilian lawyer James Branum planned on surrendering to the AWOL Apprehension Unit at Fort Stewart.
The 28 year-old from Mountain Home, Arkansas refused to go to war because "it just didn't feel right," he told supporters at a 2005 rally in Canada soon after arriving. "I don't want to be killing innocent people." Cliff explains that he joined the Army only after repeated promises from the military recruiter that he could serve his country without being deployed to Iraq. Of course, that turned out to be lie.
Cliff traveled to Canada four years ago after his Army artillery unit was ordered to Iraq.
Despite a popular outcry in Canada to provide sanctuary to U.S. soldiers who refuse to fight in illegal wars, Canada’s Conservative government is pressing ahead with deportations. Cliff had come to call British Columbia home. But he now faces an expected court martial at Fort Stewart, and possibly two years in an Army stockade.
“Cliff Cornell should not be going to jail,” said Gerry Condon, director of Project Safe Haven, a war resister advocacy group. “He had the guts to follow his conscience and obey international law. President Obama should grant amnesty to Cliff Cornell and all war resisters.”
Cliff is the third Iraq War resister to be forced out of Canada. Chris Taske also returned to United States a couple of weeks ago, but was not arrested at the border. Chris and his lawyer are making plans to surrender to the military soon. Last July, Robin Long became the first war resister to be deported from Canada since the Vietnam War. Robin is now serving a 15-month prison sentence at Miramar Naval Consolidated Brig near San Diego.
Letters for Cliff can be sent to:

Cliff Cornell
c/o Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave #41
Oakland CA 94610.

We will forward these letters as soon as possible, and we'll post a direct mailing address for Cliff when one becomes available.
A defense fund for Cliff Cornell has been established by Courage to Resist, a war resister support group.
To donate:
www.couragetoresist.org/cliffcornell

American Exiles in Canada - "Activists take up cause of deserter held at Miramar; Robin Long was deported from Canada and is serving time at the air base. He is separated from his ailing Canadian partner and their child."

This article, by Tony Perry, was originally published in the LA Times, January 14 2009. This version was found on Lexis-Nexis, January 14, 2009.

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Antiwar activists have taken up the cause of an Army deserter who was deported from Canada and is now being held at the brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
Two dozen members of Military Families Speak Out and San Diego Veterans for Peace protested Tuesday afternoon outside the base in support of Robin Long, a onetime Army private who was sentenced in August to 15 months behind bars and a dishonorable discharge.
The activists support Long's view that the Iraq war is illegal and say his sentence is particularly cruel because it could prevent him from returning to his sick girlfriend and their 2-year-old son in Canada. Canadian law makes it difficult for convicted felons to enter Canada.
"Here's a guy who did what his conscience told him to do," said Dave Patterson, who was in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
"Why do we need to put him in prison? That's crazy."
Long, 25, of Boise, Idaho, enlisted in 2003 and deserted in 2005 when his Ft. Carson, Colo.-based unit was ordered to Iraq. He fled to British Columbia and applied for refugee status on the grounds that, as an opponent of the war in Iraq, he would suffer irreparable harm if returned to the United States.
Long's application was rejected and he was deported in July. His court-martial case is on appeal to a military appeals court. Also, activists have appealed to President-elect Barack Obama to pardon Long.
Long was the first U.S. service member who sought sanctuary in Canada to be deported. His deportation caused a political controversy in Canada because it seemed to signal a reversal of Canada's welcoming attitude toward deserters and draft resisters from the U.S. during the Vietnam war. About half a dozen American service members in Canada are now believed to be facing deportation.
As the Long case continued, the lower house of the Canadian parliament passed a nonbinding motion calling on the government to allow U.S. deserters to remain in Canada.
The Conservative Party government has not followed that policy.
In Canada, Long met a Canadian woman, fathered a child and opened a business encouraging water conservation by replacing grass lawns with less thirsty plants. His attorneys believe that Canada and the U.S. military have dealt harshly with him as an example to other troops.
"It's such a waste," said James M. Branum, Long's lawyer.
Joel Guberman, an immigration lawyer in Toronto who is not involved in the Long case, said a deportation order and a criminal conviction will make it difficult, but not impossible, for Long to return to Canada.
Guberman said Canadian law allows three avenues of appeal: Long could seek a "waiver of admissibility" based on the argument that desertion from the U.S. Army is not a serious crime in Canada. He could wait five years and assert that he has been rehabilitated. Or, he could get a hearing after being sponsored for return by his girlfriend, a Canadian citizen.
"It's not quite as dire as I'm hearing," he said in a telephone interview.
Military rules prohibit brig prisoners from talking to reporters. But before he was deported, Long was quoted on an activist website as saying, "Regardless of what hardships I go through, I could have put Iraqi families through more hardships. I have no regrets."

