Aug. 23, 2010 (KILLEEN, TX) – Five peace activists successfully blockaded six buses carrying Fort Hood Soldiers deploying to Iraq outside Fort Hood’s Clarke gate this morning at around 4 a.m.
While the activists took the width of Clarke Rd. and slowed the buses to a halt, police made no arrests, but instead beat the activists out of the streets using automatic weapons and police dogs so the deploying Soldiers could proceed.
Among those blockading were three veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and one military spouse. (See attached bios) The action, organized by a group calling themselves “Fort Hood Disobeys,” was aimed at preventing the deployment of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Soldiers to what the veterans termed an illegal and immoral occupation.
While standing in the street, the activists held banners reading “Occupation is a Crime” and “Please Don’t Make the Same Mistake We Did. RESIST NOW.” From the TX HW-190 overpass, additional supporters attempted to hang larger banners that read, “Tell the Brass: ‘KISS MY ASS’ Your family needs you more” “Sick of Fighting Your Wars” and “Col. Allen [3 ACR Commander]: Do not deploy wounded Soldiers.”
This latest deployment comes less than two weeks after President Obama announced the second end to combat operations in Iraq. FHD organizers denounced this as a lie, and pointed to the deployment of the 3rd ACR, a combat regiment, to Iraq as clear proof. They have stated they will continue to organize direct action in the Fort Hood community to oppose the wars as long as troops continue to deploy.
The action organizers have established a website at forthooddisobeys.blogspot.com where they will be posting statements, photographs and video from the actions as they become available during the next 48 hours. As well, for the length of the day, FHD ran live webcasts updating their supporters and depicting portions of the direct action. All live broadcasts from the day are archived at http://bit.ly/b1WEyv.
For more information or to arrange coverage of today’s events, call 347-613-8964 or write to forthooddisobeys@hushmail.com. See attached bios for more information on those who participated in today’s action.
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Participant Bios:
I am Bobby Whittenberg-James, a Marine veteran of the war against the people of Iraq, a Purple Heart recipient and a third generation military service member. I joined the Marines in June of 2003, believing the lies about weapons of mass destruction and an imminent threat to our safety. I have since come to learn that these wars and occupations do not keep the people of the United States or the Middle East safe, but instead serve the interests of politicians, capitalists and corporations; the ruling elite.
These unjust wars and occupations rob the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen of their dignity and their right to self-determination and serve to make the people of both the Middle East and the United States less safe. They also serve to further destabilize a region that has suffered under the boot-heel of western colonialism for over a century. The US Empire also supports both financially and militarily the brutal apartheid regime that occupies Palestine. All of this is done in our name with our money, and I am here to say “Not in my name!”
The recent information leaks about the US Empire’s wars lay bare their war crimes and crimes against humanity. We must face the truth, even if it makes us uncomfortable or shows us something about ourselves that we don’t want to see. When we find the truth, we must respond accordingly. I will not be complicit in the killing of people. Since I do not believe that the government or the capitalists will end these wars, I will vote with my body.
Bobby Whittenberg-James
Disobedient
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I am Crystal Colon. I was a sergeant in the Army for five years, stationed at Fort Hood the entire time, save two deployments to Iraq totaling 26 months. I was a Signal Support Systems Noncommissioned Officer, coordinating communications for various commands. I was honorably discharged in Jan., 2010, and have been organizing in the veterans peace movement ever since.
I first began to question the war in Iraq during my first deployment in ‘05-’06. After my friend Robbie was killed, I was very deeply affected. I started questioning why we were in Iraq. It felt like he had died for nothing. After returning from Iraq, I planned to leave the military. I was stop-lossed and forced to return to Iraq for 15 months, in total held beyond the length of my enlistment more than 450 days. Since leaving the military, I have been active with the veterans peace movement, speaking out about my experiences and supporting troops who refuse to fight.
I am doing this today because I can’t allow this war in which I have fought to continue. I can’t allow other Soldiers to make the same mistake I did, deploying in support of a war crime. As a veteran of Iraq, how could I not do this today? For the people I helped occupy, for the friends I lost and stilI have over there, for the Soldiers on those buses. How could I not do this today? I should have disobeyed. I should have never boarded those buses to Iraq. I wish someone had tried to stop me.
