“It’s a belief of the soldiers I’ve talked to that any troop increase over here, it’s just going to be more sitting ducks, more targets,” said Sgt. Ronn Cantu in a “Democracy Now!” interview the day following the announced troop escalation.
Sgt. Cantu, 28, is a member of the First Cavalry Division stationed in Iraq and a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War . He is currently on his second tour in Iraq and recently signed the “Appeal for Redress” a petition to Congress calling for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The appeal, currently signed by over 1,000 active duty troops, will be delivered to Congress on January 16. Sgt. Cantu also started a forum called Soldier Voices to provide a place for other soldiers to speak about the Iraq war.
Sgt. Cantu joined the Army in 1998 and re-enlisted in 2003 after war was declared on Iraq. “My feelings that I had run away when my country needed me…led me to signing back-up.” But after serving a tour in Iraq his feelings about the war began to shift. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized that all the reasons for us going into Iraq were false,” said Sgt. Ronn Cantu in an essay entitled “What Exactly are We Dying For?” posted on the Iraq Veteran Against the War website.
Sgt. Cantu continues to exercise his free speech rights within the military and continues to post to the forum, Soldier Voices. He has the support of his family in his courageous stand to make his voice heard.”Our family supports Ronn 100% for his courage and bravery to do what he is doing. We deeply care about all the troops in Iraq. Ronn would not take these risks if he did not have the support of many, many people who believe in him in Iraq, in the United States, and other parts of the world,” said Lisa Cantu, Ronn’s sister.
Additional Info:
By Ronn Cantu October 26, 2006″One Soldier’s Musings”
By Ronn Cantu November 18, 2006″Democracy Now!” Interview with Sgt. Ronn Cantu
January 11, 2007
By Marc Cooper, The Nation. January 7, 2007
“Courage to Resist puts the slogan of “support the troops but not the war” into practice every day. Their work to publicize and support the courage of GI resisters is an essential component of stopping the war machine.”
