G
Gandalf Grey
Guest
Enough Heroes to Fill a Book
By David Swanson
Created Dec 5 2007 - 9:47am
"A very few serve the state with their consciences, and so necessarily
resist it."
--Henry David Thoreau
"We should never forget that everything Adolph Hitler did in Germany was
legal and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was
illegal." -Martin Luther King Jr.
"A real cynic isn't going to blow the whistle. And a real radical probably
won't be in a position to do it. It takes someone who believes in the system
far more than the system ever believes in itself." -C. Fred Alford
Actually Thoreau is wrong. More than a few serve the state and resist its
abuses, at significant risk to themselves. But very few of us know all of
their stories. Resisters of the occupation of Iraq in the U.S., British, and
Australian governments and militaries are plentiful enough to fill a book,
and they've filled a good one.
"Dissent: Voices of Conscience: Government Insiders Speak Out Against the
War in Iraq" is the forthcoming work of U.S. Army Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright
and Susan Dixon (forthcoming after a long delay imposed by the State
Department). Wright is herself one of the many heroes whose stories are told
in the book. Many of us who follow the war and the peace movement know Ann
and know that she resigned from the U.S. diplomatic corps in protest of the
invasion of Iraq. But can you name the other two U.S. diplomats who had
already done the same thing? Do you know their stories?
What about the stories of the high level resisters in the British
government? We've heard some of their names before, but here are the stories
and statements of people like Katherine Gunn, Robin Cook, Elizabeth
Wilmshurst, Clare Short, Carne Ross, and Craig Murray. Here is Frank Grevil,
a Danish military intelligence officer who revealed how early his government
knew of U.S. plans for war and how clearly his government knew there was no
solid evidence of weapons in Iraq. Here, too, is Andrew Wilkie, an retired
Australian Lieutenant Colonel and a civilian analyst who resigned in protest
of his government's lies about Iraqi weapons, leading to censurein the
Senate of Prime Minister John Howard, who recently lost a bid for
reelection.
And what of whistleblowers in Washington? Do you know what Bunnatine
Greenhouse, Jesselyn Radack, Mary Ryan, Sibel Edmonds, Russell Tice, and
Coleen Rowley, among others, did, and what their government did to them to
express its gratitude? These are our heroes. And like all heroes, they are
often flawed. They knew about evil deeds because they were working for
organizations some of us would never choose to work for, or because they
went along with things they shouldn't have. And in some cases it took them a
long time before they found the courage to speak out. The same can be said,
of course, of members of the U.S. military who have resisted this illegal
invasion and occupation.
But military heroes fill much of this book: officers, lawyers,
whistleblowers, resisters and deserters, those facing court martial, those
fled to Canada. Here are collected the stories and statements of those who
spoke some bit of unpermitted truth: General Eric Shinseki, Lieutenant
General (Ret.) Brent Scowcroft, General (Ret.) Anthony Zinni, Lieutenant
General (Ret.) William Odom, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Gregory Newbold,
Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton, Major General (Ret.) John Batiste.
Here are the lawyers within the military who have worked for justice:
Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Diaz. And
the whistleblowers in the ranks: Specialist Joe Darby, Captain Ian Fishback,
Seargent Samuel Provance. Do you know these stories? These are our heroes.
Do you know anyone serving in the U.S. government or military? Please send
them a copy of this book. I'm sure the authors would be delighted to print
an expanded edition with your friends in it when they speak truth to power.
Above all, "Dissent: Voices of Conscience" presents a sampling of the many
stories of soldiers who have put down their weapons in this unjust war:
Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes, Kevin Benderman, Stephen Funk, Abdullah
Webster, Aidan Delgado, Katherine Jashinski, Melanie McPherson, Ehren
Watada, Augustin Aguayo, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Jeremy Hinzman,
Brandon Hughey, Joshua Key, Patrick Hart, Chris Magaoay, Darrell Anderson,
Ivan Brobeck, Kyle Snyder, Ben Griffin, Malcolm Kendal-Smith, Mohisin Khan.
There are many more.
All of these people have recognized that there was only one thing they could
justly do, and they have done it. Perhaps it was illegal or disobedient, but
it had to be done. Our Congress has one legal move remaining in impeachment,
beyond which it too will have to step outside what is legal or lose its
existence. But we as citizens have no right to ask that of our
representatives or to ask those in the position to do so to resist, to leak,
or to refuse illegal orders, unless we too recognize our one remaining move.
We've voted and marched and lobbied and educated. Creative nonviolent civil
disobedience is the one move remaining to us. It's our turn to step up and
be heroes. It's now or never. Want some inspiration? Read this book:
http://www.voicesofconscience.com [1]
_______
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
By David Swanson
Created Dec 5 2007 - 9:47am
"A very few serve the state with their consciences, and so necessarily
resist it."
