winter soldier: u.s. military tells the truth about afghanistan & iraq

For four days in March, members of the US military will speak to the public about what is really happening, day in and day out, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Winter Soldier is a four-day event, organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War. It will bring together both veterans and active service members, who will testify about their experiences and present video and photographic evidence. Also in attendance will be scholars, veterans, journalists, and others, who will give context to the testimony.

As the event takes place in Washington, DC, groups all over the country will gather to watch the testimony via live feeds. US war resisters in Canada will be among those testifying.

Winter Soldier will take place from Thursday, March 13 to Sunday, March 16, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the US's invasion of Iraq.

The name of the event evokes history. In 1971, a courageous group of veterans gathered in a hotel in Detroit, and began to expose the criminal nature of the Vietnam War. That groundbreaking event - a harbinger of vast military resistance to the Vietnam War - was known as Winter Soldier.

Iraq Veterans Against the War says:

Americans have heard from the generals, they've heard from the politicians, they've heard from the media – now it's our turn. It is our responsibility to share the realities of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and show how these occupations are breaking our soldiers and destroying our military. And once and for all, we must show that soldiers are not criminals, this war is criminal.

Military resistance to the Iraq War is growing every day. In Ft. Hood, Texas (as elsewhere), soldiers have started an IVAW chapter on the base.

"The honest truth is that if the American people knew what was going on over there everyday, they would be raising their voices too. They would be saying, 'Hey, bring those guys home'," Sgt. Selena Coppa said.

Coppa blames lawmakers in Washington for filtering the facts on the war in Iraq. She said there's no real end in sight.

"There is a cost to this war. This war is being paid in American blood, in my soldier's blood. And that is not okay," Coppa said.

"We lost really good friends, really good leaders who died in Iraq. From my perspective, it didn't make any sense, we didn't accomplish anything, and I talked to a lot of other soldiers who feel the same way," Fort Hood soldier Casey Porter said.

He started the local branch of IVAW at Fort Hood.

Porter is spending his numbered days in the U.S. passing out pamphlets before he is redeployed this summer.

He said he feels it's his obligation to his fallen brothers to take action. Local IVAW members are trying to let other soldiers know it's okay to do the same.

"This is well within the rights that service members have, but not many soldiers know that they do have," Fort Hood soldier Ronn Cantu said.

He's also home between deployments to Iraq.

"I honestly thought I might not live through my second tour, so I thought, you know if I'm going to die anyway, I need to say the things I need to say," Cantu said.

Courage To Resist suggests many ways you can support Winter Soldier. The first thing you can do is sign a statement of support for the project. But I hope you'll go further.

This event has great potential to build both military and civilian resistance to the US occupation of Iraq and the US and Canadian war in Afghanistan. It can also have a bearing on the fate of US war resisters in Canada.

If you care about peace, please plan to watch or listen parts of Winter Soldier and to ask others to do the same. An FAQ page is here.

I'll post updates as we get closer to the event.