Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan


Winter Soldier will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground. The four-day event, March 13-16, will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.

How to Access Winter Soldier Broadcasts

TV BROADCAST -- LIVE COVERAGE

 

RADIO BROADCAST -- LIVE COVERAGE

LIVE WEB STREAMING

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Today is the 6th anniversary of the assault on the World Trade Center in New York City which killed thousands of people.  It was a day that will be remembered throughout history no doubt.  But not JUST for the incident itself.  It was a day that began a dark chapter in U.S. history.

Normon Solomon, author of the newly released “Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America’s Warfare State”, has written the piece Six Years of 9/11 as a License to Kill. 

It evokes a tragedy that marks an epoch. From the outset, the warfare state has exploited “9/11,” a label at once too facile and too laden with historic weight — giving further power to the tacit political axiom that perception is reality.

“Sept. 11 changed everything” became a sudden cliche in news media. Words are supposed to mean something, and those words were — and are — preposterous. They speak of a USA enthralled with itself while reducing the rest of the world (its oceans and valleys and mountains and peoples) to little more than an extensive mirror to help us reflect on our centrality to the world. In an individual, we call that narcissism. In the nexus of media and politics, all too often, it’s called “patriotism.”

What happened on Sept. 11, 2001, was extraordinary and horrible by any measure. And certainly a crime against humanity. At the same time, it was a grisly addition to a history of human experience that has often included many thousands killed, en masse, by inhuman human choice. It is simply and complexly a factual matter that the U.S. government has participated in outright mass murders directly — in, for example, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Panama, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq — and less directly, through aid to armies terrorizing civilians in Nicaragua, Angola, East Timor and many other countries.

Today should serve as a reminder that our world is not any safer than before September 11, 2001.  The U.S. government has seen to that.  "Safer" isn't the word.  "Dominated", yes.

STOP THE WAR~FIRE THE LIARS!
NO MORE LIES - NO MORE DEATHS - NO MORE DOLLARS - BRING THE TROOPS HOME

A series of Stop the War events to demand a stop to the war and the lies and to remember those that have died as a result. These events are being held in solidarity with national actions on and around the 4th anniversary of the Iraq Invasion.

I am involved with represenatives of several organizations in planning a mass rally and march on March 18th, the weekend of the 3rd anniversary of the Iraq War. It will be a day of protest against that illegal war of agression that continues.

There will be other "celebrations" on that day.

I found this in today's Deseret News - an announcement about an event being held blocks from my house:
Public invited to attend Thank A Soldier event
WEST JORDAN — The public is invited to attend the second annual Thank A Soldier event on Saturday, March 18, at Veterans' Memorial Park, 7800 S. 1985 West.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be music, entertainment, camouflage face-painting for children, a rock climbing wall and more. There is no charge for admission.

I am not necessarily opposed to an event whereby citizens want to honor soldiers for their work, depending on the "work" such as disaster relief. I am opposed to honoring soldiers for the work in illegal wars and wars of agression and I am also opposed to glorifying the military with our children (or anyone else for that matter) by holding activities such as "camouflage face-painting".

Is the concept of camouflage also going to be explained to the children? Will it be explained to them about the original concept verses camouflage in modern warfare as is explained in How Military Camouflage Works?
Will the concepts of concealment and deception in war via the use of camouflage be explained to children?

I am highlighting the camouflage concept of this event to point out that war is being glorified, not soldiers, even though events like this are framed as the latter. War should not be glorified, no matter what the justification in peoples' minds. War is ugly and devastating. To celebrate war is to celebrate violence.

Utah's legislative session passed a hate crimes and anti-bullying law this year. I think it sends mixed messages to our children to educate them on character in these areas while at the same time glorifying violence in the form of war.

Today's Deseret News has an article on Deb Sawyer, a local peace activist in Salt Lake.

Deb is the director for The Gandhi Alliance for Peace, which has the mission of bringing the teachings of Gandhi to schools and providing assistance to citizens in countries ravaged by war and disaster. Projects of the Gandhi Alliance for Peace include Landmines (through its Adop-A-Minefield Program--providing support to remove landmines in Afghanistan) and Tsunami Relief.

"Our kids aren't being taught non-violence," she says. "Their images of bravery are of people standing up to violence with more violence. We want to teach them that there's another way."
Currently, Deb and her friends are raising funds to help villagers in Afghanistan, a country littered with millions of land mines and unexploded ordnance. Through the "Adopt-a-Minefield" program, land is being cleared so war refugees can find a safe place to resettle.

Deb has provided speeches and stories at local peace rallies in the past:
March 15, 2003
September 11, 2003

Every year the The Gandhi Alliance for Peace holds "Night of a Thousand Dinners" to raise money for its Adopt-A-Minefield Program. My vocal students from school are always invited by Deb to perform at this event, which is enjoyed by many and a great experience for my students.

Deb Sawyer is truly a model for peace activists in our community. I have always admired her and was happy today to see her and the work she is doing highlighted in a major Utah newspaper.