--Henry David Thoreau
"We should never forget that everything Adolph Hitler did in Germany was
legal and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was
illegal." -Martin Luther King Jr.
"A real cynic isn't going to blow the whistle. And a real radical probably
won't be in a position to do it. It takes someone who believes in the system
far more than the system ever believes in itself." -C. Fred Alford
Actually Thoreau is wrong. More than a few serve the state and resist its
abuses, at significant risk to themselves. But very few of us know all of
their stories. Resisters of the occupation of Iraq in the U.S., British, and
Australian governments and militaries are plentiful enough to fill a book,
and they've filled a good one.
"Dissent: Voices of Conscience: Government Insiders Speak Out Against the
War in Iraq" is the forthcoming work of U.S. Army Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright
and Susan Dixon (forthcoming after a long delay imposed by the State
Department). Wright is herself one of the many heroes whose stories are told
in the book. Many of us who follow the war and the peace movement know Ann
and know that she resigned from the U.S. diplomatic corps in protest of the
invasion of Iraq. But can you name the other two U.S. diplomats who had
already done the same thing? Do you know their stories?
What about the stories of the high level resisters in the British
government? We've heard some of their names before, but here are the stories
and statements of people like Katherine Gunn, Robin Cook, Elizabeth
Wilmshurst, Clare Short, Carne Ross, and Craig Murray. Here is Frank Grevil,
a Danish military intelligence officer who revealed how early his government
knew of U.S. plans for war and how clearly his government knew there was no
solid evidence of weapons in Iraq. Here, too, is Andrew Wilkie, an retired
Australian Lieutenant Colonel and a civilian analyst who resigned in protest
of his government's lies about Iraqi weapons, leading to censurein the
Senate of Prime Minister John Howard, who recently lost a bid for
reelection.
And what of whistleblowers in Washington? Do you know what Bunnatine
Greenhouse, Jesselyn Radack, Mary Ryan, Sibel Edmonds, Russell Tice, and
Coleen Rowley, among others, did, and what their government did to them to
express its gratitude? These are our heroes. And like all heroes, they are
often flawed. They knew about evil deeds because they were working for
organizations some of us would never choose to work for, or because they
went along with things they shouldn't have. And in some cases it took them a
long time before they found the courage to speak out. The same can be said,
of course, of members of the U.S. military who have resisted this illegal
invasion and occupation.
But military heroes fill much of this book: officers, lawyers,
whistleblowers, resisters and deserters, those facing court martial, those
fled to Canada. Here are collected the stories and statements of those who
spoke some bit of unpermitted truth: General Eric Shinseki, Lieutenant
General (Ret.) Brent Scowcroft, General (Ret.) Anthony Zinni, Lieutenant
General (Ret.) William Odom, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Gregory Newbold,
Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton, Major General (Ret.) John Batiste.
Here are the lawyers within the military who have worked for justice:
Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Diaz. And
the whistleblowers in the ranks: Specialist Joe Darby, Captain Ian Fishback,
Seargent Samuel Provance. Do you know these stories? These are our heroes.
Do you know anyone serving in the U.S. government or military? Please send
them a copy of this book. I'm sure the authors would be delighted to print
an expanded edition with your friends in it when they speak truth to power.
Above all, "Dissent: Voices of Conscience" presents a sampling of the many
stories of soldiers who have put down their weapons in this unjust war:
Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes, Kevin Benderman, Stephen Funk, Abdullah
Webster, Aidan Delgado, Katherine Jashinski, Melanie McPherson, Ehren
Watada, Augustin Aguayo, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Jeremy Hinzman,
Brandon Hughey, Joshua Key, Patrick Hart, Chris Magaoay, Darrell Anderson,
Ivan Brobeck, Kyle Snyder, Ben Griffin, Malcolm Kendal-Smith, Mohisin Khan.
There are many more.
All of these people have recognized that there was only one thing they could
justly do, and they have done it. Perhaps it was illegal or disobedient, but
it had to be done. Our Congress has one legal move remaining in impeachment,
beyond which it too will have to step outside what is legal or lose its
existence. But we as citizens have no right to ask that of our
representatives or to ask those in the position to do so to resist, to leak,
or to refuse illegal orders, unless we too recognize our one remaining move.
We've voted and marched and lobbied and educated. Creative nonviolent civil
disobedience is the one move remaining to us. It's our turn to step up and
be heroes. It's now or never. Want some inspiration? Read this book:
http://www.voicesofconscience.com [1]
_______
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson