World Can't Wait

G.I. Resistance


Colonel to Troops: I’m Lying to You

Category: G.I. Resistance
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By Joe Urgo 

On Oct 16, USA Today ran a story about low morale in the 10th Mounted Division’s Third Brigade Combat Team, a mountain warfare infantry unit that was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, staying till 2007.
 
It was then scheduled to deploy to Iraq but was rerouted back to eastern Afghanistan in Jan 2009, along the border with Pakistan. Their mission is to help the expansion of US bases in the region as the US prepares to vastly increase the deployment of US soldiers in Afghanistan. 
 

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“The US Military is Out There Spreading Death Right Now”

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 The following article based on an interview with G.I. resister  Matthis Chiroux is taken from the web site Russia Today

Death, rather than nation building – that is what the US army has brought to Iraq and is bringing to Afghanistan according to former US army sergeant and anti-war activist Matthis Chiroux. He shared his views with RT.
For some, Matthis Chiroux is a hero. Others label him a US traitor. The 25-year-old is an army sergeant-turned-war-resistor, and one of roughly 8,000 US soldiers who have reportedly deserted the army since 2003.
He accuses the US military of having become a corrupt institution built upon spreading death as a response to nations’ problems by means of conducting illegal wars.
“One hundred per cent, Afghanistan war is absolutely an illegal war under the same conventions that Iraq was an illegal war,” Chiroux says.

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This is Where We Take Our Stand

Category: G.I. Resistance
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 by David Zeiger

 "No one could hear our stories and still support this s***!" -- Geoff Millard

Dear friends,

I am pleased to tell you that the sixth and final episode of the series, This is Where We Take Our Stand, is now live. Episode 6--No Longer a Monster, presents some of the most damning testimony yet from both occupations, along with the inspiring closing concert by Tom Morello. Click here to watch No Longer a Monster.

The full series is now up and available for you to watch, share, spread, and act on. As we have said all along, there is nothing that more clearly and chillingly tells the real story of what this country is doing to Iraq and Afghanistan than the courageous testimony of these soldiers and veterans. They cannot be denied, no matter who is president.

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We Are Not Your Soldiers Letter to Teachers

Category: G.I. Resistance
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Circulate the Letter to Teachers to All High School Teachers You Know
 
Go to high schools either before or after school and talk to students about Oct 6th. Ask them to be part of showing the We Are Not Your Soldiers presentation in classrooms. Ask them if they know teachers who would want them to show it in their classroom. See what the situation is like at the school, do they have recruiters? Do recruiters call them at home? What do they say? Are they thinking about joining the military? Why or Why Not? Do they think recruiters should be able to recruit in high schools or in their communities? We should really learn from the students and their experiences

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Episode Four: Broken Soldier Now Available

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Episode Four of the ground breaking web series, This is Where We Take Our Stand, is now live at http://www. thisiswherewetakeourstand.com. "Broken Soldier" tells the story of the Iraq Veterans Against the War members' struggle to bring hundreds of veterans to Washington, DC, to tell their stories and reveal the true nature of these occupations. If you've watched the first three episodes, you won't want to miss this one. And if you haven't, WATCH THEM. This is Where We Take Our Stand is a series that can and should help push the debate about these wars back on to the table.

Experience the series, send this email to everyone you know, and spread the word!

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A Letter from David Zeiger, Producer of This is Where We Take Our Stand

Category: G.I. Resistance
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 Dear Friends, 

As I write this, we are getting ready to post the fourth episode of This is Where We Take Our Stand, our six-part web series about last year’s Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan event. You can find the series here, and of course on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

It’s been a huge struggle, but this series is finally here–and I hope we created something that will bring the truth you revealed at Winter Soldier to thousands, even millions. We strove to make each episode a revelation and a punch in the gut, featuring some of the most important and powerful testimony from Winter Soldier along with the battles so many of you fought to make it happen. Boots Riley of The Coup wrote a killer theme song, Sound Off, that can also be downloaded from the site.

