Open Letter to the Government from an AWOL Soldier

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Topic:	Sociology > Depression
User:	"Noon Cat Nick"
Date:	29 Oct 2007 08:19:54 PM
Object:	Open Letter to the Government from an AWOL Soldier

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/circello
By James Circello, Iraq Veterans Against The War
To those Businessmen and women holding seats in Congress,
To the Highest Court of America,
To every Department within the U.S. government,
To the President's Cabinet,
To the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
To the Vice President and President of the United States of America:
My name is James Circello. I am sure some of you already know who I am
now that wiretaps and spying on American citizens has been approved.
Or maybe you've heard of me when you saw my name on a comprehensive list
of Anti-War activists.
Or maybe you just know of me because I was a Sergeant in the United
States Army and served as an Airborne Infantryman for six years, went to
Iraq in March 2003 and served until March 2004, remained in the Army a
little longer before refusing to take part in the Occupation of the
Middle East and went AWOL.
I am writing you today, not asking for forgiveness for what I decided to
do, but to give you an idea of what brought me to that decision to leave
the Army and speak out against the Occupation. Though some will claim I
left for other reasons and will try to force the discussion away from
the facts and at the same time attempt to assassinate my character with
half truths and out right lies, these are the facts. If later we wish to
get into more of my personal life, we can do that: I have no fear of it.
I will first like to say that I am no longer a member of the United
States Armed Forces. When I left the military on Easter morning, April
2007, I have officially resigned from service to that military. There
are no ties between myself and an oppressive military regime set on
occupying groups of impoverished indigenous people.
I am no longer a Sergeant or a paratrooper.
I will not respect an organization that can and does, at its own will,
change entire enlistment contracts for the purpose of extending soldiers;
Gives quarterly sexual harassment courses and still allows roughly 30%
of women to be sexually assaulted in some way, shape or form;
Openly discriminates against people based on homosexuality, race, gender
and ethnic background;
Allows crimes against humanity and peace to occur and covers them up
with internal investigations;
Actively recruits young boys and girls from low level income high
schools and communities with false promises of health care, school and
job experience and fails on all accounts;
Refuses to recognize conscientious objectors (C.O.), and when
individuals apply for C.O. status that are administratively "punished"
by their chain of command;
I refuse to be a part of a military and Administration that continue to
abuse and torture, doesn't recognize the rights of detainees and allows
them to be shipped to secret detention facilities for "National
Security" purposes; a military that is illegally, based on all U.S. as
well as International Law, inside of Iraq; a military that is over
extended, under funded in a war with no foreseeable end (because time
tables give our enemy a "sense of victory", but how can the enemy have
victory when "Mission Accomplished" has been declared?); a military that
watches billions of government contracts given to private military
outfits, while they run through the streets of Iraq unchecked, and
allows soldiers to be poorly equipped and the V.A. poorly funded.; the
No Child Left Behind Act and it's policy of making it mandatory for
schools to send out the information of all students attending the school
to military recruiters, or they are threatened with being cut off from
Federal funding (I thought school was a place of
learning, not a place of turning our youth into the:
"(insert Arabic country name here) Veterans Against The War".
This and many other reasons are why I tell you today, I do not recognize
any of the warrants that may have been placed upon me. These warrants
are merely a way to silence any opposition to this criminal war. I do
not support the United States foreign policy and will not be the fool
that enforces it.
The United States has a history of using the poor of this country to
massacre and oppress the poor of other countries and I say to everyone
that is able to read this--I am no longer a member of the United States
Armed Forces.
I also say, this by no way makes me Un-American. I love this country and
feel very strongly that it can be saved and that it must be saved.
I say this without a growing ego, but my acts as of now are what the
Founding Fathers envisioned and wrote about. This is what Democracy
looks like.
Dissent isn't Un-American, it is what Patriotism means.
Patriotism is not blindly following a Flag waver, it is Direct Action.
I joined the Army after the towers of New York fell. Swept up in the
fervor, I left college to enlist. My country was attacked--I, like many,
wanted to defend it.
But here is where a majority of Americans, as well as Politicians have
made their largest mistake: Defending your country does not mean
destroying other Nations out of and/or for Revenge. But the People
bought into the outcry that we must kill to feel better, and the
Politicians sang their songs and danced their dances, in an attempt to
show who was the most Patriotic of them all!
America stayed fixed to the lies from Fox News (can it really be called
"News"?) and we watched the towers fall so many thousands of times until
we were all ready to go kill and die for the Eagle and Red, White and Blue.
