Trouble in the Ranks
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p>Private Jeremiah Adler wrote home on his sixth day in Army boot
camp:
"’I am so fucked up right now... I feel that if I
stay here much longer I am not going to be the same person anymore.
I have to GO. Please help... Every minute you sit at home I am
stuck in a shithole, stripped of self-respect, pride, will, hope,
love, faith, worth, everything. Everything I have ever held dear
has been taken away. This fucks with your head... This makes you
believe you ARE worthless shit. Please help. By the time you get
this, things will be worse.’"
Shortly after writing this, his unit was scheduled to ship out,
and Jeremiah went AWOL (absent without leave).
 <p>Private Jeremiah Adler wrote home on his sixth day in Army boot
 camp:</p>
 <blockquote>
   <p>"’I am so fucked up right now... I feel that if I
   stay here much longer I am not going to be the same person anymore.
   I have to GO. Please help... Every minute you sit at home I am
   stuck in a shithole, stripped of self-respect, pride, will, hope,
   love, faith, worth, everything. Everything I have ever held dear
   has been taken away. This fucks with your head... This makes you
   believe you ARE worthless shit. Please help. By the time you get
   this, things will be worse.’"</p>
 </blockquote>
 <p>Shortly after writing this, his unit was scheduled to ship out,
 and Jeremiah went AWOL (absent without leave).</p>
 <p>There is a lot of that going on. According to <em>CBS News</em>
 reports, the Pentagon officially says that 5,500 troops have deserted
 since the start of the war. Some have fled to Canada. Others just
 left on leave and didn’t come back. Many of them are Army
 reservists who thought of themselves as "weekend warriors"
 and have now found themselves repeating tours of duty in the
 occupation zones, with no end in sight.</p>
 <p>At the same time, the Army and Marines are having a harder and
 harder time filling the ranks of their volunteer military. The
 war-planners want to expand their military by 30,000, and their Army
 recruiters are rapidly falling "behind schedule." One
 article in the Associated Press (March 8) pointed out that young
 Black men and women are now less willing to join.</p>
 <p>An August 2004 study for the Army wrote: "More African
 Americans identify having to fight for a cause they don’t
 support as a barrier to military service." The study added that
 attitudes toward the army had "grown more negative" among
 all groups of American youth.</p>
 <p>The occupation of Iraq continues without end. The casualties are
 mounting. Many people question why the invasion of Iraq was launched
 in the first place, and many understand that the government lied
 about its motives for going in.</p>
 <p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
 <p>I was preparing to go to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to cover the
 protests there marking the second anniversary of the huge
 demonstrations against the U.S. war on Iraq. And I was suddenly
 reminded of how I first learned about the resistance of soldiers
 during the Vietnam War.</p>
 <p>I was fortunate to have a progressive teacher in a suburban
 Chicago-area high school who showed the movie <em>Only The
 Beginning</em>. This is a film about GI’s who came back from
 Vietnam radically transformed by their experience. To this day, I
 know that my development as a revolutionary communist was greatly
 impacted by a scene in that documentary.</p>
 <p>The film, made in the ’70s, shows a long line of GI’s
 throwing their purple hearts and other medals at the steps of the
 Congress. What struck me was one vet who stepped up to a microphone
 and said, "If I ever have to fight again it will be to take
 these steps." It sent chills down my spine, you know, in a good
 way.</p>
 <p>It led me to want to understand more deeply how someone could go
 into the military looking at the world one way- -and come out seeing
 the system that military enforces and defends as the enemy.</p>
 <p>It is a trip to think about how different the world is now than it
 was in the 1960s and ’70s. One could write whole books on it,
 I’m sure. On the one hand, the rulers of the U.S. empire have
 always told their armed forces that each war was about bringing
 "democracy" to someone and about securing the "free
 world" from threats.</p>
 <p>But, at the same time, there are real differences in the war plans
 and the mentality of this post-9/11 world. These rulers have designs
 to recast the world under U.S. domination—focusing most
 intensely, right now, on the strategic and oil-rich Middle East.</p>
 <p>And it stands out that this global crusade is described and
 promoted in openly messianic ways. Many representatives and top
 generals of the U.S. ruling class openly describe this "war on
 terror" as a holy war between godly forces and evil (even
 demonic) enemies. The president himself, George W., constantly talks
 about getting "god’s guidance" in a global struggle
 against "evil doers." This talk of "god’s
 will," "crusades," and "getting the bad
 guys" should not be mistaken for sheer lunacy. It is a madness
 with method—which is to appeal to and <em>deceive</em>
 fundamentalist religious people who believe in <em>revealed</em>
 truth.</p>
 <p>Millions of people who see so clearly through the blatant lies
 that have justified the war on Iraq wonder how anyone could still
 believe that there are weapons of mass destruction there. But when
 George W. says "trust me," the hidden meaning for some
 people is that this man has god’s ear, and what he says is
 truth "revealed by god."</p>
 <p>All this connects closely with intense and well-developed plans
 for the U.S. military.</p>
 <p>Bob Avakian has pointed out that "Within the armed forces
 there has been, for some time now, a development and cultivation of a
 situation in which the outlook of the fundamentalist reactionaries
 occupies a prominent place, including among higher level
 officers." The U.S. officer corps has become increasingly
 characterized by an aggressively conservative political
 "partisanship." And, within that, extreme hard-core
 Christian fascist and theocratic networks have had an increasing
 influence among officers and especially within the Pentagon’s
 elite commando units.</p>
 <p>Overall, the international policy decisions of the Bush regime are
 being shaped by more secular "neocons," but the Christian
 fascists have their own growing influence within the
 government—and they have their own agenda for turning this
 country into a theocracy. And it is extremely significant and
 dangerous that such forces have connections and followers in
 strategic parts of the military. And for these extreme hard-core
 military networks, all the rhetoric about a "global
 crusade" is taken quite literally—they see the U.S.
