Winter soldier, Iraq and Afghanistan : eyewitness accounts of the occupations

“The only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name.”—Kelly Dougherty, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War In spring 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered veterans to expose war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic gathering, which show the reality of life in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraq Veterans Against the War argues that well-publicized incidents of American brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the massacre of an entire family of Iraqis in the town of Haditha are not the isolated incidents perpetrated by “a few bad apples,” as many politicians and military leaders have claimed. They are part of a pattern, the group says, of “an increasingly bloody occupation.” "Here is the war as it should be reported, seeing the pain, refusing to sanitize an unprovoked attack that has killed over one million people. All over America are victims who have returned from this conflict with hideous wounds -- wounds that turn the lives of the entire family upside down. And the American people are not seeing this. Until now. "Winter Soldier, an enormously important project of Iraq Veterans Against the War, cuts this debacle to the bone, exposing details hard to come by and even harder to believe. This is must reading for patriots who have already begun the effort to insure that this never happens again." --Phil Donahue "Winter Soldier makes us feel the pain and despair endured by those who serve in a military stretched to the breaking point by stop-loss policies, multiple combat tours, and a war where the goals and the enemies keep shifting ... [and] also make[s] us admire the unbreakable idealism and hope of those men and women who still believe that by speaking out they can make things better both for themselves and for those who come after them."--San Francisco Chronicle Formed in the aftermath of the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, **Iraq Veterans Against the War** (IVAW) was founded in 2004 to give those who have served in the military since September 11, 2001, a way to come together and speak out against an unjust, illegal, and unwinnable war. Today, IVAW has over seven hundred members in forty-nine states, Washington, DC, Canada, and on military bases overseas. **Aaron Glantz** is an independent journalist who has covered the Iraq War from the front lines. He is the author of __How America Lost Iraq__ (Tarcher) and a forthcoming book on the Iraq War from the University of California Press. **Anthony Swofford** is the author of __Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles__.

“The only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name.”—Kelly Dougherty, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War

In spring 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered veterans to expose war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic gathering, which show the reality of life in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Iraq Veterans Against the War argues that well-publicized incidents of American brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the massacre of an entire family of Iraqis in the town of Haditha are not the isolated incidents perpetrated by “a few bad apples,” as many politicians and military leaders have claimed. They are part of a pattern, the group says, of “an increasingly bloody occupation.”

 

"Here is the war as it should be reported, seeing the pain, refusing to sanitize an unprovoked attack that has killed over one million people.  All over America are victims who have returned from this conflict with hideous wounds — wounds that turn the lives of the entire family upside down. And the American people are not seeing this.  Until now.

     "Winter Soldier, an enormously important project of Iraq Veterans Against the War, cuts this debacle to the bone, exposing details hard to come by and even harder to believe.  This is must reading for patriots who have already begun the effort to insure that this never happens again."

—Phil Donahue  

"Winter Soldier makes us feel the pain and despair endured by those who serve in a military stretched to the breaking point by stop-loss policies, multiple combat tours, and a war where the goals and the enemies keep shifting ... [and] also make[s] us admire the unbreakable idealism and hope of those men and women who still believe that by speaking out they can make things better both for themselves and for those who come after them."—San Francisco Chronicle

Formed in the aftermath of the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was founded in 2004 to give those who have served in the military since September 11, 2001, a way to come together and speak out against an unjust, illegal, and unwinnable war. Today, IVAW has over seven hundred members in forty-nine states, Washington, DC, Canada, and on military bases overseas.

 

Aaron Glantz is an independent journalist who has covered the Iraq War from the front lines. He is the author of How America Lost Iraq (Tarcher) and a forthcoming book on the Iraq War from the University of California Press.

Anthony Swofford is the author of Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles.

the Most Important Unembedded Us Reporter In Iraq Takes Us Inside The Iraq We Never See.

