Editorials, Articles, and Websites of Interest to VFP Members

• "Call to Arms!" an inspiring challenge by an 85 year-old veteran. [endorsed by VFP109]
• "Crossing the Rubicon." by Michael C. Ruppert. The following is a synopsis of the case against Dick Cheney who was named as the prime suspect in the crimes on 9/11 by Michael C. Ruppert in his new book "Crossing the Rubicon."
• "He's wounded...He's done" Video from Fallujah. Lateline on Australian ABC television showing evidence that America takes no prisoners.
• "I can't go back to Iraq"  "I turn it to fire, I point again, and it's a little kid, 14 years old. He's running for his life scared," says Anderson . "Just like me and my fellow soldiers...That's why I can't go back to Iraq . You can't have a normal life after killing innocent people."
• "I Will Continue To Speak Out Until the Last Soldier Leaves Iraq": Interview with Antiwar Veteran of the Iraq War
• "My Name Is Rachel Corrie" Play in London at the Royal Court Theatre April 7-30
• "Outrage in Olympia as Sister City is Attacked" May 19th. Members: Craig Corrie, Christi McGinley, Larry Mosqueda, & Don Broadwell appear in Electronic Intifada's account of the vigil.
• "President Bush, You Killed My Son! I dare you to tell me the Iraq war was justified!"
• "So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." The comment, made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, came in reference to fighting insurgents in Iraq .
• "War Is Not A Noble Enterprise" An interview with New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges on the Iraq war, the trauma facing returning soldiers and the killing of innocent Iraqis.
• "War Without End" - Rep. Jim McDermott, (D) Washington
• 1.7 Million Veterans Lacked Health Coverage In 2003 Physicians for a National Health Program Report 
• 100,000 & Counting Campaign is a non-partisan, non-violent, educational outreach campaign created to honor the Iraqi civilians killed thus far in the Iraq war, inform the American people about that significant and needless loss of innocent life, and appeal to both national and international leadership to end the war. [Endorsed by VFP109]
• 15 percent of American soldiers on the battlefield actually tried to kill anyone
• 2004 VFP National Convention Resolutions
• 2004: Annus Horribilis in Iraq former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski
• 9/29/04 Veterans protest war in Crawford 
• A Base for the Corruption of Democracy by Scott Ritter
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF U.S. MILITARY RESISTANCE and peace movement support for resisters  by Zoltan Grossman
• A Cast Full of Betrayal by Mike Hastie, VFP72 Portland OR  
• A Father Speaks Out Against the Iraq War  On Father's Day, Fernando Suarez del Solar remembers his son.
• A Haitian-American Meets Rachel for the First Time The life and legacy of Rachel Corrie, for whom our chapter is named, continues to inspire people who have never met her.
• A Life Changed by War 
• A Look at 1,000 Who Died NY Times interactive graphic of the first 1,000 who have died.
• A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Deaths Look at this picture to see the costs of war!
• A Secure America in a Secure World Foreign Policy in Focus Special Report 
• A Soldier Speaks: Robert J. Acosta. The first in a series of profiles of some of the tens of thousands of Iraq War veterans who have come home bearing the scars of battle – emotional and physical wounds that may never heal unless the nation pays them the attention and care that they deserve.
• A Soldier Speaks: Sean Huze We all collectively as a nation allowed ourselves – and I was part of that – to fall for this "You're either with us or against us" and therefore "You're either a patriot or with the terrorists" thinking.
• A War Crime in Real Time: Obliterating Fallujah Francis Boyle. "The obliteration of Fallujah continues apace. Article 6(b) of the 1945 Nuremberg Charter defines a Nuremberg War Crime in relevant part as the ". . . wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages. . ." According to this definitive definition, the Bush Jr. administration's destruction of Fallujah constitutes a war crime for which Nazis were tried and executed."
• A Young Veteran's Struggle Against War Alex Ryabov, one of the four founders of Iraq Veterans Against the War
• Activist Organizations
• Agencies warn Bush that U.S. isn't defeating Iraq insurgents U.S. forces haven't been able to stop the insurgents' intimidation of Iraqi voters, candidates and others who want to participate in the elections.
• America's Agenda for Global Military Domination
• An Army Ready to Snap by Bob Herbert, The NY Times 
• An Interview with Veteran War Correspondent Chris Hedges YES! editor Sarah Ruth van Gelder asked Chris Hedges to draw on his years spent in war zones to reflect on the experiences of young Americans now fighting in Iraq .
• An Open Letter from Sam Hamill September 11, 2004 Sam Hamill is from Port Townsend WA and created Poets Against the War
• Annie and the Vets hear a sample of "Touch A Name On the Wall"  - these country/folk style songs about peace, sung by members of Veterans for Peace.
• Anti War Websites by The Guardian
• April 29th Statement by Michael T. McPhearson, Executive Director of Veterans For Peace  
• Arlington Northwest Memorial in Tacoma
• Arlington NW -  Memorials sponsored by VFP92 and VFP109
• Arlington NW Memorial - Olympia WA October 16-17 Veterans For Peace - Rachel Corrie Chapter 109 held a 24 hour memorial after a somber procession through downtown Olympia carrying crosses representing more than a 1,000 service people who have die in Iraq.
• Arlington NW Video a joint project between VFP chapter 92 http://www.vfp92.org and EPJC in Kirkland/Redmond.
  http://www.epjc.net 
• Arlington West - Not in his Name  Daniel Kelly, Veterans For Peace
• Arlington West - Santa Monica on Memorial Day Weekend
• Arlington West Sho ws Tragedy of Iraq War Arlington West will continue to grace the sands of Santa Monica until the Iraq war ends. It would take miles of beach to memorialize all of the Iraqis killed in this war.
• Army band forced to adapt after musicians go to war [Note: as a former bandsman 1966-1969, I just had to post this one--Dennis] It is not easy playing Sousa when half your woodwinds and a quarter of your brass are in Iraq...The 199th Army Band currently has openings in all sections."
• Army Having Difficulty Meeting Recruiting Goals
• Army Having Difficulty Meeting Recruiting Goals
• Army Manual to Skip Geneva Detainee Rule http://www.truthout .org/docs_ 2006/060506Z. shtml and http://www.latimes. com/news/ nationworld/ nation/la- na-torture5jun05 ,0,877738, full.story? coll=la-home- headlines By Julian E. Barnes  The Los Angeles Times Sunday 04 June 2006
• Army Plans to Keep Iraq Troop Level Through '06 Troop strength in Iraq is expected to stay at the current level of about 120,000 for at least two more years, according to the Army's top operations officer.