 attacks on other countries as a divine war against evil. And this
 dovetails with their fascistic belief that U.S. society itself must
 be similarly purged of satanic and disloyal forces.</p>
 <p>And this makes it all the more significant and potentially
 important that the war in Iraq has stimulated the growth of something
 quite different inside the military as well — disillusionment,
 questioning, rising desertion, discontent and the potential for wider
 and more politically conscious resistance.</p>
 <p>If you look at these developments in the <em>context</em> of the
 rise of extreme and rightwing forces — you can see how
 revealing it is that Michael Moore’s irreverent Bush-bashing
 movie <em>Fahrenheit 9/11</em> was such a powerful underground hit
 within the military—with bootleg DVDs passing hand-to-hand, and
 with movie theaters sold out in Southern military towns.</p>
 <p>If there is one thing that <em>can</em> be learned from the 1960s,
 it is that powerful resistance among the GIs themselves can
 profoundly undermine the plans of the empire-builders, and can even
 emerge as a factor when the government attempts to use its military
 against people inside the U.S.</p>
 <p>There are the beginnings of a real movement of resistance among
 sections of GI’s and their families. Some of the more organized
 forces are already playing a role within the current anti-war
 movement overall.</p>
 <p>And while people within this movement hold a wide range of
 political views, there is a common theme among them of stopping the
 war in Iraq and bringing the U.S. troops home.</p>
 <p>I have gathered some of the stories of the people involved in this
 new and growing resistance. In some cases, I drew from articles and
 interviews they have written in the press. In other cases, I was able
 to talk to them directly on behalf of the <em>Revolutionary
 Worker</em> newspaper. And, at the same time, it is obvious that
 there is much more to learn about what is going on—active duty
 soldiers and their families face heavy threats and retaliation from
 the military. And so much of what is going on remains unspoken and
 unreported.</p>
 <h2>A Building Resistance Within the Military</h2>
 <p>Jeffery House, an attorney, represents at least five GI’s
 who have fled to Canada — including Jeremy Heinz and Darrel
 Anderson. In an online interview, he described how he speaks to at
 least 12 other AWOL GI’s in Canada every week. Jeremy Heinz was
 one of the first cases of a recruit who filed as a
 "conscientious objector" prior to going to Canada. This
 case could set a precedent on how Canada reacts to U.S. GI’s
 going there for refuge.</p>
 <p>Another case Jeffery House spoke about in the same interview was
 that of Darrel Anderson. Anderson refused orders to fire on a car
 full of Iraqi civilians. Three days later he was wounded by a
 road-side bomb and ended up receiving a purple heart. When Anderson
 was home on leave in Lexington, Kentucky and scheduled to go back to
 Iraq, he escaped to Canada.</p>
 <p>A major story by Kathy Dobie in the March 1 issue of
 <em>Harpers</em> magazine follows different GI’s who have fled
 the military, including right after basic training. Dobie points out
 that the number of calls to GI Rights Hotline has "almost
 doubled from 17,000 in 2001 to 33,000 in the last year."</p>
 <p>I called the GI Rights Hotline myself and spoke to a friendly guy
 named Steve. He informed me that around 30 percent of the calls they
 get were from GI’s considering going AWOL. Steve also said many
 of the calls they get are from GI’s still in boot camp. While
 he couldn’t give a percentage, he said that when folks get to
 boot camp it is often traumatizing because of how oppressive it is
 and because it is wholly different than what had been promised by
 recruiters.</p>
 <p>The <em>Harpers</em> article follows Jeremiah Adler, who decided
 to go AWOL before being shipped off to Iraq. Dobie quotes from his
 letters home during the first few days of boot camp: "
 ’I’m horrified by some of the things that they talk
 about. If you were in the civilian world and openly talked about
 killing people you would be an outcast, but here people openly talk
 about it, like it’s going to be fun.’ In his second
 letter, written while he was doing guard duty, he tells his parents
 how sad the barracks are at night. ’You can hear people trying
 to make sure no one hears them cry under their covers.’</p>
 <p>"In his last letter home, written on his sixth day,
 Jeremiah’s handwriting disintegrates; ’HELP ME’ is
 scrawled across one page. He was due to ship to basic training in the
 morning. He had decided to refuse. ’I’ve heard that they
 try to intimidate you, ganging up on you, threatening you. I heard
 that they will throw your bags on the bus, and almost force you on.
