IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR
Q: Why are veterans, active duty, and National Guard men and women opposed to the war in Iraq?
A: Here are 10 reasons we oppose this war:
The Iraq war is based on lies and deception. The Bush Administration planned for an attack against Iraq before September 11th, 2001. They used the false pretense of an immanent nuclear, chemical and biological weapons threat to deceive Congress into rationalizing this unnecessary conflict. They hide our casualties of war by banning the filming of our fallen military's caskets when they arrive home, and when they refuse to allow the media into Walter Reed Hospital and other Veterans Administration facilities, which are overflowing with maimed and traumatized veterans.For further reading: www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/index.html
The Iraq war violates international law. The United States assaulted and occupied Iraq without the consent of the UN Security Council. In doing so they violated the same body of laws they accused Iraq of breaching.For further reading:http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/imtconst.htmhttp://www.westpointgradsagainstthewar.org/
Corporate profiteering is driving the war in Iraq. From privately contracted soldiers and linguists to no-bid reconstruction contracts and multinational oil negotiations, those who benefit the most in this conflict are those who suffer the least. The United States has chosen a path that directly contradicts President Eisenhower's farewell warning regarding the military industrial complex. As long as those in power are not held accountable, they will continue... For further reading:http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0714-01.htmhttp://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/
Overwhelming civilian casualties are a daily occurrence in Iraq. Despite attempts in training and technological sophistication, large-scale civilian death is both a direct and indirect result of United States aggression in Iraq. Even the most conservative estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths number over 100,000. Currently over 100 civilians die every day in Baghdad alone.For further reading: http://www.nomorevictims.org/http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1338749,00.htmlhttp://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A1EF73C5A0C758DDDA10894DE404482
Soldiers have the right to refuse illegal war. All in service to this country swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. However, they are prosecuted if they object to serve in a war they see as illegal under our Constitution. As such, our brothers and sisters are paying the price for political incompetence, forced to fight in a war instead of having been sufficiently trained to carry out the task of nation-building.For further reading:http://thankyoult.live.radicaldesigns.org/content/view/172/http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qa6ZHYcG_EMhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=1dAXQeH7y9g&mode=related&search=http://girights.objector.org
Service members are facing serious health consequences due to our Government's negligence. Many of our troops have already been deployed to Iraq for two, three, and even four tours of duty averaging eleven months each. Combat stress, exhaustion, and bearing witness to the horrors of war contribute to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a serious set of symptoms that can lead to depression, illness, violent behavior, and even suicide. Additionally, depleted uranium, Lariam, insufficient body armor and infectious diseases are just a few of the health risks, which accompany an immorally planned and incompetently executed war. Finally, upon a soldier's release, the Veterans Administration is far too under-funded to fully deal with the magnitude of veterans in need.For further reading:http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/http://www.vets4vets.us/
The war in Iraq is tearing our families apart. The use of stop-loss on active duty troops and the unnecessarily lengthy and repeat active tours by Guard and Reserve troops place enough strain on our military families, even without being forced to sacrifice their loved ones for this ongoing political experiment in the Middle East.For further reading: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_loss_092704,00.html
The Iraq war is robbing us of funding sorely needed here at home.$5.8 billion per month is spent on a war which could have aided the victims of Hurricane Katrina, gone to impoverished schools, the construction of hospitals and health care systems, tax cut initiatives, and a host of domestic programs that have all been gutted in the wake of the war in Iraq. For further reading:http://www.costofwar.com
The war dehumanizes Iraqis and denies them their right to self-determination.Iraqis are subjected to humiliating and violent checkpoints, searches and home raids on a daily basis. The current Iraqi government is in place solely because of the U.S. military occupation. The Iraqi government doesn’t have the popular support of the Iraqi people, nor does it have power or authority. For many Iraqis the current government is seen as a puppet regime for the U.S. occupation. It is undemocratic and in violation of Iraq’s own right to self-governance. For further reading:http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
Our military is being exhausted by repeated deployments, involuntary extensions, and activations of the Reserve and National Guard.The majority of troops in Iraq right now are there for at least their second tour. Deployments to Iraq are becoming longer and many of our service members are facing involuntary extensions and recalls to active duty. Longstanding policies to limit the duration and frequency of deployments for our part-time National Guard troops are now being overturned to allow for repeated, back-to-back tours in Iraq. These repeated, extended combat tours are taking a huge toll on our troops, their families, and their communities.For further reading: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-military12jan12,0,7198945.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Q: Why do Iraq Veterans Against the War call for the immediate withdrawal from Iraq?
