The US invasion and occupation of Iraq violates the most fundamental international laws. It is a war of conquest for the control of Iraq’s oil, the privatization of its public assets for foreign investors, the destruction of its infrastructure so foreign investors can cash-in on its reconstruction, the reduction of the Iraqi workers wages, the expansion of US hegemony in the Middle East, etc.

It is an illegal war and all US military orders pertaining to it are illegal. The US is a signatory of the Geneva Convention, which says no soldier is bound to obey illegal orders. Your sons and daughters were not bound to obey the illegal orders that sent them to Iraq nor were they bound to obey any subsequent military orders while they were there.

The vast majority of people around the world are against this war. The worldwide anti-war movement refuses to support US imperialist troops because they, like Bush & Co, are war criminals who must be tried and sentenced for their war crimes accordingly.

You claim they are victims who were forced to join the US military because of poverty and racism. But this is easily refuted by the fact that millions of poor young men and women of all colors refuse to join the US military. Young people are so much against the military that a recent pole conducted by CBS showed that, if a military draft were enacted today 35% of draft-age young people would resist it.

You also claim that they didn’t know what they were getting into when they joined the military. They didn’t know that the US military has a long bloody history of killing people of color? They never heard of Vietnam? Suppose hypothetically that they were as ignorant as you claim they were. Why didn’t you teach them the truth?

The truth is, most of you encouraged your sons and daughters to enlist. You were proud of them when they were killing Iraqis. You bragged about how brave and honorable they were and you’d still be bragging about them if they were alive today. Wouldn’t you? Be honest.

Your attitude toward the third world’s people is probably the same as that of the typical US patriot. You believe that “God Blessed America”, which means the world was created to serve the US, i.e., people living in the third world simply don’t matter.

The theory that supporting the US troops will bring an end to the war - a theory that you and your fellow “peace activists” embrace - is unethical, illogical and smacks of the vilest hypocrisy. You argue that, since the US military is made up of a disproportionate people of color, those who do not do not support the US troops are racists. By your twisted logic the vast majority of human beings are racists because the vast majority of human beings do not support the US troops.

The real racists are those who support US imperialism and those who do its dirty work in its wars against the world’s workers. Your sons and daughters, who murdered, raped, tortured and maimed Iraqis, were cold-blooded, murderous racists. You too are racists for raising such monsters and for continuing to support of the US troops in Iraq (and everywhere else) and US imperialism in general.

In volunteering for military service your sons and daughters swore allegiance to the US Empire. They lived by the sword of US

Imperialism - obeying illegal orders to murder, rape, torture and maim Iraqis. They chose to do this on their own free will, nobody forced them. They lived by the sword of US imperialism and they died by the sword of the growing resistance to it. Another way to put it: what goes around comes around.

Is it not better for humanity that they are dead least they murder, rape, torture and maim more Iraqis? How many Iraqis have to die before you’ll finally admit this?

Yes, Bush and Co are war criminals and they should be tried as such. But contrary to how you would have it, they are not the lone war criminals in this genocide. Your sons and daughters became war criminals the moment they set foot in Iraq. They were accomplices in what the Nuremberg Trials prosecutors called the “supreme crime” - the invasion and occupation of a sovereign country without just cause, without provocation.





Poverty, ignorance and racism are no excuse for cold-blooded murder. Let’s be clear about this; your sons and daughters willingly went half-way around the world to take part in the genocide of working people of color who never hurt anyone in the US. What motivated them to do it was self-interest, i.e., a career, training, college, benefits, puffed up pride, racism, loyalty to imperialism, etc.

Your crocodile tears will not excuse them of their war crimes. They died with Iraqi blood on their hands and you are much to blame for it because you encouraged them to join the US military.

Your flag waving, imperialist slogans and lack of concern for the Iraqis are not the characteristics of those who are truly for peace. Your organization and others, like the Democratic Party, who tow the same phony lines, are creating confusion within the anti-war movement in the US, which in turn creates divisions. You are promoting the notion that it’s possible to be pro-imperialist but against war - a very dangerous notion that allows the US to continue its plunder of the world’s resources for profits at the expense of the lives of billions of low wage workers, mostly of color.

You goose stepped your way into the anti-war movement waving the “Support Our Troops” banner - the same banner that you waived when you attended the pro-war rallies. The only reason you are against this war is because your sons and daughters died in it.

You are impeding the development of the anti-war movement with this banner - creating confusion and divisions within, shaping its character into one that is pro-imperialist, one that is adapting the Democratic Party’s pro Kerry, pro war agenda.