Though, I will admit, I was angry and young but it didn't take me too
long to see that this wasn't about defending America, but creating an
entirely new enemy.
It was all there.
It was almost too perfect.
They are of different color.
They speak a different language.
They are a people that have been made to be poor--not a people that are
poor; there is a difference.
They follow a strange religion that Americans don't understand! A
religion so very similar to Christianity, that--get this--it recognizes
almost the same individuals as being Prophets that the Bible does.
They "hate us (you) for our (your) freedom".
They will come here and kill our women and children if we do not go
there (and kill their women and children first).
The Administration and all of Its men and women sold it and Americans
bought it.
How many people got chills when the American flag was placed there at
Ground Zero? Remember when there were so many flags outside of houses,
and flag stores ran out of them?
So I went to Iraq and I saw their faces. People that I thought wanted to
kill me, and hated me because I was free, brought me into their homes,
offered me food and something to drink.
Was the food poisoned? No.
Was it a poor family that could barely afford the food they were
offering, but offered it to me without charge or regret? You bet.
I was quickly disillusioned by the military. Senators and
Representatives from Congress would come to visit us--and we would be
told to get everything clean for the Dog and Pony Show.
We would up the security levels, to make everything look ship-shape.
When it was time for the questions and answers portion, we would never
be without a question, because the chain of command was always there for
us--and thankfully they had come up with the questions we were allowed
to ask our Representatives. This is what happens every time someone from
D.C. came for a little sight seeing visit. I can only imagine what kinds
of shows they put on now.
Long story short, I left Iraq feeling really uncomfortable with
America's position in this entire conflict. It didn't feel right. It
didn't look right. And after much soul searching and researching, I
discovered that it plain out just wasn't right.
It took me a while to finally decide to leave. I wanted to leave prior
to invading Iraq, while witnessing the illegal "Shock and Awe" that
killed so many innocent people and destroying the infrastructure of the
country that we hadn't destroyed from the first bombings in the Gulf War
and what wasn't antiquated and useless from the illegal sanctions held
over the heads of the every day Iraqi citizen.
I fell for the trap of "don't let your buddies down". And what a well
spun web it is. I can not control the conscience of another man. I can
only follow mine. And after deciding what I believe in is not consistent
with the United States military and learning that "don't let your
buddies down" is just a form of domination through guilt, I left my post
in Italy to return to America. I began speaking out against this
Occupation. I do not fear arrest. I do not stay hidden. I go to all
national events and travel the country at my own leisure.
I say this to you Congressional Democrats: you have failed us. I delayed
my going AWOL, because when I learned both Houses of the Congress were
controlled by Democrats I was confident that the war was finally over.
You ran on the platform of ending the war. I told all of my friends to
just hang on, it will be over very soon. You funded the war and you
continue to fund it. By no means is my hostility solely directed towards
the Republican bench of the government. You lied to the American people,
and more so, you failed the American people. We are finally awake and
more and more are realizing that we don't have a two party system in
America, we have a single party that is not representing the will of the
People.
Realize this Congressional Democrats, that when you agreed to continue
funding the Occupation, this was no longer the President�s war against
the Arabs.
You helped buy this Occupation and now you own it as well.
And I will remind you every time that I see your faces.
The People say end the war. Stop funding the Occupation. The Soldiers
want to come home. The insane idea of we must stay in Iraq and
Afghanistan so that these thousands of soldiers will not have died in
vain should never be said again! We tried saying that in Vietnam! The
Iraqi people are strong and can defend themselves. They also want us out.
It took years for a G.I. Resistance to begin within the Military during
Vietnam, but I am telling you right now--the feeling of resentment is
there. The feeling that Politicians and Businesses are profiting off of
this Occupation while we suffer through extended tours and battle Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder, depleted uranium, losing friends and family
and losing our lives and limbs through wounds.
We come home and barely have time to adjust to being home before we
begin training to leave again.
Families are falling apart.
Iraqis are dying.
For what?
A red, white and blue flag that says, "I'm a Patriot"?
Dissent is Patriotic.
Open discussion is Patriotic (this to Speaker of the House Pelosi who
refuses to have an open forum with the people of her district. I believe
it is going on just over 2 Years now.)
And I say to you dissent is filling the ranks of the military and it
doesn't even need a charismatic figurehead to come forth and say
"Dissent; Desert!". They are doing it and will keep doing it.
And the military's attempt to censor free speech will not contain it.
Blogs, Youtube, Myspace: these sights, and others, weren't blocked for
any reason other than these are the most popular places to find out that
the G.I. Resistance Movement is growing daily.