A: There are several reasons why immediate withdrawal is the critical first step toward solving the problems in Iraq.
The reasons and rationale given for the invasion were fraudulent. There were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq during the time of the invasion according to US officials and former chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix. The idea that Al Qeada and the 9/11 terrorist attacks were connected to Saddam Hussein and the Baath party were proven false in the 9/11 Commission Report. Members of the Bush Administration have admitted that they “misspoke” in the run up to the war.
The presence of the US military is not preventing sectarian violence.The US occupation of Iraq has proven to be unable to prevent sectarian violence and halt an escalation towards a civil war. Despite having an average of 140,000 troops in country since the occupation began, internal violence and attacks against civilians and Iraqi security forces have been on a steady incline.
The occupation is a primary motivation for the insurgency and global religious extremism.The insurgency can be broken down into many individually named factions with various goals, beliefs, and techniques. However, our membership of veterans believe that the occupation of Iraq is the primary thing encouraging the insurgency and giving it legitimacy in the eyes of many Iraqis. Likewise, other people of the Islamic faith are encouraged to resist America ’s policies internationally based on how they perceive our military operations in the Middle East.
We can no longer afford to fight this war of choice.The financial burden is destroying our domestic programs that could be used to protect us from natural disasters, provide medical programs, or help improve education. We are jeopardizing the US economy and putting strains on the budgets of important government agencies like the Veterans Affairs Department.
National security is compromised.Funds that could be used to protect our ports and transportation are being stripped away while our National Guard units are on constant deployments instead of being used to protect and defend us here at home.
The world is becoming more dangerous.International terrorist attacks have increased and it has become more dangerous for Americans to travel abroad. Approval for US policy has decreased and the dislike of Americans has increased.
Our national “moral authority” is being undermined.The US has lost credibility to much of the world as the defender of liberty and freedom and our national identity is eroding. We can no longer deploy our armed forces for peace keeping measures with the good faith of the international community. We need to regain the respect and faith of the global community. This begins by withdrawing our troops from Iraq and helping the Iraqi people rebuild their country and society.
The majority of American citizens, Iraqi citizens and US military would like to see an immediate end to the war in Iraq. If we are truly a democracy and we aim to create a democracy in Iraq our leaders will represent the will of the citizens and lead according to their wishes.
The military is broken.We are abusing the small population of armed service members with multiple deployments while using inadequate vehicles and equipment. Less than one half of a percent of the American population is serving in the active armed forces, which is the least amount in the last century. Only 25% of the troops in Iraq are there for their first tour, while 50% are there on their second tour, and the remaining 25% are there three times or more. We continue to involuntarily extend soldiers with Stop-Loss, recall them repeatedly for additional service using the Individual Ready Reserve, and send soldiers with diagnosed medical problems into combat.
http://www.ivaw.org/faq
Friday, March 23, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Unbelievable
Vet must prove injury BY STEVE WALSH Post-Tribune staff writer
When a roadside bomb detonated in front of his Humvee, Steve Foss' body armor saved his life. But nothing seems able to save him from the mountain of paperwork he faces after leaving the Indiana National Guard.
