greenwald: manning forced nudity = media tipping point

Glenn Greenwald, including links and emphasis:

The forced nudity imposed on Bradley Manning followed by the forced resignation of P.J. Crowley has clearly created a media tipping point in this story. In addition to the scathing New York Times Editorial from Monday (Manning's treatment "conjures creepy memories of how the Bush administration used to treat terror suspects"), editorial condemnation has now come from The Los Angeles Times ("punishment, not protection, is the purpose of these degrading measures") and The Guardian ("There was at least the ghost of an excuse for bullying foreign combatants but no US need for mistreating one of their own"). Perhaps most notably, even the military-revering, establishment-defending Washington Post Editorial Page today emphatically condemns these conditions as "uncomfortably close to the kind of intimidating and humiliating tactics disavowed after the abuses at the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons that eroded the country’s standing in the world."

The abusive treatment of Manning is indeed now reverberating internationally. Der Spiegel has a long article on the conditions of Manning's detention, noting that "even US politicians believe they're illegal" and highlighting the point I've repeatedly made:

Before he was inaugurated, Obama talked about the importance of whistleblowers, or sources who expose abuses within their organizations. Such "acts of courage and patriotism" ought to be "encouraged, rather than stifled," his website read at the time.

Once in office, Obama underwent a radical shift. His government is currently taking legal action against a number of whistleblowers. The government apparently wants to use the Manning case as a deterrent.

Meanwhile, The Guardian has an excellent article today describing how Physicians for Human Rights is now formally raising objections to the role of brig psychiatrists in enabling Manning's inhumane treatment (just as they once raised objections to the role played by health professionals at Guantanamo).

Plus: Tom Tomorrow: The president consults with General Flustercluck.

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chuck wiley on the u.s. occupation of iraq: "it's legally wrong, it's morally wrong, and it shouldn't be happening"

As I mentioned last week, US war resister Chuck Wiley is on a speaking tour in Nova Scotia. The schedule of event is posted here; you can still catch him in Halifax today and tonight.

This story ran in the Halifax Chronicle Herald. If you live in Nova Scotia, please consider writing a letter to the editor in support of Chuck's bid to stay in Canada. He needs your support.

By the time he reached the age of 38, Kentucky native Chuck Wiley thought he would be retired from the United States military and working at a civilian power plant "until I was too old to get out of bed."

Instead, the trained nuclear engineer has been living in Canada since 2007. He has not spoken to his parents since moving north and is waiting to learn if he’ll be deported back to the United States, where he’s sure he’ll be jailed as a deserter from the U.S. navy.

A former chief petty officer, Wiley has paid a high professional and personal price for his decision to oppose the Iraq war.

"I wish it could have gone better," he admits. "But at the end of the day, the fundamental problem is that what the military is doing in (Iraq) is wrong. It’s legally wrong, it’s morally wrong and it shouldn’t be happening."

There are about 50 former members of the American military seeking sanctuary in Canada. They are pressuring Ottawa to enact safe haven legislation for anyone who opposes fighting in a war not sanctioned by the United Nations.

But as it stands now, the federal government is moving to deport Wiley and the others back to the U.S.

Wiley is in Nova Scotia this week speaking to various groups about his opposition to the war in Iraq and the push for sanctuary for war resisters through War Resisters Support Campaign.

The sailor is as surprised as anyone that his life has taken such a turn.

Coming from a family with a long history of military service, he happily signed up at age 17 with the consent of his parents.

"It was the honourable thing to do for the men in my family," Wiley said.

He started off in the army in military intelligence but later transferred to the navy where he was trained as a nuclear engineer.

By 2006, he had been promoted to chief petty officer and was sent to Iraq aboard the USS Enterprise, an aircraft carrier.

Wiley said he spent most of his time in the military doing what was asked of him and not getting mired down in the politics of the war.

"It was easy to stick your head in the sand and not be concerned about what was going on outside the ship," he said.

"At that point, I didn’t see anything wrong with what was going on."

Eventually, though, he started asking questions about certain missions that didn’t seem right, he said. The answers he received didn’t add up and, eventually, he questioned the point of the entire exercise.

"I kind of got into a pissing contest with my chain of command, for lack of a better term. I asked questions and I got responses like, ‘you need to shut up and go back to work. This doesn’t concern you.’ That offended me."

. . .

He said Canada Border Services Agency will interview him next week about why he wants to stay in the country but other American servicemen before him have been sent back and jailed.

While the personal price to object to the war has been high, Wiley said he could not condone what he considers to be an illegal war.

"It wasn’t just that we have found ourselves in the midst of a wrong operation, but the feeling I got from my chain of command is that we’re willingly doing something that we know is wrong," he said.

"That to me, honestly, is exactly what a military force can’t ever be."

Stay tuned for new information about how you can help Chuck and other US war resisters in Canada.

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editor of national review speaks up for bradley manning

Raw Story reports that Robert VerBruggen, editor of the ultraconservative National Review, is speaking out against the US Army's torture and abusive treatment of Bradley Manning.

I assume everyone already knows that P. J. Crowley, the US State Department spokesperson who called the treatment of Manning "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid," was forced to resign. Much to his credit, Crowley did not backpedal or detract his statement. VerBruggen also comments on Crowley's statement.

Bradley Manning has found yet another unexpected defender.

An editor at the conservative National Review magazine is speaking out on behalf of Manning, the Army private accused of leaking U.S. State Department cables to WikiLeaks.

Robert VerBruggen declared Tuesday that there was "no excuse" for subjecting Manning, who has not been convicted of a crime, to harsh conditions.

Manning attorney David Coombs revealed earlier this month that for at least two nights in row, the Army private had been "stripped naked" for as long as seven hours at a time.

Manning has been held at the Quantico brig since July under a maximum security regimen, which leaves him in his cell for 23 hours a day, because authorities say his escape would pose a risk to national security.

