They have made it known that their plans for this “war” are protracted, one going on for years, possibly decades. We are being ordered to line up behind the flag and to support their war-to support our troops! - and to keep our mouths shut. The censoring of open criticism on television and radio, the mandatory pledges of allegiance and recruiters in schools, the call for secret military tribunals and the passing of the USA PATRIOT Act are setting a chilling tone for what their fascist road to their vision of the future holds.
VVAW AI calls their unjust war bullshit and we refuse to keep our mouths shut. As veterans, we know about war and we know about terrorism. We were the terrorists for the world’s biggest warmonger-U.S. imperialism. We’ve seen through their lies about U.S. troops killing and dying for freedom and democracy. War’s in Vietnam, Panama, the Gulf, Yugoslavia and now Afghanistan, to name just a few, have been about control of regions and their resources-not about defending freedom and democracy. We, as troops of this country, have committed heinous crimes against humanity under the flag of the U.S. while waging these wars.
Now we are engaged in this new war “on terrorism” which tells us that their new world order is not about the control of regions; rather it’s about U.S. domination of the whole world. And we should have no illusions: the window of opportunity for us to build a movement strong enough to defeat their plans may not be open for long. Critical to the success of their plans is their ability to prevent people from organizing any real opposition to their agenda.
However, it is important to know that this unjust war has not gone down without some serious opposition by many different individuals, groups and organizations within the U.S. This movement is the coming together of many different people from different struggles across the spectrum: people fighting police brutality and the oppression of youth, people fighting corporate globalization, people fighting for the environment, as well as people opposed to war. While there has been general opposition against the war on Afghanistan and the attacks here at home, the times are calling for more and for it to be more coordinated. Like the escalation in the world situation that September 11th represents, opposition to their vision and war has to take an even greater leap if we are to stop their plans. The movement has to not only understand and meet this challenge, it has to put aside differences and unite and work together like never before.
Veterans of the U.S. military are a part of this movement and have an important role to play. There are people within the movement who are calling this war “against terrorism” a “just” war. This is wrong and people need to see through the lies. We know wars of conquest and intervention when we see them and we know who pays the price. We can see through their lies and are not afraid to call bullshit! We know the reality about the U.S. military and how it is basically the youth fighting rich old white men’s wars. U.S. imperialism can never wage a war that is just and calling this war “just” is bullshit.
We don’t buy their vision of the future as the best we can do. We know what people are capable of accomplishing when they work together for a better tomorrow. The youth are important to our future. However, we also know that youth are their cannonfodder. We know it and they know it. If we deny them their cannonfodder, they are in deep hurts. If we educate our future about their system, they are also in deep hurts. Veterans and youth make a volatile combination in opposing those directing this fascist new world order. It is a combination we should not ignore.
Let’s focus our actions as veterans to:
- Unite with and strengthen the broader opposition by bringing the voice and experience of anti-war veterans to bear.
- Let our voices be heard everywhere: on the air, in the papers, in the schools...
- Seek out the youth and students and tell them the truth about the real military and the system behind it.
- Support and defend all who are attacked by this new world order. Let’s show the people of the world that there are millions in the U.S. who are opposed to this new world order.
America's New War is Bullshit!
Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist
www.oz.net/~vvawai
vvawai@oz.net
Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist is part of a network of anti-imperialist veterans who are proud of our resistance to U.S. aggression around the world. In the 1970s, to be a Vietnam veteran was to be against the war. That proud legacy must be carried forward through the 1990s and into the next millennium.
Posted on the Independent Newswire on 24 January 2002
Ref: www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=123524
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