A fragment from the explosion pierced his shoulder and lodged near the base of his neck. He was rushed to a field hospital just outside of Tal Afar, Iraq, in December 2005, where doctors removed frayed muscle and skin and sent him back to his unit.As odd as it sounds, Foss is now having difficulty proving to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that his wound is related to combat. He recently received a letter from the VA asking for more documentation, after he had filed a claim with the VA in November in which he included all the documents he has from his service record.He folded his arms, shook his head and pointed to the lines where the VA asked for notes from nurses and doctors, documenting his injury. When he was carried into the hospital in December 2005, the field hospital had just opened inside a tent on a wind-swept base in northern Iraq, a few miles from the Syrian border. The doctors told him he was the first American they had treated."I don't know what else they want. I gave them all the paperwork they gave me at the hospital in Iraq," said Foss, who works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and lives in Michigan City with his wife and three children. In October, he retired from the military with 21 years of service.He's not uniqueFoss is not alone. Many returning wounded veterans have become casualties of an overburdened VA system -- a system that hasn't seen a significant number of combat veterans since the mid-1970s. According to experts and the VA's own data, the system is backlogged and understaffed. Troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan see mounting delays in receiving benefits."The Department of Defense is focused on fighting a war and once you can no longer help them fight a war, you drop off of their radar screen. Six years ago, I wouldn't have said that but now I do," said Jerry Manar, deputy director of national veterans services for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, who worked 31 years for the VA.The backlog is enormous. As of Monday, the VA had 403,989 cases pending; nearly 30 percent of those cases were more than six months old. The same VA report shows Indiana has 8,436 cases pending, 29.4 percent of them being more than six months old. Unlike the previous three decades, many of claims are coming from newly wounded soldiers.In many ways, the VA has lost the funding battle since the war began. The agency did not receive approval to hire new caseworkers to clear away what was destined to be the largest influx of new combat veterans since Vietnam.In 2003, Congress deadlocked on a Bush administration request to hire 35 new caseworkers for regional offices. In the current budget, the president has asked for 450 new caseworkers. The House has increased the request to 1,100 people, though so far the budget has not passed, said Manar, who works with veterans having difficulty with the VA claim process, including helping with appeals.The VA went to a mainly electronic health record system beginning in the late 1990s. The Department of Defense started similar initiatives but it has been slower. The world's most high-tech military still uses many paper records, which are shipped with soldiers as they move from field hospitals in Iraq to Army medical facilities in Kuwait, Germany and the United States. The electronic medical histories that do exist are not accessible to the VA, Manar said."They are still years away from being able to talk to one another," Manar said.Troops like Foss, who finished his service in the Indiana National Guard, have a particularly difficult time. All health records for active duty military personnel go to the national archives in St. Louis. But files of guardsmen and reservists may be with hospitals or the individual units, wherever they are located around the county, Manar said.At times during the war in Iraq, guardsmen and reservists made up half the personnel serving. The large number of tough-to-find records adds to the VA's backlog of cases, he said."The Department of Defense does not do as good of a job keeping track of records for guard and reserves. If he was in the Army, they'd know where to look but with guard and reserves there are 1,000 different places. Sometimes they can locate them, sometimes they cannot," Manar said.Moving forwardThe VA officials believe they are improving as the war goes into its fourth year. The process is being streamlined. The Defense Department and the VA are working on projects, like merging the patient care at Great Lakes Naval Base north of Chicago, with Hines VA Hospital in Maywood, Ill., said Ryan Steinbach, VA public affairs person for the Great Lakes Region."A vet needs to be their own best advocate as much as possible," said Steinbach, who was an Illinois National Guard troop, injured in a 2004 training exercise in Kuwait, as his unit prepared to be deployed to Balad, Iraq.He said his own experience with VA care was fairly seamless, taking just under four months to complete the paperwork, from when he was released from a military hospital in Fort Knox, Ky.He kept all of the paperwork given to him by military doctors, as he passed through the system.Steinbach said the VA also recommends soldiers use the advocates offered by veterans organizations like the American Legion and VFW, to help them navigate the two bureaucracies.Foss said he also turned in all the paperwork he received, when he went through surgery outside Tal Afar. He became the first of at least 43 Purple Hearts issued to the 113th Engineer Battalion during its year in northern Iraq.As an Army Ranger he fought in the original Gulf War. Some of his claims to the VA covered incidents from his active-duty military career. But it is the VA's continued questioning of the wound he received in Tal Afar during a roadside attack of his convoy that bothered him, he said.He is working with a retired VA officer who lives down the block to come up with new documents to highlight his injury, though he is not giving up."I don't want to taint my 21 years of military service with what may seem like whining," Foss said. "I have to believe that if I have given honest service, that if I'm owed something, I'll be given it."
