Iraq Veterans Against the War Europe

Winter Soldier Europe

2009-03-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

The following is wrongly labeled Part 1, that will be corrected soon.

Andre Shepherd:

Martin Webster:

Christian Neumann (In German)

Chris Arendt

Afterwards was an Audio Interview of David Cortelyou which isn't on youtube, but can be found on the Courage to Resist Website:

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/577/95/

That was followed by Lee Kamara:

Eddie Falcon

Chris Capps-Schubert

Zack Baddorf

It has been a great weekend, and something I'll never forget. Now onto Strasbourg, I just hope people are listening.

-Chris

ASYLUM UPDATE

2009-02-09T05:33:00.000-08:00

Hello again everyone!

Well the last week was, to put it in perspective, really intense! By Friday evening I was so worn out, I needed to take a few days off just to get my mind back in order. After a weekend rest and relaxation, I am ready to get back down to business. Hope the weekend was as good for all of you as it was for me.

On Wednesday February 4, I met with the German Bundesamt to present my case. That day was the most important day so far, as it was my only chance during the initial process to tell my complete story. The session lasted around nine and a half hours as we covered the period from the year two thousand up until the present day. The officer that questioned me was very professional and from the impression I got, the case was well received. Dr. Marx (my lawyer) also said that the hearing went very well. Personally I feel that my case has a strong chance of success. This was a huge first step; however there was no indication from the Bundesamt as to what the decision might be. I also did not get a timetable as to when a decision might be reached. It looks like it’s going to be a long wait.

I must take this time to thank everyone for all of their prayers and support. The response to the letters of solidarity circulated by Connection E.V. was overwhelming. Hundreds of letters poured in from around the world from people who understand what the stakes are and have expressed their encouragement. It is very uplifting to read these letters, particularly the ones from the USA and Germany. Actions like this reinforce the notion that we are not alone in our struggle to stop the imperialism that our once great country has chosen to undertake. It is my sincere hope that our efforts will one day reverse the destructive course of our nation, and we will once again be the beacon of freedom and prosperity. Many thanks to organizations such as the Military Counseling Network, Iraq Veterans Against The War, Connection E.V., Tübingen Progressive Americans, Munich American Peace Committee, DFG-VK, and many others for their tireless efforts to help make this endeavor successful. I cannot express to you how difficult it would have been had it been not for your great work.

Vice-President Joe Biden was in Munich last weekend attending the annual NATO Security Conference. For those of you who do not know, the basic point of this conference is to figure out where to next wage war and to whom the lucrative military contracts are awarded to. Of course this isn´t the only conference by far, however I have learned from my sources that this particular conference is extremely important. Anyway, Mr. Biden apparently is under the impression that NATO should send additional troops to Afghanistan in order to improve the security situation there. I don´t know about the rest of you, but since when does sending in more military personnel equate to LESS war? Please do not talk to me about the “success” of the Iraqi surge, because upon closer inspection you will find that is a fantasy perpetuated by the Pentagon and the Lame Stream Media. An increase in the troops in Afghanistan at this stage is going to trigger more battles and more casualties. I also suspect that the bombing campaign that has increased in recent years will continue unabated, thus creating even more civilian casualties for the Afghanis and Pakistanis. We don´t even have to mention that more Soldiers and Marines will be further killed and maimed as well. Whatever happened to the promise of “change” by the Obama Religious Network, I mean campaign? If the plan is to bring stability to the region as the talking heads keep referring to, then a DIPLOMATIC solution is the only way to accomplish this. We need to bring together EVERYONE, which would have include the Karzai Government, the Pakistani Government, the Warlords, and yes even the Taliban to figure out how to handle this mess. The people there need basic necessities, not more bullets. One can´t gain the trust and support of a people if you continuously bomb them into the Stone Age.

(Sigh) I really hope that sanity returns to the U.S. Government real soon. Until then we need to keep up the good work of resisting the call to fight in these God forsaken conflicts. We need to get the word out that we are not just shock troops for the Corporate Gangsters who falsely believe they rule the world. If they want to get themselves killed to try and pacify other nations for their own benefit, there would be no one stopping them. Just leave myself and the six billion other souls who want to live in peace out of it. See you next time.

An Open Letter to Barack Obama

2009-01-22T03:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr. President:

I want to first congratulate you on your accomplishment. What you have achieved will go down in history as an important step forward in American Politics. Many people will look back on your inauguration with pride, having witnessed firsthand such a momentous moment. After the great disaster that was the Bush Administration, the American People as well as the world at large have rested their hopes on your shoulders. I don´t have to tell you that The United States of America is in a perilous situation. While I am confident that you will do your best to lead the nation in a new direction, I am not blind to the challenges that you will face. I believe that because we as a nation have failed in our duty to be involved in government affairs we have allowed our once proud land to become a militaristic police state that preys on the innocent, and bullies other nations to get our way. It saddens me to know that the America that I have grown up to know is completely unrecognizable. I like others will fight to restore what was lost, to help the country find its way again. I have included some suggestions below as to how we can put our once proud nation back on her feet. I hope that you take these words into consideration.

1. Prosecute George W. Bush

Sir, I understand that this is a serious charge, but I know from first and second hand experience the evidence for a conviction is overwhelming. The reign of terror that Mr. Bush and his associates have brought on the world have cost over one million lives, and shattered the lives of millions more. Iraq will take decades to recover from the devastation that our military has caused. Add that to the death toll of our men and women in uniform, the twenty-five thousand plus soldiers who have gone AWOL (including myself) to protest the war, the families who have suffered greatly because of these atrocities, the war crimes involved, and the knowledge that Mr. Bush deliberately deceived not only America but the world as well and you can see a pretty convincing case for prosecution. I almost forgot to mention that this ill-advised war has put a serious strain on our budget which took precious funds away from our infrastructure. He also has turned our once free society into a quasi-police state by eviscerating the Constitution (more on that later). What I am saying Mr. President, is that we cannot let him get away with the criminal acts that he has committed. To do so would not only make your government look as if it cares less about human rights (among other things), it will set a dangerous precedent for the future. That is a future that I do not desire to see, so I hope that you consider this proposal carefully.

2. Eliminate the Federal Reserve (along with the terrorist organization known as the IRS)

When it comes to the economy, this suggestion should go without saying. Since I haven´t heard you mention this in your campaign speeches or any speeches thereafter, I must humbly submit this alternative. It is common knowledge that the federal income tax is illegal. This tax is nothing more than a modern day shake-down for the illegal Federal Reserve Bank. It is well known that the money we pay to these criminals goes straight to pay the interest for the national debt, which we were tricked into assuming responsibility for by receiving a Social Security Number. Not one service that the Federal Government provides is funded by taxpayer dollars. In other words, everything the Washington does is funded through borrowed money. So, take for example your ‘economic stimulus plan.’ It calls for almost one trillion dollars to fully implement your strategies. Sir, I would like to ask you an important question: Just where will you get that kind of money? I have read and understood that the U.S. Treasury is overdrawn by almost 11 trillion dollars (though some estimates are up to 55 trillion). It is enough to make me sick. Adding more debt to the debt problem is not going to solve anything. We are not in a ‘credit crisis’ as the airheads on TV say. It is a ‘repayment crisis’ on a mass scale. Everyone, including the Federal Government, took the bait of ‘easy credit’ and got up to their necks in debt. Now the piper has come and no one has any money to pay for the excesses for the past thirty years. That Sir is the problem, not “the banks won´t lend to each other”. So, instead of putting the Government at risk of default (which would cause an economic melt-down that would make Zimbabwe look like Disneyland) I suggest that you eliminate the fools that got us into the mess, the Fed. All the Fed has done was stealing the fruits of American labor for almost 100 years. A dollar in 1913 is worth just 4 cents. Inflation is caused by the fed when they expand the money supply. “Helicopter Ben and his magical money machine” is a prime example to this effect. Alan Greenspan with his idiotic policies laid the groundwork for this current crisis. The Fed caused the crash, so we need to get rid of it. We need to go back to sound money practices, and let the criminal international corporations bite the dust. It will be painful for a few years yes, but it is better than the alternative your economic team has proposed. I only ask that you think about it.

3. End the War on Terror and grant Amnesty for all Soldiers Who Have Resisted

From prior experience, whenever the U.S. government in recent years declares war on anything they never defeat the enemy. Examples would be the War on Drugs and the War on Poverty. Both of these examples did nothing but make life worse for the poor and disenfranchised. The same goes for the War on Terror. If we are really going to ‘root out the terrorists’ like George Bush and yourself have stated, why don´t we start by looking in the mirror. Sir, it is with great sorrow to inform you that the United States is the world´s number one state sponsor of terror. The list of nations that we have intimidated or totally destroyed is huge. Take Nicaragua in Central America for example. What we have done to the people there is no less than horrifying. What was their crime? They had a government that only wanted to be independent from outside influences. Hundreds of thousands of people paid with their lives for this ‘unforgivable’ offense. If that is not enough evidence, then look into what has happened to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These were two resource-rich nations had their mineral wealth utterly raped by western powers. Also, let´s not forget about the situation in Palestine. Israel has repeatedly terrorized the Palestinians while the world stands by. If the United States would be really assertive and withhold foreign aid to Israel until they changed their barbaric behavior, then the situation in the Middle East would be dramatically different. That being said, I have to humbly stress the point that America cannot mess around with other people´s countries until we fix our own.

