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Home > International Relations in the Age of Empire  > The Invasion of Iraq  > Matt Howard, US Iraqi War Veteran Speaks Out: Troops out of Iraq!

Why we are against the War - Iraqi Veterans Against the War
Public Meeting: Saturday 18 August, 3pm, Teachers Federation Auditorium, Reservoir Street, Surry Hills, (just off Elizabeth Street), Sydney, Australia

Speakers: Matt Howard (Iraq Veterans Against the War) Jim Donovan (ex-secretary, Maritime Union of Australia) Riz Wakil (Afghan Refugee) Endorsed by: MUA, AMWU, CFMEU, NSW Teachers Federation, Medical Association for the Prevention of War, The Greens, the Anti-Bases Coalition, Marrickville Peace Group, Sydney University Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Matt fought with the US marines in Iraq on two tours of duty and is now part of the growing number of soldiers organising to end the occupation. IVAW (www.ivaw.org) are leading the current escalation of anti-war activity in the US, organising within the military to undermine the very force that George Bush relies on to remain in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush will be in Sydney next month, come and hear one of the voices that is turning his presidency into a nightmare in the US.

With Australian military spending at $60million every day, we have an urgent task to reverse John Howard's legacy of unbridled support for US aggression in the Middle East. As the Howard Government faces electoral 'annihilation', the anti-war movement must ensure that this is a defeat for the 'war on terror' - the fear-mongering, the war on Arabs, Muslims, refugees, Indigenous communities and unionists.

Jim Donovan, who was an active member of the Seaman's union during the Vietnam war mobilisations, will talk about lessons from history involving the labor movement in anti- war struggle. Riz Wakil will discuss the war in Afghanistan and the impact of Howard's wars on people from the Middle East. This perspective is particularly important given the Australian Government's recent troop surge in Afghanistan and rising opposition amongst the Afghani people. Civilian casualties are mounting there too and Kevin Rudd has still not said he would pull troops out as a future PM.
A Conversation With Three Iraq Veterans Against the War
Peace Talks: Three Vermont veterans share their (anti) war stories

 The Invasion of Iraq

Matt Howard, US Iraqi Veteran Speaks Out:
Troops out of Iraq!

"...The people of Iraq are suffering horrors hard to conceive on a daily basis because we are there. And yet their only crime is that they were also victims of previous horrors under a different regime. The Iraqi people fighting us are fighting for their freedom - to be free from foreign military occupation...We go and clear an area and they just go somewhere else and when we leave they come back, and this will go on and on until we finally admit that we're not supposed to be there. We never should have been there in the first place. This war was based on lies. As I like to say, you can't win a crime, you can only stop it...." Matt Howard

"...Iraqis are subjected to humiliating and violent checkpoints, searches and home raids on a daily basis.  The current Iraqi government is in place solely because of the U.S. military occupation.  The Iraqi government doesn�t have the popular support of the Iraqi people, nor does it have power or authority.  For many Iraqis the current government is seen as a puppet regime for the U.S. occupation.  It is undemocratic and in violation of Iraq�s own right to self-governance..." Why we are against the War - Iraqi Veterans Against the War

Matt Howard speaks:

"The people of Iraq are suffering horrors hard to conceive on a daily basis because we are there. And yet their only crime is that they were also victims of previous horrors under a different regime. The people fighting us are fighting for their freedom - to be free from foreign military occupation.

Coming out of the military I'm told that I'm really courageous for speaking out. No. I feel I have a moral responsibility to speak out. The shit I've seen you're not going to see on the news or read it in the newspapers. We as veterans have a responsibility to tell the truth of what we've seen in Iraq and let it be known. Speak about the reality of actually what's happening on the ground. The reality that we will never quell the insurgency, they are fighting a foreign military occupation.

