US soldiers need Canada's help
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 07:11:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: TomHayden@ceasefire.ca
Subject: [ceasefire] US soldiers need Canada's help
Thursday, April 21th, 2005
By Tom Hayden, 60s icon and 18-year member of the California Assembly
and Senate
Thousands of U.S. troops are refusing to fight Bush's war in Iraq.
These are young people who volunteered to defend their country
thinking it was under attack, but now they realize this war is not
about defending America -- it is about fulfilling the unbridled
ambition of the Bush administration.
Many people are supporting the soldiers who refuse to fight. This
week I joined hundreds of people at an event in Los Angeles
supporting Navy Petty Officer Pablo Paredes, who refused to board his
warship for Iraq.
And today I am travelling with Celeste Zappala to Canada. It was
almost a year ago this week that Celeste's son, Sherwood Baker, was
killed in action in Baghdad. Sherwood is one of more than 1,500
soldiers who have died fighting in the Bush administration's illegal
invasion of Iraq and defending its illegal occupation. Together,
Celeste and I are going to ask for Canadians' help in ending this
madness in Iraq.
During America's darkest moments, Canada has provided a sanctuary for
young men and women who refuse to fight Washington's wars. It is
becoming clear that Canada is once again needed to play that role.
I think the Bush administration cares very little about these
soldiers' lives. Ill-prepared and under-equipped, soldiers in Iraq
are left to scavenge through garbage for scraps of bullet-proof
armour plating to protect their trucks from attacks. When they have
finished their tour, the military can arbitrarily extend it for a
second and even third tour of duty. This places untold hardship on
soldiers, their spouses and their families.
As a result, 6,000 soldiers have deserted the U.S. military.
Desperate for more soldiers, the U.S. government scrambles every day
to recruit more young men and women to replace the dead and the
maimed. The recruiters are thickest in poor and visible-minority
communities, where they promise citizenship, education, glamour or
wealth.
The Bush administration is forcing public schools to hand over their
lists of students' names and phone numbers to military recruiters. In
some cases, high school students have been offered $5,000 to quite
literally sign their lives away to military recruiters. Perhaps
because of the pressure, or a guilty conscience, 37 recruiters have
deserted the military too.
George W. Bush has said he won't bring back the draft. But as some
experts have noted, America can either continue with its
all-volunteer military or it can bring back the draft and remain a
superpower -- but it can't do both. The hawks are calling on Bush to
retract his promise.
That's why I and many of my colleagues have issued the appeal that
appears below. We hope that you will answer the appeal by visiting
In solidarity,
Tom Hayden
P.S. If you are in Toronto, I would be pleased to have you come and
hear me speakon Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Innis Town Hall,
2 Sussex Avenue at St. George Street, 1 block south of St. George
Subway. The event is sponsored by the War Resisters Support Campaign.
For more information call 416 598-1222 -- Tom.
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