 See what I am up against? I have nothing on my side... I am so fucked
 up right now... I feel that if I stay here much longer I am not going
 to be the same person anymore. I have to GO. Please help.’
 "</p>
 <p>Jeremiah escaped with another new recruit before being shipped off
 to Iraq.</p>
 <h2>Soldiers’ Stories</h2>
 <p>Mike Hoffman is the co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
 Mike has been part of a movement of soldiers and their families that
 has become increasingly visible, outspoken and active against the war
 in Iraq.</p>
 <p>I was able to catch up with Mike and talk with him about his own
 process of transformation. Mike had joined the Marines before
 September 11, but for him the questions started around that time.</p>
 <p>He told me, "When the days of September 11 happened,
 everything in the world turned upside down for those in the U.S. and
 especially those in the military. You know a couple of months before
 September 11, just by pure chance I had picked up some books by Noam
 Chomsky and started reading his works, all about U.S. foreign policy.
 There was a big upheaval after September 11. While people were saying
 let’s go kill whoever did it, I was one of the few people who
 was asking ’Well, why did it happen?’"</p>
 <p>Discussions started with Mike and a small group of friends in the
 Marines about the question of going into Iraq. "It was
 everything from Iraq, the real reasons for going in there, and a lot
 of history, a lot of griping and talking about the history behind it.
 A lot of this happened in the six or seven months prior to going to
 Iraq."</p>
 <p>Mike was part of the initial U.S. invasion into Iraq. The whole
 time he was filled with questions. He told me that the U.S. invasion
 into Iraq was fast paced and that deeper discussions between him and
 his small group of friends got put on hold. Over the course of the
 invasion there did develop a consensus among Mike and his friends
 that what the U.S. was doing was wrong, what they were a part of was
 wrong. Mike felt stuck and decided to do what he had to do to get
 home alive.</p>
 <p>Mike says that there wasn’t a particular event that
 sharpened things up for him. He talked about how deeply he was
 affected by what was happening to the Iraqi people. "That is one
 of the main things that affects a lot of us—to realize what we
 have done to the people of Iraq. And even though we might not have
 direct relationships with them, a lot of this is about realizing that
 we have done horrible things to the people of Iraq and that we are
 responsible for so much of the destruction of their country. Ending
 this war is the first step to helping them get back on their
 feet."</p>
 <p>Mike served in Iraq for two and a half months. After coming back,
 the whole experience weighed heavy on his mind. He explained, "I
 was against the war before I went over there, and when I came back
 very unhappy about what had happened. I didn’t feel good about
 partaking in it as everyone was expecting of me. And I felt very lost
 in a certain respect. I went around without any place to put these
 feelings until I by chance was introduced to Veterans for Peace. And
 they gave me a direction and made me feel welcome—let me know I
 was not the first person to go to war and feel like this. Other
 people who had been in situations like mine had been through the same
 thing. It was really important for me."</p>
 <p>I asked Mike what is the process that GI’s go through that
 causes them to question their mission. He explained it this way:
 "Getting shot at for certain people can be a very radicalizing
 experience. When your life is put on the line for something and you
 don’t understand the reason or are dead set against it, it can
 have a huge effect for your life and your outlook on things. So
 really, people come home with a lot of questions and generally
 don’t like the answers they get. It makes them open to ask
 questions of why things are happening. Maybe the most obvious one is,
 Bush talks about the ’terrorists,’ that they hate us
 because we have freedom. Then you come back and realize that is not
 really the reason. They hate us because we do things like invade
 Iraq. And that really gets people to think about things in a
 different light."</p>
 <p>Mike continued, "A lot of the guys didn’t come out of
 Iraq talking about American empire. They looked around and saw that
 they were given one bill of goods going into Iraq about what their
 mission is—what they are doing, what the military is doing
 overall. Then they go into Iraq and all this falls apart in front of
 them. They come home just questioning or dead set against this one
 thing. By seeing what is going on there in Iraq, it gives you the
 tools and the initiative to realize everything else that is going on
 around them."</p>
 <p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
 <p>Sgt. Kevin Benderman, 40 years old, is a 10-year veteran of the
 Army. He is currently being court-martialed for refusing to return to
 Iraq. He has been charged with desertion for refusing to deploy with
 his unit, and he faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.</p>
 <p>During a 15-month leave, Benderman had time to reflect on what he
 saw during his first tour in Iraq in 2003. After refusing to return
 he told the Associated Press, "Some people may be born a
 conscientious objector, but sometimes people realize through certain
 events in their lives that the path they’re on is the wrong
 one."</p>
 <p>Benderman said, "The idea was: Do I really want to stay in an
 organization where the sole purpose is to kill?’"</p>
 <p>Kevin and his wife have written a number of statements relating to
 his decision not to return. Particularly vivid and disturbing are his
 descriptions of a young 10-year-old girl he saw while his convoy was
 traveling through Iraq: "Her arm was burned, third-degree burns,
 just black. And she was standing there with her mother begging for
 help." The convoy didn’t stop. He also describes being
 haunted by images of wild dogs eating carcasses in mass graves. May
 11 has been set for the date of his court martial.</p>
 <p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
 <p>Camilo Mejia was released last month after serving nine months in
 prison for refusing to return to Iraq. Camilo was one of the first
 GI’s who publicly spoke out against what he had seen the U.S.