We are treating them like shit. We go and clear an area and they just go somewhere else and when we leave they come back, and this will go on and on until we finally admit that we're not supposed to be there. We never should have been there in the first place. This war was based on lies. As I like to say, you can't win a crime, you can only stop it"

I want to start off by reading a blog from a woman in Baghdad called Baghdad Burning. For me it really sums up what's going on in Iraq and why we will never win in Iraq. She says,

"Let me clear it up for any moron with lingering doubts. It's worse, it's over, you lost.

You lost every single family whose home your soldiers violated.

You lost every sane, red-blooded Iraqi when the Abu-Ghraib pictures came out and verified your atrocities behind prison walls, as well as the ones we see in our streets.

You lost when you brought murderers, looters, gangsters, and militia heads to power and hailed them as Iraq's first democratic government.

You lost when a gruesome execution was dubbed your biggest accomplishment. You lost the respect and reputation you once had.

You lost more than 3,000 troops.

That is what you lost America. I hope at least the oil was worth it."

That for me says it all. I was deployed with a First Marine Division, First Tank Battalion, out of Twenty-Nine Palms, during the initial invasion. I never thought that I would be saying, I wonder if my experiences would be relevant here four years later. The war has evolved since then.

I think my experiences are incredibly relevant because I think the way we conducted ourselves and conducted operations really set the tone for the next four years to come. The complete lack of respect for the Iraqis, the complete lack of respect for humanity and human life just solidified our policy in Iraq.

We would declare zones "weapons-free," so for example in Nasiriyah where I was in a supply element for the tanks, the tanks would go through and secure a city, and shoot everything that moved. When we declare a zone weapons-free, that's what it means.

As all the veterans in this audience know, you operate by strict rules of engagement, you can only shoot somebody under certain conditions�if they're carrying a weapon or wearing a uniform. But weapons-free means you can shoot anyone and that's exactly what we did.

As I sat on the outskirts of a city in my seven-ton truck, tanks went in and shot everything that moved: men, women, children, donkeys�it was a turkey shoot. I got to go through and see the aftermath. That was our strategy the whole way to Baghdad, we just leap-frogged all the way up.

I was given a whole pallet of humanitarian rations on my truck, so the first thing I started to do is hand them out to all the children I saw standing on the sides of the road in the south of Iraq. My first sergeant came up to me and said, what the hell do you think you're doing? Those aren't for the children. I got all the way to Baghdad and all the way back to Kuwait and was ordered to bury these things.

Our commanding general said that we don't want to give the Iraqis the wrong impression of why we are there.

So let's cut through the bullshit, we were never there to help the people. Our first objective was to secure the oil fields in the south of Iraq.

Now we hear that it's for the hearts and minds? We've got to be honest. Coming out of the military I'm told that I'm really courageous for speaking out. No. I feel I have a moral responsibility to speak out.

The shit I've seen you're not going to see on the news or read it in the newspapers. We as veterans have a responsibility to tell the truth of what we've seen in Iraq and let it be known.

Speak about the reality of actually what's happening on the ground. The reality that we will never quell the insurgency, they are fighting a foreign military occupation. We are treating them like shit.

We go and clear an area and they just go somewhere else and when we leave they come back, and this will go on and on until we finally admit that we're not supposed to be there. We never should have been there in the first place. This war was based on lies. As I like to say, you can't win a crime, you can only stop it.

"Rise like lions after slumber, in unvanquishable number. Shake your chains to earth like dew, which in sleep had fallen on you. Ye are many, they are few." - Shelley  
Why we're against the war - [also in PDF]

"Iraqis are subjected to humiliating and violent checkpoints, searches and home raids on a daily basis.  The current Iraqi government is in place solely because of the U.S. military occupation.  The Iraqi government doesn�t have the popular support of the Iraqi people, nor does it have power or authority.  For many Iraqis the current government is seen as a puppet regime for the U.S. occupation.  It is undemocratic and in violation of Iraq�s own right to self-governance."

Q: Why are veterans, active duty, and National Guard men and women opposed to the war in Iraq?