"He has yet to be convicted of a crime -- and, regardless, prisons should avoid inflicting arbitrary and pointless miseries on their charges," VerBruggen wrote.

"On at least two and possibly three occasions, prison officials have used their discretion to subject Manning to harsher procedures than would normally be used under the brig’s policies. Manning’s treatment may well be legal, as the general counsels of the Departments of Defense and of the Navy found — the policies in question are just guidelines — but that doesn’t make it right," he added.

. . .

"The fact that the State Department's P.J. Crowley spoke out against Manning's treatment, however ill-considered the outburst was, should encourage Americans to demand a better explanation," VerBruggen noted.

"Manning is an American citizen in an American detention facility, and he has not yet been convicted. There is no excuse for subjecting him to harsh conditions, so long as he poses no threat to himself or others. The American people deserve an explanation as to why Manning remains in maximum custody and on prevention-of-injury watch," he concluded.

So the National Review is more humane and just than Obama.

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wikileaks' forgotten man: documentary on bradley manning: watch on tv or online

On CBC this weekend, and online anytime, please watch "WikiLeaks' Forgotten Man", a short documentary about Bradley Manning.

WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange has been cast as a heroic champion of free speech and public enemy number one to the most powerful government in the world. But his ongoing expose of US foreign policy would not have been possible without the work of a young American soldier - Private Bradley Manning. It was Manning who allegedly stole the classified video and documents released to the world by WikiLeaks in 2010.

WikiLeaks' Forgotten Man says the U.S. Army private masterminded the biggest intelligence breach in history from a humble military desk in Iraq - and it tells the story of the man who betrayed him, former hacker Adrian Lamo. In an extraordinary interview Lamo reveals how he came to know Bradley Manning, claiming the soldier openly confessed to his role in the WikiLeaks scandal through online chats that are presented in the film.

Manning is quoted saying "I'm a high profile source...and I've developed a relationship with Assange". He says he released the cables because "I was actively involved in something I was completely against". But one of Lamo's old friends, former hacker Kevin Mitnick, is suspicious of Lamo's evidence and his motives, "I call into question the authenticity of the chat logs, because I know his personality".

While Julian Assange awaits the results of British efforts to extradite him to Sweden for sex charges, Manning now languishes in solitary confinement in a US military prison, facing a possible life sentence. But he's considered a hero to people like Daniel Ellsberg, the whistle-blower who released the Pentagon Papers in 1971. He says "Bradley Manning has shown a willingness to give his life and his freedom for his country. And you can't be more patriotic than that."

Ellsberg writes in support of Manning in The Guardian.

This shameful abuse of Bradley Manning
by Daniel Ellsberg

The WikiLeaks suspect's mistreatment amounts to torture. Either President Obama knows this or he should make it his business

President Obama tells us that he's asked the Pentagon whether the conditions of confinement of Bradley Manning, the soldier charged with leaking state secrets, "are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards. They assure me that they are."

If Obama believes that, he'll believe anything. I would hope he would know better than to ask the perpetrators whether they've been behaving appropriately. I can just hear President Nixon saying to a press conference the same thing: "I was assured by the the White House Plumbers that their burglary of the office of Daniel Ellsberg's doctor in Los Angeles was appropriate and met basic standards."

When that criminal behaviour ordered from the Oval Office came out, Nixon faced impeachment and had to resign. Well, times have changed. But if President Obama really doesn't yet know the actual conditions of Manning's detention – if he really believes, as he's said, that "some of this [nudity, isolation, harassment, sleep-deprivation] has to do with Private Manning's wellbeing", despite the contrary judgments of the prison psychologist – then he's being lied to, and he needs to get a grip on his administration.

If he does know, and agrees that it's appropriate or even legal, that doesn't speak well for his memory of the courses he taught on constitutional law.

The president refused to comment on PJ Crowley's statement that the treatment of Manning is "ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid". Those words are true enough as far as they go – which is probably about as far as a state department spokesperson can allow himself to go in condemning actions of the defence department. But at least two other words are called for: abusive and illegal.

Crowley was responding to a question about the "torturing" of an American citizen, and, creditably, he didn't rebut that description. Prolonged isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity – that's right out of the manual of the CIA for "enhanced interrogation". We've seen it applied in Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib. It's what the CIA calls "no-touch torture", and its purpose there, as in this case, is very clear: to demoralise someone to the point of offering a desired confession. That's what they are after, I suspect, with Manning. They don't care if the confession is true or false, so long as it implicates WikiLeaks in a way that will help them prosecute Julian Assange. [More here.]

"WikiLeaks' Forgotten Man" is available online here.

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u.s. war resister to tour nova scotia

Supporters of peace in Nova Scotia will have a unique opportunity to meet and learn more about a US war resister in Canada. Chuck Wiley, a 17-year veteran of the US Navy, will be speaking in several Nova Scotia locations, on a tour organized by the Halifax Peace Coalition and sponsored by several local groups.

Chuck's story is extremely compelling and affects everyone who hears it in a profound way. I can't tell you how many times I and other campaigners have heard people say their minds were opened - or changed - by hearing Chuck speak.

If you live in Nova Scotia, I hope you'll attend one or more of these events; if you have friends who might be interested, I encourage you to send them this information.

The full list of Chuck's tour dates can also be found on the websites of the War Resister Support Campaign and the Halifax Peace Coalition, and on this Facebook page.