So proud Patriots of America, I ask you today for nothing. You are my
Employee, never forget that. My tax dollars pay your salary, never
forget that.
I do however have demands for you:
� End the Occupation Now. Not tomorrow.
� Bring home all American troops. Replace them with a true international
coalition designed specifically for peace keeping operations, NOT
military operations.
� Remove all U.S. contractors from the Middle East that continue to
benefit off of the death of the Iraqi and Afghan people and the
destruction of their countries.
� Allow the Afghan and Iraq governments the freedom to decide what kind
of country they want to be in, not what kind of country we want them to
have.
� Allow the Afghan and Iraq governments freedom to choose who is given
reconstruction contracts - which none should be American companies, for
obvious reasons.
� Fund in full all reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and Iraq: We
destroyed their countries, by International Law we must pay. By Moral
virtue we must pay.
� Support the Troops means take care of them when they come home, not
blindly fund their continued existence in a war zone--Completely fund
the V.A. Department!
� Fund the Levees; Do NOT allow another Hurricane Katrina or Rita.
� Oversight on Gulf Region reconstruction (where is it?)--I was just in
New Orleans, it is still a disaster area two years later. Fix it now.
� Open Diplomatic negotiations with Iran--Do not allow another war to
take place. We have Diplomats that are paid by taxpayers to do just
that: to Talk and Discuss. Use Diplomats not Depleted Uranium and Cruise
Missiles.
I also want to say this before I close, I wrote it in a letter, just
yesterday, to the people of Italy that stand up and actively oppose more
U.S. military bases in their country. And it says:
The Iraq war is a War of Aggression, led by a cry of "We Will Never
Forget"; the famous quote from September 11, 2001. Well, I have
something to say for the people of the World and to the People of this
Administration, as well as to the members of the U.S. Congress.
We WILL never forget.
We will never forget that the men who hijacked those aircraft on
September 11, 2001 were not Iraqi.
We will never forget that Iraq had no Weapons of Mass Destruction
(W.M.D) when we invaded.
We will never forget that the W.M.D's that Iraq did have years before,
were sold to them by the U.S. Government.
We will never forget the millions of Iraqi men, women and children who
have suffered through the Dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, The Iraq-Iran
War, The Gulf War, Depleted Uranium, Years of Illegal Sanctions, Shock
and Awe, "Liberation" from a Tyrant only to find a new Tyrant take his
place.
We will never forget the 2 million of Iraqi men, women and children who
are now displaced refugees within their own country.
We will never forget the 1.5 million refugees in Syria, the 775,000
refugees in Jordan and the nearly 200,000 refugees in Egypt.
We will never forget the 1 million dead Iraqi men, women and children
since March 2003.
We will never forget that nearly 100,000 Iraqis flee the country each
month since 2003.
We will never forget the widows, widowers and orphans of those dead.
We will never forget the effects of depleted uranium in American
ammunition that litters the countries of the Middle East.
We will never forget the increased infant mortality rate. The sewage on
the streets. The sectarian violence that was never in the streets of
Iraq until we installed a Pro-U.S. Government.
We will never forget the destruction of Shock and Awe that destroyed
Iraq's entire infrastructure.
We will never forget Abu Ghraib.
We will never forget the Lost men and women of Guantanamo Bay and other
Secret U.S. Detention facilities.
We will never forget the every day Iraqi that is gunned down at a
Traffic Control Point by a tired American teenager.
We will never forget the sounds of Improvised Explosive Devices (I.E.D)
directed not at the American soldier, but at American Policy.
We will never forget the Women and Children gunned down at random after
an I.E.D. explodes, because they were working the vegetable fields and
were frightened and began to run.
We will never forget that War is, in fact, Terrorism. And America is the
largest State Sponsor of Terrorism.
We will never forget that the Men, Women and Children of the Middle East
may be of the same color as Saddam Hussein, but they do not have his
face. They are not him. They do not deserve what they have been made to
endure.
And we will never forget that corporations are profiting off of the
death and destruction.
We will never forget that Blackwater and other private armies, which are
in themselves illegal, are running around the Middle East killing at
will--and are left unchecked.
We will never forget amazing photo opportunities with the soldiers,
whether its walking through a market in Iraq with security all around
you and Apaches in the air, or sitting on the deck of a ship under a
"Mission Accomplished" banner.
We will never forget that a majority of the American population want the
Occupations to end and we will keep repeating it until you do what you
are paid to do - and that is, Listen to the People.
The People are United and I know that attempts will be made to have me
appear a fool and soon you will have my grade school photographs, my
coloring books, a list of every library book I have ever checked out,
and whatever other records these incredibly large and over-funded Secret
Agencies compile on Activists in America, but I do not fear you.
You have no moral authority over me.
Or any authority at all.
I do not fear you.
Any of you.
We The People,
United within The Struggle,
James Circello; Iraq Veterans Against The War
.

