JollyJane
03-30-2006, 12:00 PM
>
> A Moment of Silence Is Not Enough
> By Sara Rich
> t r u t h o u t | Statement Monday 20 March 2006
On March 18th Sara Rich, mother of an AWOL US soldier, gave this
address at an anti-war rally in Eugene, Oregon.
>Hello - I came to you in
> September praying for peace as I
> was bound by the fear of my daughter's impending
> redeployment to Iraq. WHO
> SAYS LIGHTNING DOESN'T STRIKE TWICE? We got the
> date for her redeployment 9
> months before her entitled 18 months decompression
> time. Her commanding officer
> forced her to sign a waiver of her rights to
> decompression time between
> deployments and gave her a date 11 months after
> she returned from Iraq the first
> time. Then, a few weeks later, she got her
> readiness papers - that 6 months
> after she hopefully returned from Iraq the second
> time, she was scheduled to go
> over for yet another year. Making it three
> deployments to Iraq in less that four
> years. All of our hearts were heavy. Three
> days before her actual
> redeployment, she was packed and ready to go, she
> had her car
> keys in her hand, and she turned to me and said,
> "I don't think I can do this."
> I was shocked but knew any type of coercion on my
> part would not help, so I
> said, "Are you serious?" She replied, "I just
> can't do it, Mom." She could not
> go back there to the misery. She told me that
> being separated from her family
> and living and breathing Army for a year at a time
> in a war zone was a constant
> source of distress for her. Where nobody cares
> whether you live or die as long
> as you do what you are told and they look good
> afterwards. Nor could she handle
> another deployment, dealing with the daily
> hour-to-hour sexual harassment that
> she endured from 99% of her male officers and
> fellow soldiers. The isolation and
> fear of being attacked, harassed, molested and
> raped was a huge part of her life
> in Iraq. She was always full of anxiety and stress
> just keeping herself safe
> when her commanding officers would show up banging
> on her door in the middle of
> the night, intoxicated and wanting to have sex
> with her. The intimidation and sexual harassment
> that our female soldiers are
> enduring is leading to massive stress and in some
> cases even death for our
> military women in Iraq. They are not supported but
> shamed when they bring these
> to the attention of their superiors. I TOOK
> A DEEP BREATH and I told her
> either way she is my hero and I will support her
> decision. She decided that she
> was going to go AWOL and to leave the Army.
> That the US is in Iraq for
> something that is pointless was a common feeling
> for many of the soldiers she
> was stationed with. (Here's were she went off.)
> The US is not the world police.
> Why can't we focus on the multiple crises we have
> in our own country? The
> hurricanes that took thousands of lives. Or why
> not go to Afghanistan, where
> there are actually terrorists? It is abominable
> that we are sending our troops
> over there and paying them a pittance - the
> average soldier that is married and
> has a family to support gets about $2,000 a month,
> and at
> the same time we are sending contractors from
> Blackwater over to do the same
> security jobs and paying them $15,000 a month to
> be there and risk their lives.
> This makes no sense, especially to our soldiers.
> She kept asking, and now
> I'm asking you, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE? This is an
> outrage and is just adding to
> the growing evidence that we are losing thousands
> of lives and causing permanent
> injuries to our soldiers, for what? Oil? Money?
> Why are we not trying to educate
> the Iraqis, if liberating them is so important.
> My daughter tells me,
> "Mom, while I was in Iraq, the children were never
> in school, they were out in
> the street begging for candy. They were never
> being watched or supervised, just
> allowed to run wild. I was never sure what we were
> or still are trying to
> accomplish in Iraq. I never saw the US do anything
> to make things better while I
> was there. My unit would go out on useless
> missions and end up being shot at in
> the dark by our supposed allies because
> communication between the US and our allies was
> so poor. We need to get the
> hell out of Iraq and let them solve their own
> problems. Most Iraqis don't want
> us there anyway. We should have done this years
> ago, but I guess our government
> saw it as making us money in some weird way. I
> think the reason that post
> traumatic stress syndrome is so huge is because
> this was an invasion/war without
> a purpose. NO one benefited from us being there.