kirkus Reviews

an Urgent, In-the-trenches Report On The Dire Humanitarian Crisis In U.s.-occupied Iraq By A Freelance Alaskan Journalist. Jamail's Time In War-torn Iraq Began In November 2003, Seven Months After The U.s. Invasion, When The Author-who Had Previously Worked As A Mountain Guide On Mt. Mckinley While Also Doing Social Work And Freelance Writing-arrived From Amman, Jordan, Into Ravaged Baghdad To See For Himself What Was Going On. Jamail Was Not An Embedded Journalist-that Is, One Tied To The Pentagon-sponsored Embed Program-but He Aimed To Look For Stories Of Real Life And `embed' Myself With The Iraqi People. He Stayed Nine Weeks, But Returned To Iraq In April Of The Next Year. Through Various Journalist Connections, He Secured Drivers To Take Him Around The Desperate City, From Hospitals, Where He Viewed The Grisly Carnage From Car Bombings, American Snipers And Shootouts With Resistance Fighters; To Samarra, After An Ambush On American Soldiers; To Entree Into Civilians' Homes To Hear The Truth About American Military Aggression And The Lack Of Basic Human Services, Such As Water, Medicine, Electricity And Gasoline. In The Course Of His Travels, He Was Constantly Confronted With Angry Iraqis Who Were Stunned By American Brutality As Well As Their Lack Of Compassion And Respect For Human Dignity. Jamail Was Continually Reminded Of Suicide Bombs And The Fear Of Being Kidnapped, And He Observed Daily The Deterioration Of Conditions And Ached For The People's General Lack Of Health And Freedom. Shortly After His Return, He Witnessed The Worst Resistance Fighting Around Fallujah As The Americans Retaliated Against The Murder Of Four Blackwater Mercenaries. While The Author Provides Manysignificant, Eye-opening Observations, The Prose Is Pedestrian, And He Offers Scant Historical Context. Mechanics Aside, An Important Eyewitness Testimony.

In this razor-sharp analysis, TomDispatch.com commentator Michael Schwartz demolishes the myths used to sell the U.S. public the idea of an endless "war on terror" centered in Iraq.He demonstrates how the U.S. occupation is fueling rather than restraining civil war in Iraq, and how U.S. officials systematically dismantled the Iraqi state and economy, helping to destroy rather than rebuild the country.In a popular style, reminiscent of the best writing against the Vietnam war, he shows how the real U.S. interests in Iraq have been rooted in the geopolitics of oil and the expansion of a neoliberal economic model in the Middle East—and around the globe—at gunpoint.War Without End also reveals how the failure of the United States in Iraq has forced U.S. planners to fundamentally rethink the imperial fantasies driving recent foreign policy.Michael Schwartz, professor of sociology and faculty director of the Undergraduate College of Global Studies at Stony Brook University, has written extensively on the war in Iraq at sites including TomDispatch, ZNet, Asia Times, and Mother Jones, and in numerous magazines, including Contexts, Against the Current, and Z.David Swanson of Global Research writes, "The best history of the U.S. occupation of Iraq that I've seen.... This book puts incidents of violence we hear about in the context of the massive violence we don't hear much about, and puts all of it in the context of the economic and social devastation imposed on Iraq.... Schwartz also helps to make the complex clearer and simpler by framing his account in terms of the actual oily motivations of our government, rather than any of the pretended rationales." As The United States Now Faces A Major Defeat In Its Occupation Of Iraq, The History Of The War In Vietnam Has Taken On Renewed Importance. In This Timely Study, Joe Allen Examines The Lessons Of The Vietnam Era With The Eye Of Both A Dedicated Historian And An Engaged Participant In Today's Antiwar Movement. In Addition To Debunking The Popular Mythology Surrounding The U.s.'s Longest War To Date, Allen Addresses Three Elements That Played A Central Role In Routing The U.s. In Vietnam: The Resistance Of The Vietnamese, The Antiwar Movement In The United States, And The Courageous Rebellion Of Soldiers Against U.s. Military Command. Allen Reclaims The Suppressed History Of The Gi Revolt And Its Dynamic Relationship To The International Peace Movement. He Traces The Lessons And Confidence Of The Struggle For Civil Rights That Helped Give Birth To An Active And Organized Antiwar Movement. He Documents How The Erosion Of Support For War Both In The United States And Inside The Military Left The World's Most Powerful Political And Military Establishment Unable To Combat The Determined Warfare Of The Vietnamese. --p. [4] Of Cover. From The French Conquest To The Overthrow Of Diem -- From The Overthrow Of Diem To The Tet Offensive -- Cold War Liberalism And The Roots Of The Antiwar Movement -- Black America And Vietnam -- From The Birth Of The Antiwar Movement To 1968 -- The U.s. Working Class And The War -- From Quagmire To Defeat -- From Watergate To The Fall Of Saigon. Joe Allen ; Foreword By John Pilger. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [232]-235) And Index.