A: Here are 10 reasons we oppose this war:

  1. The Iraq war is based on lies and deception.

    The Bush Administration planned for an attack against Iraq before September 11th, 2001. They used the false pretense of an imminent nuclear, chemical and biological weapons threat to deceive Congress into rationalizing this unnecessary conflict. They hide our casualties of war by banning the filming of our fallen's caskets when they arrive home, and when they refuse to allow the media into Walter Reed Hospital and other Veterans Administration facilities which are overflowing with maimed and traumatized veterans. For further reading: Lie by Lie: The Mother Jones Iraq War Timeline (8/1/90 - 6/21/03)
  2. The Iraq war violates international law.

    The United States assaulted and occupied Iraq without the consent of the UN Security Council. In doing so they violated the same body of laws they accused Iraq of breaching. For further reading:
    Nuremberg Trial Proceedings - Avalon Project
    West Point Graduates Against the War - "Duty, Honor, Country."

  3. Corporate profiteering is driving the war in Iraq.

    From privately contracted soldiers and linguists to no-bid reconstruction contracts and multinational oil negotiations, those who benefit the most in this conflict are those who suffer the least. The United States has chosen a path that directly contradicts President Eisenhower's farewell warning regarding the military industrial complex. As long as those in power are not held accountable, they will continue...  For further reading:
    Advocates of War Now Profit From Iraq's Reconstruction, 14 July 2004
    Windfalls of War: US Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan
  4. Overwhelming civilian casualties are a daily occurrence in Iraq.
    Despite attempts in training and technological sophistication, large-scale civilian death is both a direct and indirect result of United States aggression in Iraq.  Even the most conservative estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths number over 100,000. Currently over 100 civilians die every day in Baghdad alone.For further reading:
    The Human Face of Collateral Damage
    100,000 Iraqi civilians dead, says study, Guardian, 29 October 2004
     The Reach of War: Casualties; Number of Civilian Deaths Highest in July, Iraqis Say
  5. Soldiers have the right to refuse illegal war.

    All in service to this country swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. However, they are prosecuted if they object to serve in a war they see as illegal under our Constitution. As such, our brothers and sisters are paying the price for political incompetence, forced to fight in a war instead of having been sufficiently trained to carry out the task of nation-building. For further reading:
    Thank you Lt. Eheren Watada for Refusing an Illegal War
    First Lt. Watada (Part one) - You Tube
    First Lt. Watada (Part two) - You Tube
  6. Service members are facing serious health consequences due to our Government's negligence.

    Many of our troops have already been deployed to Iraq for two, three, and even four tours of duty averaging eleven months each.  Combat stress, exhaustion, and bearing witness to the horrors of war contribute to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a serious set of symptoms that can lead to depression, illness, violent behavior, and even suicide. Additionally, depleted uranium, Lariam, insufficient body armor and infectious diseases are just a few of the health risks which accompany an immorally planned and incompetently executed war. Finally, upon a soldier's release, the Veterans Administration is far too under-funded to fully deal with the magnitude of veterans in need. For further reading:
    National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
    Vets 4 Vets
  7. The war in Iraq is tearing our families apart.

    The use of stop-loss on active duty troops and the unnecessarily lengthy and repeat active tours by Guard and Reserve troops place enough strain on our military families, even without being forced to sacrifice their loved ones for this ongoing political experiment in the Middle East.
    For further reading: Today in the Military: "Stop Loss" Continues
  8. The Iraq war is robbing us of funding sorely needed here at home.

    $5.8 billion per month is spent on a war which could have aided the victims of Hurricane Katrina, gone to impoverished schools, the construction of hospitals and health care systems, tax cut initiatives, and a host of domestic programs that have all been gutted in the wake of the war in Iraq. For further reading: The War in Iraq Costs
  9. The war dehumanizes Iraqis and denies them their right to self-determination.