The stability of the world is at stake, and unless we change course for the better (i.e. using diplomacy) we could end up with a world-wide conflagration. I must ask you to put a moratorium on the War on Terror and enter into productive talks with all sides involved. That also includes the Taliban, Al-Sadr´s militia, as well as Iran. All of these parties have a vested interest in region that extends from the Middle East to the Caucuses Mountains, and if we want to become a respected leader on the world stage again we will have to do whatever it takes to bring all sides together. We also must make a public apology to the Iraqi people as we as the Pakistanis, the Afghanis, and the Palestinians. This entire mess started out by getting Osama Bin Laden. The problem is that we don´t even know for certain if he even committed the World Trade Center Attacks. We are a nation of due process. I know I sound crazy for suggesting this, but we must capture him alive (by cooperating with the local tribes and governments, not bombing civilians into the pre-historic era) and letting him have his day in court. We are supposed to be a civilized nation, and if he did commit the crimes that he is accused of, then he deserves the punishment for those crimes in true American fashion. If he is innocent (and I am not suggesting that he is here…) then we must launch a new investigation into the September 11^th attacks so that way we can capture and prosecute the true perpetrators. History shows that we have not done any of these things I suggested, and our nation has tortured, harassed, lied to and destroyed nations I and others have come to the conclusion that the War on Terror is a fraud that only serves the interests of the international corporations.

Because I have these strong convictions, any soldier that refused to take part in these heinous acts should be applauded, not prosecuted. The U.S. Military is a fine organization that produced a lot of great citizens for this country. They should not have to be pawns in this grand chessboard. I know this from personal experience. I feel like I am nothing more than a common criminal for what we as a nation have done to the inhabitants of our planet. Just because we are the strongest does not mean we should force others to do our bidding. Many people have suffered and died as a result of our foolishness, and others like me have had to go into hiding in order to avoid prosecution for doing the right thing. There is something wrong in this world when true crime pays and positive acts are punished. I also understand that you wish to end the war in Iraq. That is a very positive step. At the same time you have stated your desire to expand the war in Afghanistan. I ask myself, how is that change? The Afghani people have not done anything to us. After seven plus years of war, they deserve a break like the rest of us. I also understand that there will be no rest for those soldiers that stood up for the cause of right and went into hiding than to be part of this madness. I pray that both conflicts will end so that these individuals can once again lead normal lives.

I have just written to you what I feel are the most important issues facing our nation today. In this uncertain world that we live in, I am sure that meeting these challenges will not be easy, but I am positive that you can be successful when you make a concerted effort. You will not be alone. Many organizations and even solo individuals are ready to lend a hand to make the world truly a better place to be in. We all want to participate in getting the label of ´rogue government´ removed. I have faith that with the right decisions we can work together to bring America back to greatness. I hope that with your ascendency to the Presidency things will slowly go back to the way they were before.

Sincerely,

André Shepherd

Asylum Update

2009-01-13T06:25:00.001-08:00

First of all, I would like to thank everyone on both sides of the Atlantic for all of their support. Knowing that there are many people out there who not only aware of the chicanery of our runaway government, but they are also willing to stand up and do something about it. May my prayers be with all of you.

As of this moment, I am still waiting for my hearing that is set in early February. The asylum facility is as good as one would expect it to be and the staff there are very friendly and helpful. When I am not busy preparing for my asylum hearing I am exploring this magnificant city(I cannot say where at the moment for security reasons), taking german classes, visiting different peace organizations (such as Americans For Peace, IVAW, Tübingin Progressive Americans, and the Military Counseling Network), doing interviews, and a whole range of interesting things. I am also keeping up with the goings on in the world as much as possible, especially everything regarding the military and what is happening to our fellow servicemen in Canada. Its not the ideal life that I lead because I am not yet truly free, but its ok.

For those of you who do not know, I will tell you a little about myself. My name is André Shepherd. I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I joined the Army to provide myself with a better life than working low paying jobs and sleeping in my car. I served in Iraq for six months from September 2004 thru February 2005, and was stationed in Katterbach, Germany from 2005 until April 2007 when I had to leave it all behind. I never in my life imagined that I would ever have to say goodbye to the country that raised me, the country that I had grown up loving. Unfortunately I cannot serve under a tyrranical government that terrorizes the world at large, and at the same time systematically strips the freedoms of its own citizens away. After learning about the atrocities commited in Iraq and later in Afghanistan, I knew that I could no longer be a soldier because that is not how I was taught or what I believe. I am not a murderer, nor are the other brave individuals who have made this difficult decision. I refuse to be a mercenary for our rogue government and the international corporations that are making obscene profits from other people´s misery. I hope everyone who reads this understands.

While I was hiding out in southern Germany trying to figure out how to put my life back together, I came across the Military Counseling Network who helped me reach this point. They are a wonderful organization that helps servicemembers learn their rights in the military system. Yes, you heard me right. Servicemembers have rights too. :) It was through them that I learned about this fine organization and I am now a proud member. Together with IVAW and the other organizations that I listed, we are fighting a battle that has the potential for enormous ramifications throughout the world. I will not go into details about it here, since I am confident you all know what I am talking about. I hope that with our co-ordinated efforts, as well as the enormous support for our mission, that we will prevail.

That´s all I have to say for now. I will send another post next week. Keep up the fight, and eventually we will win!

"It´s not the duty of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error;
It is the duty of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error"

Why Are We in Afghanistan Again?

2009-01-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

Hello again everyone!

Well here we are at the end of an era. What is undoubtedly the absolute worst presidency in the history of the United States is finally about to be tossed into the dustbin of history. With the advent of a new President, we return to the old adage of trying to figure out what the priorities are for this individual. Thanks to the foolish criminal acts of the tyrant known as "King George"(that is being nice), the nation is facing simultaneous challenges that no one had ever dreamed of. I wish him all the best, however I will not hold my breath as to how far the "change agent" is going to make things better (more on that next week). With that in mind, let´s turn our attention to what the President-Elect has coined "the central front in the War on Terror" -- Afghanistan.

It has been said in the media, as well as with several people who I have conversed with, that the war in Afghanistan is the "good war" as compared to Iraq which is the "bad war". Whenever I hear those words, I cringe. After seven years of fighting with no end in sight, we still do not have Bin Laden. That makes me wonder if we really wanted to catch him in the first place. Apparently, I am not the only one. According to the October 3rd article from the Persian Afghan Press, French troops were at one point about to capture the "world´s most wanted man", but were stopped by U.S. forces. They base their claims on the documentary Bin Laden, the Failings of a Manhunt that is to be broadcast by Planet, a French network. I am still looking to find a copy of this documentary so I can do independent research on the matter. If anyone has seen this or can confirm these claims, please let me know.

I do not have to explain the devastating implications of this documentary, as well as any information that would support this claim. Our only reason for being in Afghanistan was to get Bin Laden , no other reason . I was personally interested to have this man brought back alive so he could explain for himself what he was doing on September 11th . I am not going to go into a long explanation here as to why I doubt what Bush & Co. have stated on the matter. However I will say that there needs to be a new investigation into the events before and after 9/11 because that one event launched us on a bloody path of war and destruction. Since we all know that the Iraq war was an illegal aggressive act based on deception , it brings the motive of the Afghan War into question, since in reality these are two different fronts of the same war. If that is not the case, then WW2 was also not one war. The warring nations fought not one but several enemies on several fronts , however it was still considered to be one war. The same applies here.

In case no one was noticing the news reports that are coming out if Afghanistan, the only encouraging news seems to be for the defense contractors and the drug dealers. Afghanistan is now once again home to 90% of the heroin trade, and Mr. Obama wants to escalate the conflict there for no reason than to supposedly finish the job that was started in October 2001. The problem is that he also has stated that he would send troops into Pakistan if necessary in order to "root out the terrorists." I don´t know about you, but that kind of aggressive talk sounds frighteningly familiar. Mr. Obama, I was under the impression that you promised "change" to the American people? Oh yes, that´s right, you didn´t say what kind of change, I see the misunderstanding. So the civilian deaths in the sands of Iraq by Bush were a horrible thing, so you will fix it by continuing and expanding the deaths of civilians in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hey, at least it won´t get too hot in the summer. I must trouble you with one question though, Mr. Obama: since when was it moral and legal for us to invade any country that we desire and bomb it into the Stone Age because of one man? In case you haven´t realized it sir; I know that you are new to this position and all, but these countries are inhabited . There are actual human beings that live there. Don´t you think those seven years of strife and warfare are enough for these people? That maybe, just maybe we can find a political solution to this problem? I don´t know, like maybe working with those governments to bring this man to justice? You don´t see the other nations of the world trying to invade America because of Stupid George, even though they would have every right because of the precedent our foolish government has set. Oh I guess I should mention that this man that you said killed our citizens is on record as saying he had nothing to do with it. It would be our best interest to find out if what he is saying is true. The victims of that terrible attack as well as their families deserve the truth , not some fabrication where thousands will suffer like so many already have.

It is my sincere belief that the war in Afghanistan needs to end. All we have done is take a poor country and make it more chaotic and unsafe than before. We have wasted money, equipment and lives for the sakes of whom? I call on the warring parties to cease all combat operations and to sit down together and make peace with one another then hunt for Bin Laden together . Only then will we be able to bring him to justice.

