Active-Duty GIs Call for Withdrawal

by Aaron Glantz

"For the first time since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, active-duty members of the military are asking members of Congress to end the occupation of Iraq and bring U.S. soldiers home.

More than 100 soldiers announced Wednesday that they are seeking protection under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act (DOD directive 7050.6) to file a protected communication to Congress without fear of reprisal.

Among them is Navy Seaman Jonathan Hutto, who had to leave his base in the state of Virginia and change into civilian clothes to take part in a morning teleconference.

"The discussion needs to shift from whether to stay or get out to how best to get out," he told reporters.

"Iraq, just like Vietnam, is a war that's not about a real threat to the security of America," he said. "We say it's time to step out and say that. To our political leaders and policymakers we say the occupation has to come to an end."

The message that Hutto and other troops are sending to their congressional representatives is brief and to the point.

"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq," it says. "Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home."

The 100 active-duty soldiers who are formally appealing for redress join an increasing number of veterans of the Iraq war calling for a U.S. withdrawal.

"Normally the military and military families lean conservative, especially in a time of war, so to see these kinds of activities is very telling about the situation we're in now," said Tim Goodrich, a former Air Force pilot from Buffalo, New York, who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Goodrich, along with other disenchanted veterans, has formed a political action committee called Iraq Veterans for Progress.

"We support candidates who want to end the war against their opponents who are allied with the [George W.] Bush administration's strategy of 'stay the course' and we help them win," he told IPS. "We help them win by sending them unemployed Iraq veterans to campaign for them. We pay their salary and help get our message out."

One reason for the rise in discontent is the high percentage of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who return from the war with serious injuries. According to documents obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, 25 percent of veterans of the "global war on terror" have filed disability compensation and pension benefit claims with the Veterans Benefits Administration. Of the more than 100,000 claims granted, Veterans Administration records show at least 1,502 veterans have been compensated as 100 percent disabled."