In this razor-sharp analysis, TomDispatch.com commentator Michael Schwartz turns every mainstream conclusion about Iraq on its head. He shows how US occupation is fueling civil war in Iraq and beyond, and how US officials dismantled the Iraqi state and economy, helping to destroy rather than rebuild the country.

In a popular style reminiscent of the best writing against the Vietnam War, he punctures the myths used to sell the US public the idea of an endless 'war on terror' centered in Iraq. Schwartz shows how the real US interests in Iraq were rooted in the geopolitics of oil and the expansion of a neoliberal economic model in the Middle East-and around the globe-at gunpoint.

War Without End also reveals how the failure of the United States in Iraq has forced US planners to fundamentally rethink the imperial dreams driving recent foreign policy.

This book is the third in a series of very successful books published in cooperation with TomDispatch.com, including the New York Times bestseller United States v. George W. Bush et al. by Elizabeth de la Vega (Seven Stories Press).

Michael Schwartz, professor of sociology and faculty director of the Undergraduate College of Global Studies at Stony Brook University, has written extensively on the war in Iraq at websites including TomDispatch, ZNet, Asia Times, and Mother Jones, and in numerous magazines, including Contexts, Against the Current, and Z Magazine.

As the United States now faces a major defeat in its occupation of Iraq, the history of the Vietnam War, as a historic blunder for US military forces abroad, and the true story of how it was stopped, take on a fresh importance. Unlike most books on the topic, constructed as specialized academic studies, The (Last) War the United States Lost examines the lessons of the Vietnam era with Joe Allens eye of both a dedicated historian and an engaged participant in todays antiwar movement. Many damaging myths about the Vietnam era persist, including the accusations that antiwar activists routinely jeered and spat at returning soldiers or that the war finally ended because Congress cut off its funding. Writing in a clear and accessible style, Allen reclaims the stories of the courageous GI revolt; its dynamic relationship with the civil rights movement and the peace movement; the development of coffee houses where these groups came to speak out, debate, and organize; and the struggles waged throughout barracks, bases, and military prisons to challenge the rule of military command. Allens analysis of the US failure in Vietnam is also the story of the hubris of US imperial overreach, a new chapter of which is unfolding in the Middle East today. Joe Allen is a regular contributor to the International Socialist Review and a longstanding social justice fighter, involved in the ongoing struggles for labor, the abolition of the death penalty, and to free the political prisoner Gary Tyler. In this razor-sharp analysis, TomDispatch.com commentator Michael Schwartz turns every mainstream conclusion about Iraq on its head. He shows how US occupation is fueling civil war in Iraq and beyond, and how US officials dismantled the Iraqi state and economy, helping to destroy rather than rebuild the country. In a popular style reminiscent of the best writing against the Vietnam War, he punctures the myths used to sell the US public the idea of an endless war on terror centered in Iraq. Schwartz shows how the real US interests in Iraq were rooted in the geopolitics of oil and the expansion of a neoliberal economic model in the Middle Eastand around the globeat gunpoint. War Without End also reveals how the failure of the United States in Iraq has forced US planners to fundamentally rethink the imperial dreams driving recent foreign policy. This book is the third in a series of very successful books published in cooperation with TomDispatch.com, including the New York Times bestseller United States v. George W. Bush et al. by Elizabeth de la Vega (Seven Stories Press). Michael Schwartz , professor of sociology and faculty director of the Undergraduate College of Global Studies at Stony Brook University, has written extensively on the war in Iraq at websites including TomDispatch , ZNet , Asia Times , and Mother Jones , and in numerous magazines, including Contexts , Against the Current , and Z Magazine . "As the United States now faces a major defeat in its occupation of Iraq, the history of the war in Vietnam has taken on renewed importance. In this timely study, Joe Allen examines the lessons of the Vietnam era with the eye of both a dedicated historian and an engaged participant in today's antiwar movement. In addition to debunking the popular mythology surrounding the U.S.'s longest war to date, Allen addresses three elements that played a central role in routing the U.S. in Vietnam: the resistance of the Vietnamese, the antiwar movement in the United States, and the courageous rebellion of soldiers against U.S. military command. Allen reclaims the suppressed history of the GI revolt and its dynamic relationship to the international peace movement. He traces the lessons and confidence of the struggle for civil rights that helped give birth to an active and organized antiwar movement. He documents how the erosion of support for war both in the United States and inside the military left the world's most powerful political and military establishment unable to combat the determined warfare of the Vietnamese."--Page 4 of cover “The only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name.”