Cowardly Canadian Government to Deport Iraq War Deserters

2009-01-04T23:55:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone:

First I would like to apologize for the long delay in getting my blog posted. Things have been so hectic this past month that I was unable to devote considerable time to this project. Now that things have settled down though, it is time to get down to business:

I originally wanted to talk about how important it is that we also resist the war in Afghanistan, since the Afghani people are also victims of mass slaughter. However a very disturbing development in the war resister´s ongoing battle for freedom has come to my attention. On 26 December 2008 the Canadian government ruled that American deserters do not qualify for refugee status, and they are soon to be deported back to America. The full text of the article is here:

http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Canada&article=1822

I must admit that I exploded with anger over this one. Just what is the Canadian Government thinking? A ruling like that is equivalent to saying that the war in Iraq is JUSTIFIED, and that anyone who resists is a criminal who should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I don´t know about you, but I do not see how the mass slaughter of 1,000,000 + civilians constitutes as “justified”. And that doesn´t even cover the destruction of the infrastructure, the DU radiation poisoning, and the overall terrorist techniques that are being deployed on a large scale. There is NO WAY you can convince me that the Canadians truly felt that America was doing the right thing, despite all the OVERWHELMING evidence that this war is nothing but an imperialistic power grab for control of the Middle East. How can one successfully argue that the individuals that had the courage to refuse to take part in these atrocities do not deserve some sort of protection from the world´s #1 terrorist regime? Oh wait, I think I know the answer: These soldiers signed a contract saying they must do whatever their superiors tell them to do no matter what. Yeah, that MUST be it…. How can I be so stupid?

To the people that actually believe that garbage, I would like to take the opportunity to enlighten you on some things. Every contract we enter into must satisfy the conditions laid out in them. It doesn´t matter if we are buying a house, using a credit card, or serving in the armed forces. That being said let´s take a look at the oath that we signed in this contract:

“I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

When you read that oath, you will see that it is in two parts. In order for this contract to be satisfied, BOTH parts of oath must be followed. The use of the word “and” is the key. It does not say “or” or “when it suits my superiors”. That being said let us focus on the first part of the oath.

You will notice that the first part deals with defending the United States Constitution. The meaning is clear: We must do everything in our power to uphold the supreme law of the land and to defend it from ALL enemies whether they are foreigners or U.S. citizens. That part is very important. So when the President of the United States (POTUS) tries to make us take part in a war that is against the principles of the constitution it is our DUTY to refuse. If anyone has any doubts as to how this war is illegal please visit this website: http://www.resistinggi.com

Now when you look at the second part of the oath, you see the contradiction. In order for us to fulfill our contract, we have to follow the orders of the officers over us, including the POTUS. Here lies the problem: If we follow the orders given to us by the POTUS and engage in an illegal conflict, we are violating the first part of the oath. If however we do our duty and refuse to take part in these atrocities we are violating the second part of the oath. That means that we can never satisfy both parts of the oath, meaning that this contract is NULL and VOID because it is unenforceable. Any reasonable court of law can see the logic behind this. With that argument alone, I do not see how any authority can possibly say that the war resisters do not have a solid case. If one combines this argument with the numerous violations of international law as well as U.S. Code 2441, it’s not difficult to see that the war resisters were right. That being the case, then it would seem plausible that to punish these courageous people for doing the right thing would not only be wrong, but barbaric. It is my belief that the decision of the Canadian Authorities was not based on any legal grounds; rather they were based on purely political reasons.

Is this what the future of the western democracies looks like? That everyone in the world must do what America says even when it’s morally wrong to do so? That right is punished and wrong is rewarded? I don´t know about anyone else, but this is not the world in which my future children should grow up in. The actions of the Canadian government have the potential to set a dangerous precedent. It doesn´t matter how big and powerful the American empire is, when you are wrong you are WRONG, and it’s about time we let the power hungry fools in Washington know that we´ve had enough. What are we going to do, are we just going to let them walk all over us and continue on with business as usual? Or will we fight to restore order to this chaotic world? It´s time to choose.

On Andre Shepherd

2008-12-26T06:49:00.000-08:00

Andre should be posting here sooner or later, and from what he has told me has been very happy to receive a lot of support for his decision from all kinds of people. His first hearing will be coming in January, and Germany's position on the Iraq war will be clarified.

The recent news resurfacing here of the BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst, the German equivalent of the CIA) providing invaluable intelligence on the location of Iraqi ground forces to American forces during the invasion has definitely raised some eyebrows on the supposed neutrality of Germany during the invasion. It seems that this was done with the full complicity and support of the same SPD (Social Democrats, pretty much the same as American Democrats) politicians who publicly denounced the Iraq war from its inception.

Andre has a precedent supporting him from the Federal Administrative Court in Germany declaring the Iraq War to be illegal (and therefore the right to refuse to participate is protected under international law).

On the 20th of March 2003 Florian Pfaff, an officer inside the German military refused to work on programs that were going to be used by their NATO allies (primarily the United States) in Iraq. A series of Court cases followed after the German Military tried to prosecute him for disobedience and refusal to obey, and after several cases he was exonerated before the Federal Administrative Court in Germany, with the Federal Administrative Court setting a precedent for Iraq to be an illegal war.

Will Germany set a double standard, and say that our soldiers may not participate, but American Soldiers in Germany must be prosecuted by the US military if they refuse to participate? Article 15 of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights states quite clearly that Asylum should be granted, regardless of the political implications such a move may have.

Please support Andre, go to Connection's Website to see what you can do about supporting Andre's case. (http://www.connection-ev.de/z.php?ID=369)

-Chris

Pirate Slime

2008-11-30T10:55:00.000-08:00

Today I found an unsettling new development ongoing here in Germany. A filmmaker who shall remain unnamed here (though she chooses to put her name all over everything) has chosen to illegally make an unauthorized edition of the Winter Soldier Testimonies using the footage she got there. She had permission to film under the guise that it was going to be used for press here in Germany, and has instead decided to make a full length movie out of it. Here is the website right here:

http://www.weweresoldiers-thefilm.com/

DO NOT BUY IT! Not a dime of the money made from selling this movie has gone to IVAW, and as a matter of fact this movie is expected to undercut the sales of David Zeiger's movie which will be released soon (and some of the money to that actually will go to IVAW). She is selling these for 12 euros apiece plus expecting 50 to 100 euros donation for every public screening of the film. IVAW and Winter Soldier are not even mentioned in the advertising for this film, of course what IVAW is doing here in Germany is not mentioned in there because we've certainly had our fights with her lying and manipulative style before, and IVAW overall is only mentioned in passing in the advertising in a quote of "Kelly Dougherty- executive director of IVAW". Some IVAW members are currently pursuing legal action about this, I'm not happy about our organization and those who have testified being used as a mouthpiece to promote and sell the work of someone we've refused to work with for awhile now.

The funny thing is she knows she's not welcome. She got yelled out of our National Convention this year after trying to lie and manipulate her way in there (several people there had worked with her and seen her ways before). Her work is completely undercutting our work, with several organizations who have some power and resources supporting her instead of IVAW, even though she hasn't worked with a soldier or Vet that hasn't worked with either the Military Counseling Network or IVAW (and she is cut off from both now). I wish she would just stop, and work in a different direction in her life instead of trying to ruin everything for IVAW. Is this film going to help drum up any potential support for a Winter Soldier here in Europe? I think not, because she isn't going to be allowed in there, thats for d-mn sure.

The icing on the cake? Its been put on the list for potential nominations for a film award from an organization that has true potential to actually support IVAW(A Pirate Film No Less!):

http://www.suttnerpreis.de/einr_19gegen_terror.htm

I do feel pity for this woman, she has constantly portrayed herself as being the tip of the spear for GI Resistance currently as she was in back in Vietnam. She isn't anymore, but she constantly feels the need to make it look like she is, and place herself there as far as support. Instead of supporting those who really are at the tip of the spear right now, she has decided to undercut us without even so much as mentioning us.

IVAW's news from Europe: Andre, the thorn in USAREUR's side

2008-11-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

BIG news today that can't be overlooked. I still owe postings about what happened in Freiburg last weekend, and an IVAW trip to Italy, however the gravity of what happened yesterday and the possible doors it could open and repercussions it could have cannot be understated. It is already spreading across the press like a wildfire here in Germany.

Yesterday IVAW member Andre Lawrence Shepherd made a decision to proceed down a hard path I myself turned down (I had thought of this possibility, but thought my chances of winning were slim, and knew a better route to becoming a free man). He proceeded to the German asylum office in Giessen after being AWOL from the US Army for 18 months and applied for asylum on the grounds that the Iraq War is illegal by both international law, and German law.

Andre went AWOL from the 412th Aviation BN in Katterbach (Ansbach) to avoid a second deployment to Iraq in the spring of 2007. This is somewhat ironic. Tom Cassidy, Jeff Engelhardt, Adam Kokesh and I probably would have met him much much sooner if he had gone AWOL a couple of weeks later, while we were guests of the people of Ansbach right before the 412th was deploying. (Its documented in the archives of Adam Kokesh's blog see: here here here here here here here and here

He is living publicly and openly here in Germany as I write this, despite the fact that just a couple of days ago the MP's had the right to pick him up as a deserter under the Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Germany and the US. He is currently under the protection of Germany's asylum laws, and any attempt by the US military to apprehend him at this point would create an international incident.

