Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Veterans Don't Support the Troops

Anton, VVAWAI | 03.05.2003 21:07

The war on and occupation of Iraq are unjust and illegal. We veterans don't support the troops because to do so would be to support the war. Support the troops who do the right
thing-- support GI resisters!



Anti-Imperialist Veterans ask:
Can We Oppose This War
While We "Support the Troops"?
On March 21 and 22, over a thousand massive cruise missiles and two thousand sorties pounded Iraq and especially its capital, Baghdad. The U.S.'s "Shock and Awe" war on Iraq began as the world watched in outrage. Never in history had a war been so powerfully opposed before it even started.
We know that, like us, many in the anti-war movement have brothers, sisters, family and friends in the military. As veterans, we wouldn't wish the situations these troops face on anybody. The government and media are telling us that now that the war has started we have to rally behind the troops and if we don't we're unpatriotic or wishing the troops harm. Let's be clear: not only is the government using these troops as cannon-fodder in their unjust war, but they are also using the troops in a political and public opinion campaign designed to divide and diffuse the anti-war movement. As veterans of the U.S. military we have something to say about this.
The call to Support the Troops targets the citizenry, you and I. It is aimed at disarming us now that the war has started, just when we need to be the staunchest in our opposition to this unjust, immoral and illegal war. It has been used historically to confuse and misuse the feelings people have for the men and women in uniform. It is supposed to make people feel guilty and question the patriotism of those opposed to the war. Never mind who put the troops in harm's way in the first place by starting the war. Never mind who harms the troops with experimental drugs and the horror of depleted uranium weapons. People's feelings for their loved ones are used to redefine the terms of the debate and to drag them along for the ride by their heartstrings. People are told it is their patriotic duty to come together as a nation behind its troops. The government counts on people's confusion to obscure the real issues and to inspire an emotional knee-jerk response in support of their war. But to support the troops is to support the war and that is something we refuse to do.
The U.S. government doesn't support the troops in any REAL way. Just look at statistics about how many homeless vets there are or talk to any veteran trying to get decent medical care at the Veterans Administration. Why is it that today over 1/3 of the troops from the 1991 Gulf War are ill, 1/4 are disabled and it takes an average of 7 months for them to see a doctor? The federal government is slashing veteran benefits as we speak. Their support for the troops is full of empty promises.
"What is a "troop?" A troop, simply put, is the basic cog of the U.S. war machine that exists for one reason: to wage war. To be successful at war, a war machine has to have disciplined and trained troops. Troops who will obey all orders without question. Troops who will drop the bomb, launch the cruise missile, shoot the gun when told. The last thing a war machine needs is troops that ask questions and make their own decisions about which orders to follow. This is exactly what the Veterans Call to Conscience* asks them to do.
Veterans know this because we were the troops. We followed orders and some of us committed atrocities so we know where the troops are being led and what they are being ordered to do. What does the word "support" mean? It means you "agree with the mission." We know that if one supports the troops, the troops will lead them to a future of the imperialists' making: to the hell that is their new world order. The U.S. war machine is not, and cannot be, a force for "liberation." The U.S. military uses their troops as a force for imperial conquest. Was there anything courageous about what the U.S. military had the troops do in the first Gulf War? Was there anything honorable about defeating, via overwhelming air power, a minor league opponent?
This is an unjust war, a war of conquest launched by the U.S. government. They have created this situation; put rifles in these troops hands and told them that the Iraqis are their enemy. As the casualty numbers rise we have to be clear: We don't support this. We don't support this war and we can't support the troops doing this, even if they are our brothers and sisters. We cannot support the U.S. government turning them into killing machines, complete with the nightmares, drug and substance abuse and a life of horror that they will face if they come home alive.
What the men and women in the U.S. military really need is not undeserved support, they need to know the truth behind the orders that they are expected to carry out in this illegal and immoral war. They need to know the history of Iraq and the real reason why the U.S. is using them to invade that country. They need to know that the decisions they make and consequences of these orders may haunt them the rest of their lives. They need to be challenged to question the morality of this war. We in the anti-war movement need to encourage those in the military to follow their conscience and to do the right thing. We challenge the troops to make a decision they would be proud to stand by-even if put before the world court. We need to stand with and support the troops who refuse to fight. That is what many veterans of the U.S. military are doing now. We need to popularize the stands of these real heroes. In addition, there needs to be support and organized structure to aid GI resisters in their legal and political battles.
Straight up-it is the U.S. government that is placing those in the military in harm's way, compelling them to kill or be killed. The government believes that our "vital interests," like control of Middle East oil, outweigh the rights of the Iraqis to a sovereign nation. It is the government that views those in the military as expendable, putting them in harm's way to satisfy their own ambitions. It is the government who will turn its back on those in the military when they have returned and are suffering the effects of their involvement in this war. Who will support them when they find that they have been used and then cast aside?
So if the government and its military wage an unjust war that jeopardizes its troops, should we temper our opposition because they are "our" troops? Doesn't this really say that the lives of U.S. troops are worth more and the lives of Iraqis are worth less? And aren't those in the military less in harm's way if they follow their conscience and refuse to participate in another Gulf slaughter?
As anti-imperialists and veterans of the U.S. military, we cannot go down that path; we will not fall behind the government's call to support the troops. GIs are responsible for their actions while they are in the U.S. military, just as we were. They, like us, must come to their own understanding of their role in the war machine and then act their conscience. When they do this, they stop being a troop and we will stand by their side and give them support. As for the slogan: "Bring them Home," only a movement powerful enough to challenge the U.S. war machine stands a chance to force them to withdraw their troops. This is the challenge and task before us; one we must continue to rise up and meet.
• No Support for Killing the Iraqi People
• Stop the War on Iraq! - The Iraqi People are our Sisters and Brothers!
• Support the Troops Who Do the Right Thing - Support GI Resistance!
*Veterans Call to Conscience to Active Duty Troops and Reservists Statement signed by over a thousand veterans calling on troops to do the right thing. www.calltoconscience.net or write VVAWAI for info.
Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist
PO Box 21604, Seattle, WA 98111-3604, Phone/Fax-206.374.2215
Email:  TheVets@vvawai.org, Web: www.vvawai.org

Anton, VVAWAI
- e-mail: thevets@vvawai.org
- Homepage: http://vvawai.org

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech