[MKE - Indymedia] Fwd: Iraq Veterans Against the War: Winter Soldier

[Mr Yakmilk]

------- Forwarded message -------

Hi great people at IndyMedia,

My name is Liam Madden from Iraq Veterans Against the War. IVAW is  
launching
a new "Winter Soldier" campaign which will conduct a public investigation
into the atrocities occurring in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Can Indymedia support us in either of the following ways:

1. Create a link to our statement on your website.

     and or

2. Send out our message to your email list encouraging them to sign the
below statement by clicking on the link


We need the Support of Indymedia, and the entire progressive community, to
make this a success.

Thank you.

Respectfully,
Liam Madden
Board of Directors
Iraq Veterans Against the War
703-408-3626

Here is our intro and the statement:

Please Support Iraq Veterans Against the War and their Public Investigation
of the atrocities
occurring in Iraq and Afghanistan.The following statement contains a brief
explanation of
what IVAW is doing and a statement of support that you can sign by clicking
on the link to
IVAW's web page.

This statement will be the basis for a national advertisement and will help
us generate attention
and funds for this project.
*

Support Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation *

They saw it for themselves, now --with your support-- they'll tell it for
themselves.

On the weekend of 13-15 March, 2008 Iraq Veterans Against the War will
assemble
history's largest gathering of US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan , as  
well
as Iraqi
and Afghan survivors. They will testify to their first hand experiences and
reveal the
truth of occupation.

This investigation will help end the war because it will:

1. Embolden GI resistance by making the truth of their experiences an
acceptable part
     of the national dialogue. Further, the DVD created at this conference
will be a powerful
     educational tool on the history of GI movements and will encourage
independent thought
     and collective action.

2. Mobilize the anti-war movement by demonstrating the power of organized
opposition and
     providing the facts needed to confront the myths propagated by the
administration,
     congress and the media. IVAW will also present its strategy of
organizing GIs to encourage
     the anti-war movement as a whole to support GI resistance.

3. Build solidarity between the common peoples of the US, Iraq, and
Afghanistan.
     The people who suffer the most from this occupation will be given a
voice and a view into
     our struggle to end the unlawful occupation of their countries. Through
this event, IVAW
     hopes to build lasting ties with the common people of Iraq and
Afghanistan.

4. Shape the way this history is told to future generations. Without a
concerted effort to
     dispel the myths and sugar coated images of the U.S. occupations,  
future
generations will
     never know the realities of war.
5. This project provides you with the opportunity to feel the deep
satisfaction of contributing to
     laying the building blocks of an extremely meaningful movement. The  
best
way for us to
      prevent the wars looming on the horizon is for people to collectively
stay on the offensive
      against the current wars.


Click on this link http://www.ivaw.org/wintersoldierstatmentofsupport to
sign the statement of support below

We Support the Troops Who Oppose the War

In 1969, the My Lai massacre helped fuel popular opposition to the Vietnam
War. U.S. political
and military leaders insisted that such crimes were isolated exceptions.
Members of Vietnam
Veterans Against the War knew differently.

In January of 1971, over one hundred Vietnam Veterans gathered in Detroit  
to
testify their
experiences to America. Their testimony, called the Winter Soldier
Investigation, revealed that
atrocities were systemic and responsibility laid at the highest levels of
government.

The U.S. Government lied to get us into war and continues to conceal the
true nature of military occupation.

On the weekend of 13-15 March, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will
assemble history's largest
gathering of US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Iraqi and
Afghan survivors. They will provide
first hand accounts of their experiences and reveal the truth of  
occupation.

We support Iraq Veterans Against the War and their Winter Soldier: Iraq &
Afghanistan Investigation.
Join us in supporting the effort to reveal truth in the way that only those
who lived it can.

Signers will be joining prolific scholar and author Noam Chomsky as well as
journalist and author of
"Blackwater" Jeremy Scahill