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Statement by Sergeant Travis Bishop at His Court Martial

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Read by Sgt. Travis Bishop at this court martial. August 14, 2009
 
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Panel,
 
The prosecution raised the point that 'ignorance of the law is no excuse for the crime.' And here is proof of that. Case presented, verdict rendered, Sgt. Bishop is guilty. I have been convicted of the crimes that I committed, and I cannot argue that.
 
All I can say is this: If I had a Soldier that acted on impulse and did something illegal that I, his Sergeant, could have trained him on, there is no doubt in my mind that I would be in the First Sergeant's office the next morning explaining how I 'failed' the Soldier, leaving this Soldier untrained and, ultimately, unprepared.
 

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Sgt. Travis Bishop Sentenced to 1 Year for Refusing Deployment

Category: G.I. Resistance
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By Dahr Jamail
 
Sergeant Travis Bishop, with the US Army's 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, pled not guilty at a special court martial on Thursday to two counts of missing movement, disobeying a lawful order and going absent without leave (AWOL). Friday, in a trial full of theatrics from the jury, prosecution witnesses and the prosecution, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to 12 months in a military jail.
 
Sgt. Bishop is the second soldier from Fort Hood in as many weeks to be tried by the military for his stand against an occupation he believes is "illegal." He insists that it would be unethical for him to deploy to support an occupation he opposes on both moral and legal grounds, and has filed for conscientious objector (CO) status. A CO is someone who refuses to participate in combat based on religious or ethical grounds, and can be given an honorable discharge by the military.
 
Last week, Specialist Victor Agosto was sentenced to 30 days in a county jail for his refusal to deploy to Afghanistan. Agosto, like Bishop, feels the war is illegal, something that James Branum, the civilian lawyer for both soldiers, agrees with.

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The Truth is on Our Side

Category: G.I. Resistance
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 By Victor Agosto

[The following statement was read  by James Branum, Victor Agosto's civilian attorney, at a protest after Victor's court martial on Thursday, August 6.]

I have learned that nothing is more frightening to power than a direct and principled challenge to its authority. The truth is on our side and those who have incarcerated me know it. This is something that no amount of pro-war propaganda can change.

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The Court Martial of Victor Agosto

Category: G.I. Resistance
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 By Alice Embree 

 Three knocks on the door of the small conference room signaled the beginning of Specialist Victor Agosto’s summary court martial. Captain Santos said, “Enter.”
 
Victor saluted her and said, “Specialist Agosto reporting as ordered.”
 
A summary court martial is a scripted affair in which the presiding officer serves as judge, prosecutor and defense attorney. At this hearing Victor Agosto’s charge was his refusal to obey orders to deploy to Afghanistan and the tiny room was packed with civilian supporters. An Associated Press reporter would soon give the story a national audience.
 

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Victor Agosto Sentenced to 30 Days

Category: G.I. Resistance
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Editor's note: the following statement was posted on the Facebook page of Courage to Resist. World Can't Wait will be posting further information on the trial and sentencing of GI resister Victor Agosto soon.

" Courage To Resist is outraged that Army objector Victor Agosto has to even spend one day in jail for refusing to fight in Afghanistan. Victor was sentenced to 30 days in jail at his court martial at Ft. Hood, Texas today. He is expected to accept an OTH discharge later. (Props to Victor's lawyer James Branum for minimizing punishment, and everybody who donated to Victor's defense fund!)"

from The Ragblog. 

SPC Victor Agosto, a soldier stationed with 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 69th Air Defense Artillery, Rear Detachment, is scheduled for court-martial on August 5 at Fort Hood, TX.

A victim of the highly unpopular stop/loss policy, SPC Agosto, whose contract was over at the end of June, was told that his next assignment would be deployment to Afghanistan. At the end of April, with support of local residents, Agosto went public with his intent to refuse the orders to Afghanistan, on the basis of the occupation being “immoral and unjust.”

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World Can't Wait mobilizes people living in the United States to stand up and stop war on the world, repression and torture carried out by the US government. We take action, regardless of which political party holds power, to expose the crimes of our government, from war crimes to systematic mass incarceration, and to put humanity and the planet first.

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