GI Voice: Stop Loss Rally

Free the Troops: End Stop Loss
Freedom Bridge Rally
Fort Lewis Army Base
Washington State


www.flickr.com/photos/rwhitlock/sets/72157617847394283/

Photos of USNS Brittin in Port of Tacoma

Here's a link to photos of USNS Brittin in the Port of Tacoma: http:// www.flickr.com /photos /rwhitlock /sets /72157606476390567 /

Chiroux on Democracy Now

Here's a link: www.democracynow.org/2008/6/17/us_army_sergeant_matthis_chiroux_refuses

from the show:

SGT. MATTHIS CHIROUX: Well, I’m not absent without leave until they tell me I’m absent without leave. To me, I’m following the US Constitution. I’m upholding the law, and I’m going to continue behaving as such. I refuse to be labeled or be shamed by these actions. I refuse to behave like a criminal. I am going to stay here in Washington, D.C., until at least Thursday. I’ve been here for the past two-and-a-half weeks lobbying members of Congress to come out in official support of resisters to the Iraq occupation for cause of its unconstitutional nature, as well as being waged in violation of international laws and the like. I believe we’ve made progress, and I believe—Thursday, I believe members of Congress will be coming out in support of war resisters.

Chiroux Refuses to Deploy to Iraq

A month ago, Matthis Chiroux bravely announced his courageous intention to refuse deployment in a war which he believes to be illegal. His unit deployed today, without him. Chiroux is an Army reporter, and says he has heard enough stories of what has gone on in Iraq to know that the occupation is immoral and illegal.

US soldier refuses to report for active duty in Iraq

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A month after US army reservist Matthis Chiroux publicly refused to deploy to Iraq, the former sergeant on Sunday set himself up for possible prosecution by failing to report for active duty with his unit in South Carolina.

"Tonight at midnight, I may face further action from the army for refusing to reactivate to participate in the Iraq occupation," Chiroux told reporters in Washington.

"I stand here today in defense of those who have been stripped of their voices in this occupation, the warriors of this nation...", Chiroux read from a statement as his father Rob, who had travelled to Washington from Alabama to support his son on Father's Day, stood beside him.

...

I'm not sure if this link will be permanent: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jlR6Ky_n9NjGaMqzy4Ks9bk-PThw

Also hear Matthis Chiroux interviewed on antiwar radio by Scott Horton: http://antiwar.com/radio/2008/06/04/matthis-chiroux/:

Scott Horton Interviews Matthis Chiroux

June 4th, 2008

Sgt. Matthis Chiroux discusses his refusal to redeploy to Iraq because of the illegality of the invasion, his role as an Army propagandist, how the Iraq Veterans Against the War helped him realize he wasn’t alone in opposing the illegal occupation and the widespread and neglected PTSD suffered by so many vets.

MP3 here. (35:26)

Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, who served in the Army until being honorably discharged last summer after over four years of service in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Phillipines, today publicly announced his intention to refuse orders to deploy to Iraq. Sgt. Chiroux made his announcement in the Cannon House Office Building Rotunda after members of Iraq Veterans Against the War testified before the Congressional Progressive Caucus during Winter Soldier on the Hill.

Here's a link to another interview at Courage to Resist: http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/595/1/

A Principled and Patriotic Call for Withdrawal from Iraq

A soldier's statement relating to his signing of An Appeal for Redress (a petition for withdrawal from Iraq):

"Sgt. Gary"--21 years old. US Army. Deployed with 20th Infantry Regiment, near Mosul, Iraq:

I joined up in 2001, still a junior in high school. I felt very patriotic at the end of my US History class. My idea of the Army was that you signed up, they gave you a rifle and you ran off into battle like in some 1950s war movie. The whole idea of boot camp never really entered my head.

I supported the war in the beginning. I bought everything Bush said about how Saddam had WMDs, how he was working with Al Qaeda, how he was a threat to America. Of course, this all turned out to be false.

This is my second tour, and as of a few days ago it's half-over. Before I deployed with my unit for the second time I already had feelings of not wanting to go. When in late September a buddy in my platoon died from a bullet in the head, I really took a long hard look at this war, this Administration, and the reasons why.

After months of research on the Internet, I came to the conclusion that this war was based on lies and deception. I started to break free of all the propaganda that the Bush Administration and the Army puts out on a daily basis.

So far in three years we have succeeded in toppling a dictator and replacing him with puppets. Outlawing the old government and its standing army and replacing them with an unreliable and poorly trained crew of paycheck collectors. The well is so poisoned by what we have done here that nothing can fix it.

Sgt. Gary: Thank you for your principled stand. You do honor to your profession, your country, and most importantly - yourself.