The case is unprecedented, nothing like this has happened publicly outside of Canada yet, and Andre's case has more going for it than you might think. A German officer flat out refused orders to work on computer programs that were going to be used by the United States military in Iraq. Germany chose not to send their troops to Iraq, and has been very critical of the Iraq war despite the tens of thousands of US military personnel here. Surprisingly this German officer won his case on the grounds that it was an illegal order because Operation Iraqi Freedom is illegal under International Law and hence under German law. This is a legal precedent that could be overturned should Andre's case fail.

If Andre should succeed with his case, it doesn't just mean asylum for him, it means Germany would be a place where the US military couldn't stay anymore. The Army relies on pressure to keep up its constant pace of deployments here in Germany. When the traumatized man redeploying, the fresh young private nervous about his first deployment, or the wounded soldier in Landstuhl could simply leave the base, apply for asylum and refuse to be a part of a f-cked up war (and everyone knows they can do it) this would mean the Army can no longer twist soldiers' arms into deploying. An anology to this could be a dam busting open if this case wins. For many soldiers, it could be that realization that for the first time in along time that they don't have orders, but rather they have options, atleast the option to deploy in what Germany has declared an illegal war.

From when I talked to Andre today he seemed very resolute and determined to see this through to the end. From his contact to the Military Counseling Network he has realized there are easier roads out there for him to move on with his life, however Andre Shepherd has picked up one thing from the Army atleast: don't be a blue falcon/ don't screw your battlebuddies/ don't be a buddie f-cker. Andre is doing this not out of self interest because there is a good chance the asylum process will fail, and he had several other options available as well. He is doing it for people like the soldiers in the 172nd who are getting ready for a combat deployment, to open a window for them, so that the ones who don't want to don't have to go through another deployment.

There are 2 organizations that have really been essential in supporting Andre and helping him to this point. The first is Connection eV which is an organization that works not with just US War Resister, but War Resisters from all over the world such as Eritrea and Isreal. The other one that has played a large role in helping Andre get in touch with the right people, and informing him of all the possibilities is MCN (see blog left), which does outstanding work to help soldiers become aware of the actual rules, regulations, and processes of the military in order to help soldiers through tough times.

That being said, Andre alone will have to face the consequences of this process for better or for worse, and accept what will probably be sometime in Military Prison if his bid for asylum fails.

Godspeed Andre.

A Glance at My Army Time

2008-11-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

In May 2001, at the age of 17, I joined the United States Army. Like most Soldiers I knew, it was a last option type of deal. I was living on the streets and 3 hot meals a day sounded nice. It all started the first day I walked into the recruiters office in Carrollton, Texas...

Recruiters have a monthly quota to meet. If they fail to do so, they get the boot and have to go back to their active unit (which means field training and possible deployment to a combat zone). They may have hellish hours to work, but it's still a 'sham' job compared to the Regular Army. I remember my recruiter taking me out to eat and driving me everywhere I needed to go. Back then, I didn't understand why they were being so nice. If only I knew then what I do now I would have made the recruiter buy me steak dinners istead of the Big Mac menu.

Before the day of the drug test at the MEPs station in Dallas, I told my recruiter that I would test positive for marijuana. She told me not to worry and gave me a bottle that I would drink a few hours before the test so that I'd pass. I did so and passed.

Next came the ASVAB test- I forget what the acronym stands for, but it's a general test to see what jobs you'd be eligible for. I got a high score and had almost every job open. As I sat down to decide my job, I was first given the option to be a helicopter mechanic. I said no due to it being a 6 year active duty enlistment. When you join the military you have to enlist for 8 years. I served 3 years 8 months active and still on Inactive Reserve status. I'll be discharged next year May.

As I was trying to decide on what I'd do in the Army I thought about the wall of pictures in the recruiting station. All the pictures of the recruits before me. I had no clue what 99% of the jobs were and for some reason the job Calvary Scout stuck and I asked what it was. The guy told me that it was a cool job and I'd get to ride motorcycles. Scouts rode motorcycles back in the 70s I think. Really I don't know, but either way this guy lied. They were all liars. Every last one of the bastards! Without knowing what it meant, I chose to be a Scout for 3 years.

I arrived at Ft. Knox, Kentucky early May 2001. It was the middle of the night and we were greeted by a Drill Sergeant that did nothing but yell and make us walk in a line. We were in a reception area where we'd go through in-processing and have to pass a Physical Training (PT) test before we could start basic. I remember laying in my bunk the first night wondering what the hell I got myself into. I felt like I made the biggest mistake of my life and wondered how I'd survive 3 years.

Scouts have to complete all of their basic and advanced individual training (AIT) in one shot. It's 4 months of basic training. Same Drill Sergeants, same bed, same old shit. I hated every minute of it.

We learned to operate HMMWVs and Bradleys, no motorcycles. By the order of a Sergeant, I shot deer with a Bradley. I don't know how many I killed. I just remember seeing a splat mark where I fired the 25mm rounds. They kept us in total fear throughout the training. It was hell.

On September 4, 2001, the big day came and it was finally time to graduate. They held a ceremony for us and then the moment came, time to go! I had orders to go to Germany and was excited about it. As a teenager I never thought I'd ever get out a Dade county, let alone the country! I disticntly remember the last words that Drill Sergeant said to me as I shook his hand for the first and last time, "Congratulations private! Now it`s really going to get rough." This was truer than he probably meant.

I was sound asleep in Texas when the first plane hit the WTC towers. A friend called and told me to turn on the T.V. I was shocked! At that moment I knew that I'd be going to war. I decided to cut my leave short and report to my unit in Baumholder, Germany (a.k.a. The Rock).

The Soldiers and NCOs in my unit gave me hell until the next 'new guys' came months later. I hated almost everyone in my unit. They all thought they were tough shit because they just came back from a 6 month peace keeping mission in Kosovo. Most of them were assholes. The only exceptions were the African American Soldiers. I got along well with all of them. They hated the rest of the platoon as much as I did. Luckily I was able to get on their crew.

SSG Darrell Clay was my section Sergeant. He chose me as his HMMWV Gunner and we spent over 3 years together. I knew this man so well that I could tell him by the smell of his farts- not kidding either. We spent a lot of time training and in Iraq together. I had and still have nothing but respect for him. He was a needle in a hay stack, a good leader.

Training was always tough. I spent more time in the field than on base. After a few months in Germany I met my soon to be wife. She's German and her family took me in as one of their own. I was a lucky guy and spent all of my weekends with her and her family. A year later we tied the knot less than a month before I deployed to Iraq. I was happyto finally have a family. It was a great feeling having someone waiting for me. I don't think I would've survived the hell I was about to face without her.

In May 2003, deployment day came, we were headed for Baghdad. I kissed my wife for what could've been the last time and got in formation. "Gentlemen, let's go to war", barked a gunho E6.

We took a civilian flight to Kuwait. The sweat started to pour off me as soon as the cabin doors opened. They warned us that there was still a threat of chemical attack there and to be prepared. We loaded the buses and were driven off to our new temporary home in the middle of the desert, right on the Kuwait-Iraq border. We spent 2 weeks there and I was anxious to get the deployment out the way.

The night before we crossed the border they made us Scouts guard the convoy., I walked around the convoy for 4 hours while the rest of the shit birds slept. There were so many Soldiers that everyone could've pulled a 15 minute guard shift. That just goes to show Army management. It sucks!

The next day I was tirecd as hell. We started our 24 hour journey to Baghdad in which I didn't get to sleep again. The shitbirds got their much needed 6 hours though. I fell asleep on the gun for a few hours. Suddenly I woke up and we were in Baghdad. It was all surreal.

Our sector wasn't too bad. Quite for the first 3 months. We did around 2 to 3 combat patrols a day with very little action. That was until the first time we were attacked. A roadside bomb blew up as our 2 vehicle convoy hauled ass through the darkness. Luckily no casualties and only moderate injuries. That was a wake up call! The shit got real.

During my time I would hold the title as surviving the most roadside bombs of all Soldiers in Baghdad. No one wanted to go on missions with me anymore. Other Soldiers were killed and severly injured while on mission with me and Ialways survived without a scratch. It was incredible considering I never once road the gun on a vehicle with armor.

I got stopp-lossed twice in Iraq, never got leave to see my wife, and spent almost 15 months in the shithole (Iraq) that I was certain I would die in. I was a lucky bastard. Well, so I thought once coming home. I
developed a severe case of PTSD. I was home but still thought I was in the war. I had hallucinations also, stll do. Coming home only marked the start of the hell I'd soon put my family through.

It's now been 4 years since my discharge from the Army. My nightmare still isn't over. I'm on a cocktail of medicines that will take years of my life from me and still feel like shit. I've been unemployed for a year and a half now. I take so much medication that I can't even get out of bed in the morning.

I've done some terrible things that I shall not mention. I'll feel guillty about this for the rest of my life. Some days are better than others and I'm taking it one day at a time. I still dream about Iraq every night.

SSG Clay died in Iraq Apil 1, 2006. As the saying goes, the good die young, his death was a text book example of it. He served in Desert Storm and was on his 3rd tour when her died. I still have hard times because of his death. He was a great man.