> Except that Saddam Hussein got
> a free ticket out of Iraq.... Why do we think we
> should be liberating all these
> countries when we can't even feed or house our own
> children in the United
> States. How about working on oppression and racism
> here in the US? Maybe we need
> someone to come liberate us!!" I could tell that
> my daughter felt liberated
> herself and finally touched on some of her anger
> for the Army as she went on.
> Here are some more thoughts for us here today.
> Listen closely to me
> now.... We Need to Bring Our Soldiers Home NOW and
> Take Care of
> Them When They Get Here. The most controversial
> part of this, for many people,
> is the "Now." We are moving into the fourth year
> of a war that should never have
> happened. The largest air assault since the
> invasion of Iraq three years ago has
> just been launched by the US. The problem
> remains: This war was wrong from
> the beginning and continuing it will not make it
> right. A continuation - and now
> escalation - of the war in Iraq will only lead to
> more deaths among US troops
> and Iraqi children, women and men. It will make us
> less safe in the world. It
> will mean more troops suffering from Post
> Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We
> also need to take care of the troops when they get
> home, giving them the support
> - medical, psychological and economic - that they
> need. The administration has
> failed at this as well. Some say a phased
> withdrawal is not a good
> strategy. Partial withdrawal of the troops will
> only leave those who remain in
> Iraq at greater risk. Phased withdrawal was
> attempted in the Vietnam War, resulting in an
> increased death rate for troops
> who remained in Vietnam as others were "phased
> out." The safest thing for our
> troops, the best thing for our nation, and the
> best thing for the people of Iraq
> is to get the troops home now. Military people
> with whom we have spoken say that
> all troops could be pulled back into Kuwait in a
> matter of a month or so; and
> from there, planes and boats could bring them on
> home. I WOULD TELL YOU
> THAT ... Congress is responsible for allowing the
> president to take the nation
> to war; Congress continues to fund the war, which
> allows it to continue; and
> Congress has failed to show leadership and take
> action to bring the war to an
> end. We are calling on Congress to show some
> leadership, take a stand and bring
> our troops home now. Although it is true that the
> president ordered the troops
> into Iraq, and the president used and continues to
> use fear of terrorism and of
> Al Qaeda to try to justify his policies and to
> keep the American people from asking the
> questions that need to be asked,
> Congress has been complicit with the president's
> plan. They have gone along with
> George Bush's war plan and have consistently
> failed to challenge and question
> his actions. It is past time for both Republicans
> and Democrats in Congress to
> show some courage, speak out and bring our troops
> home now. Leaving Iraq
> now is the best way to honor those who have
> already sacrificed in this war. The
> President would like us to think that leaving now
> would be dishonoring those who
> have already died, those who have already been
> wounded, those who have
> sacrificed so much. But more deaths, more wounded,
> more troops suffering from
> PTSD, more families suffering both here and in
> Iraq will not honor the
> sacrifices that have been made. Yet there
> are those who would ask for a
> moment of silence. Tell that to the grieving
> mother, the young wife, the
> orphaned child of the 2,314 dead soldiers this war
> has caused. They will
> listen to that silence FOREVER. A "moment of
> silence" isn't enough! Many
> politicians want to offer a moment of silence at
> times like this, "to honor the
> sacrifice of our service men and women." A "moment
> of silence" is not what is
> needed from our political leaders, who are
> allowing the violence in Iraq to
> escalate with the recently launched large-scale US
> air assault. Politicians who
> want to honor the fallen and support our troops
> need to show some leadership and
> speak out to bring our troops home NOW! YOU
> here today are part of a
> massive groundswell of opposition. My family is
> asking you to reach out to
> friends who have not yet taken action, and
> encourage them to get involved now.
> Actions that can be taken: War tax resistance,
> counter military recruitment
> work, letters to newspapers, supporting peace
> candidates and delegations,
> bringing Iraqi women speakers here, full page
> newspaper ads, speaking out in
> their own circles and showing that dissent is
> patriotic. And as we
> spiritually pray for peace, let's start demanding
> peace from our nation's
> leaders. Demand an end to the killing and the
> violence. We have over 16,000
> injured soldiers who are receiving sub-standard
> care. Now is not the time for
> passivity. Now is the time to write the letters,
> make some noise.... Do not be
> complacent anymore. Do something every day to
> demand peace and the safe return
> of everyone of our soldiers NOW!
