This is the best news I’ve seen in a long, long time. Chelsea Manning, the US army soldier who became one of the most prominent whistleblowers of modern times when she exposed the nature of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who then went on to pay the price with
Continue readingTag: how the us supports its troops
wmtc: 11.11: honour the dead by committing to peace
Robert Fisk, in The Independent: But as the years passed, old Bill Fisk became very ruminative about the Great War. He learned that Haig had lied, that he himself had fought for a world that betrayed him, that 20,000 British dead on the first day of the Somme – which
Continue readingwmtc: a war resister connects the dots: canada, is this the war you want to fight?
A U.S. war resister in Canada writes in this NOW Magazine. Very soon you will begin to hear about Canadian planes sending “humanitarian aid” of food and medical supplies to those affected by the fighting. . . . And now ISIL is touted as the new enemy from the darkness
Continue readingwmtc: u.s. war resisters in canada are at serious risk. here’s how you can help.
The War Resisters Support Campaign is facing an unprecedented crisis. Since war resister Kimberly Rivera was forced out of the country in September 2012, there had been no movement on any war resister’s case. Then, within one month, five war resisters received notices that decisions have been made in their
Continue readingwmtc: march 19, 2003: don’t call it a failure. it was a huge success for so many.
Eleven years ago today, the US invaded Iraq. This unprovoked invasion of another country that had not threatened the United States was justified by the pretense of finding weapons of mass destruction (which the US knew did not exist), and as payback for 9/11 (which the US knew Iraq had
Continue readingwmtc: today is chelsea manning’s fourth birthday behind bars
Private Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning), who risked her freedom and her life so that people would see the truth about the US occupation of Iraq, is spending another birthday in prison. This is Manning’s fourth birthday behind bars. She was held in solitary confinement (a recognized form of torture)
Continue readingwmtc: coming soon: let them stay week 2014
Maybe you thought we gave up and went away? Not a chance. The War Resisters Support Campaign is still working to make Canada a safe haven for people of peace and conscience. Several US war resisters were forced out of Canada, court martialed, and given harsh prison sentences by the
Continue readingwmtc: war resister kimberly rivera released from prison in u.s.
At long last, Iraq War resister Kim Rivera is out of prison and reunited with her family. This is great news, the best news. I should be thrilled, but the whole situation makes me so sad that I can’t muster much joy.
Continue readingwmtc: update on kimberly rivera and how you can help
Three days ago, Iraq War resister Kimberly Rivera gave birth to a son, Matthew Kaden, in a military hospital in San Diego. As soon as her hospital stay ends (which may have already happened), Kim will be taken back to prison. Her newborn baby will stay with his father and
Continue readingwmtc: the war continues to kill: the wounded survivors, and those killed by their own conscience
Here are two excellent, heartbreaking stories about what happens to those who survive and don’t survive war. The first, excerpted from Ann Jones’ book They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America’s Wars — the Untold Story: An older Army officer calls me over and gestures toward the empty
Continue readingwmtc: how canada supports it troops: by telling them to shut up
Thanks for your service, soldier. Now shut up, and that’s an order. Canada’s wounded soldiers are being required to sign a form agreeing not to criticize their superiors on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter, the Ottawa Citizen reported Friday. The form reportedly also asks injured soldiers not
Continue readingwmtc: how you can support chelsea manning
Here are two important things you can do to help support Chelsea Manning. 1. Do whatever you can to work for her pardon. You can sign the petition to President Obama here. You have to create an account, but that only takes a few moments, and the form accepts Canadian
Continue readingwmtc: her name is chelsea and she is a hero – and a scapegoat
A while back, I saw a blog post angrily asking why everyone referred to Bradley Manning as a man when it is “known” that he is trans. The answer is simple: out of respect. That’s how Manning was identifying. Period. Anything else was rumour. Now that Manning’s court martial (fake
Continue readingwmtc: bradley manning in his own words
In case you haven’t seen it, this link at Democracy Now! has the transcript of Bradley Manning’s statement, read by his lawyer David Coombs, after Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The decisions that I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the
Continue readingwmtc: free bradley manning, and all war resisters
My thoughts on the Bradley Manning verdict at Socialist.ca: here.
Continue readingwmtc: bradley manning’s apology: the triumph of torture
Earlier this week, Bradley Manning’s defense ended its case in Manning’s sentencing hearing. Manning made a statement to the military court: an apology. Reading it, I thought of 1984, when Winston faces the terror of being eaten alive by rats, and he tells his tormentors what they want to hear.
Continue readingwmtc: brandon toy: i have come to believe that the true insanity is doing nothing
Brandon Toy, writing in Common Dreams. I hereby resign in protest effective immediately. I have served the post-911 Military Industrial complex for 10 years, first as a soldier in Baghdad, and now as a defense contractor. At the time of my enlistment, I believed in the cause. I was ignorant,
Continue readingwmtc: amnesty international calls for release of war resister kimberly rivera: please write a letter in support
Amnesty International is calling for the release of war resister Kimberly Rivera, who was forced out of Canada by the Harper Government. Will you please write a letter in support of her release? Here’s how. If you want to write to Kim, you can reach her at: Kimberly RiveraP.O. Box
Continue readingwmtc: read matt taibbi on bradley manning court martial
While I’m not writing, I hope you will read this excellent article by Matt Taibbi on mainstream media coverage of the Bradley Manning court martial. I cannot understand why good writers like Taibbi continue to refer to the “Bradley Manning trial”. A trial is, in theory, an impartial hearing, where
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