    Iraqis are subjected to humiliating and violent checkpoints, searches and home raids on a daily basis.  The current Iraqi government is in place solely because of the U.S. military occupation.  The Iraqi government doesn�t have the popular support of the Iraqi people, nor does it have power or authority.  For many Iraqis the current government is seen as a puppet regime for the U.S. occupation.  It is undemocratic and in violation of Iraq�s own right to self-governance.
    For further reading: Baghdad Burning
  10. Our military is being exhausted by repeated deployments, involuntary extensions, and activations of the Reserve and National Guard.

    The majority of troops in Iraq right now are there for at least their second tour.  Deployments to Iraq are becoming longer and many of our service members are facing involuntary extensions and recalls to active duty.  Longstanding policies to limit the duration and frequency of deployments for our part-time National Guard troops are now being overturned to allow for repeated, back-to-back tours in Iraq.  These repeated, extended combat tours are taking a huge toll on our troops, their families, and their communities

 Q: Why do Iraq Veterans Against the War call for the immediate withdrawal from Iraq?

A: There are several reasons why immediate withdrawal is the critical first step toward solving the problems in Iraq.

  1. The reasons and rationale given for the invasion were fraudulent.

    There were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq during the time of the invasion according to US officials and former chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix. The idea that Al Qeada and the 9/11 terrorist attacks were connected to Saddam Hussein and the Baath party were proven false in the 9/11 Commission Report. Members of the Bush Administration have admitted that they �misspoke� in the run up to the war.
  2. The presence of the US military is not preventing sectarian violence.

    The US occupation of Iraq has proven to be unable to prevent sectarian violence and halt an escalation towards a civil war. Despite having an average of 140,000 troops in country since the occupation began, internal violence and attacks against civilians and Iraqi security forces have been on a steady incline.
  3. The occupation is a primary motivation for the insurgency and global religious extremism.

    The insurgency can be broken down into many individually named factions with various goals, beliefs, and techniques. However, our membership of veterans believe that the occupation of Iraq is the primary thing encouraging the insurgency and giving it legitimacy in the eyes of many Iraqis. Likewise, other people of the Islamic faith are encouraged to resist America �s policies internationally based on how they perceive our military operations in the Middle East.
  4. We can no longer afford to fight this war of choice.

    The financial burden is destroying our domestic programs that could be used to protect us from natural disasters, provide medical programs, or help improve education. We are jeopardizing the US economy and putting strains on the budgets of important government agencies like the Veterans Affairs Department.
  5. National security is compromised.

    Funds that could be used to protect our ports and transportation are being stripped away while our National Guard units are on constant deployments instead of being used to protect and defend us here at home.
  6. The world is becoming more dangerous.

    International terrorist attacks have increased and it has become more dangerous for Americans to travel abroad. Approval for US policy has decreased and the dislike of Americans has increased.
  7. Our national �moral authority� is being undermined.

    The US has lost credibility to much of the world as the defender of liberty and freedom and our national identity is eroding. We can no longer deploy our armed forces for peace keeping measures with the good faith of the international community. We need to regain the respect and faith of the global community. This begins by withdrawing our troops from Iraq and helping the Iraqi people rebuild their country and society.
  8. The majority of American citizens, Iraqi citizens and US military would like to see an immediate end to the war in Iraq.

    If we are truly a democracy and we aim to create a democracy in Iraq our leaders will represent the will of the citizens and lead according to their wishes.
  9. The military is broken.

    We are abusing the small population of armed service members with multiple deployments while using inadequate vehicles and equipment. Less than one half of a percent of the American population is serving in the active armed forces, which is the least amount in the last century. Only 25% of the troops in Iraq are there for their first tour, while 50% are there on their second tour, and the remaining 25% are there three times or more. We continue to involuntarily extend soldiers with Stop-Loss, recall them repeatedly for additional service using the Individual Ready Reserve, and send soldiers with diagnosed medical problems into combat.

 

 

 

 

 

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