Winter Soldier: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." -Thomas Paine, 1776
Today more and more veterans and GIs of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are openly opposing these wars. Come hear from members of the local Iraq Veterans Against the War chapter about the atrocities being committed daily in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This event is a continuation of an event this past March in Silver Springs, MD where over 200 military veterans and soldiers, as well as many Iraqi and Afghan Civilians gave testimony to their experiences of the occupations. These events are inspired by the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War who held Winter Soldier testimonies in 1971 that were intended to show the systematic nature of the pillage of Vietnam.
There will be an antiwar vigil immediately following this panel. And a rally meeting at the UMass Student Union at noon on Thursday October 2nd to demand transparency of the $350 Million dollars of investments that UMass has (presumably much of this in war profiteering). The vast majority of people in the U.S. are opposed to the occupations and it is time that we gather our forces locally and give organization to that sentiment.
For more information visit: ivaw.org
or email: amherst@ivaw.org
Co-sponsors of this event include: Western Mass. AFSC, Campus Antiwar Network, Code Pink, GI Rights Hotline, International Socialist Organization, Northampton Committee to Stop the War, Veterans Education Project, Veterans for Peace and Sage
