Dedicated To Iraq Veterans Who Know The Truth

Dedicated To Iraq Veterans Who Know The Truth
http://www.militaryproject.org/article.asp?id=646

From: Mike Hastie

To: GI Special

Sent: August 08, 2005

Subject: Dedicated to Iraq Veterans Who Know The Truth

I'm a little confused about America's political profile throughout the world.

We preach democracy with the right hand, but support Puppet Governments and Dictatorships with the left hand.

I'm sure one of these days, I'll figure out the logic behind this seemingly incongruous approach to preserving peace and freedom throughout the world.

I just know I haven't evolved or matured enough to appreciate the genius involved in comprehending the ramifications of such a humanitarian level of thinking. Maybe I need to return to Vietnam, and try to recapitulate what was obviously far beyond my youthful years to understand the first time.

There is obviously something I need to grow into, if I am to fully embrace America's involvement in Vietnam. I'm sure if I try hard enough, I will eventually grasp through enlightenment, what I've been confused about most of my adult life.

I know if I am just patient, it will all be crystal clear to me someday.

After all, these things take time. As printed on the U.S. dollar bill, "In God We Trust."

Mike Hastie
U.S. Army Medic
Ist Squadron, 10th Cavalry
4th Infantry Division
Vietnam 1970-71

What do you think? Comments from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Send to contact@militaryproject.org. Name, I.D., withheld on request. Replies confidential.

"I Have Lost Confidence In The Integrity Of UFPJ"

I hope our local organizers break with the national UFPJ position in defining our local event, and if they do, I hope they communicate that fact and why to national UFPJ.

For myself, I will make a sign that includes Palestinian rights and domestic civil rights and liberties, and encourage others to do likewise.

August 07, 2005 By Chris Lowe, Portside [Excerpt]

I wonder if Ted Pearson, Judith V. Lelchook or any other Portside reader can enlighten those of us who are merely foot-soldiers, so to speak, in the anti-war movement, how it came to be that UFPJ has taken a stance against including solidarity with Palestinian human rights and support for civil liberties at home in demands for the September actions? By what process, with what consultation, did this occur?

As I read the documents on UFPJ's website, both of those demands were endorsed explicitly by the last national gathering of UFPJ.

Who made the decision to override the action of that gathering?

With what authority?

With what consultation or report-back?

When UFPJ was formed, I supported it for two reasons. One was that it appeared to provide an alternative to undemocratic sectarian practices within ANSWER mobilizations and to a lesser extent in NION.

Now I wonder if it still provides such an alternative, or just a variant form of undemocratic practice for ideological ends.

It is my belief that UFPJ has made a serious error in defining the September actions as it has.

Stripping the movement of positive content, no longer analyzing who benefits from the war and who is harmed, not exposing the great dangers it poses beyond its narrow problems, and failing to sketch the outlines of alternative paths weakens the movement. It may or may not turn out marginally more people in September, but I am skeptical.

The cost is that the September events will in no way build toward preventing the next war as well as ending the present one. Nor will they provide any serious challenge to the assumptions that enabled the Bush administration to gain the support of many Democrats and most of the media in rolling us to war, and that enable it to continue to obscure its lies along the way.

How this happened remains opaque to me and I suppose to most of the rank and file who are somewhat attuned to movement politics without being organizers. I suspect it may be opaque to many local organizers as well, especially away from NYC, San Francisco and maybe L.A.

That opacity in itself is troubling commentary on the state of internal democracy of UFPJ, all the more so since internal democracy was a key raison d'etre of UFPJ in the first place. Given UFPJ's lack of transparency, it becomes that much easier to suspect that more than just a bad decision to opt for lowest- common-denominator tactics has taken place.

The suspicion/ fear/ paranoia (?) is that a species of center-leaning sectarianism has won the day inside UFPJ, one that actually does not support Palestinian human rights, that is ambivalent about protecting the human rights of those most threatened at home, and that does not want to expose or challenge the ways that the war embodies and advances particular interests at home while further eroding democracy, with the support of both major party presidential candidates from last year (I mean Kerry's continued support for imperial presidential war powers).

