With all the horrific news coming out of Iraq each day, I'm always heartened to hear an encouraging or inspiring story. Like the recent revelation courtesy of The Military Times that over 60% of active-duty troops don't support an escalation. Not that Bush will listen -- but at least the voices of military folks are being heard throughout the country.
So tonight my father clued me in on a recent article in The Nation about a group of active-duty soldiers who will be delivering an "Appeal for Redress" to the Congress on January 15, Martin Luther King Day. The appeal calls on the Congress to promptly withdraw US troops from Iraq. I was amazed I hadn't heard about this yet given how much lefty blog propaganda I consume regularly -- so I'm guessing I might not be alone...
(By the way, DarkSyde diaried this topic several months ago, based on an article in The Guardian of London, but I haven't found any other diaries on the subject.)
The author of the piece in The Nation compares the Appeal for Redress to protest by active-duty personnel during the Vietnam War:
[The appeal effort is] the most significant movement of organized and dissident GIs seen in America since 1969, when 1,366 active-duty service members signed a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for an end to the Vietnam War. The Appeal for Redress, surfacing only in late October, has taken anti-Iraq War sentiment that's been simmering within the ranks and surfaced it as a mainstream plea backed by the enormous moral authority of active-duty personnel. It's an undeniable barometer of rising military dissent and provides a strong argument that the best way to support the troops is to recognize their demand to be withdrawn from Iraq.
The appeal movement was sparked earlier this year by a 29-year-old Navy Seaman serving in Iraq, Jonathan Hutto. He was inspired by the GI movement of the 1960s. The language of the Appeal is incredibly simple 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. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.
It is not illegal for active-duty personnel to express their opinons or beliefs to their representatives. Because this form of protest does not involve lawbreaking, the response to the appeal has been quite impressive:
Potential signers have been assured they are sending a communication to Congress protected under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act and will not be subject to reprisal. The result has been electrifying. In the two months since it surfaced, almost three times as many people have signed it as are members of the two-year-old Iraq Veterans Against the War. Almost three-quarters of the signers are active duty (the rest are reserves), and include several dozen officers, of whom a handful are colonels.
The members of the appeal movement are very motivated and have gained support from several like-minded groups -- Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Veterans for Peace.
Here's hoping the appeal has an impact on members of Congress come January 15 and that the message of the appeal is heard loud and clear: BRING THEM HOME NOW.
(This is my first diary here at DK, so hopefully this is of interest and I've posted this all correctly!)