• Arundhati Roy Public Power in the Age of Empire: War, Resistance and the Presidency famed Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy speaking in San Francisco, California on August 16th, 2004 Watch 128k stream   Watch 256k stream    Read Transcript
• Back Door Draft  Large Quicktime Version Small Quicktime Version Large Windows Media Version Small Windows Media Version  by Texans for Truth
• Bob Herbert: Rumsfeld and the degradation of the U.S. military
• Books Written by VFP Members
• Boston Social Forum Dennis Kucinich speaks about a Peace Platform
• Breaking Ranks
• Breaking Ranks: An Interview with Mike Hoffman 10/11/04
• Breaking Their Silence Families of U.S. troops have long adhered to a clan code that prohibits speaking out against a war. Now some are going public over Iraq . LA Times 10/6/04
• Brethren Agree to Revive 'Alternative Service' Draft Programs Leaders of the Church of the Brethren say they will follow through on a request from the Selective Service to have "alternative service" programs in place for conscientious objectors if a draft is reinstated.
• Building the Iraq Wall  North Carolina . We are building a wall listing the names, ages, and hometowns of our young people dying in the Iraq War.
• Bunker Busters and Hiroshimas  
• Bush Administration Psychological Warfare Against the U.S.? An Interview with (ret.) Colonel Sam Gardiner describes "what propaganda literature would refer to as the big lie."
• Bush Must Be Held Accountable The Olympian editorial 12/20/05 (a must read!)
• Bush’s War Against the Military by Ian Williams. In These Times. The British Army's pay scale is twice that of the United States '  10/24/04
• Bush's Bureaucracy Stiffs Wounded Vets By Jim Hightower, AlterNet. Posted March 19, 2005. A February study by Congress' bipartisan investigative arm found that the Pentagon lacks the ability even to track the wounded, much less assure that each of them gets the full attention they've earned in battle.
• Can You Imagine?: Hussein Was Right & Bush Was Wrong by Harry Browne. The United Nations Security Council ordered Iraq to produce a report detailing all of its biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons — past and present. Iraqi officials complied and produced an 11,800-page report on Iraq 's weapons programs. The report described all the chemical and biological weapons the country once had — where they came from and what was done with them — as well as what had happened to Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Although the report was prepared for the United Nations, U.S. officials intercepted the report, edited out 8,000 pages (over two thirds) of it, and delivered its Reader's Digest version of the report to the UN. A German reporter managed to obtain a copy of the original report from Iraq , and then compared it with the truncated copy the U.S. gave to the UN.  "It's a sorry state of affairs in America when you can trust the words of Saddam Hussein more than those of your own President." -- Harry Browne
• Candlelight Vigils for a Thousand Fallen Soldiers
• Casey's Poem - for a U.S. soldier who died in Iraq on April 4th, 2004
• Cindy Sheehan Articles
• Civilians bear brunt as Samarra 'pacified'
• Conscientious Objector Witnessed Abuse, Killing of Iraqi Detainees at Abu Ghraib Democracy Now interview.
• Conscientious Objectors
• Controversial Cockpit Video on the Strafing of Civilians in Fallujah:Pentagon Investigating its own War Crimes
• Counter Recruiting and  Know All You Can Know - Truth in Recruiting
• Counter Recruiting Resources
• Counting the Casualties American armed forces have long stated that they do not keep track of how many people have been killed in the current conflict in Iraq and, furthermore, that determining such a number is impossible. Not everybody agrees.
• Craig and Cindy Corrie Video Interview on Every Church a Peace Church [Note: Craig is a member of VFP109]
• Criminals the lot of us Scott Ritter, former senior weapons inspector in Iraq for the United Nations and a former major in the U.S. Marines.
• Critical Media Literacy in Times of War Analyze sources, word choice, and point of view for bias. Examine how different media offer radically different reports on civilian casualties and anti-war protests  Identify conservative, liberal, and progressive political perspective.
• Days of Shame Bob Herbert NY Times  Nov 1, 2004 "That people are dying by the tens of thousands in a war that did not have to be fought - a war that was launched by the United States - is mind-boggling. Also mind-boggling is the attempt by Republican Party elements to return the U.S. to the wretched days of the mid-20th century when many black Americans faced harassment, intimidation and worse for daring to exercise their fundamental right to vote."
• Dead-Check in Falluja Embedded with the Marines in Iraq by Evan Wright November 24 - 30, 2004
• Death in Fallujah rising, doctors say January 4, 2005
• Delegation Presents Resolution to Governor Gregoire's Office   Tacoma News Tribune
• Dennis Kyne Charged with 8 Counts at RNC [Ed.:5 of the 14 people from Olympia who were at the RNC were also charged.
• Dennis Kyne If you missed hearing Dennis speak in Olympia , check out his website.
• Denying the Troops a Secret Ballot NY Times Op-Ed Sept 3rd. Members of the military will be allowed to vote this year by faxing or e-mailing their ballots - after waiving their right to a secret ballot.
• Depleted Uranium - a growing collection of resources
• Depleted Uranium Articles a growing collection of articles on Depleted Uranium.
• Depleted Uranium Articles a growing collection of articles on Depleted Uranium.
• Destroying Iraq to Save it Michael Kinsley, LA Times. It was a terrible mistake and it's a terrible mess, but we can't just walk away from it — was actually the pro-war position during Vietnam .
• Did the U.S. Commit War Crimes in Viet Nam? - Interesting article created in response to veterans angry at Kerry's anti-war statements when he returned from Viet Nam .
• Dinner with Scott Ritter by Bob Rudolph
• Direct Action - Civil Disobedience in Eugene OR
• Discharged and Dishonored: Shortchanging America's Veterans
• Dr. George Hill Speaks Out on Depleted Uranium Not all physicians agree with the Physician for Social Responsibility report on Depleted Uranium. Read Dr. Hill's letter to the PSR (.doc) 
• Dumbest. Election. Ever.  By William Rivers Pitt   t r u t h o u t | Perspective Sep 10
• Everyday life in Baghdad: An Iraqi woman's account (Le Monde, Feb. 4) published this pseudonymous account of everyday life in Baghdad , written by a 49-year-old middle-class woman with a family and a job, describing her everyday life in Baghdad .  --  "Nadia Ahmed" describes an existence completely dominated by fear.  --  Not particularly political herself, she opposes the fundamentalists, but hates the war, despises Americans and sympathizes with the resistance to the occupation.
