Appeal for Military Redress Presented to Congress with Over 1,000 Signatures
On Tuesday, Jan. 16, a petition with over 1,000 signatures
of active-duty, reserve and National Guard troops demanding that the US pull out of Iraq was delivered to Congress. The petition, called the Appeal for Redress,
reads:
As a patriotic American proud to
serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in
Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and
bases from Iraq
. Staying in Iraq
will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to
come home.
This bold step on the part of people inside the military who
are taking much risk in adding their signatures is especially important coming
at the time it is. Bush’s escalation of
the war, announced in his speech last Wednesday, means over 20,000 more troops
will be sent to Iraq,
provocations toward attacking Iran
loom on the horizon, and the destruction and death in Iraq will only
get worse. Resistance inside the
military to this unjust war needs to be supported and spread.
|
|
JonathanThe appeal was started by active-duty service members in the
Norfolk, Virginia
area, including Navy men Jonathan Hutto and David Rogers, and Marine sergeant Liam
Madden. It takes advantage of the legal
right of soldiers under the military whistle-blower protection act to petition
members of Congress. It was inspired in
part by David Cortright’s “Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance During the
Vietnam War”.
On Martin Luther King, the day before the Appeal was
presented to Congress, the Associated Press reported:
More than 20 active-duty service
members and about 100 supporters appeared at an event highlighting the efforts
of Appeal for Redress”
A speech by the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr., in which he asked his followers to speak out against the Vietnam War,
was read Monday in what organizers said was an attempt to illustrate parallels
between that conflict and the Iraq
war.
(“Military Members Speak Out
Against War”, Associated Press, 1/15/07)
The Washington Post quoted several signers of the Appeal:
“Just because you joined the military doesn’t
mean your constitutional rights are suspended,” said Hutto, a petty
officer third class and 1999 Howard
University graduate.
“True patriotism is having a questioning attitude about the
government.”
Redress in this situation means relief, he said.
“Relief from this war.”
—
Kevin Torres, 23, from Brooklyn, a sergeant in the
101st Airborne who has served two tours in Iraq. “I felt like with our
being there, we were making more enemies,” he said. “The people hated
us. They wanted us out of the city.”
—
And Liam Madden, 22, a Marine sergeant from Vermont. He spent seven
months on the ground in Iraq.
“I saw Iraq
struggling to get on its feet and failing to do so — despite the best efforts
of American military,” he said. “I have nothing against the military
or my experience. It’s the policy I oppose.”
(“Why They Fight — From Within”, Washington Post, 1/16/07)
Check out the Appeal for Redress online at http://appealforredress.org/, and
spread it to everyone you know in the military.