User: ""
Title: Re: Open Letter to the Government from an AWOL Soldier	29 Oct 2007 10:00:51 PM

Noon Cat Nick <chatdemidiSPAMBEGONE@hotmail.com> wrote:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/circello
I also say, this by no way makes me Un-American. I love this country and
feel very strongly that it can be saved and that it must be saved.

Agreed; cannot but think that it will take more than politics.
At least he repudiates the Democrats (also).
FWIW, many ppl think that Ron Paul has a lot of support
from veterans.
Can't do this justice, NCN or discuss all the details, but
I did read it.
.

User: "Rhotel1"
Title: Re: Open Letter to the Government from an AWOL Soldier	31 Oct 2007 10:29:41 PM

On Oct 29, 6:19 pm, Noon Cat Nick <chatdemidiSPAMBEG...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/circello

The references to depleted uranium are just catering to the poster
people -- Cirello has nothing to say on the subject and just throws
the word out in order to attract more supporters. The truth is that
neither Cirello nor his buds ever "battled" depleted uranium. The
only claims of illness resulting from DU are not well founded and each
claimant has a connection to the anti-DU crusade that began when
Saddam Hussein was in power. If any of you readers would like to
learn about uranium in the environment, go to DUStory -- a publicly
available e-mail has links to interesting articles about uranium and
DU. That's DUStory in Yahoo groups.
Roger Helbig
rwhelbig at gee mail dot com
.

User: "%"
Title: Re: Open Letter to the Government from an AWOL Soldier	31 Oct 2007 10:30:53 PM

"Rhotel1" <rwhelbig@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1193887781.096056.312250@q5g2000prf.googlegroups.com...

On Oct 29, 6:19 pm, Noon Cat Nick <chatdemidiSPAMBEG...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/circello

must be some sort of American thing ,
my government doesn't do anything like this
.

User: "Franz Bestuchev"
Title: Re: Open Letter to the Government from an AWOL Soldier	31 Oct 2007 11:35:34 PM

On 10/31/2007 9:30 PM, % was all like:

"Rhotel1" <rwhelbig@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1193887781.096056.312250@q5g2000prf.googlegroups.com...

On Oct 29, 6:19 pm, Noon Cat Nick <chatdemidiSPAMBEG...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/circello

must be some sort of American thing ,
my government doesn't do anything like this

Your government has uranium depleting underneath it this very moment
.

User: "slunky"
Title: Re: Open Letter to the Government from an AWOL Soldier	31 Oct 2007 10:36:13 PM