* * * *

Breaking Rank: U.S. War Resister Chuck Wiley Speaks Out In Nova Scotia
Talk & Film Screening of "Breaking Ranks"

Tour Dates:

Wednesday, March 16, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Community Room
New Glasgow Public Library
182 Dalhousie Street
New Glasgow

Thursday, March 17, 12:00-2:00 p.m.
Riverview Room of Jenkins Hall
Nova Scotia Agricultural College
College Road
Bible Hill

Thursday, March 17, 7:00- 9:00 p.m.
Room 241
Beveridge Arts Centre
Acadia University
10 Highland Avenue
Wolfville

Friday, March 18, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Room 1107 Mona Campbell
Dalhousie University
459 LeMarchant Street
Halifax

Friday, March 18, 7:00-9:00 p.m
Sobeys 255, Sobeys Building
903 Robie
St. Saint Mary's University
Halifax

Vigil for Justice for Iraq
Saturday, March 19, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Halifax Public Library
5381 Spring Garden Road
Halifax

Free public talk and film screenings with Chuck Wiley, the most senior US military officer to become a war resister in Canada. Chuck was with the US Navy for 17 years and deployed to Iraq on the USS Enterprise. In 2007, he refused to re-deploy to Iraq and came to Canada as a war resister.

He will share his compelling personal story of conscience. Plus there will also be a special screening of the NFB documentary "Breaking Ranks" about four U.S. soldiers seeking sanctuary in Canada.

Chuck is on a tour of Nova Scotia to raise awareness of the plight of war resisters in Canada and to mark the 8th anniversary of the illegal war and occupation of Iraq and. Part of the national campaign to LET THEM STAY.

Tour Organizer:
Halifax Peace Coalition

Sponsors:
New Glasgow Public Library, Students' Union of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Acadia University, Saint Mary's University, SMU-PIRG, and the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies

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bradley manning in his own words: truth-teller speaks out about his prison ordeal

This is the first we've heard directly from heroic war resister Bradley Manning, in his own words, since his prison ordeal began. Please share widely.

Stripped naked every night, Bradley Manning tells of prison ordeal

US soldier held on suspicion of leaking state secrets speaks out for first time about experience

'Stripping me of all of my clothing is without justification'

Bradley Manning, the US soldier being held in solitary confinement on suspicion of having released state secrets to WikiLeaks, has spoken out for the first time about what he claims is his punitive and unlawful treatment in military prison.

In an 11-page legal letter released by his lawyer, David Coombs, Manning sets out in his own words how he has been "left to languish under the unduly harsh conditions of max [security] custody" ever since he was brought from Kuwait to the military brig of Quantico marine base in Virginia in July last year. He describes how he was put on suicide watch in January, how he is currently being stripped naked every night, and how he is in general terms being subjected to what he calls "unlawful pre-trial punishment".

It is the first time Manning has spoken publicly about his treatment, having previously only been heard through the intermediaries of his lawyer and a friend. Details that have emerged up to now have inspired the UN to launch an inquiry into whether the conditions amount to torture, and have led to protests to the US government from Amnesty International.

The most graphic passage of the letter is Manning's description of how he was placed on suicide watch for three days from 18 January. "I was stripped of all clothing with the exception of my underwear. My prescription eyeglasses were taken away from me and I was forced to sit in essential blindness."

Manning writes that he believes the suicide watch was imposed not because he was a danger to himself but as retribution for a protest about his treatment held outside Quantico the day before. Immediately before the suicide watch started, he said guards verbally harassed him, taunting him with conflicting orders.

When he was told he was being put on suicide watch, he writes, "I became upset. Out of frustration, I clenched my hair with my fingers and yelled: 'Why are you doing this to me? Why am I being punished? I have done nothing wrong.'"

He also describes the experience of being stripped naked at night and made to stand for parade in the nude, a condition that continues to this day. "The guard told me to stand at parade rest, with my hands behind my back and my legs spaced shoulder-width apart. I stood at parade rest for about three minutes … The [brig supervisor] and the other guards walked past my cell. He looked at me, paused for a moment, then continued to the next cell. I was incredibly embarrassed at having all these people stare at me naked."

Full story here.

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bradley manning torture continues: occupation of iraq continues too: support all war resisters

I don't know if you've all been following updates on accused WikiLeaks / Collateral Murder hero Bradley Manning. Things have gotten much worse.

On Wednesday, March 2, the US Army hit Manning with 22 additional charges, including the very serious, and very spurious, "aiding the enemy".

The following day, March 3, Manning's lawyer reported that Manning was stripped of all his clothes and forced to remain naked in his cell.

On Sunday, Glenn Greenwald reported that these humiliations will now occur daily, and put this travesty in context.

To follow-up on yesterday's observations about the prolonged forced nudity to which Bradley Manning has been subjected the last two days: brig officials now confirm to The New York Times that Manning will be forced to be nude every night from now on for the indefinite future -- not only when he sleeps, but also when he stands outside his cell for morning inspection along with the other brig detainees. They claim that it is being done "as a 'precautionary measure' to prevent him from injuring himself."

Has anyone before successfully committed suicide using a pair of briefs -- especially when under constant video and in-person monitoring? There's no underwear that can be issued that is useless for killing oneself? And if this is truly such a threat, why isn't he on "suicide watch" (the NYT article confirms he's not)? And why is this restriction confined to the night; can't he also off himself using his briefs during the day?

Let's review Manning's detention over the last nine straight months: 23-hour/day solitary confinement; barred even from exercising in his cell; one hour total outside his cell per day where he's allowed to walk around in circles in a room alone while shackled, and is returned to his cell the minute he stops walking; forced to respond to guards' inquiries literally every 5 minutes, all day, everyday; and awakened at night each time he is curled up in the corner of his bed or otherwise outside the guards' full view. Is there anyone who doubts that these measures -- and especially this prolonged forced nudity -- are punitive and designed to further erode his mental health, physical health and will? As The Guardian reported last year, forced nudity is almost certainly a breach of the Geneva Conventions; the Conventions do not technically apply to Manning, as he is not a prisoner of war, but they certainly establish the minimal protections to which all detainees -- let alone citizens convicted of nothing -- are entitled.

The treatment of Manning is now so repulsive that it even lies beyond what at least some of the most devoted Obama admirers are willing to defend. For instance, UCLA Professor Mark Kleiman -- who last year hailed Barack Obama as, and I quote, "the greatest moral leader of our lifetime" -- wrote last night:

The United States Army is so concerned about Bradley Manning’s health that it is subjecting him to a regime designed to drive him insane. . . . This is a total disgrace. It shouldn't be happening in this country. You can't be unaware of this, Mr. President. Silence gives consent.

The entire Manning controversy has received substantial media attention. It's being carried out by the military of which Barack Obama is the Commander-in-Chief. Yes, the Greatest Moral Leader of Our Lifetime and Nobel Peace Prize winner is well aware of what's being done and obviously has been for quite some time. [See original for more, plus links.]

It's vitally important that we all help keep this story alive. Visit Bradley Manning Support Network to see what you can do to help.

This also seems like a good time to post an item that's been weighing on my mind for months now. Greenwald ran an excellent interview with Nir Rosen, author of Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World. It's a very tough, very important read.

Every family that I've met in Iraq, or Iraqi refugees as well, has been touched by kidnapping and murder and rape and displacements. You have half a million Iraqis today living inside Iraq who are homeless, squatting in illegal settlements, living in shacks made out of tin cans and cardboard — I saw a house made out of used air conditioners piled up on top of each other — living in massive pits of sewage, stinking of shit, flies all over the place. And, of course, let's not forget you had hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis, murdered, disappeared, tortured to death with power drills, with beheadings, their bodies found weeks later in garbage dumps. Hundreds and hundreds of villages in Iraq totally destroyed ... torture is routine and systematic now. If you get arrested, you get tortured. Corruption is rampant; it's one of the most corrupt countries on Earth. Services are terrible, almost no electricity, dirty water, terrible malnutrition, kids not going to school. It's just a destroyed, brutalized and beaten place where the worst kind of people have taken over.

This is what Bradley Manning is accused of revealing, and why he is being persecuted and tortured. This is what US Iraq War resisters in Canada refused to be part of, and why Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney want them deported. This is why our fight for war resisters matters.

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ivaw urges national guard to refuse to move against organizing workers

From IVAW, on Common Dreams:

Iraq Veterans Against the War to Troops: “We Are Public Employees Too!”

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) calls on all U.S. military service members to refuse and resist any mobilization against workers organizing to protect their basic rights. IVAW stands in solidarity with the multitude gathered in Madison, Wisconsin and many other cities to defend their unions.

by Iraq Veterans Against the War

We believe military service members are public employees too. It is dishonorable to suggest that military personnel should be deployed against teachers, health care providers, firefighters, police officers, and other government employees, many of whom are themselves serving in the National Guard.

Workers with prior military service often seek jobs in the public sector because government agencies are the only employers that follow hiring preferences for veterans as a matter of law. According to the Army Times, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are unemployed at a rate of 15.2%, higher than the national average. The picture is even worse for African American veterans who face nearly double the rate of unemployment. Protecting the rights of workers in public sector unions ensures that veterans have a chance to secure a decent job, earning a living wage and good benefits.

Madison, WI is ground zero for a fight that will likely define the relationship between public sector unions and the governments that employ them for decades to come. Similar to the federal government's defeat of the 1980 Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike, which signaled the beginning of a thirty-year decline of real wages, benefits, and union membership for private sector workers, what happens in Madison today is likely to affect whether governments across the country can destroy a decent standard of living for public sector workers in the future.

Governor Scott Walker recently stated that he was preparing the National Guard to respond to “labor unrest” following the introduction of union-busting legislation in Wisconsin. Governor Walker has attempted to justify this attack on collective bargaining by pointing to state budget shortfalls. Missing from this explanation is an acknowledgment that these deficits have been created and exacerbated by the ongoing trillion dollar wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, federal and local governments across the U.S. are cutting back on the public sector.

Troops have been called out in the past against worker strikes, campus protests, and urban uprisings. However, recent events in Egypt and numerous examples from U.S. history have shown that service members have the power to side with the people and refuse to use violence against their fellow citizens. Troops activated for duty in Madison, WI will have to decide if public sector workers are really the enemy. IVAW says they are not and that troops should support workers fighting for decent jobs, wages, and benefits.

We know firsthand that the U.S. military is already overextended from a decade at war. Through our Operation Recovery campaign, we have been fighting for the right of our troops to heal, rather than being involuntarily redeployed with severe physical and psychological injuries. Adding another mission to an already overburdened military for the purposes of suppressing the rights of workers is irresponsible and not worthy of our service.

If you are a service member facing mobilization or know someone in the military who is you can contact IVAW via email at ivaw@ivaw.org or by phone at (646) 723-0989, M-F 10am-6pm EST.

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james loney: "we have been possessed by the demon of war" [updated]

In January, as part of Let Them Stay Week 2011, there was a Day of Action in Toronto in support of US war resisters in Canada. I neglected to post an audio report by John Bonnar, posted at Rabble, along with an excellent photo album.

The audio is a bit under 20 minutes. I'm listening to it right now. It's Jim Loney, first reading from the Bible, with an interpretation that may surprise you, then reading from Joshua Key's The Deserter's Tale.

Loney, of Christian Peacemaker Teams, says, "We have been possessed by the demon of war. We are spending up to a trillion and a half dollars every year on weapons, on death, on occupation, on blood. We have to stop this."

Listen here.

Update: John also wrote this excellent report on Ashlea Brockway's talk. Listening to Ashlea speak about her husband Jeremy's ordeal is heartbreaking. And realizing the Canadian government is refusing to admit the Brockways - and other families like them - to Canada is enraging.

Supporting military resistance to war is a concrete way to support peace.

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in these times: jason kenney cracks down on war resisters to kiss up to u.s.

Here's a tough, somber look at the situation facing US war resisters in Canada. The writer is quite pessimistic, but I still believe that we can do this. Canada, it's up to you.

Sanctuary Denied: America’s war deserters face deportation from Canada — and then prison, from In These Times.

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u.s. war resisters in canada: "in limbo because canada's conscience appears to lie dormant"

From Coquitlam Now, with heartfelt thanks to Jeff Schutts.