• Executive Director Position Open The Board of Directors of Veterans For Peace hereby announces an immediate opening in the position of Executive Director, to be filled early in 2005, and invites applications.
• Ex-Marine Says Public Version of Saddam Capture Fiction A former U.S. Marine who participated in capturing ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said the public version of his capture was fabricated.
• Expatriate Chronicles Follow Wes & Judy's Blog on their journey in the U.K. See picture of Judy Linehan in Trafalgar Square Peace Camp speaking out on behalf of Military Families Speak Out. Way to go, Judy! While we marched in Olympia , Judy addressed a Peace rally in Stockhom, Sweden on March 19, 2005, the 2nd Anniversary of the Iraq War. Also see George Galloway with Wes & Judy. Gordon Gentle ( UK soldier killed) Judy and Wes demonstrate with Rose Gentle, mother of Gordon. Photo of Wes at a recent vigil following the London bombings showing solidarity with the Muslim community.  Parliament Square Vigil  Photo of Wes at Washington D.C. Anti-War Protest Sep 24  
• Eyewitness: Falluja battle scars BBC News 11/15/2004
• Faces of the Fallen
  Portraits of U.S. service members who have died in Iraq since the beginning of the war.
• Fallujah Napalmed [Ed.:This is one report coming out of the U.K. I would like more verification, but felt it necessary to post now.]
• Falluja's Health Damage The Nation [from the December 13, 2004 issue]
• Families of Iraq War Dead Target Bush in Ads September 29th
• Families Pay the Price Bob Herbert NY Times. 4-year-old named Jack Shanaberger, whose father was killed in an ambush in March, told his mother he didn't want to be a father when he grew up. "I don't want to be a daddy," he said, "because daddies die."
• Family of Iraq Abuse Whistleblower Threatened
• FCNL Free Iraq--The Responsibility of Withdrawal
• FCNL Steps for Withdrawal from Iraq
• Few but Organized, Iraq Veterans Turn War Critics NY Times, Jan 23
• Fighting For Our Troops:  Baird Proposes $1.3 Billion Increase for VA Services for Returning Soldiers Congressman Brian Baird
• Former Marine offers cautionary war story  Iraq veteran Jimmy Massey tells of combat's horrors at Siena event
• Fort Lewis soldier's family urges Gregoire to oppose deployment
• Free Camilo Mejia On May 21, 2004, 28-year-old Sgt. Camilo Mejia was sentenced to one year in prison for refusing to return to fight in Iraq . Camilo spent six months in combat in Iraq , then returned for a 2-week furlough to the US . There he reflected on what he had seen, including the abuse of prisoners and the killing of civilians. He concluded that the war was illegal and immoral, and decided that he would not return. In March 2004 he turned himself in to the US military and filed an application for conscientious objector status.
• Freespeech TV Program Library over 50 online videos.
• Getting Out of Iraq: A Letter to the US Peace Movement Mike Kress is an Air Force veteran (87-94) who served in the Persian Gulf (Operation Southern Watch) and left the military as a conscientious objector.
• GI Fightback This site aims to be a resource for military people and their families who want to Fightback! NO WAR!
• GI Rights Hotline 800-394-9544 provides information to servicemembers about military discharges, grievance and complaint procedures, and other civil rights.
• GQ Magazine Seeks Photos from those who served in Iraq GQ magazine will publish a photo essay in March, made up entirely of pictures taken by members of the US military. We want to show America what the war looks like to the men and women who have fought it, the people who live it, instead of relying on journalists. We will pay you between $200 to $1,000 for each picture published (depending on the size your pictures are printed.)
• Grim Milestone by Cindy Sheehan
• Guard Got More Than Many Bargained For  Tacoma News Tribune
• Guidelines for VFP-ALL eGroup
• Haji Ali and U.S. Prisons in Iraq Haji is the person in the famous picture from Abu Ghraib Prison, a hooded detainee standing on a stool with electrical wires attached to his body. 
• Hear It From the Troops Operation Truth. Your place to get the real stories from the men and women who have served.
• High Time Bush Defines the Enemy By Ronald Bruce St John. America now has some 5 million people on its terrorism watch list. By listing virtually every terrorist organization in the world and every person in those organizations thought capable of a terrorist act, we have lost focus and created a bureaucratic nightmare.
• How Americans Were Seduced by War Paul Craig Roberts. Sooner or later Americans will realize that they have been led to defeat in a pointless war by political leaders who they inattentively trusted. They have been misinformed by a sycophantic corporate media too mindful of advertising revenues to risk reporting truths branded unpatriotic by the propagandistic slogan, "you are with us or against us." 
• How Dare Some Say, 'Support our Troops'? by J. Kamilewicz, whose son is being deployed to Iraq . "...please know that you will be in my shoes or his shoes unless you ask questions and demand answers of those in power."
• How the Commander-in-Chief Really Supports Veterans
• How The U.S. Murdered a City Fallujah: The Truth at Last
• How to End the Iraq War By Tom Hayden, AlterNet
• How to End the War Naomi Klein
• I Am Too Poor For War  a poem by David Inkey
• I Support the Troops Bill Shein, Berkshire Eagle Online
• In Good Conscience - An Interview with Conscientious Objector Aidan Delgado
• In war's name, public loses info Federal agencies under the Bush administration are sweeping vast amounts of public information behind a curtain of secrecy in the name of fighting terrorism, using 50 to 60 loosely defined security designations that can be imposed by officials as low-ranking as government clerks.
• Influx of Wounded Strains VA Claims Backlog Besets Returning U.S. Troops. Oct 3
• Investigate alleged violations of law in Fallujah attack By Jim McDermottT and Richard Rapport [Also hear Mike McCormick KEXP (20 minutes, excellent) Interview with Karen Parker Esq.]
• Iraq abuse witness were told not to talk, memo says St. Louis Post-Dispatch December 08, 2004
• Iraq and the U.S. Legacy By Colonel Daniel Smith, USA (Ret.) | November 26, 2004
• Iraq Coalition Casualties [Very inclusive, comprehensive site]
• Iraq Veteran Champions the Cause of Iraq's Orphans Jonathan Powers is heading up War Kids Relief.  
• Iraq veteran speaks out against war Former Marine tells ND crowd his experience reshaped his perspective.
• Iraq Veterans Against the War committed to saving lives and ending the violence in Iraq by an immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces.
• Iraq War Coverage Reminds Me of Vietnam  by John R. MacArthur
• Is Anyone Ever Prepared To Kill? Christian Science Monitor article
• Japanese panel calls for 'first strike' capability
• Killed Unarmed Iraqis, Ex-Marine Tells Hearing U.S. deserter was right to flee his post, immigration and refugee board told