—Kelly Dougherty, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War In spring 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered veterans to expose war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic gathering, which show the reality of life in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraq Veterans Against the War argues that well-publicized incidents of American brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the massacre of an entire family of Iraqis in the town of Haditha are not the isolated incidents perpetrated by “a few bad apples,” as many politicians and military leaders have claimed. They are part of a pattern, the group says, of “an increasingly bloody occupation.” "Here is the war as it should be reported... QuarkXPress,ebook,epub The Vietnam War cut deeply into the lives of an entire generation of Americans. It left an indelible mark on those who took part in it and spawned an antiwar movement more popular and passionate than any other in U.S. history. In all that has been written about the war up until now - about the policies that drove it, the experiences of the American soldiers who fought it, and the dreams of those who opposed it - rarely do the worlds of the Vietnam veteran and the antiwar demonstrator come together. Yet in a small but articulate organization known as Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), the two made common cause. Winter Soldiers recovers this moving chapter in the history of the Vietnam War era. Bringing together the voices of more than thirty former and current members of the VVAW, oral historian Richard Stacewicz offers an eloquent account of the impact of the war on the lives of individuals and the nation. "In spring 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered outside Washington, D.C., and testified to atrocities they personally committed or witnessed while deployed in the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. In this book are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic event." "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan preserves and honors the participants' courageous contributions in order to ensure that people around the world remember their stories and struggles. The book's documentation includes the testimonies of dozens of veterans addressing such issues as the U.S. military's callous disregard for civilian life, the torture of detainees, the culture of racism that's inherent in a military occupation, gender discrimination, and the health crisis facing today's veterans."--Jacket On September 16, 2007, machine gun fire erupted in Baghdad's Nisour Square leaving seventeen Iraqi civilians dead, among them women and children. The shooting spree, labeled "Baghdad's Bloody Sunday," was neither the work of Iraqi insurgents nor U.S. soldiers. The shooters were private forces working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide. This is the explosive story of a company that rose a decade ago from Moyock, North Carolina, to become one of the most powerful players in the "War on Terror." In his gripping bestseller, awardwinning journalist Jeremy Scahill takes us from the bloodied streets of Iraq to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the chambers of power in Washington, to expose Blackwater as the frightening new face of the U.S. war machine. In the spring of 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered outside Washington, D.C., and testified to atrocities they personally committed or witnessed while deployed in the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. In this book are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic event.The collective testimony of the dozens of veterans present at the hearings showed that well-publicized cases of American brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal are not isolated incidents perpetrated by "a few bad apples," as many politicians and military leaders have claimed. As the testimony shows, such injustices are the logical outcome of U.S. foreign policy. Winter Soldier "Beyond the Green Zone is Dahr Jamail's critically acclaimed, indispensable account of life in Iraq under U.S. occupation. Named by AlterNet as one of the top three progressive books of 2007, alongside Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine and Jeremy Scahill's Blackwater, Beyond the Green Zone goes past the polished desks of the corporate media and Washington politicians to tell firsthand the reality of life in Iraq. This widely read account offers lyrical journalism, personal reflection, incisive analysis, and ground-breaking reportage, including previously unpublished details of the first years of occupation."--Publisher description The almost invisible goals of the war in Iraq Oily origins Toxic economics Neoliberalism in Iraq The pursuit of Iraqi oil The fight to capture and control Iraq Collective punishment Insurgent strongholds Torture, death squads, and the second battle of Fallujah Military shock treatment Creating slum cities Destruction, not reconstruction Saga of the al Fatah pipeline The eletrical infrastructure The downward spiral Destruction of human capital Sovereignty lost Who's sovereign now? City states Autonomous Kurdistan Struggle for sovereignty in Sunni areas The battle of Baghdad. Forward by Anthony Swofford Message from the executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War Introduction The rules of engagement Racism and the dehumanization of war Civilian testimony Divide to conquer : gender and sexuality in the military The crisis of veterans healthcare and the costs of war at home The breakdown of the military The future of GI resistance Afterward by Aaron Glantz Glossary of military terms. Explores the private security company Blackwater USA, including the background of its founder, its relationship with the United States government, and its role in the Iraq War, the cleanup of Hurricane Katrina, and the War on Terror. Richard Stacewicz. Originally Published: New York : Twayne Publishers, 1997. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 437-459) And Index.