Canada's conscience 'in limbo'
by Jeff Schutts

Old news: American soldiers living in Canada seek sanctuary from the Iraq War.

When you heard this news several years ago you probably responded with confusion; unlike during the Vietnam War, the United States now has a volunteer military. And, like most Canadians (64 per cent in a 2008 poll), once you considered the war's controversies, chances are you thought that Canada should allow them to stay.

It hardly seems right that someone should go to jail for refusing to take part in activities like those at Abu Ghraib prison, or otherwise fight in what the United Nations (UN) general secretary deemed an "illegal war." After all, the lack of a UN sanction for the U.S. invasion of Iraq was why the Liberal government of the day declined to participate.

Surely, all that is resolved by now. Barack Obama is president and, as he declared last August, "the American combat mission in Iraq has ended."

From court martials over the illegal use of sniper "bait" to WikiLeaks documentation of needless civilian deaths, the reasons given for soldiers fleeing to Canada have been clearly corroborated. Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who wanted Canada to help invade Iraq in 2003, changed his mind five years later and admitted the war "was absolutely an error."

Nonetheless, one American Iraq War veteran turned war resister, Rodney Watson, has been trapped inside a Vancouver church for more than a year, living in sanctuary, his only alternative to avoid being arrested by the RCMP, deported by our government and imprisoned by the U.S. Army.

Jeremy Hinzman, the first American soldier of his generation to seek refuge in Canada, has been living in Toronto for seven years, almost a quarter of his life. He has a steady job and his second child was born here, yet he lives knowing that any day he, too, could be taken across the border to a military prison.

There are about three dozen such Americans living in Canada who have formally applied to be granted refugee status. Realistic estimates suggest a couple hundred others are living here underground. For them, the Iraq War is far from over.

Each of them has their own story of why they joined and then quit the military. Their plight is personal, yet their decision to come to Canada has entangled them in the loftiest dimensions of international law: their right to claim conscientious objection, even as soldiers, is guaranteed by the UN's Universal Declaration on Human Rights, while refugee conventions support their claim to asylum.

They are in limbo today because Canada's conscience appears to lie dormant behind pretensions of upholding international justice.

While lower courts sometimes rule that the refugee and immigration bureaucracies need to judge cases on their merits, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to consider the issue in 2007. And while Parliament twice, in 2008 and 2009, passed resolutions asking that the Conservative government make provisions for them to stay, a similar but binding bill failed last September by seven votes.

After two deportations in 2008, it seems that such high-profile political controversy has stayed the Harper government's policy of sending the war resisters back.

Until a new election results in either a Harper majority or a new coalition government, it seems both the war resisters and Canada's conscience will remain in limbo.

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, Douglas College's Institute for Ethics and Global Justice will host a brown bag lunch forum about these issues at its Coquitlam campus, at 1250 Pinetree Way. For more information, contact Jeff Schutts at schuttsj@douglascollege.ca.

Jeff Schutts is a Douglas College history instructor, as well as a former U.S. Army officer and peace activist.

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us war resisters in canada: calling on our government to have courage to let them stay

As part of Let Them Stay Week 2011, war resister Dean Walcott recently spoke at a screening of "War Resisters Speak Out". Dean served two tours of duty in Iraq, but it wasn't until he was stationed at a military hospital in Germany that he saw the true cost of war, in the dead and horribly dying, and their families who had come to say goodbye.

Here's an excellent letter written to The Peterborough Examiner in response to ignorant criticism of Dean and other US Iraq War resisters in Canada. (No link yet.)

Resisters took brave stand and should be welcomed

Re "Desertion is still a crime" (Letter, Jan. 27)

Nick Butler is claiming that war resisters like Dean Walcott should not be admitted to Canada as they have committed the "offence" of refusing to fight in a war that is widely seen as illegitimate. However, there are some considerations that Mr. Butler seems to have overlooked.

The war Mr. Walcott is resisting against is a war that Canada refused to participate in. Canada has a history of allowing war resisters into the country, and not just during the Vietnam War. For example, Canada has allowed Iranian soldiers in after they refused to fight in Iraq. And while the "crime" of desertion is indeed on the books in Canada, the Canadian military does not attempt to track down and punish Canadians who refuse their orders. Yet if resisters like Walcott are sent back to the U.S.A. they will face lengthy prison sentences.

So instead of calling for Walcott to return home and have the courage to face an illegitimate punishment, perhaps we should instead be calling for our government to have the courage to allow these individuals to stay (which shouldn't be hard, given that the U.S. isn't even looking for them), as they have bravely acted according to their conscience.

Matthew Davidson
On behalf of OPIRG-Peterborough

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action alert part 2 of 4: send a letter of support for bradley manning

Bradley Manning is a prisoner of conscience. Accused of leaking the infamous "collateral murder" video that exposed the truth about the US invasion and occupation of Iraq - and vindicated what US war resisters have been saying all along - is not being treated like an ordinary prisoner.

Since July, Manning - without court martial or conviction - has been held in solitary confinement in a 6 x 12-foot cell. He is not allowed to read, to exercise or even to sleep during the day. This was supposedly for his own protection, an excuse the Army continues to use to persecute Manning. Last week, Manning was put on suicide watch - which meant he was stripped to his boxer shorts and his cell stripped of everything, even a blanket. Even his eyeglasses were taken.

At a White House briefing last week, press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about Manning. He said he was unaware of anything about him, but would check. If Gibbs needs information, let's give him some.

From WikiLeaks Is Democracy:

Some have perceived Manning as a traitor. Even if that were true it does not justify pre-trial torture. Others see Manning as a patriot. He is not accused of giving documents to Iran, China or Russia. He is accused of giving them to the media so Americans can see what US foreign policy is doing. He is not accused of trying to become rich by selling the documents. He gave them for free, allegedly, because he wanted to see a debate on U.S. foreign policy so the United States could live up to its highest expectations. He wanted to make the United States better. That is not treason, it is patriotism.

