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"He said that he did not want to be killed
 and didn't want to kill anyone." 

Let Conscience Speak Here as It Did in World War 1

     The Christmas Truce - When Men Said No To War

Below are two articles (one from a civilian and the other a soldier) which espouse two approaches to ending War.  Do not be offended by the one from the soldier, these are times where we must tell it like it is.  And in view of that, please see Fl Lt Malcolm Kendall-Smith's video statement (also below) on what the real driving forces of war are in Iraq (and no doubt elsewhere) and what Humanity must do.

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From Robert S. Mulford:

Peaceful Friends:

I wish to thank all of you who have participated in the Occupation Project events over the last couple of months. I hope many of you will consider reasserting yourselves with active nonviolence in opposition to the policies of war and hate as pursued by our government. If you are interested in helping organize an active affinity group (the foundation of successful nonviolent action) please give me a call at 907-457-5578 or email me at mulford.rob@gmail.com . There are some possible actions that we could be
taking - like maybe this week - that you may find fulfilling.

Also for those who are interested the schedule for court appearances for Don Muller (from Sitka) and me are as follows.

April 4 - 8:15 a.m. Don and I are scheduled for Calendar Call for the Criminal Trespass charges arising out of the occupation of Senator Stevens Office. We will be assigned dates for our trials at that time. I will keep you all informed.

April 5 - 10:00 a.m. Room 326, Federal Court House, 101 12th Ave.  I will be standing trial for the charge of "Refusing to Depart Premises" (Senator Lisa Murkowski's office) see statement to court below.

April 25 - 8:15 a.m. I am scheduled for calendar call for my criminal trespass charge arising out of my appearance at the Federal Building on the 13th of March.

Below is a copy of my intended statement to the court for this Thursday the 5th of April. (10:00a.m.) Please forgive me if it is too lengthy. I hope that I get to deliver it in its entirety.

Wage Peace,

Rob

Statement to Court of Robert S. Mulford, Defendant Pro Se

Members of the Court, Fellow Citizens, Your Honor:

     I do not deny continuing the reading of names of the war dead when ordered to depart the premises (i.e. the offices of Senators Murkowski and Stevens). It is in consideration of the political economic influence held and exerted by the military-industrial, energy, and other moneyed interests, that I plead not guilty and assert my actions as necessary and correct. I hereby claim my right as a human being to engage in active nonviolence in the pursuit of justice and the bringing to an end an illegal war and occupation; my country's drive toward imperial hegemony; and the fear and the hate that sustains that drive.

     The invasion of Iraq, a sovereign state that posed no credible threat to the United States, was an act of "aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances" as per the Nuremberg Principles and United Nations Charter and therefore a "Crime Against Peace".

     The preemptive invasion, the ongoing war, and occupation constitute heinous breaches of international peace. These actions have resulted in the commission of documented egregious violations of International Humanitarian Law (i.e. Geneva Conventions and Hague Regulations) and are considered "Crimes Against Humanity". Their commission by US Troops and Private Contractors has been under the indifferent eye, the open consent, and / or the direction of the military and the civilian leadership of the United States Government.

     Rules instituted by Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority and still in effect today as Iraqi law are in violation of international law as well as the US Army's Law of Land Warfare. Their detrimental effects were known and published by their author before implementation. They have exacerbated the horrific conditions caused by 12 years of brutal economic sanctions and are responsible for great human suffering and are the root of much of the current sectarian violence.

     All these crimes are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands - the crippling, the displacement (e.g. according to the UN High Commission on Refugees the fastest growing refugee crisis on the planet), and the ruin of the lives of millions of innocent human beings. These crimes are being committed in our name by the Government of the United States and its partners in global capital. There is much evidence to show that their commission is not an accident of mistaken policy but a deliberate attempt of the powerful and the greedy, seeking material gain, power, and imperial hegemony.