 military doing in Iraq, including torture of prisoners and murder of
 innocent civilians. During his imprisonment Camilo received a
 Courageous Resisters Award from Refuse and Resist! In a statement
 written for that occasion Camilo said, "Many have called me a
 hero. I believe I can be found somewhere in the middle. To those who
 have called me a hero, I say I don’t believe in heroes but I
 believe that ordinary people can do extraordinary things."</p>
 <p>He also said in the same statement, "I accept this award on
 behalf of those who are still quiet, those who continue to betray
 their conscience, those who are not calling evil more clearly by its
 name, those of us who are still not doing enough to refuse and
 resist. I accept this award knowing in my heart that I don’t
 deserve it. I accept this award as a promise that I will live to earn
 it. I will live to fulfill my duty to the people. I will live to
 speak for those who know evil but are afraid to call it by its name.
 I accept this award with a promise that I will live my life striving
 to deserve it. I will live my life to refuse and resist."</p>
 <p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
 <p>Camilo has served as inspiration to many other GI’s who
 refuse return or go in the first place to Iraq. This includes people
 like Petty Officer Third Class Pablo Pedres, who on December 6, 2004,
 reported to the 32nd Naval Station in San Diego wearing civilian
 clothes and a T-shirt that read: "Like a cabinet member, I
 resign."</p>
 <p>He refused to ship out for the Persian Gulf on board the USS
 Bonhomme. Pablo’s action was one of the few public displays of
 protest by U.S. troops prior to being shipped off to Iraq. He told
 the press, "I just want people to know how many Americans feel
 about the war. It’s not just a few crazy liberals trying to get
 the attention of the media."</p>
 <p>The Navy officers on hand tried to persuade him to board the ship
 and cease the protest, but Pablo maintained his position and did not
 board the ship. He has since been a very outspoken critic of the U.S.
 occupation of Iraq.</p>
 <p>When asked about the consequences of his actions Pedro said,
 "I’d rather do military prison time than six months of
 dirty work for a war that I and many others do not support."</p>
 <h2>Broader Resistance Developing Inside</h2>
 <p>While the high number of AWOL’s is an indication of
 questions that are being raised about the war in Iraq, there are
 other kinds of resistance taking place among troops that are still
 serving.</p>
 <p>Mike Hoffman highlighted some significant aspects of this
 resistance to me. He said he’s heard that "there are small
 units that when sent off on patrol, instead of doing an actual patrol
 they all just jump in the Humvee and they just cruise through town as
 fast as possible without getting into a wreck and come back and say
 ’Yeah we went on patrol.’ They don’t want to do a
 full patrol because they don’t want to risk their
 lives."</p>
 <p>"You see a lot of individual acts of resistance,"
 Hoffman told me. "Like there’s one guy who is in the Army
 whose mom is in MFSO [Military Families Speak Out]. He is in Iraq
 right now and he refuses to wear any of his badges—calls them
 his ’man scout’ badges and calls his entire chain of
 command by their first name. There are individual acts like
 that."</p>
 <p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
 <p>What is developing among sections of U.S. troops and family
 members is an extremely significant part of the broader anti-war
 movement. There is a highly important unraveling process going on
 now—where some people go from loyalty betrayed to a deeper
 grasp of the ambitions and underpinnings of U.S. empire. In the days
 and months ahead, many more will find themselves questioning what it
 is they are really fighting for and who that serves. And it is
 important that they also get a chance to glimpse a revolutionary
 future and a cause that is really worth fighting for.</p>
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