Occupation Watch: The Other Battle: Within the Ranks of the Troops

Occupation Watch Bulletin
www.occupationwatch.org
Dec. 13, 2004
By Andrea Buffa

The Other Battle: Within the Ranks of the Troops

Most Occupation Watch bulletins focus on the plight of the Iraqi people, who are the primary victims of the tragic war against and occupation of their country. But this bulletin will shed light on unrest and disaffection within the ranks of the occupation troops, the other victims of this war, who continue to die on a daily basis for the mistakes, greed and lies of their countries' politicians.

As of December 13, 2004, 1,294 U.S. troops, 74 U.K. troops, and 72 troops from other countries (Poland, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Ukraine Bulgaria, Thailand, Estonia, El Salvador, Netherlands, Slovakia, Latvia, and Hungary) have been killed in the Iraq war, according to the website Iraq Coalition Casualty Count:

http://icasualties.org/oif/

More than half of these deaths - 888 of them - occurred after Saddam Hussein, the man whose evil supposedly engendered this war, was captured, one year ago today.

Last month, November 2004, was the most deadly month for U.S. soldiers since the Iraq war began in March 2003. 136 US troops were killed in November, approximately 71 of them in the assault on Falluja. The second most deadly month for U.S. soldiers was April 2004, when 135 were killed in the first Falluja assault.

In addition to these deaths, there are some 25,000 troops who have been wounded. The Pentagon's preferred statistic is 9,556 soldiers, a number that includes only those who have been "wounded in action". But this is just the tip of the iceberg. At the end of November, the Pentagon admitted to the news show "60 Minutes" that an additional 15,000 troops have been evacuated from Iraq due so-called 'non-battle' injuries:

Iraq: The Uncounted
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=7936

The wounds are not minor ones. Many young soldiers have had faces, arms and legs blown off, according to a new article in the New England Journal of Medicine that includes a five-page spread of photographs graphically depicting the horrific injuries that are being suffered by U.S. soldiers:

Casualties of War - Military Care for the Wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8262

Caring for the Wounded in Iraq - A Photo Essay
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/24/2476

Tragically, these numbers will likely only continue to grow as the U.S. implements its plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq from about 138,000 to 150,000, in time for the January 30 election. Most of the increase in troop count will come from the extended deployment of units already in Iraq. Some of these soldiers have had their combat tours extended over and over and over again. These extensions are most difficult for National Guard and Reserve Troops who have been dragged out of civilian life to fight for extended periods in Iraq while their families struggle to survive:

U.S. Troop Level In Iraq To Grow
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8110

In this context, it is not surprising that resistance to the Iraq war is strengthening within the U.S. military. The most publicized story of resistance this week was of the soldiers who questioned Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during a town hall meeting about poor combat equipment, extended tours of duty, and pay delays:

Rumsfeld Gets Earful From Troops
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8202

But other stories this week told of greater problems being faced by the military - low morale, high rates of desertion, officer shortages, and lawsuits:

U.S. deserter numbers reach 5,500
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8233

US Army plagued by desertion and plunging morale
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8232

Officer crisis hits Army Reserve
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8209

Eight Soldiers Plan to Sue Over Army's Stop-Loss Policy
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8157

This week also saw the first hearing of a U.S. soldier who is applying for asylum in Canada. The soldier, Jeremy Hinzman, says that he refuses to go to war in Iraq because he doesn't want to be forced to commit war crimes. And in San Diego, a Navy sailor, Pablo Paredes, refused to board his ship as it prepared to embark for the Persian Gulf. He told reporters that when he joined the Navy he "never imagined, in a million years, we would go to war with somebody who had done nothing to us."

Former Marine Testifies to Atrocities in Iraq
Unit Killed Dozens of Unarmed Civilians Last Year, Canadian Refugee Board Is Told
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8264

Navy Sailor Charged As "Deserter and Fugitive" After Refusing Iraq Deployment
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8265

Meanwhile, the rhetoric that we must "support the troops" by remaining silent about the worsening situation in Iraq, rings hollow when it reaches the doorstep of the homeless shelter, which is where returning Iraq war veterans are already showing up:

Homeless Iraq vets showing up at shelters
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=8208

Occupation Watch urges people who are concerned about these issues and know that the best way to support these troops - and the Iraqi people - is to bring them home immediately, to seek assistance from the following organizations:

Bring Them Home Now
www.bringthemhomenow.org

Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
www.objector.org

GI Rights Hotline
http://girights.objector.org/

Iraq Veterans Against War
www.ivaw.net

Military Families Speak Out
www.mfso.org

Veterans For Peace
www.veteransforpeace.org

We also refer our readers to Michael Moore's new book, Will They Ever Trust Us Again? Letters from the Warzone to Michael Moore, for more about these issues in the soldiers' own words:

Dear Mike, Iraq Sucks
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=7137

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means that the lifetime care promised to wounded combat vets is becoming more fiction than fact . . . the VA simply cannot accommodate all of these guys . . . the situation will only get worse in the coming months . . . and will become a huge minus for BushCo as people find out about it . . .

:kick:

betrayed the troops. Most of them just don't know it yet.

of Viet Nam and Guf War I Vets??? What is NOT to get here??? :argh:

Iraq: The Uncounted
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=7936

The wounds are not minor ones. Many young soldiers have had faces, arms and legs blown off, according to a new article in the New England Journal of Medicine that includes a five-page spread of photographs graphically depicting the horrific injuries that are being suffered by U.S. soldiers:

Millions upon millions are being PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, EMOTIONALLY and FINANCIALLY stuffed in a meat grinder at the hands of a *lunatic war-profiteering cabal.

Americans NEED TO SEE the PICTURES of what is being done in their names.

and the repercussions of the Bush reign of terror will last for generations.