Waving the imperialist banner “Support Our Troops” is a slap in the face of the victims of the US military - the Iraqis, the Afghanis and the countless millions of people of color, who were murdered, raped, enslaved, tortured, maimed and robbed by US troops throughout history.



You display pictures of all the US troops who died in Iraq at anti-war rallies adding more insult to injury for the Iraqis.

What about the Iraqis who were murdered by your sons and daughters - how many pictures of them do you flash?

You are fake peace activists who use the anti-war movement for personal reasons; namely you want to vent your anger at someone (Bush) because you lost your sons and daughters. Unwilling to renounce your loyalty to US imperialism, unwilling to admit that your sons and daughters were war criminals, you seek refuge in the anti-war movement because the pro-war fascists won’t redress your grievances.

You claim that you’ve changed your position on the war but in reality you’ve only put on a masque. Behind that mask is the same puffed-up ugly American who still believes the US should dominate the world, capitalism works and imperialist wars are OK (as long as your loved ones aren’t harmed).



You can’t truly be for peace while you support imperialism. If you want to help stop imperialist wars you have to respect the right of self-determination for the working people of all countries. This means that whenever imperialists illegally invade and occupy foreign countries you must support the resistance and not the US troops. You can support the Iraqi resistance by not supporting the US troops. It’s as simple as that.

Support the Iraqi Resistance! Prosecute Bush & Co for war crimes! Prosecute the US Government for war crimes! Prosecute the US troops for war crimes!

Attacking potential allies from a position of self-congratulation and moral superiority is not a good idea. Almost everyone in the US profits in some way from imperialism, and the upper middle class (to which I would bet my last quarter you belong) profits more than most. The task is to change attitudes, not to denounce others for having backward ideas and participating in a reactionary social and political system. Military people and their families are not only potential allies, but necessary allies if there is ever to be a successful military change in this country. No revolution is going to be carried out against the wishes of the millions of enlisted people and low-ranking officers in the military. On the other hand, there is not going to be any fascist suppression of a revolution, either, against their wishes.

The “position of self-congradulation and moral superiority” you speak of is simply a frivolous attempt to debase me - a clear sign that you can’t defend your support of the US troops as they murder, rape and torture Iraqis by the hundreds every day.

For your information I am an unemployed worker who was terminated by his last employer for fighting for workers rights.

The computer I’m typing this on is a Pentium II and my dialup Internet service costs me less than eight dollars per month. That should give you an idea of what class I belong to.

But suppose I were rich, filthy rich. Why would that make my position regarding the US troops incorrect?

Everyone in the US benefits from US imperialism to various degrees. But the argument that I should support US imperialism because I benefit from it, i.e., that I should not “bite the hand that feeds me”, is a typical imperialist argument to silence all dissent.

In short, you are pro-imperialist. That’s not a personal attack, it’s simply a fact that is based on your own words and a useful bit of information in this debate.

Now that we’ve established that fact we can move on to say that, since you are pro-imperialist and since all imperialists are racists, you are therefore a racist. This explains why you have no concern for the Iraqis. You support the US troops at the expense of the lives of thousands and thousands of Iraqis. You don’t want to talk about supporting the Iraqi resistance because you are a racist.

The task is to change the troops attitudes? I agree that they must change their attitudes. I just don’t agree with your imperialist method of “changing their attitudes”, nor do I agree with you imperialist definition of what “changing the troops’ attitudes” means.

I think the only way their attitudes will change is when they become aware that what they are doing is wrong. I think when they change their attitudes they will take action, i.e., rebel, refuse to obey orders, etc.

You think the only way to change their attitudes is by hugging, kissing, charming and supporting them as they murder, rape, torture, rob Iraqis. You think when they change their attitudes they will vote for Kerry, demand better flak jackets, demand better pay, better VA benefits, etc.

It happened.

"The morale, discipline, and battleworthiness of the U. S. Armed Forces are, with a few salient exceptions, lower and worse than at any time in this century and possibly in the history of the United States.

By every conceivable indicator, our army that now remains in Vietnam is in a state approaching collapse, with individual units avoiding or having refused combat, murdering their officers and non-commissioned officers, drug-ridden, and dispirited where not near mutinous. Elsewhere than Vietnam, the situation is nearly as serious."

http://www.geocities.com/cordobakaf/gis.htm

It all depends upon the core of NCOs and their ability to control the troops in their fire teams, squads, and platoon levels. Entire companies were in revolt by the end of that awfull debacle.

I do not support imperialism. Nor do I caress and kiss US troops as they murder, rape, torture and rob Iraqis. If you had read the many posings I have made here you would not be suggesting such nonsense.

Perhaps this is proof that you really were screwed over by your former employer, who failed to provide you with needed psychological treatment coverage in your insurance plan.