• Know All You Can Know Action Team
• Leaving Iraq Col. Dan Smith, USA Ret.
• 'Let me fight my monsters'  My Name Is Rachel Corrie is at the Royal Court , Sloane Square , London SW1 until April 30. We've tried to do justice to the whole of Rachel: neither saint nor traitor, both serious and funny, messy and talented, devastatingly prescient and human and whole. Or, in her own words, "scattered and deviant and too loud". We chose Rachel's words rather than those of the thousands of Palestinian or Israeli victims because of the quality and accessibility of the writing: as Rickman says, "The activist part of her life is absolutely matched by the imaginative part of her life. I've no doubt at all that had she lived there would have been novels and plays pouring out of her." The tragedy is that we'll hear no more from Rachel Corrie. April 7, 2005 - April 30, 2005 "My Name Is Rachel" Play in London 's Royal Court Theatre . Read Wes' review of "My Name is Rachel Corrie." Wes and Judy attended the play with the Corries in London . Links to reviews in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,,1459252,00.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4455549.stm 
• Let Them Eat Bombs Terry Jones is a film director, actor and Python. He is the author of Terry Jones' War on the War on Terror
• Letters From Iraq to Michael Moore
• Letters to the Editor  Most newspapers will publish 225 word letters each month. Let's use this opportunity to promote the values of VFP. Larry Kerschner Writes Larry, a member of VFP109, frequently writes letters to the Editor that challenge one's thinking. Bob Rudolph Writes letters to the editor from Steilacoom.
• Letting Down the Troops Bob Herbert , NY Times. 10/29/04  This has been a war run by amateurs and incompetents. Whatever anyone has felt about the merits of the war, there is no excuse for preparing so poorly and for failing to see, at a minimum, that the troops were properly trained and equipped.
• Links of Interest to VFP
• Listen to samplers of War Music by County Joe McDonald in RealAudio format: Sampler 1   Sampler 2
• Lords of the Flies A Russian  newspaper reporter from "Zavtra" happened to be in Fallujah, besieged by American troops. He escaped from the destroyed city and sent this report.
• Lots More Troops To Iraq... After the Election Ray McGovern
• Made in Iraq: the new antiwar veteran  The Boston Globe  August 25th
• Marine back from Iraq says No More Bush
• Marine's protest of Iraq war divides community Former military recruiter returns from battle with unsettling story.
  A Matter of Conscience by Sgt. Kevin Benderman.  I cannot tell anyone else how to live his or her life, but I have determined how I want to live mine – by not participating in war any longer, as I feel that it is stupid and against everything that is good about our world.
• Memorial Day 2006 Message by Michael T. McPhearson, Executive Director of Veterans For Peace
• MFSO March for Peace Numerous peace groups came together in Washington , DC 10/2/04 for the Trail of Mourning from Arlington to the White House.
• Militarism threatens to bankrupt U.S. economically and morally By Reed M. Smith
• Militarization of Toys and Its Effects a pdf presentation of the growing military influence on toys
• Military Families continue to Speak Out: Bring Them Home NOW! Nov 3
• Military Families Speak Out an organization of people who are opposed to war in Iraq and who have relatives or loved ones in the military.
• Military Families; Impact with Loved Ones Deployed to Iraq By Lietta Ruger
• Military Pollution: The Quintessential Universal Soldier The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest polluter in the world, producing more hazardous waste than the five largest U.S. chemical companies combined.
• Military Recruiters Lie About Dangers In Iraq Video: Watch Dave Wagner's Report
• Missing Explosives! Watch KSTP Video Forget CNN's spin. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS news have compelling coverage.
• More research urged for Gulf War illness  Seattle PI, Nov 12   
• More than 100,000 Iraqis have died - and where is our shame and rage?  By Scott Ritter The Guardian 1 November 2004
• Mortality before and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq:cluster sample survey an authoritative study of Les Roberts et al of the John Hopkins School of Public Health on the deaths of Iraqi civilians, published by The Lancet (Online Medical Journal based in the UK ).
• Murderous Thugs - Transcript of remarks made by Cindy Sheehan, a member of Gold Star Families For Peace. - April 4, 2005
• My Husband Was Ordered to Shoot at Small Children Who Threw Rocks Monica Benderman  See also:Today MY Husband Went to His Commanding Officer by Monica Benderman  My Thoughts Concerning Iraq and Going Back a Second Time By: SGT Kevin M. Benderman
• My Experience In Baghdad 2004-2005 A Baghdad MP shares his experiences in Iraq and his thoughts about the Iraq War.
• Myth and Reality of War by Chris Hedges
• Navy petty officer in San Diego refuses war duty
• Navy To Deploy Ships Near N. Korea September 25 ABOARD THE USS CORONADO - In the first step toward erecting a multi-billion-dollar shield to protect the United States from foreign missiles, the U.S. Navy will begin deploying state-of-the-art destroyers to patrol the waters off North Korea as early as next week.
• Nearly 900 U.S. Kids Lost a Parent in War After studying casualty reports and obituaries and accounts in hometown newspapers, and also conducting family interviews, Scripps Howard News Service has identified nearly 900 U.S. children who have lost a parent in the war. 
• No Child Left Unrecruited: Rep. Jim McDermott Seeks to Protect Students From Military Recruiters [first 13 minutes followed by an interview with counter recruiters]
• No Embeds at Landstuhl Far from the battleground, and the eyes of reporters and cameramen, almost 500 wounded U.S. military personnel have been airlifted to Germany for medical treatment since the start of the Fallujah offensive. Despite claims that the heavy fighting has ended, another 46 arrived on Monday.
• No Stars, Just Cuffs  Instead of a gold star, Sue Niederer, 55, of Hopewell , N.J. , got handcuffed, arrested and charged with a crime for daring to challenge the Bush policy in Iraq , where her son, Army First Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, died in February while attempting to disarm a bomb.
• On the 2,000th US Death in Iraq by Fernando Suarez del Solar. On March 27, 2003, just seven days after the illegal occupation of Iraq began, the fifth U.S. casualty (and the second Latino) fell -- my son Jesús Alberto Suarez del Solar Navarro.
• Open Letter from Fernando Suarez How much longer? How many lives, how many families, how many orphaned children will be traumatized before this immoral war based on lies comes to an end? ?cuantas vidas,cuantas familias, cuantos niños huerfanos mas sera necesario para poner fin a esta guerra inmoral basada en mentiras?
• Opt Out - Know All You Can Know