Crystal Colon
Disobedient
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I am Matthis Chiroux, former Army sergeant and War Resister. I was press-ganged into the Army by the Alabama Juvenile “Justice” System in 2002. While in the military, I occupied the nations of Japan and Germany for more than four years, with shorter tours in the Philippines and Afghanistan. I was a Public Affairs Noncommissioned Officer specializing in strategic communications. In reality, I was a propaganda artist. I was discharged honorably to the Individual Ready Reserve in 2007.
While I have always been against the war in Iraq, I began resisting it actively in 2008, after I received mobilization orders for a year-long deployment to Iraq. I refused those orders in Congress in May of 2008, calling my orders illegal and unconstitutional. I believed appealing to Congress would end the war. When 13 Members signed a letter of support for my decision and sent it to Bush, I thought we had won a victory for peace. This was more than two years ago. The president has changed, and the wars and destruction drag on.
Today, I am blocking the deployment of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment with my fellow vets and military family members because the wars will continue to victimize our communities until we halt this bloody machine from within. I am putting my body on the line in solidarity with the people of the Middle East, whose bodies have been shot, burned, tortured, raped and violated by our men and women in and out of uniform. I cannot willfully allow Americans in uniform to put their lives and the lives of Iraqis in jeopardy for a crime. We are here because we have a responsibility to ourselves as veterans and as humans of the world. I will not rest until my people, ALL PEOPLE, are free.
In Struggle and Solidarity,
Matthis Chiroux
Disobedient
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I am Cynthia Thomas, and I have been an Army Wife for 18 years. My husband has been deployed three times since the wars began. During his second deployment, he was severley wounded and medevaced to Walter Reed Army Hospital on Life Support. Even though he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, suffered three fractures in his back, three fractures on his pelvis and countless other injuries, the Army deployed him a third time. This was devastating to our two daughters, our step-son and to me.
Three months after my husband deployed for the third time, our step-son called to inform me he was joining the Marines. That was the exact moment I realized that our children would be fighting these endless wars. I decided that I needed to start resisting.
The reason I am doing this today is because for the past 3 years that I have been speaking out and advocating for Soldiers, things have only gotten worse. I have heard countless stories from Vets and Active Duty Soldiers that give people nightmares. I have heard stories from family members that would shock people awake if they would just listen! Our military community is being destroyed!
If these wars are destroying our Soldiers and military families with 12 to 15-month, often repeat deployments, how do you think the Iraqi and Afghan people doing? They have been living these wars 24/7, 365 days a year for nearly a decade! My youngest daughter is an Operation Iraqi Freedom baby. She was less than one-year-old when her father left to invade Iraq. I look at her, and I see an Iraqi or Afghan child having to live in constant fear with no end in sight! I am doing this for our community, for my girls, for my husband and our Marine. I am doing this for the Iraqi and Afghan People. Enough is enough. If Soldiers really want to go fight, they’ll have to go through me.
Cynthia Thomas
Disobedient
I was inspired by the action of these brave people. The might of the U.S. military does not make right, but right is certainly found in people standing up for justice. I don’t want my children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren (I have 5, one of whom is the son of my Marine granddaughter) to have to live in a world filled with the kind narrow mindedness express in most of the comments here. More power to these courageous protestors. May there be many more like them.
Larry
People who stand up and resist neverending wars of occupation have been able to break through to the other side of patriotic sound bytes and meaningless phrases to the truth of what soldiers are being deployed to do and to become. Freedom and democracy are neither being protected nor spread by murderous rampages of terror and destruction, as we have seen first hand in the wikileaks video, and have heard from eyewitness accounts. The truth is there for you to look at it if you have the courage to do so. Soldiers who are about to deploy deserve to hear and understand that this war is not supported and that we do not support this kind of brutality being done in our names. Don’t fight for empire…resist with us!
keep it up!
Lance: You describe the article as being full of half-truths and ridicule the action of five people brave enough to stand up against the ongoing crimes of these wars upon Afghanistan and Iraq. You say that “WCW is a bunch of hypocrites anyhow.” Is it therefore safe to assume, since you make such a big deal of being truthful here, that you are an example of the kind of non-hypocritical, total truth telling person that you allegedly admire?