To wrap things up I will tell you some truths about this war:

It's only for the money.
Thousands of Soldiers have died to fatten the pockets of Bush and his faggot buddies. They all deserve the death penalty. Even better, send their asses to Iraq!
Saddam had no WMDs and Bush knew it.
Iraq never asked to become a democracy.
The Army abuses it's Soldiers and makes shit way harder than it should be.
Million of innocent Iraqis have died because of the occupation. And if you're the type that says "We should just nuke the bastards", then you're an ignorant, arrogant piece of shit.
There are many foreign fighters in Iraq. Once Obama pulls troops out, they will go to Afghanistan to kill Americans and it will become the new Iraq. More troops will be needed there and the US will go further into recession.

That's it for me. Scouts Out!

Dublin

2008-11-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week from Monday to Wednesday I was the guest of the Abbey Theater in Dublin as part of their remembrance of the 60th anniversary of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Notice how the question wasn't even asked on whether the war is a good thing or not on this advertisement here in Ireland. Ireland is one of those countries that refused to take part in Iraq, and seems to have only cooperated with the Global War on Terror by sending a couple of token troops to Afghanistan, and by letting Shannon Airport be a logistical hub for transatlantic transportation. There is a reason for that, the writing is on the wall here quite literally:

I think at some point in their history Ireland learned the hard way that an occupation isn't a good thing, even if its done by people with the best intentions. Here are some pictures to some of the monuments to more remembered times in Irish history, known as the Great Famine:
A boat that took many Irish refugees to search of a better life in America

Some of those refugees

This is a pic of a Dublin corner, think Dublin will ever have a famine again?

The event was short but packed with intelligent questions. I was talking with an Irish Journalist named Fintan O'Toole.

Dublin itself was nice, I would have to say its the most American city in Europe I've been to yet and I'm not just saying that because its the last English speaking country I've been to in the past 18 months (though surprisingly Gaelic isn't as dead a language as I once thought it was).

Of course they don't make these here, and the bartender I asked hadn't even heard of this before. Here it is, the Irish Car Bomb, Belfast Auto Explosion, or my Dublin VBIED (no I don't like joking about bombs like McCain or something and of course I don't approve of whats going on in Belfast, but I didn't name the drink anyways,just changed it to Very Black Intoxicating Experience of Dublin):

Ahh, the Irish beer. I won't go so far as to say it tastes better than German beer, but I will say its smooth. For those of you visiting Ireland sometime soon I would definitely recommend the Temple Bar:

Or the Sin E (no its not a Sinn Fein bar as far as I know)

Not that there is any shortage of pubs to choose from.

More blog posts are coming soon. There still needs to be something posted on a tour though Italy that was done visiting some soldiers in the 173rd, and I will post about what is going on in Freiburg. A little birdie told me something else, much bigger than the baby stuff I'm blogging about now is going to be happening next week. We'll see soon.

Freiberg Event

2008-11-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry, its in German people, Germans tend to do that.

Freiburger Friedenswochen 2008

Widerstand riskieren gegen den Krieg

Sicherheit heißt heute das vorherrschende Thema in Gesellschaft und Politik. Frieden schaffen wird zum Risiko, der Kampf um die Existenz zur Grundbedingung des Lebens. Recht hat immer der Stärkere. Dafür braucht man den kompromisslosen, den 'archaischen Kämpfer' jenseits aller Zivilisation. Das ist das neue Idol der Bundeswehrführung, wie es der Heeresinspekteur Budde beschrieben hat. Das Recht des Stärkeren gehörte zur inhumanen Ideologie faschistischer Herrschaft und ihrer militanten Rechtsprechung. Glaubten wir nicht, das sei Vergangenheit? Heute teilt man die Welt wieder auf in Gut und Böse. Das Gute, das sind die Interessen des Westens, soll am Hindukusch verteidigt werden, an Euphrat und Tigris, in Afrika, in aller Welt. Dafür soll sogar das Völkerrecht geändert werden zugunsten weltweiter Militäreinsätze. Seit 2001 werden neue Kriege geführt, in Afghanistan, im Irak, während in den älteren noch andauernden Kriegen, wie in Kurdistan und Palästina weiter gemordet wird, was aber die Weltöffentlichkeit kaum noch interessiert.

Es ist die Herrschaft einer menschenverachtenden, zerstörerischen und ungerechten Wirtschaftsordnung, die Kriege führt, um ihren Machtbereich ständig zu erweitern und zu sichern. Regierungen westlicher Großmächte wie in den USA, in England und in Frankreich, erklären sich bereit, dafür auch Atomwaffen einzusetzen. Gegen diese Entwicklung hat sich Widerstand erhoben. In der ganzen Welt gibt es Initiativen für die Abschaffung und Ächtung aller Atomwaffen. In Afghanistan und im Irak eingesetzte Soldaten haben seit langem erklärt, dass Kriege militärisch nicht zu gewinnen sind. Viele US-Soldaten sind im Irak desertiert und haben Veteranenverbände gegen den Krieg gegründet.

Widerstand und ziviler Ungehorsam müssen weiter weltweit riskiert werden gegen die globale Aggression von Profitwirtschaft und Waffenlobby. Es liegt in der Macht und der Möglichkeit von uns Menschen, Frieden in unserer Welt zu schaffen.

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Veranstaltungen:

Dienstag, 4.11.08, um 19.30 h, Universität KG II, Hörsaal 2004

Israel - Palästina 2008

Aktueller Reisebericht von Clemens Ronnefeldt, internationaler Versöhnungsbund, deutscher Zweig, mit Diskussion.

Besatzungsterror, Krieg und Bürgerkrieg ohne Ende in Westjordanland und im Gazastreifen? Hilfe von aussen steht nicht in Aussicht, weder von den UN noch von der EU oder den USA.

Veranstalter: Freiburger Friedensforum, Freiburger Friedenswoche e.V., U-AStA der Universität

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Mittwoch, 5.11.08, um 17.00 h, Universität KG I, Aula

Was damals Recht war... – Soldaten und Zivilisten vor Gerichten der Wehrmacht

Eröffnungsveranstaltung zur Ausstellung

Die Wanderausstellung, die am 21. Juni 2008 in Berlin eröffnet wurde, informiert über Prozesse der NS-Militärjustiz und ihre Opfer. Eins der acht deutschen Militärgefängnisse stand in Freiburg. Veranstaltungen dazu mit zahlreichen Vorträgen im November und Dezember 2008, siehe eigenes Programm.

Veranstalter: Stiftung Denkmal, Berlin

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Mittwoch, 12.11.08, um 19.30 h, Universität, KG I, Hörsaal 1221

‚Responsibility to Protect’ – Die UN und die Entwicklung im Völkerrecht

Vortrag und Diskussion mit Andreas Zumach, freier Journalist, Genf.

Das Völkerrecht soll geändert werden. Das Prinzip der Nichteinmischung in innerstaatliche Angelegenheiten soll ersetzt werden durch die Verpflichtung der Weltgemeinschaft, die Sicherung der Menschenrechte in allen Ländern auch mit militärischer Gewalt durchzusetzen.

Veranstalter: Freiburger Friedensforum, Freiburger Friedenswoche e.V., U-AStA der Universität.

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Montag, 17.11.08, um 19.00 h, Historisches Kaufhaus am Münsterplatz, Kaminsaal

Mayors for Peace

Vortrag von Dr. Herbert Schmalstieg, ehemaliger Oberbürgermeister der Stadt Hannover

Die internationale Initiative ‚Mayors for Peace’ wurde vor 25 Jahren vom Bürgermeister der Stadt Hiroshima gegründet. Heute gehören weltweit mehr als 2000 Städte und Gemeinden zu dieser Initiative - auch die Stadt Freiburg. Die Initiative will eine weltweite Ächtung aller Atomwaffen bis 2020 erreichen.

Veranstalter: Freiburger Friedensforum, Freiburger Friedenswoche e.V.

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Freitag, 21.11.08, um 19.00 h, Universität KG I, Hörsaal 1015

Irak-Veteranen gegen den Krieg

Vortrag und Diskussion mit Chris Capps-Schubert, Deserteur der US-Armee und Europa-Koordinator der Iraq-Veterans Against War (IVAW).

Seit 2003 verloren fast 4000 US-Soldaten ihr Leben im Irakkrieg. Zigtausende wurden verletzt oder traumatisiert. Hunderttausende Iraker und Irakerinnen wurden Opfer des völkerrechtswidrigen Krieges. Der Vortrag berichtet über den US-Kriegsdienst im Irak mit Hinweisen auf die Mitverantwortung Deutschlands als Unterstützer dieses Krieges.

Veranstalter: Freiburger Friedensforum, Freiburger Friedenswoche e.V., U-AStA der Universität.

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Mittwoch, 26.11.08, um 19.00h, im DGB-Haus, Hebelstraße 10, Untergeschoß über Eingang Hof

Vom Bürger in Uniform zum ‚archaischen Kämpfer’ - welchen Weg geht die Bundeswehr?

Vortrag und Diskussion mit Ulrich Sander, DFG-VK

Einstmals sollte die Bundeswehr der Landesverteidigung dienen, heute ist sie eine Aggressionsarmee für weltweite Kampfeinsätze.