>
> ---------------------------------
>
>
> A Moment of Silence Is Not Enough
> By Sara Rich
> t r u t h o u t | Statement Monday 20 March 2006
On March 18th Sara Rich, mother of an AWOL US soldier, gave this
address at an anti-war rally in Eugene, Oregon.
>Hello - I came to you in
> September praying for peace as I
> was bound by the fear of my daughter's impending
> redeployment to Iraq. WHO
> SAYS LIGHTNING DOESN'T STRIKE TWICE? We got the
> date for her redeployment 9
> months before her entitled 18 months decompression
> time. Her commanding officer
> forced her to sign a waiver of her rights to
> decompression time between
> deployments and gave her a date 11 months after
> she returned from Iraq the first
> time. Then, a few weeks later, she got her
> readiness papers - that 6 months
> after she hopefully returned from Iraq the second
> time, she was scheduled to go
> over for yet another year. Making it three
> deployments to Iraq in less that four
> years. All of our hearts were heavy. Three
> days before her actual
> redeployment, she was packed and ready to go, she
> had her car
> keys in her hand, and she turned to me and said,
> "I don't think I can do this."
> I was shocked but knew any type of coercion on my
> part would not help, so I
> said, "Are you serious?" She replied, "I just
> can't do it, Mom." She could not
> go back there to the misery. She told me that
> being separated from her family
> and living and breathing Army for a year at a time
> in a war zone was a constant
> source of distress for her. Where nobody cares
> whether you live or die as long
> as you do what you are told and they look good
> afterwards. Nor could she handle
> another deployment, dealing with the daily
> hour-to-hour sexual harassment that
> she endured from 99% of her male officers and
> fellow soldiers. The isolation and
> fear of being attacked, harassed, molested and
> raped was a huge part of her life
> in Iraq. She was always full of anxiety and stress
> just keeping herself safe
> when her commanding officers would show up banging
> on her door in the middle of
> the night, intoxicated and wanting to have sex
> with her. The intimidation and sexual harassment
> that our female soldiers are
> enduring is leading to massive stress and in some
> cases even death for our
> military women in Iraq. They are not supported but
> shamed when they bring these
> to the attention of their superiors. I TOOK
> A DEEP BREATH and I told her
> either way she is my hero and I will support her
> decision. She decided that she
> was going to go AWOL and to leave the Army.
> That the US is in Iraq for
> something that is pointless was a common feeling
> for many of the soldiers she
> was stationed with. (Here's were she went off.)
> The US is not the world police.
> Why can't we focus on the multiple crises we have
> in our own country? The
> hurricanes that took thousands of lives. Or why
> not go to Afghanistan, where
> there are actually terrorists? It is abominable
> that we are sending our troops
> over there and paying them a pittance - the
> average soldier that is married and
> has a family to support gets about $2,000 a month,
> and at
> the same time we are sending contractors from
> Blackwater over to do the same
> security jobs and paying them $15,000 a month to
> be there and risk their lives.
> This makes no sense, especially to our soldiers.
> She kept asking, and now
> I'm asking you, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE? This is an
> outrage and is just adding to
> the growing evidence that we are losing thousands
> of lives and causing permanent
> injuries to our soldiers, for what? Oil? Money?
> Why are we not trying to educate
> the Iraqis, if liberating them is so important.
> My daughter tells me,
> "Mom, while I was in Iraq, the children were never
> in school, they were out in
> the street begging for candy. They were never
> being watched or supervised, just
> allowed to run wild. I was never sure what we were
> or still are trying to
> accomplish in Iraq. I never saw the US do anything
> to make things better while I
> was there. My unit would go out on useless
> missions and end up being shot at in
> the dark by our supposed allies because
> communication between the US and our allies was
> so poor. We need to get the
> hell out of Iraq and let them solve their own
> problems. Most Iraqis don't want
> us there anyway. We should have done this years
> ago, but I guess our government
> saw it as making us money in some weird way. I
> think the reason that post
> traumatic stress syndrome is so huge is because
> this was an invasion/war without
> a purpose. NO one benefited from us being there.