If that’s the case, then would you like to explain then why an organization like WCW that is devoted to stopping these wars of empire and that are responsible for war crimes being committed daily, devoted in words and deeds, is a “bunch of hypocrites” whereas those who are prosecuting these wars and justifying them such as our government and the military leadership are not a bunch of hypocrites? And where do you stand on these questions yourself? Do you think these wars are just? If so, then care to explain how you support these wars and are not in so doing being a hypocrite? If you think these wars are wrong, then what are you doing to fight against them? And how, if you do think they’re unjust, do you justify your attacks on people who are putting their bodies on the line in fighting against these crimes?
The pro-war people here only want to talk about “success” because to actually deal with the reality that these troops are being deployed to commit war crimes would be indefensible from their stand-point.
Obviously 5 people did not succeed in stopping the deployment altogether. However, a challenge was laid down: DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WE MADE – OCCUPATION IS A CRIME. And the possibility that troops who heard it may actually be rankled by it and make the moral choice as a result is a huge fear for these reactionary thugs.
Once again, thank you The Disobedient!
[quote name=”scott”]
I’m not even going to try and argue or reason with you–you just need to hear the damn truth.[/quote]
Right. “It’s the truth because I said so, so just believe it.” Sound logic.
The soldiers all still deployed, despite this “total success” of a protest. So if that is success, what does failure look like?
Yall are retarded, Ft Hood has Civilian Police to you tools, Automaic weapons are not carried there unless it is a serious situation. All you tree huggers are retarded, Basically you are saying its ok to fly planes into buildings. Fucking idiots, don’t forget why we are there. All i hear is pissing and moaning from people that joined the Military and couldn’t hack it. You knew what you were getting into so don’t make up a bunch of bull shit to fluff up your little protest group!!!!! All you supporters of this movement are even more deranged than them for believing the bull shit that they are shoving in your face!!!! Wake the fuck up morons
Look at the absolute catastrophe the US military has made out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The only sane people doing the right thing on the road that night out of Fort Hood were those who blocked the road. The rest were being sent off to commit more war crimes, and needed to hear the message of the disobedient ones before they got shipped off to follow orders that get people killed.
I don’t care how many of them there were…THEY were the ones in the right, and all you people with nothing more to say than to trash them are UPHOLDING MASS MURDER AND WAR CRIMES.
I’m not even going to try and argue or reason with you–you just need to hear the damn truth.
Ok then Ddloo and Ed, since we’re all know-nothings, please enlighten us, what change has been effected from these five dimestore radicals screaming catchphrases for three minutes? “Movements” start small and grow big, eh? That might be the case if those at the forefront of these “movements” weren’t prone to laughable and easily exposed lies half-truths in a pathetic attempt to win numbers for the cause, or wasting all their time spewing the same tired vague rhetoric about “radical revolution” and “direct action” but never bothering to elaborate on their meaning.
“You’re gonna die for your country like shit.”
-Protesters to deploying soldiers.
All the brains and tact of Westboro Baptist disciples, but with more tattoos. Pat on the back for your “radicalism”; I’m sure you’ll win a loyal following with that slogan.
Wow, I am certainly glad all of the know-nothings with their talking points have decided to jump out and attack this action. Makes you wonder how scared they are of actions like this becoming more wide-spread and common, which needs to happen.
I was in the army during the Vietnam War and I remember what the effect that it had on those of us who were opposed to the war when people both inside and outside of the military would stage actions opposing the war. It was electrifying and often gave us some room to step out and stand up in opposition to the war and we would often discovered that there were more people who thought like us than what we could ever imagine inside the military, but who thought that they were the only ones who thought like that.
Ed Charles
I find it interesting that some of the commenters here find it useless that five people stood up for what is right, as if the number of people doing what’s correct matters. If even ONE person did this, it would be right and something to uphold. What are we, in high school, where what MOST people are doing is what matters?
“I hope that makes you feel like you made a difference, because you did nothing. Ft Hood is one base, with tens of thousands of soldiers on it. You think 5 people, with some signs is enough to stop the deployment? That seriously makes me question your sanity.”
What ends (unjust) wars are people of conscience who stand up in the face of opposition from their government, from the mass media, from their fellow citizens, and from those who have something better to do, apparently, than joining those who are acting. Engaging in ridicule of those who ARE doing something meaningful has always been the best way of all to stop atrocities, yes?
Movements that succeed in their objectives always start out small and grow. Those who refuse to support actions because they “do nothing” unless they’re universal and really, really big are the kind of people who are full of bravery and willing to face criticism and who we really all should emulate, right? They are the ones who change history, no?
