P.O. Box 81, Swarthmore, PA, 19081-- brandywine@juno.com
My name is Captain Chad Hetman, I am a US Army Infantry officer and I am
a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans For Peace.
I spent over seven years of my life as an infantry soldier in the US
Army. I was fortunate to see and experience the corruption both within
the military and the federal government. I was fortunate to see how our
elections and our nation were hijacked. I was fortunate to know my hands
were tied and unable to make necessary changes, even as an Infantry
officer. And I was fortunate enough to get off Active Duty before the
invasion of Iraq.
Others, however, were not as fortunate as me.
Although I am a commissioned officer, the Soldier anti war movement has
been composed primarily of enlisted personnel who have the courage and
moral conviction to speak out and take action. Aside from a few
conscientious objectors, military officers, for the most part, have
remained frightfully silent and blindly compliant with the Bush
Administration.
But On June 22, U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, a combat leader with the 3rd Stryker Brigade, became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq. Prior to that, he asked to resign his commission in January of 2006 because as he stated, "I am whole-heartedly opposed to the continued war in Iraq, the deception used to wage this war, and the lawlessness that has pervaded every aspect of our civilian leadership."
His request to resign was denied by the Army. In response, LT Watada made
a brave and incredible move by challenging the legality of the war in
Iraq, the occupation and the criminal actions of the Bush administration,
arguing that it is his duty as a soldier and an officer to refuse illegal
orders to participate in an illegal war of aggression and it is his duty
to speak out against them, citing the United Nations Charter, the United
States Constitution, The Geneva Convention and the Nuremburg Trials.
Like Lt Watada and many other brave soldiers who selflessly stood up to
tyranny in the face of persecution and adversity, we must ALL rise up and
challenge the criminals who hijacked our nation, deceived us, betrayed
us, robbed us, shamed us and dragged us into an illegal war of aggression
that has united the world against us.
Gatherings of marches and protests, holding signs and banners have gone
unheeded. Millions and millions of outraged Americans shouting in the
streets for over three years have been casually dismissed and ignored.
Words have no impact on those who refuse to listen. Words will not curb
or control the actions of criminals who lie, murder and steal.
It is time for all of us, as a nation, as ethical human beings and
citizens of this planet to take the next and necessary step in working
for peace and justice. We must work for peace, not repeat the word over
and over. A doctor would not accomplish much for sick patients if the
extent of care was nothing more than repeating the word health over and
over.
Under the rule of law, we must hold the people responsible for the war in
Iraq accountable. Not only the Bush Administration, but every politician
that has continued to support this war along with much of the corporate
media that has negligently acted as Bushs personal propaganda machine in
keeping the public misinformed. We must put legislation into effect that
will put a plan in place to end this global crime, such as the
declaration of peace a nationwide campaign to establish by September
21, 2006 a concrete and rapid plan for peace in Iraq. Although every
military mission and operation is required to have a definition of
success and goals to be achieved, the only thing that the Bush Regime has
provided are constant lies and deception, surrounded by death,
destruction, suffering and billions of dollars in corporate war
profiteering.
And as a united front, we must truly support those who are leading the
fight and making the greatest of sacrifices such as military personnel
willing to be imprisoned for doing the right thing. Support them not with
empty lip service, but with our wallets and with our actions.
A fellow member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Patrick Resta will
speak about these things at the end of this event in greater detail.
Patrick Resta, a medic with the North Carolina National Guard attached to
the1st Infantry Division, spent 9 months in Iraq, fighting to save the
lives of his fellow soldiers, innocent Iraqis as well as his own his own
life while serving under an incompetent chain of command, that did not
provide even the basic equipment necessary for a deployed soldier.
He will tell you about the hardships and pressures facing people of
conscience in the military, whose honorable and righteous actions of
performing their moral and sworn patriotic duty often means being
judicially punished in which they face not only jail time but the
suffering of their familys welfare as well.
As you stand here and spend this brief amount of time listening to people
speak, ask yourselves.
Where would we be now, if in this very city, our founding fathers felt
that the extent of their moral duty was to do nothing more than attend a
protest against tyranny? What would have happened if signs and banners
were drafted instead of a declaration of independence and constitution?
And what will be our fate and the fate of our children, the fate of this
nation and this planet if we do not rise to the challenge of doing the
right thing?
Because all that is necessary for evil to exist. is for good people
to do nothing!
Thank You