Click here to send a letter to President Obama in support of Bradley Manning. This is an area where public opinion can make a significant difference. Please add your voice to those of Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Chris Hedges, Cindy Sheehan, Col. Ann Wright, Kevin Zeese and so many others.

Click here and add your name.

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creskey: a government of "too many deals and not enough ideals": let them stay!

Jim Creskey, an editor of Embassy magazine, has written an excellent piece linking Martin Luther King, Jr., Dwight Eisenhower's prophetic retirement speech, the shamefully US-centric Canadian government, and the plight of courageous Iraq War resisters seeking refuge in this country. This is a brief excerpt; please click through and read the whole piece. It deserves our attention.

Today, both Eisenhower and King would be dismayed by the rampant and excessive militarism of America. The total for military-related spending in the US for 2010 exceeds a trillion dollars.

Canada, allowing itself to be linked to American military adventures, has doubled its direct spending in recent years. The excuses haven't changed since Eisenhower and King's time. The courageous sacrifices of soldiers are still used as justification for bad political decisions. The threat of terror in various forms is still raised and the dangling of military-related jobs in high-unemployment constituencies is still part of the soft-sell.

Martin Luther King would also have a hard time understanding why today's government of Canada is determined to deport American conscientious objectors back to military jails even though most Canadians believe they should be offered asylum. Would he still believe that Canada was another name for heaven?

Too many deals and not enough ideals on both sides of the border have brought both countries to this regrettable place in modern history. The idealistic but profoundly practical words of a former US Republican president and a martyred champion of non-violent resistance could be applied today to good effect.

Thank you, Mr. Creskey! Supportive letters can be sent to letters@embassymag.ca.

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london ontario supports war resisters

On Sunday, January 16, Michael Ignatieff came to London, Ontario, to skate with Liberal supporters in Victoria Park. An organizer tells me that most of the attention was on the mining accountability legislation, another Liberal private member's bill which died when their party leader and a few others failed to support it. Thus the chants:

"C-300, C-440: absent Liberals vote like Tories"

and

"Hey Mike, what's the story, why're you acting like a Tory?"

Thank you, London! Let Them Stay!

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winnipeggers say let them stay; torontonians to hear stories of forgotten veterans

From Metro:

American war dodgers and their supporters wrap up a week of small protest events Saturday — part of a years-long fight to persuade the federal government to grant the deserters refuge in Canada.

Despite numerous court battles, protests and even pressure from the House of Commons, the campaign has proven barely a thorn in the side of an unyielding Harper government.

"We're feeling the wear and tear of the government's intransigence," Michelle Robidoux, of the War Resisters Support Campaign, conceded Thursday.

"We're very aware that (Immigration Minister) Jason Kenney is counting on a process of attrition to try to defeat the movement to let the war resisters stay."

Saturday's event in Toronto — which will feature a short film and the wife of one U.S. soldier who refused to redeploy to Iraq — ends a week of gatherings in a dozen cities and towns across Canada.

On Wednesday, for example, about a dozen people protested outside the constituency offices of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews in Steinbach, Man.

Among them was Iraqi war veteran Joshua Key, who said the rally aimed to remind both the government and Canadians that the war dodgers and their issues had not gone away.

Scores of American soldiers, many with spouses or children in tow, fled to Canada starting seven years ago rather than fight in Iraq or Afghanistan.

They argued the U.S.-led war on Iraq was illegal under international law, and that American soldiers were committing atrocities against civilians.

"It's just like nobody in the military really cared what happened," Cpl. Jeremy Brockway, 26, who served in Iraq with the Marines in 2006 and 2007, has said.

"It's just disregard for human life."

Supporters of the Minnesota-born Brockway say he has extreme post-traumatic stress disorder but was ordered to redeploy to Iraq despite objections from military psychiatrists.

He and his wife Ashlea — who will speak for him in Toronto on Saturday — live in Port Colborne, Ont., with their two Canadian-born children.

The tormented Brockway, who arrived in Canada in early 2008, can barely talk about his experiences and seldom leaves his apartment.

Still, neither the refugee board nor government has viewed the soldiers' requests for asylum or residency with much sympathy.

In ruling after ruling, the Immigration and Refugee Board has nixed their applications for protection on the grounds they would be prosecuted, not persecuted, if returned to the United States.

Kenney himself has referred to the American soldiers as "bogus" refugee claimaints.

"We reject the ridiculous notion . . . that President Barack Obama is persecuting deserters from voluntary military service," Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said in October.

Kenney's spokesman Alykhan Velshi confirmed Thursday that "nothing" had changed in the government's position.

A majority of MPs has called on the Conservative government to let the war dodgers stay, and polls have suggested most Canadians are sympathetic to their plight.

Still, at least two of the soldiers have been deported to the U.S. to courts martial and prison terms for desertion.

Most others — some with children born in Canada — have quietly hung on.

One, Jeremy Hinzman who came to Canada in January 2004, won a Federal Court of Appeal ruling last year that sent his case back to the refugee board.

The court found his sincerely held beliefs and motivations for coming to Canada should have been considered.

Supporters say that kind of court victory has helped keep their campaign energized.

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let them stay week 2011: events across canada

Still plenty of events to come!

Support US Iraq War Resisters: Join Let Them Stay Week, January 15-22, 2011

From January 15 to 22 people across Canada will participate in a national "Let Them Stay Week".

Join Canadians from coast to coast to show support for Iraq War resisters, who are currently threatened with deportation by the minority Conservative government.

Events planned so far:

Fredericton

Film screening: "Winter Soldier"

Friday, January 21
7:00 p.m.
Conserver House
180 St. John Street
Fredericton, NB

Cinema Politica Fredericton and the Fredericton Peace Coalition present a film screening of Winter Soldier, a documentary of Vietnam War veterans speaking out against the atrocities they witnessed.

For more info: fredericton@cinemapolitica.org or info@frederictonpeace.org.