Veranstalter: Freiburger Friedensforum, Freiburger Friedenswoche e.V., DFG-VK Ortsgruppe Freiburg, DGB Südbaden-Hochrhein

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Hinweise

Die Ausstellung ‚Was damals Recht war.... Soldaten und Zivilisten vor Gerichten der Wehrmacht’ ist in Freiburg bis zum 18. Dezember 2008 geöffnet und wird im November und Dezember 2008 von zahlreichen Veranstaltungen in der Universität und in der Katholischen Akademie begleitet – siehe eigenes Programm.

Veranstaltungen zum 9. November (sog. Reichskristallnacht) entnehmen Sie bitte der Tagespresse

Spendenkonten:

Freiburger Friedenswoche e.V., Konto-Nummer: 2281250, Sparkasse Freiburg, BLZ 68050101,
Freiburger Friedensforum, Konto-Nummer 17068407, Volksbank Freiburg, BLZ 68090000.

Herausgeber:

Freiburger Friedenswoche e.V. – V.i.S.d.P.Horst Luppe, Haslacherstr.176B,79115 Freiburg.

Old Posts from a Bored Disgruntled Soldier in Baghdad

2008-11-14T14:49:00.000-08:00

In late 2005 I was deployed to Camp Victory Iraq and used there as a 25L, affectionately known as a "cable dog". In my time in Iraq, I was shipped a funny book that had 365 tasks for everyday to take up my time in Baghdad. It had an associated website in which people blogged and documented on the progress of their tasks. That was my first blog ever, and I'm going to repost those here to give you a background of who I was 2 years ago when I was still in the Army. It shocks me to look back and see what has and hasn't changed. Warning there is some highly inflammatory, possibly offensive content in here. I don't want to hear complaining because I warned you. These were made back before I had even heard of IVAW.

First Entry 2005/12/31: Ready?
Its going to happen. I'm starting "This book will change your life again" while I'm enlisted in the army in Iraq. I'm going to get locked up and you'll never here from me soon. I'll be tried in a secret court and thrown into some classified military prison for insanity. Sounds fun! I'm doing my warm up day tomorrow by not saluting officers as they walk by. That alone will start some interesting altercations, this I know from experience.

Second Entry 2006/01/01 : I had to write this:
The Principles of Safety

Last Tuesday I attended the engineer worksite with no hearing or eye protection. As a result of this clear safety violation I was assigned this one thousand word essay courtesy of Staff Sergeant Demick.

Let us start with the definition of safety. The Webster dictionary definition of safety is: the state of being safe, a safe place, or a device designed to prevent injury. In this case I believe Staff Sergeant Demick was referring to the state of being safe. The Webster definition of safe is: free from risk or danger. Nothing in life is truly free from risk or danger. Living is inherently a risk. But by not wearing eye protection or hearing protection while working with power tools it is Staff Sergeant Demick’s opinion that I unnecessarily jeopardized my eyes and risked permanent hearing loss. Let us analyze the risks I took while performing these unsafe acts.
By not wearing hearing protection while working with these moderately loud power tools it is possible I could have slightly degraded my hearing. It is usual to not even notice such slight degradation of hearing loss at first, but overtime this gradual loss can become significant. For listening to loud music and playing guitar for years it is possible I may have already caused permanent damage to my ears. Not wearing eye protection is a more serious offense. Working with a power saw or a drill can be dangerous and causes all kinds of dust and debris to be scattered throughout the air. Without eye protection sawdust was getting in my eye. Sight is the sense that most human beings rely on most to be aware of our surroundings. Putting a sense as vital as my eyesight at risk for something as trivial cutting a board or putting a little hole in a wall does not make any sense. A chunk of debris could have easily lodged into one of my eyes causing permanent loss of eyesight in that eye or significantly reduced eyesight in that eye. Thankfully no such thing happened and Staff Sergeant Demick intervened before such a tragedy occurred. If something like that had happened it is possible I would have had to get a medevac back to Germany where I would have to wait for the rest of the unit to get back. On top of that all my NCO’s on the jobsite would have gotten in trouble for not supervising me and ensuring that I was properly equipped for the job and doing the right thing. If someone like a Sergeant Major or a Colonel had stopped by (which they did while we were working) while I was working on such a high profile worksite with such a clear safety violation it probably would have been them getting in trouble not me. Safety should take priority to efficiency, practicality, and productivity.
As a matter of fact some safety regulations seem to put these things in the backseat. The fact that we have to wear Kevlars while riding in a Humvee seems ridiculous. Its like having to wear a bike helmet whenever you cross the street. What is the purpose to having to wear a Kevlar while driving around on the FOB? Simple, in the event of an accident it is supposed to protect your head. In the event of an accident the seatbelt is supposed to keep you in place so that your head is not a place of likely injury depending on the kind of accident. Has this safety regulation prevented injury? Doubtless it has off the FOB where not just accidents but IED’s and gunfire are a possibility, but on the FOB I would like to see an accident report where the Kevlar has done anything but hinder the driver. It may also make sense in the back of a troop carrier where you may get tossed from the back, but is it really necessary in the cab of the Humvee? I don’t understand the reasoning, but that’s why I’m just a private. However, I do have some safety suggestions to make some other activities around the FOB safer.

1. When riding your bike, you should have to wear your ACU issued elbow and knee pads. A fall from your bike can send you flying. Having elbow and knee pads reduces the risk of those large lumps and scrapes on your elbows and knees that often result from such an accident.

2.When riding around in the FOB on a gator/golf cart you it should be mandatory to be in full battle rattle. These gators and golf carts cannot be uparmored so I suggest wearing your flak jacket with the SAPI plates in them incase of enemy sniper fire while you are riding close to the perimeter wall. This reduces the chances of a casualty in the rare case of enemy fire from one of those buildings that overlook our perimeter wall, or shrapnel from a mortar.
This may seem a bit ridiculous to you right now, but it may in fact save lives, which isn’t ridiculous at all. It doesn’t matter because the simple fact is, I don’t make the rules I just have to follow them. I failed to follow the rules so as a punishment I have been ordered to write this essay. If I had continued to break the rules serious injury to myself could have occurred, and I could have gotten my leaders in trouble for failing to correct me.

Third Entry 2006/01/04 : What a Wonderful Life
Where do I begin?

Lets start with the book. If I start with day 1 it was cake I didn't salute any officers that day and got stopped and had people ask for my name, and unit.

Day 2: I chickened out. I ran a test first to see how people would react. A lot of my leaders are very religious and would probably not take well to me dressing up as Jesus. My test was running around with my pants around my ankles with my underwear showing and seeing how people would react. They chewed me out for being in violation of AR 670-1 which is the regulation that governs uniform wear. I am not supposed to ever be out of uniform while I'm here in Iraq, let alone dressed up as Jesus.

Day 3: Promoted the book fine.

Today is Day 4: Obedience Day. I'm claiming mastery of Obedience because I'm in the Army. Any of you who have ever been in the military would understand this, so there.

So mixed news on my life so far. I'm getting promoted soon, but they fucked up my "rest and relaxation" time which is basically the 2 week vacation you're supposed to have while you're in Iraq. First of all I had asked for it to be in July. They have arbitrarily decided to move it to February just cause they feel like it. They didn't just do this to me, they did it to people with families, people who were going to leave at a special time of year to them like an anniversary or a birthday. The brigade doesn't seem to care, they just want everyone's vacation time out of the way as soon as possible for some reason. They also fucked up where I'm going. They never even asked me where I wanted to go for vacation (Japan, they just automatically assumed I wanted to go back home to the USA. Fuck that, now I have to clear up this mess or I'm stuck going to the US because they already submitted the paperwork for me to go on leave.

I don't even need to leave any sarcastic comments to this, its stupidity is self evident.

Fourth Entry 2006/01/04: A Disgusting Repugnant Entry
You will never want to read one of my blog entries after reading this, but I find it hilarious. Maybe its a childish sense of potty humor, literally.

This morning we had a random urinalysis test. Since they launched it as a surprise I had already used the facilities shortly before attending this test. So I chugged a liter of water and still didn't feel like I needed to take a leak but I went in anyway. I did have to take a dump though. So I went in, took it out put it over the cup and....
I couldn't go. I waited another minute and...
I couldn't go...
finally, with an observer watching to make sure I'm not cheating I pull down my pants and decide to take a dump. Even during the dump I couldn't take a leak. I'm done taking the dump and I asked the observer and I asked him " Could you please turn around so I can wipe my ass?" He did for a second. Then turned around in the middle of it. I hope he has nightmares of that. After all this he must have thought he just watched me take a dump without even getting a sample. Fortunately after pulling my pants up I felt like I could go. So I did. I gave him the sample but the plumbing here in Baghdad is shitty ( a pun). The toilet couldn't build up enough water pressure to flush. Everyone else who had to give samples had to get a good look at my dinner last night today. Am I sick for finding this hilarious or not? I don't know.

Fifth Entry 2006/01/05: Loving My Job
I just got a letter from the accounting department of the Department of Defense today. Wonderful news, they somehow got it in their fucked up heads that I owe them money. They say because I switched contracts from reserve component to an active duty contract I breached my first contract and owe them the piece of my enlistment bonus they paid me because I failed to complete my first contract. Motherfuckers, if I'm not enlisted then what the fuck am I doing in Iraq? I'm really cheating the army. Not only that, this deduction is coming straight out of my paycheck with absolutely nothing I can do about it.