• Other Chapters
• Outsourcing Torture  Jane Mayer, The New Yorker  The secret history of America ’s “extraordinary rendition” program. 2/7/05
• Pajaro Woman Who Lost Son in War Returns from Jordan
• Peace Activist Veterans Demonstrate Outside Military Entrance Station Chapter 87 Sacramento CA
• Peace Can Spread Freedom Helen Thomas, Hearst White House columnist
• Peacemaker's Prayer an OpEd in The Olympian on Jan 7 by Cheryl Crist
• Peace-Out  a comprehensive online resource for soldiers wishing to become conscientious objectors.  
• Pentagon Blocks Site for Voters Outside U.S. This is really disturbing to hear. Update: The agency said the changes were made in response to concerns.
• Pentagon creating student database  WASHINGTON — The Defense Department yesterday began working with a private marketing firm to create a database of all U.S. college students as well as high-school students between ages 16 and 18, to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment.
• Pentagon is Lying Its Way Out of an Unwinnable War -- Again Retired US Army Colonel David Hackworth is a syndicated columnist.
• Pentagon Wants Women In Combat Friday, Dec. 10, 2004
• PhpWiki-Bush Bad For Vets  a collection of progressive articles
• Platoon Defies Orders in Iraq A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday.
• Port of Olympia The Coast Guard is establishing a security zone in Budd Inlet, Olympia , WA to protect Department of Defense assets and military cargo in Puget Sound , Washington . This security zone, when enforced by the Captain of the Port Puget Sound, will regulate traffic in the vicinity of military cargo loading operations in the navigable waters of the United States . Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 237 / Friday, December 10, 2004 / Rules and Regulations. Why? The Government stated: Background and Purpose Hostile entities continue to operate with the intent to harm U.S. National Security by attacking or sabotaging national security assets.
• Powerful Government Accounting Office report confirms key 2004 stolen election findings by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman October 26, 2005
• Price of War At best, war is the failure of leaders to resolve conflicts. At worst, war is a massive money-generating machine that has no regard for life.
• Principal apologizes for speakers at Veterans Day assembly Bellingham WA    Two members of Veterans for Peace got a standing ovation when they addressed a high-school Veterans Day assembly, but their appearance prompted a letter of apology from the principal.
• Progressives in the Military? Some recent polls estimate that while service members do favor a conservative ideology, the margin is much smaller: 52 to 44 percent.
• Pro-Soldier, Anti-War My Experiences as a Conscientious Objector and the Launching of Peace-Out.Com. by Perry O'Brien
• Protest the war, not the warriors by Andrew Borene, a University law student and adviser to Operation Truth
• Protestors Pay Tribute to Fallen Troops More than 1,100 flag-draped symbolic coffins line the reflecting pool at the base of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2004 in Washington . Sponsored by Quakers, VFP, and MFSO.
• PTSD We are just beginning to learn more about PTSD and how it impacts veterans from Iraq and VietNam
• Rachel Corrie Memorial Website
• Rationalizing Atrocities
• Red Cross slams Iraq fighting GENEVA , Switzerland (AP) -- The International Red Cross is "deeply concerned" with the killing of civilians and non-combatants in Iraq and the apparent failures by all sides to respect humanitarian law.
•  Regaining My Humanity By Camilo Mejia. He was convicted of desertion by the U.S. military for refusing to return to the war in Iraq and was imprisoned. Mejia was released from prison on February 15th.
• Reinlist or Face Deployment COLORADO SPRINGS - Soldiers from a Fort Carson combat unit say they have been issued an ultimatum - re-enlist for three more years or be transferred to other units expected to deploy to Iraq .
• Relatives fear for forgotten war wounded U.K. Relatives fear for forgotten war wounded
• Remembering Rachel Corrie: Justice Still Not Served Elizabeth Corrie. "As we approach March 16, residents and citizens of the United States should ask themselves how it is that an unarmed United States citizen can be killed with impunity by a soldier from an allied nation receiving massive United States aid, using a product manufactured in the United States by a United States corporation and paid for with United States tax dollars. When three Americans were killed, presumably by Palestinians, in an explosion on October 15, 2003 as they traveled through Gaza , the FBI arrived within 24 hours to investigate the deaths. After one year, neither the FBI, nor any other US-led team has done anything to investigate the death of an American, knowingly killed by an Israeli."
• Reporters Press McClellan on Secret CIA Report on Iraq 6/22/05 Editor & Publisher. According to the classified CIA report, the Iraq insurgency poses an international threat and may produce better trained Islamic terrorists than the 1980s Afghanistan war that gave rise to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
• Resource Guide: Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom
• Resources for "Challenging Be All You Can Be" 
• Returning Fallujans will face clampdown By Anne Barnard, Globe Staff | December 5, 2004
• Returning veterans paint grim picture of war's toll Chicago Sun Times
• Rich Kids Go to College, Poor Ones to Baghdad By Tom Woodward
• RNC Ran their own private detention center This is scary reading. I learned that 5 of the 20 people from Olympia were arrested while protesting in NYC.
• San Francisco Voters Ban Military Recruiters in Schools By a strong 60-40 margin San Francisco voters approved Proposition I, which bans military recruiters from public schools. The measure also asks the city government to consider funding scholarships for education and training that could provide an alternative to military service (but doesn't mandate any such funding).
• Satire - It Takes Real Courage to Desert Your Post and Then Attack a Wounded Vet Michael Moore
• Seattle Draft and Military Counseling Center
• Seekers of the Truth, Veterans’ reflections on war, healing and forgiveness.
• Self Fulfilling Prophecy of Occupation by Joe Carr who was with Rachel Corrie when she was murdered. Joe is now with CPT in Iraq .
• Sgt. Kevin Benderman, An American Hero by Hon. Cynthia McKinney, Congressional Record
• Soldiers' Crosses on a Santa Monica Beach by Phillip Martin NPR All Things Considered Jan 15, 2005
• Soldiers Disciplined for Unauthorized Use of Military Vehicles Darrell Birt, a former chief warrant officer with the 656th Transportation Company, is among six reservists who were recourt-martialed and dishonorably discharged for using abandoned vehicles to accomplish a support mission in Kuwait in 2003.