Instead of ridiculing the protesters, and the very idea that the military had “automatic weapons” in hand – why, of course, everyone who knows the military KNOWS that they don’t EVER carry such weaponry and never, ever, use them, certainly they never engage in intimidation by brandishing such weapons! – why not do something meaningful yourself and salute those who are doing something right with their bodies? Or is that too much to ask?
I for one am thankful someone is protesting this nonsense. Using illegal wars and occupations and criminalizing Muslims in order to justify it to wage wars for empire is a crime. The only hypocrites are the ones on this list sitting in their Air conditioning while their country bombs people to fuel it. Thank you all for protesting these illegal occupations!
Too funny. You people are clueless. The US Empire? Feel free to leave. North Korea would love you.
And to the fool who was press-ganged (whatever the heck that means) by the Alabama Juvie system – you were a criminal. You could have gone to jail, I am sure bubba would have loved your tender behind. Get a life. I am sure you were a slug in your units. I had people as useless as you when I was in Iraq. We laughed at you all the time as you did very important duties like cleaning out the porta-crapper or taking count of real soldiers entering the chow hall.
So, to you 5 goons, I hope you had a good time waking up early and accomplishing nothing. Oh – and the automatic weapon comment was a hoot.
WCW is a bunch of hypocrites anyhow. Elaine Brower, one of the “steering committee” members called Marines “baby killers” but can’t stop using her son’s service in the Marines as a platform to spew her lunacy. She considers him a hero and an expert at fighting terrorism of course, not a baby killer, and vacillates between saying he is “damaged” by his service or “there is nothing wrong with him” depending on what is most convenient to whatever line of idiocy she is presently promoting.
And don’t let Matthis Chiroux tell you he had a “short deployment” to Afghanistan. He spent six days there, and now calls it a “deployment” to heighten his street cred. Honesty in advertising is too much to ask from this crew.
I guess accuracy isn’t important in this article. Not sure how 5 people can “take the width” of a more than 4 lane road, unless they are wide I guess. “slowed” and “halt” would be two different meanings. Were there really any “automatic” weapons? Come on now…think about it. Your “live” videos were great. Yep one of them show the police offering up chem-lights so your people wouldn’t get hit by traffic. Wow thats just mean of them. So you stopped nothing huh? You are aware no true communist government has ever existed right?
I am highly upset at this story. I am gonna call whoever posted the “propaganda” stating they were beat by the police…liars, grow up, if I was driving the bus I would have ran ur dumbass over. I am a patriot and still serve today and have been deployed on 2 yr long deployments. I would not change a thing. Your actions were a disgrace, and more importantly worthless. Get a job or better yet move out of America. Get ur facts right too cause this bs about being beaten is all a lie.
Hey Guys,
Your story was covered on nationally syndicated radio show Free Talk Live. If you have the time I would encourage you to call in and talk about it. 7p-10p EST 800-259-9231
“TOTAL FREAKING SUCCESS!!” writes Matthis Chiroux of the three minutes he spent rambling through a bullhorn. And yet, the soldiers all still deployed, to a man, having lost nothing but three minutes that would otherwise have been spent sitting in an airplane hangar. What would be an appropriate analogy for Matthis’ unique brand of self-delusion…?
How about:
“Mission Accomplished!”
-G.W. Bush, 2003
Pretty cute how y’all think anyone pays attention to you.
Actually, the US has been continuously at war against Iraq for almost 2 decades. After the Gulf War phase of the war, the US still bombed Iraq several times per month. It also maintained a blockade that, combined with the previous damage done to the civilian infrastructure, caused hundreds of thousands of deaths of babies and other children under five, plus hundreds of thousands of older people.
As for comment #1, I doubt the resisters expected to halt the deployment. They were sending a message. The veterans, and other former war supporters, may also have been dealing with their guilt in a positive way.
Wow, after all your talk and bluster you manage to bring five people together to stand in front of a bus. I hope that makes you feel like you made a difference, because you did nothing. Ft Hood is one base, with tens of thousands of soldiers on it. You think 5 people, with some signs is enough to stop the deployment? That seriously makes me question your sanity. You insist you were broken up ‘with automatic weapons’ yet there were no arrests? Propaganda much? If the government saw you as a genuine threat (which is doesn’t) it would have ordered your arrest. Instead you are free to go back to your computer desk freedom fighting.