Grand Forks

Film screening and discussion

Friday January 13th
7:00 p.m.
Room 8
Selkirk College
Grand Forks, BC

Sponsored by Boundary Peace Initiative, USCC Working Groups, KRUNA, Canadian Peace Alliance and War Resisters Support Campaign.

For more info: L4peace@telus.net.

Halifax

Information Picket outside Passport Canada Office

Wednesday, January 19
12:00-1:00 pm
Maritime Centre
1505 Barrington Street
Halifax, NS

Join a peaceful information picket to hand out literature, hold signs and stand in solidarity with US war resisters who have sought refuge in Canada.

and

Film Screenings: "War Resisters Speak Out" and "Parallels"

Wednesday, January 19
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Sobeys 260
Sobeys Building
Saint Mary's University
6136 University Avenue
Halifax, NS

Free public film screenings, all are welcome. Watch two recent films about war resistance: "War Resisters Speak Out", and "Parallels: Iraq and Afghanistan". These films tell the stories of courageous Americans who have left the US military, refused to serve in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and have fled to Canada for refuge.

Organized by the Halifax Peace Coalition and SMU PIRG.

For more info: Halifax Peace Coalition.

Newmarket

Video and discussion

Sunday, January 16
1:00 pm
Yonge Street Quaker Meeting House
17030 Yonge Street - north of Mulock Drive, south of Eagle Street
Newmarket, ON

Discussion will feature Iraq War resister Kimberly Rivera and Michelle Robidoux of the War Resisters Support Campaign.

Hosted by Yonge Street Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
For more info: 416.824.8421 or danpoisson@yahoo.ca.

Peterborough

Film screening of "War Resisters Speak Out", followed by discussion with US Iraq War resister Dean Walcott

Saturday, January 22
2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Peterborough Public Library
345 Aylmer Street North
Peterborough, ON

For more info: stewart.britney@gmail.com.

St. John's

Film screening and art show

Monday, January 17
5:00 to 10:00 p.m.
LPSU Hall (Second Space)
3 Victoria Street
St. John's, NL

For more info: 709.726.6163.

Sudbury

Letter-writing day in support of US Iraq War resisters

For more info: ashandro@laurentian.ca.

Toronto

Film, speakers, letter writing, refreshments.

Saturday, January 22
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street
Toronto, ON

Speakers:

Ashlea Brockway, who came to Canada with her husband Jeremy, after he refused to redeploy to Iraq

Alyssa Manning, legal counsel to many US war resisters in Canada

James Loney, member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, former hostage in Iraq

Jeremy Brockway, Iraq War resister, appearing via video

Fore more info: resisters@sympatico.ca or 416.598.1222.

Vancouver

Soldiers Shining the Light on the Truth: GI resistance - Vietnam / US Iraq War Resisters / Bradley Manning - Wikileaks

Film Screening of "Sir! No Sir!" and discussion with Rodney Watson, Iraq War resister living in sanctuary

Saturday, January 15
2:00 p.m.
First United Church
320 Hastings Street East
Vancouver, BC

For more info: samhouse.sarah@gmail.com.

and

Welcoming American War Resisters: A Canadian Tradition: Film Screening of "War Resisters Speak Out" and panel discussion

Thursday, January 20
7:00 p.m.
Langara College
100 West 49th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Forty years ago, tens of thousands of American soldiers and draftees who refused to join the war against Vietnam were welcomed in Canada. Today hundreds of soldiers who refused to deploy to Iraq have come to Canada. While they have been warmly welcomed by Canadians, our government has made strenuous efforts to send them back to the US to face prison sentences.

Join us for a panel discussion about defending the Canadian tradition of welcoming American war resisters.

The panel will include:

Ujjal Dosanjh, Member of Parliament for Vancouver South

Peter Prontzos, former US Marine, and Vietnam war resister, instructor of Political Science, Langara College

Rodney Watson, decorated Iraq war veteran, living in sanctuary in First United Church (via video conference)

For more info: 605.764.2580 or vanresisters@yahoo.ca.

Victoria

War Resisters Write-In

Sunday, January 16
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
629 Toronto Street
Victoria, BC

Please join us to let Harper and Kenney know they must not depart war resisters, Americans who have left the military because they refuse (re)deployment to Iraq! Snacks and beverages will be provided.

For more info: vlannon@pacificcoast.net.

Windsor

Information picket in support of US Iraq War resisters

Saturday January 15 and Saturday January 22
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Ottawa Street, across from Market Square
Windsor, ON

Info: windsorpeace@hotmail.com

Winnipeg

Iraq War resister Joshua Key speaks

Monday January 17
7:00 p.m.
McNally-Robinson Booksellers
Grant Park Shopping Centre
1120 Grant Avenue
Winnipeg, MB

and

Picket federal MP Vic Toews' office

Wednesday, January 19
1:30 p.m.
8-227 Main Street
Steinbach, MB

Info: 204.792.3371 or keepresisters@mts.net

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let them stay week 2011: please write a letter this week

It's time to show Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney that we have not given up. We have not gone away. We will continue to fight for the Canada we want to live in - the Canada that stands for peace, the Canada that is a "refuge from militarism". Canada said NO to the invasion of Iraq, and we should welcome people who - at great personal sacrifice - have done the same.

Tell Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney why you think Iraq War resisters should be allowed to stay in Canada.

Add your name to the Open Letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney. (Scroll down to click on "add your name".)

And please take a few minutes to write your own letter:

The Right Hon. Stephen Harper
Prime Minister
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
pm@pm.gc.ca

The Hon. Jason Kenney
Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Kenney.j@parl.gc.ca

Thanks!

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let them stay week 2011: events

Support US Iraq War Resisters: Join Let Them Stay Week, January 15-22, 2011

From January 15 to 22 people across Canada will participate in a national "Let Them Stay Week".

Join Canadians from coast to coast to show support for Iraq War resisters, who are currently threatened with deportation by the minority Conservative government.