• Soldier's new mission is exposing risk of depleted uranium  Dennis Kyne interview in Colorado Aug 15th
• Statement on the Murder of Rachel Corrie
• Support Our Troops: Bring Them Home Howard Zinn. The reason is simple: Our presence there is a disaster for the American people and an even bigger disaster for the Iraqi people.
• Supporting dissent is not enough by Camilo Mejia
• Take No Prisoners Very disturbing video of killing a wounded Iraqi. No Geneva Convention here.
• 'The Bonus Army' Lesson "The enduring legacy of the Bonus Army," write Dickson and Allen, "goes well beyond the GI Bill ... (They) taught an American lesson to those who fretted over revolution: If you have a grievance, take it to Washington, and if you want to be heard, bring a lot of people with you."
• The Bonus Army  In 1932 45,000 World War I veterans marched on Washington , D.C. demanding bonus pay promised to them at the end of the war. The protest was not a one-day or one-weekend event. It gripped Washington , D.C. , newspapers and ended after active soldiers were ordered to drive them out of town.
• The Case Against George W. Bush  By Ron Reagan
• The casualties of war go far beyond the battlefields Rev. Daniel J. Webster, Salt Lake Tribune ( Utah )
• The Civilians We Killed by Michael Hoffman, took part in the invasion of Iraq as a US Marine and is co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War ( http://www.ivaw.net  )
• The Costs of War at Walter Reed  http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1190 
• The Costs of War-Letters from the Home Front Teri Wills Allison, a massage therapist and a member of Military Families Speak Out, lives near Austin , Texas .
• The Effect of the War in Iraq on America's Security by Senator Ted Kennedy
• The Enemy Is Us  In war, you deny information, spread lies and use psychological warfare. An expert on military information operations explains how Bush has mastered this technique -- and used it against the American people.
• The Faces of 1,000 Soldiers  The editors and staff of t r u t h o u t offer our deepest and most profound condolences to the families of the men and women who have fallen in Iraq .
• The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq by Ron Kovic ("Born on the Fourth of July") (New)
• The killing has got to stop Joe Colgan, father of Lt. Benjamin Colgan, who was killed in action in Baghdad on Nov. 1, 2003. (New)
• The Lies That Led to War Juan Cole May 19, 2005
• The New Face of Protest? "But we're the vets who've been there and fought, and it seems it's hard for us to be dismissed. We've been to Iraq . We've seen it. We know it's wrong. We have to end it." He shrugs and raises his hands, palms up, as if he holds a tidy package. "It's very simple. There's not a lot of other issues we're talking about."
• The Price of Valor Dan Baum on PTSD
• The Rebuilding Alliance  Please Help Rebuild the Nasrallah Family's Home, that Rachel Sought to Safeguard.
• The Resource Guide for Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom provided by Veterans for Common Sense, a non-partisan veterans' organization.
• 'The Salvador Option' The Pentagon May Put Special-Forces-led Assassination or Kidnapping Teams in Iraq by Michael Hirsh and John Barry. One Pentagon proposal would send Special Forces teams to advise, support and possibly train Iraqi squads, most likely hand-picked Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shiite militiamen, to target Sunni insurgents and their sympathizers, even across the border into Syria , according to military insiders familiar with the discussions.
• The Skies Are Weeping,' a cantata by Philip Munger Text of cantata honoring Rachel;  link to audio
• The Tragedy of American Diplomacy in Iraq by Carl Mirra
• The terror of President Bush How one word granted one man so much power and control by Mike Adams 02/08/06
• The Uncounted Pentagon Confirms 15,000 Injured and Ill ; Iraq War Casualties Hit 25,000
• The Unfeeling President by novelist E.L. Doctorow. The president we get is the country we get. With each president the nation is conformed spiritually. He is the artificer of our malleable national soul. He proposes not only the laws but the kinds of lawlessness that govern our lives and invoke our responses. The people he appoints are cast in his image. The trouble they get into and get us into, is his characteristic trouble.
• The Unknown Soldiers By Lakshmi Chaudhry Thursday 21 October 2004 The reality of the suffering in Iraq has been rendered invisible by media hype and partisan battle. One doctor, who has treated some of the thousands, speaks about the war wounded.
• The US falls for the Soviet trap in Iraq The war in Iraq may cost more than the invasion of Afghanistan, writes Amin Saikal.
• The victims of the tsunami pay the price of war on Iraq US and British aid is dwarfed by the billions both spend on slaughter
• The War Comes Home: Vets find acceptance, help from their fellows M.L. Lyke, Seattle PI, November 1, 2004
• The War is the War Crime - Abused Iraqis, Abused Americans A Special Investigation by CorpWatch
• This what the war looks like when it is not cleaned up by the media [warning: graphic photos. This is what war is all about]
• Time for U.S. to withdraw By Neil Abercrombie and Dennis J. Kucinich 
• Top Ten War Profiteers of 2004
• Torture Still Routine in Iraqi Jails, Report Says Reuters
• Truth from These Podia Summary of a Study of Strategic Influence, Perception Management, Strategic Information Warfare and Strategic Psychological Operations in Gulf II. Colonel Sam Gardiner, (ret.)
• Truths Worth Telling by Daniel Ellsberg
• Two programs Howard Zinn and Daniel Ellsberg from the Veterans for Peace National Convention in Boston , July 23, 2004
• Two Years: Families of Soldiers Killed in Iraq Gather Near Fort Bragg on March 19
• U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott's Recommendations for Veterans For Peace
• U.S. Marines execute an Iraqi to the cheers of fellow marines [graphic video]
• U.S. Military Personnel Growing Critical of the War in Iraq By GEORG MASCOLO and SIEGESMUND VON ILSEMANN , NY Times. Originally published in Der Spiegel Jan 17, 2005
• U.S. Repeats U.K. Failure in Iraq The U.S. Air Force's senior officer, Gen. John Jumper, stated U.S. warplanes would remain in Iraq to fight resistance forces and protect the American-installed regime "more or less indefinitely." Jumper's bombshell went largely unnoticed due to Hurricane Katrina. Gen. Jumper let the cat out of the bag. While President George Bush hints at eventual troop withdrawals, the Pentagon is busy building four major, permanent air bases in Iraq that will require heavy infantry protection.
• U.S. soldiers' grilling fields More talk heard of desertion, disgruntlement
• U.S. Troop Level In Iraq To Grow Deployments Will Be Extended for Elections
• Under Fire - Haunted by Memories of War, A Soldier Battles The Army By Lynne Duke Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, November 1, 2004; Page C01