I don't know that is the case. But I do want to know why UFPJ has proceeded as it has, contrary to the position of its last national gathering, and how it did so.

Meanwhile, I have lost confidence in the integrity of UFPJ.

When I turn out in September, it will be on the same basis as I turned out for a NION-sponsored march in October of 2002 here in Portland -- to voice my opposition to the war, but not to support the mobilizing organization.

I hope our local organizers break with the national UFPJ position in defining our local event, and if they do, I hope they communicate that fact and why to national UFPJ.

For myself, I will make a sign that includes Palestinian rights and domestic civil rights and liberties, and encourage others to do likewise.

Chris Lowe

Portland, Oregon

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

A cattle rancher who chose not to be identified said of Bush's country-boy image, "It makes you wonder why they let a guy who chokes on a pretzel and falls off a scooter handle a chainsaw for the news cameras." Aug 7 2005 OZLEM ALTIOK, ntimc.org

Web Copies:

For back issues see GI Special web site at http://www.militaryproject.org/ .

The following that we know of have also posted issues:

http://gi-special.iraq-news.de, http://www.notinourname.net/gi-special/, www.williambowles.info/gispecial,

http://www.albasrah.net/maqalat/english/gi-special.htm
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CODEPINK Blogs From Crawford

Read: Diane Wilson: an interview by Gayle Brandeis

August 9, 2005

By Cindy Sheehan

The Peaceful Occupation of Iraq
Day 4

Today started at 4am when I had to get up and get ready to be on Good Morning America. It was pouring down rain at Camp Casey. The wind was blowing and there was thunder and lightening. It was pretty exciting. The interview went very well. I haven�t seen it or read a transcript. Since it was taped, I am just wondering if they showed it when I said Bush doesn�t want to see me because he likes to surround himself with �sycophants.� I also interviewed with Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Greta Van Susteran, and many others, and closed out the day with my pal, Mike Malloy.

The �first meeting� controversy died down a little today when my town�s newspaper printed an op-ed that contradicted Matt Drudge�s cherry-picked account of my first meeting with George.

But since they don�t have that controversy, they apparently have been lying about other things. Bill O�Reilly said that I am doing this because I have been bought out by, �The Arab Anti-Discrimination League.� He was telling his viewers that I am a tool for the liberals and that I am a tool for the anti-war movement. Right now, what we are doing right here in Crawford is the anti-war movement. We have such a strong coalition of groups. GSFP, CODEPINK, Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out and the Crawford Peace House.

I talked with John Conyers today and he wrote a letter to George signed by about 18 other Congress members to request that he meet with me. I also talked to Maxine Waters tonight and she is probably going to be here tomorrow. I am so overwhelmed by the support.

I did non-stop interviews today. 100 people came through today to visit with us. About 25 people are staying the night. More food, water, flowers, and money came through today. One father brought his 2 and 4 year old sons out to meet me and thank me for trying to save his boys from the same fate Casey suffered.

Celeste and Dante Zappala from Philadelphia and Bill Mitchell from Atascadero, Ca., all members of GSFP, came out today to support me and help me do interviews and greet all of the people who are arriving.

There is a huge action tomorrow in Aurora, Il. George Bush is leaving the ranch tomorrow to go to Aurora, Il to sign a part of the energy bill at the Caterpillar factory. True Majority has raised money to dog George Bush when he leaves the ranch. Every time he leaves, there will be a GSFP member, MFSO members, VFP members, and Code Pink members who will protest him and say �Meet with Cindy.� We will not let him have a 5 week nice vacation when there are millions of people in harm�s way in Iraq due to his careless policies. The people of Iraq and our soldiers are suffering. Why should George have a nice vacation?

Thank you for all your support and interest.

We are making a difference.

Keep up the good work.
http://www.codepink4peace.org/article.php?id=451