Busboys & Poets

Winter Soldier, Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupation - testimonies by Iraq Veterans Against the War

DC Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War - event on 11/13/2208 - reviewed by Don Allen, Manager of Busboys and Poets Books

One day after the flag-waving and hoopla of Veterans Day, the testimonies of 5 veterans on the stage of the Langston Room were a powerful antidote to the current media narrative. During the recent presidential campaign, the mainstream media and pundits were declaring that the surge in Iraq actually worked. Well, the folks that shared their stories at Busboys and Poets are some of the same folks who delivered this message to the RNC (and a worldwide television audience): “You Can’t Win an Occupation.”

One of the main tenets of IVAW is that all troops should be withdrawn from Iraq immediately. The “Winter Soldiers” that shared their testimonies with a capacity crowd powerfully demonstrated why it is not only a good idea to withdrawal, but that it is essential for the Iraqi people and the people who are serving in our armed services. From these soldiers we learned that they are suffering because of bad leadership, racism that infiltrates the entire military, sexism, emotional/mental trauma and actual physical pain. This is what the war is doing to our military personnel. And we are the occupiers: Imagine what the occupation is doing the people of Iraq, especially the innocents caught in this ideological war of bad ideals.

Personally, I can’t thank these soldiers enough - especially the active duty reservist, Chantelle Bateman, who shared her testimony for the first time. The testimonies of Geoff Millard, the president of the DC Chapter of IVAW, and Adam Kokesh can be read in the book. Unfortunately the testimonies of Bateman, Nick Morgan and Amy Braxton are not yet published, but they will remain in the memories of those who attended. Their powerful words and activism will eventually be the reason that our military pulls up stakes and gets out of Iraq. Let’s hope that they can help prevent errors, casualties and death in Afghanistan too.

Seeing Sarah Palin go back to Alaska will be one of the sublimest pleasures of this election.  To me, Palin was about prizing ignorance over wisdom, thuggishness over intelligence.  She told the rural farmers of Virginia that they were the “real America.”  They are — but so are the orthodontists of New Jersey, the professors of New York City, the biologists of Berkeley, the airline pilots of Seattle, the bookstore owners of San Francisco.  Sarah Palin forgot about them.  More likely, she never knew about them.  The woman didn’t even have a passport until recently.  Go back to Alaska, Sarah, and please stay there.

Finally with confidence we can say that all we are left to determine is the size of the victory, not whether it will happen.

To all the committed supporters that have been on board since 2007, and some since 2004, this is a night that is surreal, ecstatic, and dramatic.