IVAW News - State of the Union Summer Tour Coverage (The Associated Press)

This article, "Anti-war group visits state", by Ron Jenkins, was posted by the Associated Press, August 18, 2008

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Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War spoke out Monday in Oklahoma as part of a national tour that includes events in Oklahoma City and Lawton, near Fort Sill Army Base.
Several members of the anti-war group attended a news conference at the state Capitol, including Justin Cliburn of Lawton, an Oklahoma Army National Guard member who went to Iraq in 2005.
The protesters criticized politicians for saying they support the troops, while voting against legislation to upgrade military equipment sent to Iraq and take care of veterans' medical needs when they return home.
They said that contrary to what is seen in news reports, most Iraqis do not support "the American occupation" of their country.
"The Iraqis told us, 'Look, I know you have good intentions here, but you're messing up our lives,'" said Jason Hurd of Asheville, N.C., an Army veteran and medic who was deployed in Baghdad in 2004.
Kristofer Goldsmith of Long Island, N.Y., spoke of attempting suicide after becoming disillusioned in Iraq.
Goldsmith said more needs to be done to help returning veterans with medical problems, including post traumatic stress disorder.
"The best way to support the troops is to keep them alive when they get back," he said.
Members of the IVAW were scheduled to speak Monday night at the First Unitarian Church in Oklahoma City and planned a free barbecue and workshop for veterans on Tuesday at Cameron University in Lawton.
The IVAW was praised by soldiers speaking at the Capitol for helping them deal with red tape standing in the way of getting medical and other benefits.
They were joined by two Oklahoma men whose sons were killed in Iraq Warren Henthorn of Choctaw and John Scripsick of Wayne.
Also speaking were James Branum, a Lawton lawyer who operates the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline and Nathaniel Batchelder, the director of the Oklahoma City Peace House.

Military Injustice - Support Robin Long! Iraq War resister faces court martial

This was originally published by Courage to Resist, jn response to Robin Long's deportation from Canada and return to the clutches of military injustice

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On July 15, 2008 U.S. Army PFC Robin Long became the first war resister since the Vietnam War forced to leave Canada and to be turned over to the U.S. military. Robin is currently being held in the El Paso County Jail, in Colorado, awaiting his Courts Martial. He will be present for his Courts Martial at Fort Carson, Co. He will likely be charged for AWOL, desertion, and possibly speech-related violations of military discipline; he is facing a General Courts Martial, the maximum penalty of such a trial is 20 years confinement. Support Robin Long and all troops with the courage to resist!

• 1. Donate to Robin’s legal expenses
• 2. Send Robin letters of support
• 3. Send Robin commissary money
• 4. Send Robin a book
• 5. Sign the public statement of support – coming soon

1. Donate to Robin legal’s expenses
Online: http://couragetoresist.org/robinlong
By mail: Make checks out to “Courage to Resist / IHC” and note “Robin Long” in the memo field. Mail to:

Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave #41
Oakland CA 94610

Courage to Resist is committed to covering Robin’s legal and related defense expenses. Thank you for helping make that possible.
Also: You are also welcome to contribute directly to Robin’s legal expenses via his civilian lawyer James Branum. Visit girightslawyer.com, select PayPal, and in the comments field note “Robin Long”. Note that this type of donation is not tax-deductible.
2. Send letters of support to Robin

Robin Long, CJC
2739 East Las Vegas
Colorado Springs CO 80906

Robin’s pre-trial confinement has been outsourced by Fort Carson military authorities to the local county jail.
Robin is allowed to receive hand-written or typed letters. To help ensure that he receives them, do not include drawings, stickers, copied photos or print articles. Robin cannot receive packages of any type (with the book exception as described below).
3. Send Robin a money order for commissary items
Anything Robin gets (toothbrush, shirts, paper, stamps, snacks, supplements, etc.) must be ordered through the commissary. Each inmate has an account to which friends may make deposits. To do so, a money order in US funds must be sent made out to "Robin Long, EPSO", along with the sender's name. Mail to the address above.
4. Send Robin a book
Robin is allowed to receive books which are ordered online and sent directly to him at the county jail from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. These two companies know the procedure to follow for delivering books for inmates.

