Iraq War resister Tony Anderson released from stockade
Courage to Resist. October 21, 2009 Last week Army private Tony Anderson was released from the Ft. Sill stockade after serving a full year in prison for refusing to fight in Iraq. Tony, now 20-years-old, was court martialed last November and sentenced to 14 months of confinement and given a dishonorable discharge from the military for "desertion with intent to avoid hazardous duty" and "disobeying a lawful order." He was released two months early for good behavior. Tony refused to deploy to Iraq in July 2008 on the grounds of conscientious objection to war. Courage to Resist supporters contributed $2,200 to pay for Tony's civilian legal defense led by attorney James Branum of Oklahoma. Attorney reports human rights abuses of GI resisters Travis Bishop Dahr Jamail, Truthout. October 13, 2009 Attorneys and veteran's groups are alarmed by recent reports that two US Army soldiers imprisoned at the Fort Lewis Regional Correctional Facility (RCF) have been subjected to human rights abuses and violations of their constitutional rights. Travis Bishop, who has served a tour of duty in Iraq and is now recognized by Amnesty International as a "Prisoner of Conscience," resisted deployment to Afghanistan. The other soldier, Leo Church, recently went absent without leave (AWOL) from his unit in order to prevent his family from going homeless. The civilian defense attorney for both soldiers, James M. Branum, told Truthout that both soldiers have been strip-searched while possibly being filmed. Bishop and Church have also been watched by female guards during strip-searches, while using the restroom as well as while in the showers. Both soldiers have been denied one in-person visit by their attorneys and all phone calls with their attorneys have been illegally monitored by guards. Solidarity statement to war resisters from RAWA
Solidarity statement to U.S. war resisters and Afghanistan occupation veterans from Zoya, Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). October 10, 2009 Our message to all the soldiers who are fighting and veterans who were fighting in Afghanistan: We thank you because we think that you believe that you are struggling and fighting in Afghanistan for bringing democracy and peace for our people. But unfortunately we think that you are also the victims of the wrong policy of your government. And that's that reason that we think you should condemn this war, which is just bringing more sorrow and pain and blood for the majority of the population and the civilians of Afghanistan. And it's not helping to bring democracy and security in the country. Can you be one percent of the solution?
By Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist Project Director Dear Friend, I’m writing today out of urgent necessity. Over the past 12 months, we’ve continued to support GI resisters to the best of our abilities, yet many of our supporters reduced the amount of their contributions—for a number of understandable reasons. As a result, Courage to Resist has depleted nearly all of our resources. At the Power to the Peaceful festivalBy Manifest Positivity. September 23, 2009 Courage to Resist organizer Michael Thurman introduces folks to our mission in support of war resisters recently at the Power to the Peaceful music festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Michael was recently discharged from the US Air Force as a conscientious objector.
Leo Church: Imprisoned for putting family first
Leo Church has been transfer to Ft Lewis, Washington to serve the remainder of his eight month sentence. Leo welcomes your letters of support while he is jailed. Haskell Leo Church, Box 339536, Fort Lewis WA 98433. By Army Spc Leo Church. September 1, 2009 For over eight months I waited in Ft. Hood, Texas for my lawyers to barter for my freedom and the prosecutors to decide what they found to be fair for my case. My problems started not long after I finished Basic and A.I.T. when I received a call from Angie, the mother of my children, Alyssa and Kaitlynn, saying that the three were homeless and living in a van in Arlington, Texas. Sgt. Travis Bishop sentenced for resisting deployment
By Dahr Jamail, Truthout. August 16, 2009 Sergeant Travis Bishop, with the US Army's 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, pled not guilty at a special court martial on Thursday to two counts of missing movement, disobeying a lawful order and going absent without leave (AWOL). Friday, in a trial full of theatrics from the jury, prosecution witnesses and the prosecution, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to 12 months in a military jail. Echo Platoon - Warehousing soldiers in the homeland 82nd Detachment soldier By Dahr Jamail and Sarah Lazare for TomDispatch. August 10, 2009 Echo Platoon is part of the 82nd Replacement Detachment of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Soldiers in the platoon are relegated to living quarters in a set of dimly lit concrete rooms. Pipes peep out of missing ceiling tiles and a musty smell permeates beds placed on cracked linoleum floors. For soldiers who have gone AWOL (Absent Without Leave) and then voluntarily turned themselves in or were forcibly returned, the detention conditions here in Echo Platoon only serve to reinforce the inescapability of their situation. They remain suspended in a legal limbo of forced uncertainty that can extend from several months to a year or more, while the military takes its time deciding their fate. Some of them, however, are offered a free pass out of this military half-life -- but only if they agree to deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq. GI Resistance under the radar
By Sarah Lazare, Courage to Resist for Truthout. August 3, 2009 An interview with two former soldiers who describe how they helped prevent their unit from deploying to a war zone. What do you do if you are a soldier being asked to fight a war you do not believe in? For two former soldiers whose unit was ordered to deploy to Iraq in April 2005, the answer came in the form of work slowdowns, letter-writing campaigns, and one-on-one organizing with fellow soldiers. The result: they helped prevent their unit from deploying to a war zone. Afghanistan: Ten reasons to resist
By Courage to Resist. August 5, 2009
Afghanistan resister Victor Agosto gets only 30 days jail!Update: Victor Agosto was released from jail on August 28, 2009 and expected to be processed out of the Army completely by the end of September!
By Courage to Resist. August 12, 2009 update Army Spc. Victor Agosto was court-martialed and convicted Wednesday, August 5, at Fort Hood, Texas for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan. He was sentenced to only 30 days in incarceration--which has been outsourced to the local county jail. Victor's supporters hope that he will soon be discharged "for the good of the service" following his return to his unit in a few weeks. More Articles...
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Author and historian, "A People's History of the United States"
