Spring Break
War veterans speak out
Randy Schwabacher
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
Media Credit: Iraq Veterans Against the WarWinter Soldiers march in protest of the "atrocities" of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
The Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) organized a public investigation into the realities of the Iraq and Afghanistan war from Mar. 13 to 16. Hundreds of Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans and civilians converged on Washington D.C. for this three-day event which allowed the speakers to present eye-witness accounts of the atrocities and personal sufferings which have largely remained unknown to the American public.
This action was a revival of the original Vietnam Veterans Against the War's "Winter Soldier Investigation." In 1971, over 125 Vietnam Veterans gathered in Detroit and presented testimony which revealed that many of the heinous acts experienced by individual soldiers were not isolated incidents. The conference in 1971 sought to demonstrate before the American people, that these often brutal acts which the administration had routinely attributed to "a few bad apples," had been ordered by commanding officers.
"Winter Soldier really is about empowering veterans; taking back control through telling their stories," said Patti McCann of the E4 Illinois National Guard. "We've been disempowered for years now, and to be able to have the means to negate this helps a lot." With this in mind, veterans eagerly united in Washington in hopes of generating the same type of awareness as the 1971 event. Soldiers and civilians took the podium one by one and presented their first-hand experience, providing testimonies on topics which often remain taboo: killing and injuring of innocent civilians; racist dehumanization, torture and abuse of civilians; injured soldiers being forced back into combat before full recovery; fraud and abuse of military contractors; and the policies of discrimination against gays, women and other minority service members.
The three-day testimony was simulcast on IVAW's website in hopes of taking advantage of technology which was not available to anti-war soldiers during the Vietnam War.
The successes of this direct-media surge could be felt on campus in particular, as Campus Anti-War Network organized a public showing of the testimonies in the Pier Room on Friday, Mar. 14. Over the course of several hours, various groups of students gathered around the big-screen television and watched the testimony, as well as passed out IVAW literature in hopes of supporting these troops.
"This event is important because veterans know best - they've actually been there. It's time the American people listen and learn from them," said Monica Ybarra, a third-year student at UIC.
With the Winter Soldier event, IVAW intends to kick-off a yearlong public awareness and outreach effort in the fifth year of the Iraq War. Over the upcoming months the organization plans to attend both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in hopes of having politicians of each party heed their words.
For more information or to watch the Winter Soldier testimony, visit ivaw.org.
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This action was a revival of the original Vietnam Veterans Against the War's "Winter Soldier Investigation." In 1971, over 125 Vietnam Veterans gathered in Detroit and presented testimony which revealed that many of the heinous acts experienced by individual soldiers were not isolated incidents. The conference in 1971 sought to demonstrate before the American people, that these often brutal acts which the administration had routinely attributed to "a few bad apples," had been ordered by commanding officers.
"Winter Soldier really is about empowering veterans; taking back control through telling their stories," said Patti McCann of the E4 Illinois National Guard. "We've been disempowered for years now, and to be able to have the means to negate this helps a lot." With this in mind, veterans eagerly united in Washington in hopes of generating the same type of awareness as the 1971 event. Soldiers and civilians took the podium one by one and presented their first-hand experience, providing testimonies on topics which often remain taboo: killing and injuring of innocent civilians; racist dehumanization, torture and abuse of civilians; injured soldiers being forced back into combat before full recovery; fraud and abuse of military contractors; and the policies of discrimination against gays, women and other minority service members.
The three-day testimony was simulcast on IVAW's website in hopes of taking advantage of technology which was not available to anti-war soldiers during the Vietnam War.
The successes of this direct-media surge could be felt on campus in particular, as Campus Anti-War Network organized a public showing of the testimonies in the Pier Room on Friday, Mar. 14. Over the course of several hours, various groups of students gathered around the big-screen television and watched the testimony, as well as passed out IVAW literature in hopes of supporting these troops.
"This event is important because veterans know best - they've actually been there. It's time the American people listen and learn from them," said Monica Ybarra, a third-year student at UIC.
With the Winter Soldier event, IVAW intends to kick-off a yearlong public awareness and outreach effort in the fifth year of the Iraq War. Over the upcoming months the organization plans to attend both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in hopes of having politicians of each party heed their words.
For more information or to watch the Winter Soldier testimony, visit ivaw.org.
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