Where's the Outrage 92 - Army imprisons outspoken war objector

Originally published by Courage to Resist, April 20, 2008

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"Since I joined up with Courage to Resist and Iraq Veterans Against the War, my life has changed. I plan to write a book about all of this, and to make positive change in my community when I get out," said AWOL PFC Ryan Jackson, before turning himself in at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on April 4. He had been absent without leave since December when a local commander vetoed his pending discharged from the 35th Signal Brigade at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
Donate to Ryan's defense today via Courage to Resist by noting "Ryan Jackson" in the "comments and notes" field online, or on your check memo line.
Send Ryan a message of support by emailing [email protected]
Look for a letter writing campaign to military authorities soon.
25-year old PFC Jackson joined the Army in 2005, and aspired to join the Special Forces. While stationed in Korea, inspired by the writings of Vietnam and Iraq war objectors, Jackson began to rethink his involvement in the Army.
“I feel ashamed every day,” Jackson wrote in his recent conscientious objector (CO) application. “I feel ashamed for taking part in the killing of others, and for allowing my comrades to be killed themselves. By putting on a uniform, I am showing my support. … I can no longer be a part of the Armed Forces or any organization of a violent nature.”
After two and a half years of honorable service, Ryan says he could no longer ignore his conscience. “Once my beliefs started to evolve and change, I became a different person,” he explains. “It starts to take a hold of you, giving you hope that you can make a difference, that you can change what you are doing, and that it is not too late!”
After surrendering to the military at Fort Sill, he was ordered to return to his unit at Fort Gordon, Georgia—which he did without escort. Once he arrived at Fort Gordon, however, he was placed under arrest. Ryan has been held in the brig under pre-trial confinement for the last week.

Army’s conscientious objection process “wrong”

When Ryan realized he was a conscientious objector, he knew he was obligated to take action. “I started to build an administrative packet,” Ryan explained. “I would come into work late, go home early, things of that nature. I explained my beliefs to my chain of command and advised them this would continue until I could be administratively discharged.”
James Branum is Ryan’s Oklahoma-based civilian attorney. “PFC Jackson decided to do whatever it took to be released from his obligation to an organization he could no longer be a part of,” he said. “PFC Jackson wrongly believed that there would be no point in filing for CO status, so he instead did his best to accumulate as many negative counseling statements as possible for minor issues, such as not coming in the morning or missing PT.”
Ryan’s attempts to have himself thrown out of the Army were nearly successful. His out-processing paperwork was half way completed when a local commander arbitrarily stopped his pending discharge last December.
Ryan also concluded that the military’s CO application process was “immoral, unethical, and wrong.” How could career officers sit in judgment of his beliefs he questioned. In the CO application he submitted on April 4, Ryan explained, “I've come to realize that my beliefs are not valid or sincere based on what any person that reads this says or thinks. My beliefs are valid because I say they are and because they are my beliefs and they compel me to be a better person.”

Pre-trial confinement

It is nearly unheard of for soldiers to be incarcerated prior to conviction of a non-violent offence. However, Ryan has been in pre-trial confinement since reporting to Fort Gordon last week.
On April 16, Military Magistrate Captain Eric Allen upheld Ryan’s ongoing pre-trial confinement during a Fort Gordon hearing. Capt. Allen acknowledged that Ryan returned to the Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on his own accord, and later reported as ordered to Fort Gordon, Georgia without supervision. Capt. Allen also noted that Ryan’s “motivation for the AWOL as frustration with the chapter discharge and Conscientious Objector processes,” and acknowledged “PFC Jackson’s current resolve to work things out through the appropriate channels.”
It’s likely that the military did not appreciate Ryan’s views of the war, his solidarity with GI resisters, or his willingness to share these views.
We heard from Ryan during a rush phone call that he was being transferred from Georgia to a navy base in South Carolina for the remainder of this pre-trial confinement.

Courage to Resist interview

Courage to Resist 23 min. audio interview with Ryan Jackson, April 2008.
Prior to surrendering at Fort Sill, Ryan shared a few thoughts about what might happen to him next.
“I really don’t just worry about it, because there are so many great people that have inspired me in the past that have faced so much worse than me.
“I looked at people in history – Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, who faced real persecution for their beliefs – and came to the conclusion that these people did this before me, to fight for civil rights and fight for peace and nonviolence. I said, ‘Well, who am I in this day and age when we supposedly have this freedom?’ The worst they’re going to do to me is possibly imprison me for a little bit, but I’ll still live to tell about it another day.
“I would guess that the percentage is very high of people who have a lot of problems with the Army, a lot of problems with the way they treat people….They have a way of trying to make you feel like you’re worthless.”

Support GI resisters—Free Ryan Jackson!

“It is in the Army's best interest to discharge PFC Jackson,” says attorney James Branum. “He will never be able to function in the military again due to his issues of conscience.” Courage to Resist, Iraq Veterans Against the War and other organizations have launched a public action campaign to support this courageous resister. The military has gone out of their way to prosecute Ryan for his association with anti-war groups, his open disdain for all war—and specifically the Iraq War, and his determination to support other GI resisters when his case is resolved.
“No matter what the Army decides to do with me, if I just take it and turn it into a positive experience and use my story and what I have to say to people to hopefully inspire other people and maybe save one person from going to kill other people and possibly being killed, then the sacrifice I made, I feel, is worth it,” declares Ryan