     Under a cloud of deliberate deceit they: have sown fear and hate (e.g. please seriously consider the veracity of the oft quoted phrase "if we don't fight them there we'll have to fight them here" ); have spilled the blood of over 3200 and injured over 50,000 American Servicemen and Women; have fostered the horror of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that is destroying the lives of heroes and wrecking families with many a suffering soldier turned out of the military with a Less Than Honorable Discharges to suffer without remedy. They have and are reaping heavy profit from the execution of war.  Their ultimate prize was, before the invasion as it is now, the vast oil wealth of Iraq. They seek profit at the expense and misery of the poor and disenfranchised.

     As a citizen of the United States of America I am subject to the sovereignty thereof. As a democratic republic the state is conversely an extension of my moral authority and will. Having come to the realization that high crimes are being committed by the government of my country in my name I cannot sit idly, just complain, or trust the Democrats to remedy.

     Four years of studying these miscarriages of justice has shown me that there is little remedy in the official channels of so called democratic governance. The last election was largely influenced by grassroots efforts of the peace movement and the public's natural tiring of war but the resulting Democratic Party majority in Congress has proven to be nearly impotent with regard to these matters. The party's leadership disingenuously talks as if they will end the war while at the same time they are funding it. They make nonbinding resolutions and play politics with human lives.

    Arrogantly they insist that Iraq satisfy their benchmarks, as if the poor, beaten, and forsaken people of that country want or do not care about the violence that has been fostered on them by the policies of the United States Government. One of the benchmarks that these wolves in sheep's clothing demand is the turning over of Iraq's vast oil wealth, via so-called Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs). This is no less than theft benefiting  the same oil corporations whose officers are the authors of the crime. Our corporate media has been complicit and / or largely absent from any serious coverage or discussion on the subject of the legitimacy of the war.

    So then, what recourse do citizens have when they learn that their government and some of the most powerful members of their country are guilty of and / or complicit in the commission of the highest of crimes? The Constitution of the United States of America states in Article 6, Section 2 "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." Will I get anywhere if I try to press charges on President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary Rice? Where can I go to have justice served?

     Last December I took part, as an observer in a counseling service offered to members of the Military Services. One of the calls that I witnessed was from a young man, twenty years of age. He was on leave from Iraq and had called to see if the counseling service could get him assigned to a rear detachment. The counselor correctly informed him that that would be difficult, that unless there was a family emergency and he was the only one who could take care of it he would probably have to return to the war when his leave was through. The counselor also correctly informed him of what he could expect if he decided to go Absent Without Leave (AWOL). He then broke down emotionally stating that he had recently lost three close friends to combat while in Iraq and a fourth was burned over 70 percent of his body. He said that he did not want to be killed and didn't want to kill anyone. The counselor could not give him any suggestions that would be construed as advocating desertion and so was at a loss. The young man, choked of voice, then somewhat meekly said "I guess that I am a man and I signed a contract and a man has to do what a man has to do." I feel like I betrayed him by not telling him that he'd been lied to. That he is but cannon fodder betrayed by the leaders of his country for their own nefarious ends.

     There have been times throughout history when the practice of Nonviolent Resistance (e.g. see Mohandas Gandhi or Dr. King) has proven to be the catalyst for social, political, and economic justice. I believe that such a catalyst is needed now. No matter the outcome of this hearing, I will not be complicit with war crimes and will resist nonviolently. To this end I
pledge my life, my liberty, my sacred honor.

     Your Honor, I respectfully ask that you join us in opposing this illegal and immoral war and occupation – which most the rest of the world opposes. Staying the course will only make the US an enemy of the world. As the Roman Empire fell so will a US empire.

Thank you, Your Honor

* * *

Veterans, If you oppose war and injustice and live in the Fairbanks North
Star Borough please contact me at 907-457-5578 mulford.rob@gmail.com and
join.

* * *

Jazzed for Peace and Justice

Send comments, opinions, articles, etc. to.

rob mulford,   mulford.rob@gmail.com   , 907-457-5578

Fairbanks Coalition for Peace and Justice

http://www.fairbankspeace.org

Listen to Democracy Now!