Events planned so far:

Fredericton

Film screening: "Winter Soldier"

Friday, January 21
7:00 p.m.
Conserver House
180 St. John Street
Fredericton, NB

Cinema Politica Fredericton and the Fredericton Peace Coalition present a film screening of Winter Soldier, a documentary of Vietnam War veterans speaking out against the atrocities they witnessed.

For more info: fredericton@cinemapolitica.org or info@frederictonpeace.org.

Grand Forks

Film screening and discussion

Friday January 13th
7:00 p.m.
Room 8
Selkirk College
Grand Forks, BC

Sponsored by Boundary Peace Initiative, USCC Working Groups, KRUNA, Canadian Peace Alliance and War Resisters Support Campaign.

For more info: L4peace@telus.net.

Halifax

Information Picket outside Passport Canada Office

Wednesday, January 19
12:00-1:00 pm
Maritime Centre
1505 Barrington Street
Halifax, NS

Join a peaceful information picket to hand out literature, hold signs and stand in solidarity with US war resisters who have sought refuge in Canada.

and

Film Screenings: "War Resisters Speak Out" and "Parallels"

Wednesday, January 19
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Sobeys 260
Sobeys Building
Saint Mary's University
6136 University Avenue
Halifax, NS

Free public film screenings, all are welcome. Watch two recent films about war resistance: "War Resisters Speak Out", and "Parallels: Iraq and Afghanistan". These films tell the stories of courageous Americans who have left the US military, refused to serve in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and have fled to Canada for refuge.

Organized by the Halifax Peace Coalition and SMU PIRG.

For more info: Halifax Peace Coalition.

Newmarket

Video and discussion

Sunday, January 16
1:00 pm
Yonge Street Quaker Meeting House
17030 Yonge Street - north of Mulock Drive, south of Eagle Street
Newmarket, ON

Discussion will feature Iraq War resister Kimberly Rivera and Michelle Robidoux of the War Resisters Support Campaign.

Hosted by Yonge Street Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
For more info: 416.824.8421 or danpoisson@yahoo.ca.

Peterborough

Film screening of "War Resisters Speak Out", followed by discussion with US Iraq War resister Dean Walcott

Saturday, January 22
2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Peterborough Public Library
345 Aylmer Street North
Peterborough, ON

For more info: stewart.britney@gmail.com.

St. John's

Film screening and art show

Monday, January 17
5:00 to 10:00 p.m.
LPSU Hall (Second Space)
3 Victoria Street
St. John's, NL

For more info: 709.726.6163.

Sudbury

Letter-writing day in support of US Iraq War resisters

For more info: ashandro@laurentian.ca.

Toronto

Film, speakers, letter writing, refreshments.

Saturday, January 22
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street
Toronto, ON

Speakers:

Ashlea Brockway, who came to Canada with her husband Jeremy, after he refused to redeploy to Iraq

Alyssa Manning, legal counsel to many US war resisters in Canada

James Loney, member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, former hostage in Iraq

Jeremy Brockway, Iraq War resister, appearing via video

Fore more info: resisters@sympatico.ca or 416.598.1222.

Vancouver

Soldiers Shining the Light on the Truth: GI resistance - Vietnam / US Iraq War Resisters / Bradley Manning - Wikileaks

Film Screening of "Sir! No Sir!" and discussion with Rodney Watson, Iraq War resister living in sanctuary

Saturday, January 15
2:00 p.m.
First United Church
320 Hastings Street East
Vancouver, BC

For more info: samhouse.sarah@gmail.com.

and

Welcoming American War Resisters: A Canadian Tradition: Film Screening of "War Resisters Speak Out" and panel discussion

Thursday, January 20
7:00 p.m.
Langara College
100 West 49th Avenue
Vancouver, BC

Forty years ago, tens of thousands of American soldiers and draftees who refused to join the war against Vietnam were welcomed in Canada. Today hundreds of soldiers who refused to deploy to Iraq have come to Canada. While they have been warmly welcomed by Canadians, our government has made strenuous efforts to send them back to the US to face prison sentences.

Join us for a panel discussion about defending the Canadian tradition of welcoming American war resisters.

The panel will include:

Ujjal Dosanjh, Member of Parliament for Vancouver South

Peter Prontzos, former US Marine, and Vietnam war resister, instructor of Political Science, Langara College

Rodney Watson, decorated Iraq war veteran, living in sanctuary in First United Church (via video conference)

For more info: 605.764.2580 or vanresisters@yahoo.ca.

Victoria

War Resisters Write-In

Sunday, January 16
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
629 Toronto Street
Victoria, BC

Please join us to let Harper and Kenney know they must not depart war resisters, Americans who have left the military because they refuse (re)deployment to Iraq! Snacks and beverages will be provided.

For more info: vlannon@pacificcoast.net.

Windsor

Information picket in support of US Iraq War resisters

Saturday January 15 and Saturday January 22
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Ottawa Street, across from Market Square
Windsor, ON

Info: windsorpeace@hotmail.com

Winnipeg

Iraq War resister Joshua Key speaks

Monday January 17
7:00 p.m.
McNally-Robinson Booksellers
Grant Park Shopping Centre
1120 Grant Avenue
Winnipeg, MB

and

Picket federal MP Vic Toews' office

Wednesday, January 19
1:30 p.m.
8-227 Main Street
Steinbach, MB

Info: 204.792.3371 or keepresisters@mts.net

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let them stay week 2011: and now a word from mp mario silva

Next week, from January 15 through January 22, the War Resisters Support Campaign will be holding our third Let Them Stay Week. (Got that, CIC spy?) Supporters all over the country will be holding events in support of US Iraq War resisters in Canada, demanding that the government respect the two motions passed in Parliament to Let Them Stay.

I'll be posting details of events in many cities, but for now, please watch this short message from Member of Parliament Mario Silva. He very rightly links Canada's failure to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council to the Harper's government's shoddy record on human rights, which includes the harassment and deportation of US war resisters.

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