When a roadside bomb detonated in front of his Humvee, Steve Foss' body armor saved his life. But nothing seems able to save him from the mountain of paperwork he faces after leaving the Indiana National Guard.
A fragment from the explosion pierced his shoulder and lodged near the base of his neck. He was rushed to a field hospital just outside of Tal Afar, Iraq, in December 2005, where doctors removed frayed muscle and skin and sent him back to his unit.As odd as it sounds, Foss is now having difficulty proving to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that his wound is related to combat. He recently received a letter from the VA asking for more documentation, after he had filed a claim with the VA in November in which he included all the documents he has from his service record.He folded his arms, shook his head and pointed to the lines where the VA asked for notes from nurses and doctors, documenting his injury. When he was carried into the hospital in December 2005, the field hospital had just opened inside a tent on a wind-swept base in northern Iraq, a few miles from the Syrian border. The doctors told him he was the first American they had treated."I don't know what else they want. I gave them all the paperwork they gave me at the hospital in Iraq," said Foss, who works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and lives in Michigan City with his wife and three children. In October, he retired from the military with 21 years of service.He's not uniqueFoss is not alone. Many returning wounded veterans have become casualties of an overburdened VA system -- a system that hasn't seen a significant number of combat veterans since the mid-1970s. According to experts and the VA's own data, the system is backlogged and understaffed. Troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan see mounting delays in receiving benefits."The Department of Defense is focused on fighting a war and once you can no longer help them fight a war, you drop off of their radar screen. Six years ago, I wouldn't have said that but now I do," said Jerry Manar, deputy director of national veterans services for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, who worked 31 years for the VA.The backlog is enormous. As of Monday, the VA had 403,989 cases pending; nearly 30 percent of those cases were more than six months old. The same VA report shows Indiana has 8,436 cases pending, 29.4 percent of them being more than six months old. Unlike the previous three decades, many of claims are coming from newly wounded soldiers.In many ways, the VA has lost the funding battle since the war began. The agency did not receive approval to hire new caseworkers to clear away what was destined to be the largest influx of new combat veterans since Vietnam.In 2003, Congress deadlocked on a Bush administration request to hire 35 new caseworkers for regional offices. In the current budget, the president has asked for 450 new caseworkers. The House has increased the request to 1,100 people, though so far the budget has not passed, said Manar, who works with veterans having difficulty with the VA claim process, including helping with appeals.The VA went to a mainly electronic health record system beginning in the late 1990s. The Department of Defense started similar initiatives but it has been slower. The world's most high-tech military still uses many paper records, which are shipped with soldiers as they move from field hospitals in Iraq to Army medical facilities in Kuwait, Germany and the United States. The electronic medical histories that do exist are not accessible to the VA, Manar said."They are still years away from being able to talk to one another," Manar said.Troops like Foss, who finished his service in the Indiana National Guard, have a particularly difficult time. All health records for active duty military personnel go to the national archives in St. Louis. But files of guardsmen and reservists may be with hospitals or the individual units, wherever they are located around the county, Manar said.At times during the war in Iraq, guardsmen and reservists made up half the personnel serving. The large number of tough-to-find records adds to the VA's backlog of cases, he said."The Department of Defense does not do as good of a job keeping track of records for guard and reserves. If he was in the Army, they'd know where to look but with guard and reserves