> Except that Saddam Hussein got
> a free ticket out of Iraq.... Why do we think we
> should be liberating all these
> countries when we can't even feed or house our own
> children in the United
> States. How about working on oppression and racism
> here in the US? Maybe we need
> someone to come liberate us!!" I could tell that
> my daughter felt liberated
> herself and finally touched on some of her anger
> for the Army as she went on.
> Here are some more thoughts for us here today.
> Listen closely to me
> now.... We Need to Bring Our Soldiers Home NOW and
> Take Care of
> Them When They Get Here. The most controversial
> part of this, for many people,
> is the "Now." We are moving into the fourth year
> of a war that should never have
> happened. The largest air assault since the
> invasion of Iraq three years ago has
> just been launched by the US. The problem
> remains: This war was wrong from
> the beginning and continuing it will not make it
> right. A continuation - and now
> escalation - of the war in Iraq will only lead to
> more deaths among US troops
> and Iraqi children, women and men. It will make us
> less safe in the world. It
> will mean more troops suffering from Post
> Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We
> also need to take care of the troops when they get
> home, giving them the support
> - medical, psychological and economic - that they
> need. The administration has
> failed at this as well. Some say a phased
> withdrawal is not a good
> strategy. Partial withdrawal of the troops will
> only leave those who remain in
> Iraq at greater risk. Phased withdrawal was
> attempted in the Vietnam War, resulting in an
> increased death rate for troops
> who remained in Vietnam as others were "phased
> out." The safest thing for our
> troops, the best thing for our nation, and the
> best thing for the people of Iraq
> is to get the troops home now. Military people
> with whom we have spoken say that
> all troops could be pulled back into Kuwait in a
> matter of a month or so; and
> from there, planes and boats could bring them on
> home. I WOULD TELL YOU
> THAT ... Congress is responsible for allowing the
> president to take the nation
> to war; Congress continues to fund the war, which
> allows it to continue; and
> Congress has failed to show leadership and take
> action to bring the war to an
> end. We are calling on Congress to show some
> leadership, take a stand and bring
> our troops home now. Although it is true that the
> president ordered the troops
> into Iraq, and the president used and continues to
> use fear of terrorism and of
> Al Qaeda to try to justify his policies and to
> keep the American people from asking the
> questions that need to be asked,
> Congress has been complicit with the president's
> plan. They have gone along with
> George Bush's war plan and have consistently
> failed to challenge and question
> his actions. It is past time for both Republicans
> and Democrats in Congress to
> show some courage, speak out and bring our troops
> home now. Leaving Iraq
> now is the best way to honor those who have
> already sacrificed in this war. The
> President would like us to think that leaving now
> would be dishonoring those who
> have already died, those who have already been
> wounded, those who have
> sacrificed so much. But more deaths, more wounded,
> more troops suffering from
> PTSD, more families suffering both here and in
> Iraq will not honor the
> sacrifices that have been made. Yet there
> are those who would ask for a
> moment of silence. Tell that to the grieving
> mother, the young wife, the
> orphaned child of the 2,314 dead soldiers this war
> has caused. They will
> listen to that silence FOREVER. A "moment of
> silence" isn't enough! Many
> politicians want to offer a moment of silence at
> times like this, "to honor the
> sacrifice of our service men and women." A "moment
> of silence" is not what is
> needed from our political leaders, who are
> allowing the violence in Iraq to
> escalate with the recently launched large-scale US
> air assault. Politicians who
> want to honor the fallen and support our troops
> need to show some leadership and
> speak out to bring our troops home NOW! YOU
> here today are part of a
> massive groundswell of opposition. My family is
> asking you to reach out to
> friends who have not yet taken action, and
> encourage them to get involved now.
> Actions that can be taken: War tax resistance,
> counter military recruitment
> work, letters to newspapers, supporting peace
> candidates and delegations,
> bringing Iraqi women speakers here, full page
> newspaper ads, speaking out in
> their own circles and showing that dissent is
> patriotic. And as we
> spiritually pray for peace, let's start demanding
> peace from our nation's
> leaders. Demand an end to the killing and the
> violence. We have over 16,000
> injured soldiers who are receiving sub-standard
> care. Now is not the time for
> passivity. Now is the time to write the letters,
> make some noise.... Do not be
> complacent anymore. Do something every day to
> demand peace and the safe return
> of everyone of our soldiers NOW!
>
> ---------------------------------
>
>