Everyday I think: this sucks. I hate being treated like a dog and being yelled at everyday, but the thought in the back of my mind that helps me keep going is always: atleast I'm getting paid alright. Well guess what?! They have to fuck with that to. Its moments like these where people learn what the army is all about. Stuff like this just never seems to end.

Shitheads.

Sixth Entry 2006/01/06: Where am I going? My Requests

Today they asked me what I what duty station I would like when I get back to Germany. I chose either 5th signal which has duty stations all over Germany, one company in Scotland, and a unit in Belgium as well. The nice thing about them is that most of their units are non-deployable. The other assignment I chose was Italy which equals: highly deployable and airborne. I wouldn't mind living in Italy and falling from planes with a parachute regularly. That would be okay if I got to actually stay in Italy. Who knows? With what dicks the army usually are I probably won't get either of those but I can hope right? Besides most of the American military in Europe is supposed to move to Romania at some point down the road in the distance. I guess time will tell what fate the army has in store for me.

Seventh Entry 2006/01/08: My Bestseller

Okay its going to be about a soldiers struggle to deal with stupidity from the top of his chain of command on down, yeah, and then he's going to go to Iraq. He's expecting Iraq to be a war zone where he has to worry about survival, not about haircuts, and having sparkling clean uniforms. Instead he gets there, and finds its just more bullshit. The he comes to the epiphany that the whole military and this whole war is bullshit. He realizes he is doing absolutely no one any good here and is a complete waste of taxpayer money. He realizes he's wasting some of the best years of his life away in the military and wishes he could resign and go home, but he can't because he's stuck in a contract and the government thinks they still need him (but they don't). In an effort to break his boredom he happens upon an insane way of living with which he can attempt to entertain himself.

Wait I'm not going to turn my blog into a bestseller.

Or am I?

8th Entry 2006/01/13: Lost

Sometimes I feel so lost and the chain of events that put me in my current situation just boggles my mind. Well I applied for the orgy, I sent someone flowers, I've been following the This Book Will Change Your Life Again program and the results are promising so far. Actually even my old best friend in NJ, his family is planning to move to New Zealand because they're having problems with the law in NJ, and the asshole local cops harass them all the time. So I may actually even visit New Zealand at some point in the future. But for now its just bizarre. If I had to put an entry down on the mood chart it would have to be in a 3rd dimension. Its just out there.

10th Entry 2006/01/23: More Ridiculous then Benrik
(at the top of this blog is a pic of my now extinct unit patch with a subtitle that says "440th of the 22nd sux!")

Over the last week life has just been so ridiculous it just plain sucked. To begin with someone wrote "bitch" on one of our lazier female sergeants door. That was Saturday. 1st Sergeant gave us 2 days for someone to step forward and confess to the dirty deed. Of course no one did and on Tuesday the sergeant major put us all on guard. We walk around the living area here in heavy bulletproof vests in 2 four hour shifts a day, and then we go to work for 8 hours. Thats 16 hours a day for those of you that aren't quick with the math. At first we joked about it. I started. I pulled out my ski mask and started harassing random people that were remotely suspicious. Then my team mates got tired of my craziness and made me stop. They would rather play the stupid name game until it got retarded. Well this guard duty has been reduced to only one 4 hour shift after work so I have some free time now. We'll see how long this bullshit guard duty continues.

For testing a proverb I shit where I slept and decided it wasn't a good idea.

As for freeing someone. The prisons here on American military bases in Iraq are no joke. Sandbags over heads. I'm not allowed to really even say more than that without violating opsec.

As for prayer. I already knew god doesn't listen to me.

Traffic rules? While off-roading in a Humvee? There are none.

Sadly I missed feast day due to the fact that I was working 16 hours a day and was actually starving when I went to bed.

I singled out one of my toes, I colored it with a sharpie, and then I popped it and gave it a massage.

Today, I don't have any kind of recording device with which to record a laughtrack. I'll see what I can do though.

Skip to 15th blog for a bit of condensation 2006/01/30: This is only a test

This is a test of this computer censorship system. It won't let me say what I want to say and I actually think the government may be actively censoring it.

Random Girl's comment: " You must rebel, before it’s too late and they are censoring your thoughts."

My Reply Comment: "You think I’m joking. Look at the next blog. I’m dead serious. I’m typing this from an army computer in Baghdad right now."

16th blog entry 2006/01/30: It Seems to Work Now

I got this email in my military email account the other day. I thought I was special until I figured out 4 other people in my company got it.

PFC CAPPS JOHN CHRISTOPHER

Your records have been screened for some basic prerequisites to attend the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course (SFAS), and I wanted to let you know personally that your records indicate that you met the prerequisites that were looked for. Not all of the qualifying data could be screened, but if you call or e-mail me I would be able to find out if you met all the other requirements to attend SFAS. The United States Army Special Forces is an elite organization that is looking for soldiers that are looking for real-world missions with a high OPTEMPO that spans the globe.

In Europe there are limited available slots to attend this 3 week course (SFAS), and if you desire to be one of the few soldiers who dare to test their abilities against other top-notch soldiers from Army installations around the world then you are requested to call me at DSN 379-6558. The application procedure is not difficult and does not require any approval from your current chain of command (although notification is important).

SSG David Beard

Special Forces Recruiter

Commercial: 06202-25825

DSN: 379-6558

I have no blood on my hands as of yet. I would like to avoid getting them dirty if possible.

19th blog entry 2006/02/09: An Army of Followers

I've accidentally hooked atleast 2 people on Benrik. More are sure to follow. One is a stalker, the other is another soldier. Okay its story time:

In the army you are required to live in a room you keep as pristine as a virgin. One soldier failed to make his bed one morning and got caught. As a punishment they made us empty out his room, and his team leaders room so that they could move into a tent and sleep in sleeping bags while everyone else slept in a bed. Being on this soldiers team I was obliged to help him clear his room. While in his room I was shocked to see this soldiers room mate had a copy of this diary will change your life. I was surprised but I kept cleaning. Later on his room mate stopped by and I asked him how he happened to come across this book. He said he had gone to the internet cafe (the same one I am at right now) and looked up www.thiswebsitewillchangeyourlife.com in the history of a computer. He looked up the web page and became hooked. I don't know if he has started any tasks as of yet or if he is a blogger on this site but I suspect I will hear of him and he will get into trouble over this (like I have already). We will see soon enough.

If I attract anyone else to Benrik I will know I did atleast something good here in Iraq.

20th Blog Entry 2006/02/14: Valentine's Day

I learned something new today.
In Roman times legionnaires were forbidden from getting married because commanders noticed troops who were married didn't want to leave their spouses to go fight a war. St. Valentine ignored this rule and married young legionnaires anyway. The Romans threw him in prison for this. Even while thrown in prison St. Valentine supposedly counseled people and married people.

Today, I a bachelor single soldier deployed by the most powerful military in the world celebrated Valentines day all alone. Now thats Irony. Just as disappointing as every other Valentines day I've had in the past.

21st Blog Entry 2006/02/21: Berlin Calling

I'm sitting in Kuwait right now waiting to go back for a far to brief interlude in Germany. Berlin is calling and I feel like running to Germany because the plane is definitely going to take to long. I can't even describe the curiosity/anticipation I'm feeling wondering whats in store for me. I feel like a condemned man who has been given freedom for a little while.

I stepped off the C-130 from Baghdad today feeling sick as hell and there was a rainbow here in Kuwait, and grass also (which I haven't seen in months). Oh well none of you probably care but I just want to look back on this blog and remember this permanently.

22nd Blog Entry 2006/02/22: Not Today

I have generously adopted a slave and assigned her some chores. (How generous right?) I have decided to make my own Benrikian task this week and say screw Benrik I'm not doing your tasks because I don't have the time for most of them anyways. I'm basically in prison in Iraq generally. But I'll do the ones that look fun(ny). My slave has decided to steal an image from me. She shall pay! I'm doubling her chores tomorrow. Anyways I must find some entertainment while sitting here all day waiting for a plane to Germany. Making some girl in Amsterdam do funny things sounds like quality entertainment.

23rd Blog Entry 2006/03/12: Lebens Lust

WHY CANT"T I JUST STAY IN GERMANY! This is stupid pointless, a waste of taxpayer money, and it doesn't do any good to anyone. I hate Baghdad. Lets see recap the last couple weeks, I go to Germany, I go to Berlin, I see someone I care about, I go to a show almost every night, its kind of amazing to me, I get drunk almost every night, I return, and I go snowboarding, immediately followed by a kind of abrupt end. BANG! Its time for you to come back now we've let you off your chain for just long enough to feel free. Now its time for you to rot and waste your life away in Baghdad.

24th Blog Entry 2006/03/28: Getting ready for revolution

Me on Karl Marx's Lap in Berlin (No I'm not a Communist)

Thats right. I'm pissed off at the whole entire situation in Iraq. Why are US soldiers here? Because we run this place. Hell its ours now. We're even setting up a little puppet government. The international community was quick to call the elections here in Iraq legitimate. I'm not so quick. Does anyone here know the history of CIA involvement in elections in completely sovereign nations let alone one it has under its thumb?