91.5 FM weeknights at 6 PM

KSUA The People's Radio
 

Milo Freeman, SPC

United States Army, Iraq

If The Shoe Fits...

By SPC Freeman, Milo; US Army, Iraq

Posted 06/31/07 "ICH " -- --

Memorandum for Record: Military Spending Concerns

FROM: SPC Freeman, Milo; US Army, Iraq

TO: Senate Democrats, Republicans, and "American Idol" viewers across the nation.

1. You. Punk. Ass. Pantywaisted. Bitches.

2. You had a chance. You could have put your money where your mouth is--could have put some ass behind all those claims of "favoring an end to war."

3. And you fucking choked.

4. Let me explain something to you. Your children; your spouses; your lovers and friends and parents and CONSTITUENTS are hostages to this war. They're dying for a conflict with no concrete objective. They're losing marriages and childhood moments to a never-ending cycle of extended tours. Their equipment, their morale, is stretched thin. And some of them--those of us smart enough not to buy the fucking hype--were counting on you to find your fucking testicles and put an end to this shit. We were counting on you to save us from ourselves; to find a way to put us to use serving our country in ways perhaps more effective in rebuilding our nation.

5. And you. Fucking. Choked.

6. I haven't gotten a current edition of the paper in months. It's always a day behind. I don't get to check the news--I barely have the time. So what am I to think when I read yesterday's Stars and Stripes, and hear about this shit? Is that supposed to tell me that my leaders, my countrymen give a flying FUCK about what happens to me or my wife? Is that the message I'm supposed to glean from this STUNNING lack of cojones? Because I gotta tell you, America, I'm not seeing it.

7. I'm so sick of hearing this wretched war talked about in terms of Victory or Defeat. "If we leave, the terrorists will win."

8. Fuck that.

9. Today it's Terrorists. Yesterday it was Blacks/Gays/Jews/Hippies. Before that it was Communists. Before that, it was Uppity Colonials with Secondhand Muskets and Pitchforks. It's always fucking something with you people, isn't it?

10.You just need your little wars to feel good about yourselves, don't you? Something to make you feel threatened; something to make you feel heroic; ANYTHING to make you feel like your pathetic lives are more than just you against the Big, Black, Scary Infinite. Well, obviously, it's working.

11. You don't magically "win" an occupation. It's an inevitable bleed-out. We're stuck in a situation beyond our powers to fix, in a country that WE voted to destroy, whose history and people we neither understand nor care to try. We bought the hype, hook-line-and-sinker.

12. Fuck Victory. Fuck Defeat. Any way you slice it, This. War. Is. Wrong.

13.You don't keep trying to win the game after it turns out you bribed the refs. You fire the coaches and/or players responsible, and you hand over the Title. You take your lumps like a fucking man and try to rebuild. Accept it.

13. Hope you're happy, America. Clutch your pearls about all those dirty liberals who voted against the proposal ("They didn't Support The Troops!"). Whine about all the evil elderly schoolteachers and librarians protesting the war on a Saturday morning outside your courthouse.

14. But when your son or daughter or spouse or first lay comes home airfreight, mangled into a closed-casket service by a daisy-chain of 155s buried under Route Tampa, remember this:

15. It won't be the dirty liberals who put them there.

16. Hoo-ah.

//

ORIGINAL SIGNED

Milo Freeman, SPC

United States Army, Iraq

Credit: Thanks to Nolan K. Anderson for bringing this letter to my attention. Mr. Anderson attached the following comment to the original letter

"This came to me via an old-time – World War II - military man who is trying to care for his World War War II Army nurse wife on a pension that has been cut and cut and cut by our War Makers over the years to the point where trying to live longer than his meager pension is more frightening than the snow and mud and cold and blood and “technologically advanced death” of the Big War's Winter(s)."

Nolan K. Anderson is a retired engineer and a veteran of Korea who was once a “conservative” until he found there was nothing left to conserve and as a veteran hates to see a tour in Korea go to waste. (He may be reached at nkanders@bellsouth.net).

If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law: Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, 1849