Mr. Bush: We demand you Bring our troops home!
September 12, 2005   |   www.standwand.org

Popular perception has it that the peace was shattered when those planes slammed into the World Trade Towers. And somehow, W took this sentiment and morphed it into the "war on terror." It was a stretch, but he managed to make the link in people's minds between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein; and he used the specter of the "mushroom cloud" to seal the deal. Now, finally, bit by bit, the fabric of this justification for the Iraq war is tearing in many spots. There was no connection between al Queda and Hussein; there was no possibility of a mushroom cloud. There was no plan for after the invasion of Baghdad. There was no sense of how much this war would cost -- in lives, in money, in security.

1. STARS: Students Taking Action for Real Security!
   

   A Point of Clarity Begins a Conscientious Objector’s Journey,
   by Amy Pincus Merwin and Steven Merwin, LCSW

2. If you don’t know, now you know-
   Some questions to consider before you enlist in the military

3. Ways to STAND and take action-
   How to organize and mobilize around conscientious objection to war

4. Heads Up!
   Check out the Demilitarization Guide
5. On the News-
   Empowered students taking back their communities

6. Update from National WAND
7. Announcements/Internships

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1) STARS: A Point of Clarity Begins a Conscientious Objector's Journey

by Amy Pincus Merwin and Steven Merwin, LCSW

Point of Clarity is the moment of realization when, for reasons of conscience, one refuses to take part in warfare.

Much has happened since spring 2005 to influence Americans' attitudes about the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Until recently, the peace movement had become no less active, but much less visible in the public eye. However, since the beginning of August, Cindy Sheehan's inspiration and courage -- combined with the dedication and vocal, active involvement of the Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) -- the peace movement, led directly by those families, has gained ongoing press coverage that we hope will continue during their bus caravan up to and through the massive peace marches planned on September 24th and being held in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.

As of July 2005, according to the Department of Defense, the recruitment numbers for this year for the volunteer active duty recruiting forces met their goals, although the reserve forces generally remain below their goals. And the retention goals of all branches of the military met their goals except for the army, which was at 89% of its goal, and the retention of military reserves was below their goals, except for the Marine Corps and Air Force Reserves. But these numbers might not reflect the truth because of the Department of Defense's use of stop loss orders over the last two years.

"Stop loss" orders block individual soldiers from leaving at the end of their term of enlistment if their unit has been mobilized or is scheduled for deployment. Some 40,000 Army, Reserve and National Guard troops have been served with "stop-loss" orders since 2003. In some cases, individual soldiers have been forced to serve more than 12 months past the end of their contract.

The military is also using other forms of de-facto drafting. To bring Guard and Reserve units up to full strength, the military has begun a broader call-up of the "Individual Ready Reserve" (IRR)—some 114,000 people who have left the military but are still on the books for potential mobilization, ostensibly due to their specialized skills. Soldiers for The Truth reported on May 17, 2005 that hundreds of IRR infantry, as well as specialists, were called up.

The implementation of the military's stop loss program, combined with the existing poverty draft and the military's lowering of enlistment standards since spring, may account for some branches of the military meeting or even slightly exceeding their recruitment and retention goals since the dire forecasts in spring 2005 which showed that the military -- especially the Army -- was short of its recruitment goals by up to 80,000 people. Another factor that makes it appear that the military has met its goals might be that in spring 2005 they lowered their goal numbers to reflect what might be feasible, although the military actually needs more, rather than fewer personnel to achieve the Bush administration's goal of 'spreading democracy' to the world.

Also, in spring, it came to light that military recruiters were using unacceptable means to meet their recruitment goals [CBS News and Common Dreams], with excessive pressure being placed on recruiters, [Click here] who for all their faults, are also in many cases trading their positions, perhaps in war zones, by agreeing to be recruiters instead. In addition, the military has created incentives to induce new recruits.

And amazingly, the military is still struggling to meet its goals, even with its great advantages to reach out to American youth through its vast advertising budget, its high school recruiting buses, vans and paid recruiting staff, the new appeals to parents to let their children join the armed forces and the 'No Child Left Behind Act' provision that requires schools to provide student names to military recruiters unless the student or parent opt-out.

There is much dissent within our troops stationed in Iraq and at home due to the U.S. military’s stop-loss policy, extended and repeated tours, the recall of soldiers who had retired or otherwise returned to civilian life, and a loss of faith in the purpose and mission of the invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Sadly, the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq is now over 1,800, and the wounded and those experiencing PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) numbers over 10,000. The Bush administration has been trying to fill the gap with Reserve and National Guard troops, but this has strained quotas, and citizens in Vermont and Oregon have asked their state governments to bring home their National Guard troops. In addition, the Pentagon has listed more than 5,500 U.S. soldiers as deserters -- the vast majority of whom are hidden in the United States.

The recent increase of insurgent activity in Iraq, combined with the rise in soldier deaths and Gold Star Families for Peace's galvanization of the peace movement, is inspiring more parents and students to question their interest in joining the military as a means to go to college, express their patriotism or help them 'grow-up'.

Why the draft might be planned

On March 31, the United States Selective Service reported to President Bush that it is ready to implement a U.S. military draft within 75 days. With that plan in place, a draft could be called anytime the Department of Defense and the Congress agree to do so.

As a result, Point of Clarity remains concerned that the Bush administration in its desperation to fulfill it stated goals in Iraq (and elsewhere throughout the world), now being justified as 'completing the mission to honor the fallen', will at some point in the future reinstate the draft.