• 'Unusual Weapons' Used in Fallujah By Dahr Jamail [ed.:more on the ground reporting is needed to verify this report]
• Un-Volunteering: Troops Improvise to Find Way Out NY Times 3/18/05
• US admits the war for ‘hearts and minds’ in Iraq is now lost THE Pentagon has admitted that the war on terror and the invasion and occupation of Iraq have increased support for al-Qaeda, made ordinary Muslims hate the US and caused a global backlash against America because of the “self-serving hypocrisy” of George W Bush’s administration over the Middle East.
• US Army plagued by desertion and plunging morale Times Online December 10, 2004
• US families of dead raise 600,000 dollars for Fallujah refugees Families of US troops killed in the offensive on the Iraqi city of Fallujah are to travel to Jordan next week with 600,000 dollars worth of humanitarian aid for refugees of the attack. 
• US Military to Build Four Giant New Bases in Iraq by Michael Howard in Baghdad
• US stays away from landmine conference NAIROBI : For the first time since it entered into force five years ago, the international treaty to ban anti-personnel landmines comes up for review here, but no official US delegates will be present among the hundreds of diplomats, campaigners and mine survivors.
• US strikes raze Falluja hospital November 6, 2004 BBC News
• US War Crimes and the Legal Case for Military Resistance join our soldiers of conscience on May 10th, a national day of resistance.
• US War with Iran has Already Begun - Scott Ritter It is bitter irony that the CIA is using a group still labelled as a terrorist organisation, a group trained in the art of explosive assassination by the same intelligence units of the former regime of Saddam Hussein, who are slaughtering American soldiers in Iraq today, to carry out remote bombings in Iran of the sort that the Bush administration condemns on a daily basis inside Iraq...To the north, in neighboring Azerbaijan, the US military is preparing a base of operations for a massive military presence that will foretell a major land-based campaign designed to capture Tehran...US military planners have already begun war games calling for the deployment of multi-divisional forces into Azerbaijan.
• USS Turner Joy - Gulf of Tonkin 40th Anniversary Rally Five VFPRCC109 members attended the VFP Rally in Bremerton to participate with VFP #92 friends to mark the 40 year old lie that escalated the VietNam War. The story appeared in the Bremerton Sun.
• Veterans Address the Nation [Watch] Coinciding with the DNC, the Veterans for Peace also held their national convention in Boston last summer. On the evening of July 23rd, 2004, at the Historic Faneuil Hall, the veterans addressed the nation. This evening included personal, heartfelt stories by members of Military Families Speak Out and Iraq Veterans Against the War, plus music by David Rovics and Charlie King with Karen Brandow. [52 minutes] Absolutely must see!
• Veterans and Lessons Learned -  a Veteran's Day reflection from Woody
• Veterans for Peace Create Expanding War Memorial On California Beachhead 3/26/05
• Veterans Issues Congressman Brian Baird
• Veterans of Iraq war join forces to protest US invasion The Boston Globe, September 2nd
• Veterans Protest War in Bush's Hometown September 29th
• Veterans, It's Time to Fight Again (4 Letters) NY Times Editorials/Op-Ed March 8, 2005
• VFP endorses petition for legal action against the United States
• VFP Newsletters
• VFP Projects
• Video File: Rise in Remembrance held in Laurelhurst park ( Portland OR ) to honor the US soldiers killed in Iraq . This is an 8 1/2 minute video of a little of those speakers and music. DSL/CABLE Stream  56K Stream
• Wage Peace Movie 2 minutes AFSC's online movie tells the truth about the ongoing loss of life in Iraq -- and encourages viewers to sign their petition to bring the troops home.
• Wake Up by Cindy Sheehan
• Walking Wounded  Fred Reed, writing in The American Conservative.  The nearly perfect separation between the military and the rest of the country, or at least the influential in the country, is wonderful for the war effort. It prevents concern. How many people with a college degree even know a soldier?
• War destroying values and lives Don Megnin, Ph.D., a retired professor of international politics, lives in New Smyrna Beach
• War has cost 100,000 Iraqi lives: Lancet study New Zealand News 29.10.2004 and also reported by Reuters
• War Helps Recruit Terrorists, Hill Told "Islamic extremists are exploiting the Iraqi conflict to recruit new anti-U.S. jihadists," CIA Director Porter J. Goss told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
• War Planned 'Months Before Vote' September 29th
• Washington State Pays High Cost For War from www.nationalpriorities.org Olympia 's Costs of Iraq War = $26,203,317 (based on the contribution of each state’s residents to the total tax collection, according to the IRS) October 2004.
• We Are Winter Soldiers great letter to the editor in New Jersey newspapers. Gene Glazer, VFP, Bloomfield NJ
• Wes Hamilton at DNC
• When a bonus isn’t a bonus, Murray fires WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has reneged on its offer to pay a $15,000 bonus to members of the National Guard and Army Reserve who agree to extend their enlistments by six years, according to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Seattle). [George Hill spotted this in the News Tribune.]
  http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5258954p-4774126c.html
• Who's Dying in Our War? The answer is Army Reservists and National Guardsmen such as Californian Patrick McCaffrey.
• Why Iraq Will End as Vietnam Did In international life, an armed force that keeps beating down on a weaker opponent will be seen as committing a series of crimes; therefore it will end up by losing the support of its allies, its own people, and its own troops.
• Why we cannot win By Al Lorentz, a reservist currently serving in Iraq . "...the current administration is more concerned with its image than it is with reality, it prefers symbolism to substance: soldiers are dying here and being maimed and crippled for life. It is tragic, indeed criminal that our elected public servants would so willingly sacrifice our nation's prestige and honor as well as the blood and treasure to pursue an agenda that is ahistoric and un-Constitutional." [note: this is a 'must read.']
• Winter 2004 VFP Newsletter .pdf file loads slowly. 16 pages with photos.
• Wives speaking for soldiers who said no to convoy "He can't speak because he has to live that life in the military right now," Patricia McCook said of her husband. "I'm his voice on the outside, and there is nothing the military can do about it."  They want the world to know their husbands would not have refused an order unless it was a "suicide mission," they said.
• World Tribunal on Iraq: Media Held Guilty of Deception by Dahr Jamail.  "Bush Lied, My Son Died"  
• Worried About The Draft?  .pdf flyer on Glen Anderson's October 19th presentation in Olympia .