there are 1,000 different places. Sometimes they can locate them, sometimes they cannot," Manar said.Moving forwardThe VA officials believe they are improving as the war goes into its fourth year. The process is being streamlined. The Defense Department and the VA are working on projects, like merging the patient care at Great Lakes Naval Base north of Chicago, with Hines VA Hospital in Maywood, Ill., said Ryan Steinbach, VA public affairs person for the Great Lakes Region."A vet needs to be their own best advocate as much as possible," said Steinbach, who was an Illinois National Guard troop, injured in a 2004 training exercise in Kuwait, as his unit prepared to be deployed to Balad, Iraq.He said his own experience with VA care was fairly seamless, taking just under four months to complete the paperwork, from when he was released from a military hospital in Fort Knox, Ky.He kept all of the paperwork given to him by military doctors, as he passed through the system.Steinbach said the VA also recommends soldiers use the advocates offered by veterans organizations like the American Legion and VFW, to help them navigate the two bureaucracies.Foss said he also turned in all the paperwork he received, when he went through surgery outside Tal Afar. He became the first of at least 43 Purple Hearts issued to the 113th Engineer Battalion during its year in northern Iraq.As an Army Ranger he fought in the original Gulf War. Some of his claims to the VA covered incidents from his active-duty military career. But it is the VA's continued questioning of the wound he received in Tal Afar during a roadside attack of his convoy that bothered him, he said.He is working with a retired VA officer who lives down the block to come up with new documents to highlight his injury, though he is not giving up."I don't want to taint my 21 years of military service with what may seem like whining," Foss said. "I have to believe that if I have given honest service, that if I'm owed something, I'll be given it."
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
How could the Army's premier hospital, Walter Reed, have mold, mildew,mice, and cockroaches? How could conditions get so bad at the Army MedicalCenter in Washington, DC?Support services at Walter Reed underwent a competitive sourcing studyunder OMB Circular A-76. In September 2004 the in-house bid won thecompetition. IAP Worldwide Services, however, protested the award. TheArmy Audit Agency was directed to re-evaluated the in-house bid. Itreportedly withdrew its certification and unilaterally raised the in-housebid by $7 million, making it higher than IAP's bid. The Army then reversedits determination and awarded the work to IAP. Employees seeking tochallenge this ruling were not permitted to make their case. Alan King,the Deputy Garrison Commander at Walter Reed, filed a protest with GAO, butunder the A-76 rules in place at the time, federal employees had nostanding to object to the determination. Thus, there was no re-evaluationof the IAP bid proposal.Skilled maintenance personnel and workers with specific knowledge of WalterReed's system and infrastructure left in droves. By the time IAP took oversupport services only about 60 out of some 300 employees remained on thejob....And yes, there is a link between IAP and Halliburton.Also see the House Oversight and Reform Committee's March 2nd letter toMajor General Weightman.Józef J. DrozdowskiNFFE Forest Service Council R9 VPTX: 989-739-0728 x 3017FX: 989-739-0347House VA Committee is Chaired by Bob Filner, D-CA. His press release is athttp://veterans.house.gov/news/110/03-02-07.shtml. Might be worth pointingout to him the problem was not with Walter Reed management, but in the A-76privatization. See http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1195, the firsttwo links under "Documents and Links" toward the bottom of the page. Basedon the news articles I've skimmed, it sounds a lot like the FS Serco story.Walter Reed management was against it, it was pushed down their throats byhigher-ups for political reasons, and the resulting and inevitable failurewas ignored as fastidiously as the fact that the emperor's new clothes werenothing but air. More links on this:http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=1354http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=1358Mark W Davis/FPL/USDAFS
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