For more on the growing resistance to war in Iraq see After First Isolating Him To Barracks |
SOS! Support our Servicemembers! Bring 'Em Home Now!
There will be hundreds more US casualties in the months ahead if our military continues on its present course. If the Pentagon decides to send more troops to assist the 145,000 already deployed in Iraq the toll will climb even higher. Remember that Army Chief of Staff Gen. Erik Shinseki told Congress before our March 20, 2003 invasion that "several hundred thousand soldiers" would be needed to stabilize a conquered Iraq. He was publicly attacked by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld who claimed the job could be done with far fewer troops. One military analyst, Frederick Kagan, points out that by deploying over five divisions in Iraq the Army cannot maintain its desired ratio of two units at home for every one deployed. "Within months, the US leadership will face a difficult choice; either reduce our commitment to Iraq regardless of (conditions) or extend the deployment of many units indefinitely," Kagan concludes. A bi partisan group of US Senators who visited Iraq at the end of June reported that US troops are "stretched thin" and that it will take years, tens of thousands of troops and billions of dollars to established a stable and peaceful Iraq. "Bring 'em On" is George Bush's macho (and mindless) response to the steady killing of our young GIs SOS/Citizen Soldier believes that the best
way to support our young servicemembers in Iraq is to bring them
home now. The U.S. should have allowed the U.N. weapons inspectors
to continue their useful and apparently successful work. Military
involvement should only be in the form of a peacekeeping operation
organized and supported by the U.N. Peacekeeping troops trained
in civil police operations and riot control should take over
for our combat soldiers. Citizen Soldier is a founding member of the Bring Them Home Now! Coaltion. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE BRING THEM HOME NOW! is a coordinating committee of military families, veterans, active duty personnel, reservists and others opposed to the ongoing war in Iraq and galvanized to action by George W. Bush's inane and insensitive challenge to Iraqi armed occupation resisters to "bring 'em on." Our mission is to mobilize military families, veterans, and GIs themselves to demand: An end to the occupation of Iraq and other misguided military adventures; and an immediate return of all US troops to their home duty stations. The truth is coming out. The American public was deceived by the Bush administration about the motivation for and intent of the invasion of Iraq. It is equally apparent that the administration is stubbornly and incompetently adhering to a destructive course. Many Americans do not want our troops there. Many military families do not want our troops there. Many troops themselves do not want to be there. The overwhelming majority of Iraqis do not want US troops there. Our troops are embroiled in a hopeless regional quagmire. These military actions are not perceived as liberations, but as occupations, and our troops are now subject to daily attacks. Meanwhile, without a clear mission, they are living in conditions of relentless austerity and hardship. At home, their families are forced to endure extended separations and ongoing uncertainty. As military veterans and families, we understand that hardship is sometimes part of the job. But there has to be an honest and compelling reason to impose these hardships and risks on our troops, our families, and our communities. The reasons given for the occupation of Iraq does not rise to this standard. Without just cause for war, we say bring the troops home now! Not one more troop killed in action. Not one more troop wounded in action. Not one more troop psychologically damaged by the act of terrifying, humiliating, injuring or killing innocent people. Not one more troop spending one more day ingesting depleted uranium. Not one more troop separated from spouse and children. This is the only way to truly support these troops, and the families who are just as much part of the military as they are. Bush says "Bring 'em on." We say "BRING THEM HOME NOW!" For more information go to http://www.bringthemhomenow.org |
Every
day, American GIs are being killed or wounded as they struggle
to occupy Iraq. Many combat soldiers complain that they're assigned
to police and counter-insurgency duties for which they have no
training. As Col. Robert Knapp, of the 113th Medical Company
recently told the Christian Science Monitor; "The actual
combat happened very fast, so the biggest stress now is peacekeeping.
Our people are not really trained for peacekeeping and not equipped
for riot control."