26th Blog Entry 2006/04/12:Kinky Sex Makes the World Go Round

After seeing how Haliburton under the guise of its subsidiary KBR is throwing money around today it really disgusted me. Its transparent. I've got the wrong job. Anyways here is the lyrics to the infamous Dead Kennedy's song "Kinky Sex Makes the World Go Round". This was released probably about 20 years ago:

(Phone rings)

Prime Minister: Office of the Prime Minister Prime Minister speaking

Secretary of State: Greetings...

This is the Secretary at the State Department of the United
States...

We have a problem. The companies want something done about
this sluggish world economic situation...

Profits have been running a little thin lately and we need
to stimulate some growth...

Now we know there's an alarming high number of young people
roaming around in your country with nothing to do but stir
up trouble for the police and damage private property. It
doesn't look like they'll ever get a job...

It's about time we did something constructive with these
people...

We've got thousands of 'em here too. They're crawling all
over...

The companies think it's time we all sit down, have a
serious get-together - and start another war...

The president? He loves the idea! All those missiles
streaming overhead to and fro...

Napalm...

People running down the road, skin on fire...

The Soviets seem up for it...

The Kremlin's been itching for the real thing for years.
Hell, Afghanistan's no fun...

So whadya say?...

We don't even have to win this war. We just want to cut down
on some of this excess population...

Now look. Just start up a draft; draft as many of those
people as you can. We'll call up every last youngster we can
get our hands on, hand 'em some speed, give 'em an hour or
two to learn how to use an automatic riffle and send 'em on
their way...

Libya? El Salvador? How 'bout Northern Ireland? Or a
'moderately repressive regime' in South America? We'll just
cook up a good Soviet threat story in the Middle East - we
need that oil...

We had Libya all ready to go and Colonel Khadafy's hit squad
didn't even show up. I tell ya... that man is unreliable.
The Kremlin had their fingers on the button just like we did
for that one...

Now just think for a minute - we can make this war so big -
so BIG...

The more people we kill in this war, the more the economy
will prosper...

We can get rid of practically everybody on your dole queues
if we plan this right. Take every loafer on welfare right
off our computer rolls...

Now don't worry about those demonstrators - just pump up
your drug supply. So many people have hooked themselves on
heroin and amphetamines since we took over, it's just like
Vietnam. We had everybody so busy with LSD they never got
too strong. Kept the war functioning just fine...

It's easy. We've got our college kids so interested in beer
they don't even care if we start manufacturing germ bombs
again. Put a nuclear stockpile in their back yard, they
wouldn't even know what it looked like...

So how 'bout it? Look - war is money. The arms manufacturers
tell me unless we get our bomb factories up to full
production the whole economy is going to collapse...

The Soviets are in the same boat. We all agree the time has
come for the big one, so whadya say?!?...

Prime Minister of UK: (shaky) alright

Sec. of State: That's excellent. We knew you'd agree... the companies will
be very pleased

___________________________________________________________________

27th post 2006/05/06: Let Me Dust This Off

Its been a minute since I have entered a blog, mostly because I've been managing to hold onto my sanity and for other reasons I won't mention here. There are exceptions however. I had an experience I would call very Benrikian last Monday.

Now before I start let me begin with saying that the US army itself is supposedly a non-religious institution and my participation in this event was completely voluntary. The event was a prayer breakfast on the 1st of May. The thing was that I would have been labeled a freak and a misfit for not going plus I got to get out of PT for going. Also I usually am forced to skip breakfast because I don't have enough time between work and PT. This was a fair opportunity for a breakfast.

The guest speaker was a Colonel who happened to be the head chaplain of Multi National Force Iraq. He was a very highly decorated man with more combat experience in Vietnam (or Cambodia?) then any priest should ever have. Thats right: the guy giving the sermon was a highly trained (ex-ranger) experienced killer. The sermon was on Psalm 91 which is about how god offers protection to those who are truly faithful (Stupid Christians! if you are a good little Jesus freak then why the hell would you want protection? death means heaven right?). Anyways I grew bored during this sermon, had to stop myself from laughing and started doodling. Let me describe what I drew: I drew a penis. The head of the penis I drew as gods tent. The shaft I drew as the rock of god. I titled the picture the sacred place of the most high: the rock of god. There were also jokes about crack in there (are you high on god's rock?) I wish I could scan the picture in here and post it.

Anyways at some point during the sermon the colonel started walking around. He happened to see my drawing. He picked it up, looked at me, (he didn't look to happy) and then put it down, and walked away.

Sorry but I laugh about this every time I think of it because it is just to absurd.

____________________________________________________________________

30th Entry 2006/05/30: My Tail

Today was a jobsite day. It started like a normal day. Of course we do the normal army thig and just talk shit about each other and anything all day. My nickname "the man-beast" derived from my extraordinary amount of Tom Selleck like chest hair, my strength, and aggressiveness with work at the jobsite. We had other teams in my company thinking I seriously had a "man-tail" like some kind of toxic waste mutant. Something like a smurf tail or like the guy with a tail from shallow Hal. Anyways today one of the other teams in the company came over and we started bullshitting with them instead of working like always. The subject of my "man-tail" came up. One guy got it so stuck in his head he said "Hey, I'll pay you $4 if you show me your tail." while we were alone. I said "Okay but give me the cash first."He forked over the cash, and I then proceeded to give him the full moon. He had a bad reaction, after he recovered from the shock he started laughing about it. We went back to the rest of his team. He was going "Hey soldier have you seen Capps's man tail? He showed me and I was changed." He had that guy pay me $4 and I then proceeded to give him the full moon somewhere in private. This man screamed like a little girl. He then went back to 2 more soldiers and spread the word that I have a man-tail and I'll show it for $4. The next 2 victims were a fat young lady and a guy of questionable sexual orientation. I pulled down my pants in front of them and waited for a reaction. You could have heard the sound of ants crawling. My first 2 victims had immediate reactions. These 2 just made me feel weird. I swear the not to bright guy of questionable sexual orientation was about to say "So where is the tail?". Well I made $16 today selling my ass. Not to bad for a bit of extra money. It did get weird after the fat girl and Mr. don't ask don't tell walked away with smiles on their faces. I felt uncomfortable just working with them. Oh well my own dumbass fault for trying to shock the shit out of suckers.

31st Entry 2006/06/27: Some Images of Iraq

I'm starting the process of packing to get ready to go already. Its still a couple months away but the simple fact of the matter is I've spent a lot of time here in Baghdad. Here are some images from my deployment.

BIAP's Pizza Hut Delivery, I used to deliver for Domino's before I joined the Army

A C-130 Hercules

A Rainbow in Kuwait (its there just because I'm going on vacation)

You can't read this in the picture but on the front of every door on each tent there is a sign that says no smoking within 50 meters. There is a designated smoking area less then 30 meters away. Army thinking right there.

Some graffiti on Camp Victory that was there before I was.

33rd entry 2006/07/04: On Cable Gods

This is Krogdor the Cable God

I'm what you might call a natural Benrikian. Long before I learned of Benrik I had made it a goal in life to piss in as many major rivers as possible in the world. So far I have pissed in the Brazos, the Colorado, the Mississippi, The Delaware, The Hudson, The Rhein, The Main, and the Euphrates rivers. Well a few days ago a friend of mine and I had noticed a CPR/Kickboxing dummy sitting outside where it was easy to steal. We took it put it in a well made of sandbags. We named him Krogdor the cable god and started a religion where we worship him. ( a Benrik task coincidentally, and I wasn't even trying to task.) Everytime we hear the mosques start yodeling we turn towards Krogdor get on our knees and pray. I put my old Desert Camouflage Uniform on him, some lipstick, some eyeliner, and some sunglasses. From a distance Krogdor looked like a real soldier. Every now and then I used to beat Krogdor because he was my bitch-god. There was a video of me "donkey-punching" Krogdor. For the first day I had the rope to the well (the well is ornamental, there is no actual hole in the ground.) wrapped around Krogdor's neck. I got in trouble for that. Then yesterday I bought an old Iraqi army uniform and an AK-47 bayonet from the bazaar. I dressed Krogdor up in an Iraqi generals uniform and took pictures. One picture had me holding the bayonet to Krogdor's throat. Then it became an issue. Here I am holding a bayonet to a CPR dummys throat that is dressed up like an Saddam Era Iraqi general. Well that picture had to be deleted and I got yelled at about that also. Scheisse. I guess some people don't understand the difference between a detainee and a CPR dummy. He said I'm going to be the next Abu Ghraib scandal with me holding a knife to a CPR dummies throat.

34th Entry 2006/07/20:The Cost of War

(Just a historical note, this was while Israel was in Lebanon in 2006, and there was some question if America was going intervene more directly than usual there)

I'm no political activist. I am just a citizen who theoretically still has the right to hold an opinion. I think at some point the past must be forgotten. Palestinians and Isrealis my age have been fighting and killing each other for the trespasses of their grandfathers and distant ancestors. Maybe I'm just naive enough to think that if one side put down their weapons the other one would follow suit. People all to often forget what the cost of war can be. The cost of war can be everything. Here is a website that offers some images of that cost. They obviously have a biased opinions but from the images you can definitely see why. I want you to realize what the costs can be before my chimpanzee of a commander and chief orders me to some other Arab country.

That was me 2 years ago.