thedrifter
08-27-08, 07:07 AM
War, peace, truth, lies, life, choice
Protesters out in full force
By Aaron LeClair
Boomerang Staff Writer
When Jeff Key was deployed to Iraq at the beginning of the war with the U.S. Marines, he and thousands of soldiers were told Saddam Hussein was in possession of weapon of mass destruction.
It wasn’t until Key was serving in Iraq that the truth came out: Saddam did not possess weapons of mass destruction.
“Obviously, that was a lie,” he said.
The revelation that Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction was why Key and more than a dozen veterans of the Iraq war marched in downtown Denver on Tuesday to protest the occupation of Iraq.
Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) marched with their civilian volunteers from downtown Denver to Civic Center Park.
Key said the march was called Operation First Casualty. The title pays homage to the quote from Sen. Hiram Warren Johnson, R-Calif., who had said in 1918 that the truth is the first casualty of war.
“Certainly, in the occupation of Iraq, the first thing that had to happen was the deception of the American people,” he said. “What we’re doing today is bringing what an occupation looks like. We want (the people) to be reminded of what their tax dollars are doing.”
Dressed in U.S. Marines, Army and National Guard combat fatigues, the veterans marched down Broadway Street while conducting mock ambush, prison escort and patrol exercises. Some of the veterans used their hands to mimic an assault rifle as they walked.
For part of the march, civilian volunteers dressed up as Iraqi prisoners of war. They were escorted down the streets of downtown Denver by the veterans.
Most people who walked by the group were polite, thanking them for their service and wishing them well.
Others, however, were angry that a group of veterans would protest the war and the Bush Administration.
Key said Operation First Casualty was to show the Democratic Party that the IVAW wants an immediate end to the war in Iraq.
“We’re calling for the immediate withdrawal of all our fine forces,” he said. “Whoever’s the next president of the United States, on their first day in office, we’ll be there telling them to bring the troops home.”
IVAW also is in favor of paying reparations to the Iraqi people for what the war has done to their country.
“We’re occupying their sovereign nation,” Key said.
Sgt. Matthis Chirous of the Individual Ready Reserve is a war resister and IVAW member who had successfully refused to deploy to Iraq earlier this year.
He is the first person to refuse a deployment and not be prosecuted.
“They tried to send me and I publically refused to go,” he said while the IVAW protestors took a break from marching.
Chirous, who is from Brooklyn, N.Y., refused to deploy to Iraq because he said the war is illegal according to the Constitution.
“The occupation of Iraq is in violation of Article 6, Section 2 of my U.S. Constitution, which I have sworn to protect and defend before anything else as a serviceman to this country,” he said.
Chirous was ordered to deploy to Iraq on June 15. But he stood before the U.S. Congress on May 16 and publically refused by calling the war in Iraq illegal and immoral.
In addition to publically refusing to deploy, he informed the Congress of the plight of Iraqi war resistors. For his testimony, Chirous received a letter signed by 15 Congressmen and Congresswomen that they sent to President Bush.
Chirous said he was marching for IVAW during the DNC in Denver to rebuke the Democratic Party for its failure to end the war in Iraq after it was given majorities in both the House and Senate in 2006.
“We are trying to bring the message to the Democrats that you have failed to end the war as we, the American people, have demanded,” he said. “We will now force your hand. We will hold you accountable for your promises.”
In addition to the march, the IVAW delivered a letter to Sen. Barack Obama’s DNC campaign headquarters asking that he endorse the organization’s three points of unity:
n The immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq.
n Full and adequate health care and benefits to all returning service members and veterans.
n Reparations made to the Iraqi people for the destruction caused by the war and occupation.
The IVAW was founded in July 2004 to allow servicemen and women from all branches of the military a chance to speak out against the war in Iraq. Their Web site is http://ivaw.org.
Aaron LeClair’s e-mail address is lbedit7@laramieboomerang.com
Protesters out in full force
By Aaron LeClair
Boomerang Staff Writer
When Jeff Key was deployed to Iraq at the beginning of the war with the U.S. Marines, he and thousands of soldiers were told Saddam Hussein was in possession of weapon of mass destruction.
It wasn’t until Key was serving in Iraq that the truth came out: Saddam did not possess weapons of mass destruction.
“Obviously, that was a lie,” he said.
The revelation that Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction was why Key and more than a dozen veterans of the Iraq war marched in downtown Denver on Tuesday to protest the occupation of Iraq.
Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) marched with their civilian volunteers from downtown Denver to Civic Center Park.
Key said the march was called Operation First Casualty. The title pays homage to the quote from Sen. Hiram Warren Johnson, R-Calif., who had said in 1918 that the truth is the first casualty of war.
“Certainly, in the occupation of Iraq, the first thing that had to happen was the deception of the American people,” he said. “What we’re doing today is bringing what an occupation looks like. We want (the people) to be reminded of what their tax dollars are doing.”
Dressed in U.S. Marines, Army and National Guard combat fatigues, the veterans marched down Broadway Street while conducting mock ambush, prison escort and patrol exercises. Some of the veterans used their hands to mimic an assault rifle as they walked.
For part of the march, civilian volunteers dressed up as Iraqi prisoners of war. They were escorted down the streets of downtown Denver by the veterans.
Most people who walked by the group were polite, thanking them for their service and wishing them well.
Others, however, were angry that a group of veterans would protest the war and the Bush Administration.
Key said Operation First Casualty was to show the Democratic Party that the IVAW wants an immediate end to the war in Iraq.
“We’re calling for the immediate withdrawal of all our fine forces,” he said. “Whoever’s the next president of the United States, on their first day in office, we’ll be there telling them to bring the troops home.”
IVAW also is in favor of paying reparations to the Iraqi people for what the war has done to their country.
“We’re occupying their sovereign nation,” Key said.
Sgt. Matthis Chirous of the Individual Ready Reserve is a war resister and IVAW member who had successfully refused to deploy to Iraq earlier this year.
He is the first person to refuse a deployment and not be prosecuted.
“They tried to send me and I publically refused to go,” he said while the IVAW protestors took a break from marching.
Chirous, who is from Brooklyn, N.Y., refused to deploy to Iraq because he said the war is illegal according to the Constitution.
“The occupation of Iraq is in violation of Article 6, Section 2 of my U.S. Constitution, which I have sworn to protect and defend before anything else as a serviceman to this country,” he said.
Chirous was ordered to deploy to Iraq on June 15. But he stood before the U.S. Congress on May 16 and publically refused by calling the war in Iraq illegal and immoral.
In addition to publically refusing to deploy, he informed the Congress of the plight of Iraqi war resistors. For his testimony, Chirous received a letter signed by 15 Congressmen and Congresswomen that they sent to President Bush.
Chirous said he was marching for IVAW during the DNC in Denver to rebuke the Democratic Party for its failure to end the war in Iraq after it was given majorities in both the House and Senate in 2006.
“We are trying to bring the message to the Democrats that you have failed to end the war as we, the American people, have demanded,” he said. “We will now force your hand. We will hold you accountable for your promises.”
In addition to the march, the IVAW delivered a letter to Sen. Barack Obama’s DNC campaign headquarters asking that he endorse the organization’s three points of unity:
n The immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq.
n Full and adequate health care and benefits to all returning service members and veterans.
n Reparations made to the Iraqi people for the destruction caused by the war and occupation.
The IVAW was founded in July 2004 to allow servicemen and women from all branches of the military a chance to speak out against the war in Iraq. Their Web site is http://ivaw.org.
Aaron LeClair’s e-mail address is lbedit7@laramieboomerang.com