Draft

• Draft If this bill passes, it will include all men and ALL WOMEN from ages 18 - 26 in a draft for military action. In addition, college will no longer be an option for avoiding the draft and they will be signing an agreement with the Canada which will no longer permit anyone attempting to dodge the draft to stay within it's borders. This bill also includes the extension of military service for all those that are currently active.
• The Road to a Draft Goes Through an Unwilling Army Erin Solaro is a Seattle-based writer.
• More on the Draft by Truthout's William Rivers Pitt
• No Draft No Way
• No Troops; No Wars Yoshie Furuhashi in CounterPunch
• Possibility of military draft lurks, activists fear Mike Billington The News Journal 2/17

Recruiting

Veterans Administration & Health Issues

HOW TO GET HELP

Returning Iraq soldiers can get access to vet-to-vet support groups, individual mental-health therapy and treatment for nightmares, sleeplessness, depression and stress disorders through a variety of local providers.

The VA Puget Sound Health Care System branch in Seattle has a special deployment health clinic to handle mental and physical post-combat evaluation and treatment. It also offers individual, marital and family counseling, social services and help with obtaining benefits. Call 206-764-2636.

The Seattle VA also has a separate clinic for female vets. Call 206-768-5314.

Washington State VA's PTSD Program offers counseling throughout the state. Call 800-562-2308. A complete list of providers is at www.dva.wa.gov; click on "PTSD."

Help is available at Fort Lewis through the Madigan Army Medical Center behavioral health department: 253-968-2700.

Veterans Outreach Centers are located in Seattle, 206-553-2706; Tacoma, 253-565-7038; and Bellingham, 360-733-9226.

The Army Source One Hot Line offers soldiers and their families 24-hour confidential consultation and referral, seven days a week, as well as free, private, in-person counseling sessions in local communities. 800-464-8107.

Americans need to tie a “Yellow Ribbon” around their memories, when veterans are eventually dumped off at V.A. hospitals around the United States. - Mike Hastie, U.S. Army Medic, Vietnam 1970-71

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Operation Truth 10/06/2004 @ 9:12pm  permalink

US soldiers come together to tell the truth about Iraq and Afghanistan. Operation Truth founder Lt. Paul Rieckhoff is interviewed by Janine Jacquet. http://www.thenation.com/blogs/audioblog?bid=8

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