COURAGE
TO RESIST
Support the troops that refuse to fight
John F. Kennedy, 35th US President said that “War will exist until
that distant day when the
conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the
warrior does today.” Below are
a few of the thousands of those who have resisted the illegal and
immoral invasion and occupation of
Iraq.
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“American GIs are beginning to respect the Nuremberg principles.
They are resisting orders; they are
going to jail, going to Canada, and going AWOL. And they're talking
about why they're doing it." --
Disabled Iraq war veteran Sgt. Geoffrey Millard.
"I think as the recent elections show more and more Americans are
opening their eyes, but we aren't
there yet. I hope that actions such as mine will continue to help
expose the truth behind the fundamental
illegality and immorality of the war." – Army First Lieutenant
Ehren K. Watada. On June 22, Lt.
Watada became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse
deployment to the unlawful Iraq War
and occupation. Lt. Watada faces over seven years in military prison. http://www.thankyoult.org/
"I have come to believe that it is wrong to destroy life, that it is
wrong to use war, that it is immoral, and
I can no longer go down this path." -- Agustin Aguayo, a
Mexican-born, naturalized US citizen from
Los Angeles and a decorated Iraq War veteran , is now in a U.S.
military prison in Germany awaiting
court martial and a possible jail sentence of up to seven years for
refusing a second deployment to Iraq.
He is appealing his case for recognition as a conscientious objector.
Army Spc. Suzanne Swift’s case has garnered national attention since
she was arrested at her mother's
home in June 2006. She had gone AWOL just before her military police
unit was to redeploy to Iraq in
January 2006. In her time stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington and while
in Iraq in 2004 and 2005,
Swift was sexually harassed and assaulted by superiors. Spc.
Swift, facing a redeployment to Iraq
while serving under the command of the same individuals that allowed
her to be raped and sexual
harassed, suffered a breakdown due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
and went absent without leave
rather than subject herself to the horrors she experienced during her
first tour of duty.
http://www.suzanneswift.org/
“When I joined the Army I took an oath to defend the U.S.
Constitution, and that is what I am doing.
By refusing to fight in an illegal war, I am obeying international laws
that are being violated by Bush,
Cheney and Rumsfeld. It is they who should be punished, not me.” --
Kyle Snyder, Iraq veteran and
war resister, returned from Canada to turn himself in to Army
authorities on October 31, 2006 at Fort
Knox. Now he is once again AWOL after officials at Ft. Knox have
reneged on a previous verbal
agreement with his attorney, Chicagoan Jim Fennerty, to discharge Kyle.
“I began to see a bigger picture of the world and I started to
reevaluate everything that I had been
taught about war as a child. I developed the belief that taking
human life was wrong and war was no
exception. I was then able to clarify who I am and what it is that I
stand for...Just as others have faith in
God, I have faith in humanity” -- Spc Katherine
Jashinski, Texas Army National Guard, the first
woman GI to publicly declare resistance to participation in the war.
She received a bad conduct
discharge and a sentence of 120 days imprisonment.
ACTIONS
1. Adopt a GI resister. Support their courageous stand by writing them,
writing letters in their behalf,
etc. For more info, visit http://www.couragetoresist.org
to learn more about the individuals noted
above and others resisting this war..
2. Share this bulletin with those of military age, friends, families,
coworkers and your faith community.
3. Distribute copies of this bulletin in leaflet form at local schools,
etc. Go to
http://www.8thdaycenter.org/resources/leaflets.html
to download the leaflet in pdf format.
4. Visit the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors at http://www.objector.org/ to learn
how to
become a conscientious objector.