I do know this, however: revolutions do not succeed in industrialized nations without a good percentage of the rank and file military people going over to the side of the revolution. To ignore this and to deliberately alienate potential allies is foolish, counterproductive, and just plain stupid.

Plain and simple: if you support imperialist troops as they murder, rape and torture working people, then you support imperialism.

You may not physically hug and kiss the US troops, but since you’re willing to knock yourself out to support them, you may as well.

First you accuse me of being wealthy, now you personally attack me for being working class and for having the misfortune of being unemployed. What class do you belong to? Again, you can’t come up with any justifiable reasons for supporting the US imperialist troops as they murder, rape and torture working class people of color, so you attack me.

You’re not supporting the “military people going over to the side of the revolution”, fool. You are supporting stone-cold racist murders, rapists and torturers.

I never said we should not try to win the troops over. The difference between your position regarding the troops and mine is a matter of simple logic and honesty. You claim you can turn the troops against the war by supporting them, i.e., calling them victims, washing the Iraqi blood off their hands, pardoning them of their war crimes, etc.

I believe that the only way they will turn against the war is by educating them. That means we must tell them the truth and call them what they are - murderers, rapists, torturers, thugs, etc. It means we must hold them accountable for their war crimes instead of pardoning them, as you would have it.

The theory of “supporting the US troops into rebelling” has been put into motion by the fake anti-war movement in the US for over a year now, with little effect. Where are all the rebellious troops who are throwing down their weapons and refusing to fight? Well, where the hell are they?

The fake anti-war movement’s alternative media is desperately trying to make it appear as if this theory is working. So few is the number of troops who are willing to speak out against the war that it has to interview pro-war troops and hope that they will say something that sounds “rebellious”. The Bill Moyers Now show on PBS conducted such an interview last night. The soldier who was interviewed did not oppose the war in any way. He said he wanted to go back to Iraq. He said he joined the military after 9/11 because he believed it was his duty to serve his country. He didn’t even express any grievances against the military like most of these “rebels” often do. He did manage to say that the hostilities were getting worse, but that’s a far crying from speaking out against the war.

A few days ago Dennis Bernstein’s show, Flashpoints interviewed Dante Zepala, brother of Sherman Baker - a soldier who was killed in Iraq recently. Dante spoke of Sherman as “a proud, brave and honorable man who served his country well”. He went on to complain about inadequate flak jackets, armor, low pay, etc. When Bernstein tried to press him to make a statement against the war he declined by stating that he would not say anything that would hinder the US military from “doing its job” in Iraq. In short, Zapala was a pro-war patriot, who was using the Flashpoints to voice his concern for the safety and welfare of the troops for the purpose of putting pressure on the government (to take better care of the troops).

These are some examples of the type of “rebels” you are inspiring with your “Support Our Troops” imperialist slogans.

You people have turned the anti-war movement in the US on its head. It is now a “Get Out and Vote for Kerry” movement and you won’t do anything to change it because you are too dishonest and too entrenched in the Democratic Party. You are imperialists. You too have the blood of the Iraqis on your hands.

I would appreciate it if you would stop putting words in my mouth and attributing to me political stands that I have never taken. I never raised the slogan

Support the Troops, nor did I ever attack you for being a member of the working class. (And this is aside from the fact that I don't believe that you are a member of this class.) Maybe you should make some effort to imagine what life is like for some working class kid growing up in Bakersfield or South Boston, who is out of work, has had the virtues of "serving" in the military drummed into him or her by teachers and parents since the age of six, and who has never had access to the alternative sources of ideas and opinions that affluent, college-educated suburbanites take for granted. Call this person a war criminal for enlisting if you want to, but I prefer to think of him or her as a stong potential ally against war and militarism once his or her eyes are unclouded and they see bourgeois b.s. for what it is. That happened many times during the later stages of the Vietnam War, and it can happen again.

Now imagine the Iraqis, who that GI "victim" of yours is murdering raping and torturing.

You goon huggers are all alike. Nowhere in your victimization of the yanqui goons are the Iraqis ever mentioned. That's because behind your fake anti-war facade lurks closet racism, imperilalism, opportunism poverty pimpism, careerism, etc.

Such cold-blooded killers, no matter what their upbringing is, are not compelled to change their position regarding the war via your support.

The statistics prove this. How many of your GI "vicitims"

have rebelled against the military so far in this war?

Such cold blooded murderers can only be ostracized into changing. They need to know that the anti-war movement is holding them accountable for their war crimes and that the only way they can rectify the situation, the only right thing for them to do is to rebel against the US military.

We goon huggers and poverty pimps are holding you responsible for not taking your psychiatric medication.