With the National Guard troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, who will be sent to help the people in New Orleans? Traditionally, duties like helping in a national disaster have been the purview of the National Guard. The complete lack of foresight and planning for an emergency like this is also reflected in the Bush administration's lack of planning for the post-invasion of and exit strategy from Iraq, leaving each American to question: "Are the people in the Bush administration competent? Do they care about our troops, or the people in New Orleans, or anyone but their wealthy, corporate cronies? Why are the troops predominately people of color and/or low-income? Is this fact a result of a poverty draft? And sadly, is there a parallel to the fact that the people abandoned in New Orleans are predominately people of color and low-income?"

Ironically, funds that were intended to re-build the levees in New Orleans to protect the city from a Category Four hurricane actually were diverted to the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and instead the levees were only fortified to protect the city from a Category Three hurricane.  So, the occupation of Iraq has had one more direct impact on hurting the American people, in addition to the loss of lives, the devastation of the American economy, the neglect of infrastructures, social services, and schools, and the hurt that we all experience watching these actions happen in our name, with our tax dollars and without our consent.

We are peaceful people

We, along with other concerned citizens, come from a culture of peace and understanding, as do our children. As former and present anti-war activists, conscientious objectors, draft counselors, and war veterans, we have had our point of clarity, as have our children. We believe in the personal freedoms guaranteed to us in the U.S. Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment, in which it is stated, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

We also know that there are means to the goal of achieving democracy and peace in each nation other than through pre-emptive war, invasion and occupation of foreign countries. Every culture and sovereign nation ought to be free to define their own governance, whether the U.S. government agrees with it or not.

Learn more and register as a Conscientious Objector at www.pointofclarity.org or contact us at info@pointofclarity.org

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Amy Pincus Merwin is a writer, and radio and TV producer. She produces InForm Radio, a progressive news and community affairs program for Eugene and Portland radio stations, and InFormed Talk, a weekly Eugene-based interview, dialogue and call-in radio show. www.informproductions.com

Steven Merwin, LCSW is a Vietnam-era veteran. He is a family therapist with a private practice in Eugene and Corvallis. He has expertise in grief, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a practitioner of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).

Together they have begun Point of Clarity [www.pointofclarity.org], an online registry for conscientious objection.

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2. If you don't know, now you know.

Military recruiters and ads promise:
Job training...money for college…adventure...leadership skills and more...

Before you join, take a good look at what you're getting into.

Here are some things to consider:  

• Will enlistment help me achieve my goals?
• Am I trying to escape my own problems?
• Am I willing to give up control?
• Am I willing to kill... and be killed?
• Do I have other options?
• If You Talk with a Recruiter. Don't rely only on the recruiter.
• Take along a relative or friend.
• Never give false information or cover up anything.
• If You Decide to Enlist...

AFSC site has more.

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3. Ways to STAND and take action!

• Support and education tools regarding the proposed U.S. military draft, the history of previous drafts, and current news about Conscientious Objection.
• Information about options for becoming a Conscientious Objector.
• An online registry declaration for Conscientious Objector status.
• Documentation to be printed and notarized for the Conscientious Objector ‘file’ support to be presented to the draft board.
• Information about the rules and regulations regarding Conscientious Objector status in order to express a person’s point of view to the draft board.
• A method to connect with other COs regionally and nationally.
• Organizing tools to network, educate, and empower COs for the purposes of supporting each other; educating others in their area; building a CO movement; taking and making actions regarding COs and war resistance; and networking with and supporting other peace and justice groups and their efforts.

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4. Heads up! Some organizations putting in major work

Nuclear Peace Foundation has an amazing Demilitarization guide essential for the activist in YOU!!!!!

Description
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is pleased to announce the publication of "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste: A Guide to the Demilitarization of America's Youth & Students." Also called the "Demil Guide" for short, this excellent resource was written and produced by and for youth and students.

"Militarization" may not be a concept you're familiar with, but after reading a few articles in this guide, you'll have a better understanding of it. While few people would argue that a country can survive unprotected, this glorification of the military ignores the fact that most positive change in the United States has come from people standing up to the government, big corporations, and other forms of organized violence and crime. The Demil Guide included articles on military recruiting in high schools, universities of mass destruction, how to struggle against militarism, organizing tools and success stories.

For hard copies, please email your requests to stand@wand.org or call 404-524-5999
To download a PDF version, click here.

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5. ON THE NEWS

·         How Black youth are resisting military recruitment in their neighborhoods
http://journals.aol.com/bloomingtoncp/news/entries/1913

·         Veterans and military families say: 'Bring troops home now - and care for them'
http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/view/841/1/83

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6. Update from National WAND

The war on Iraq will probably end up costing more than the Vietnam war. And yet, the President is determined to mail you (more importantly, the wealthiest among us) a tidy rebate check.

How can he pull this off? First, the war is all funded outside the regular federal budget: it's all "supplemental." This sorta kinda means that it’s not all that visible.

Second, there's a whole lotta deficit spending going on. Which actually really means that we’re getting ourselves into a whole lotta debt.

Some days, you wonder about this administration and the cronies: do they not have children? or grandchildren? They have some sort of weird sense that they can squander finite, precious resources, consequences be damned: federal budget dollars, young lives, the environment, oil reserves, you name it.

What is their plan for later (like, in a few years)? Are they just buying up enough of all that to retire away and keep themselves safe?

Just what happens to the rest of us?

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7. Announcements/Internships