Iraq War Heroes

By Dave Lindorff

In the ironically named Liberty County Jail since December 11 sits Army Specialist and Iraq War veteran Marc Hall, a rap musician who had the audacity to write a song attacking the Pentagon for subjecting him to a so-called stop-loss order after he had finished his Army tour and had returned from a posting in Iraq.

By David Swanson

John Bruhns came back from Iraq strongly opposed to the occupation he'd been a part of, believing the Bush administration had misused his patriotism. He began speaking out, and after he won Moveon.org's Video Vets contest he was hired as the Legislative Representative of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEI). Bruhns met with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He spoke at events with them in the Capitol and lobbied for legislation.

Rightwing retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson was on Hardball today attacking reservists like Capt. Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org for criticizing the occupation of Iraq, claiming it was against military rules.

Soltz explained that reservists are only prohibited from engaging in politics when they are on active duty - either stationed overseas or during their monthly weekend drills. Otherwise they are "Citizen Soldiers," exercising their full rights as Citizens. But Patterson wouldn't stop attacking him.

By Craig M. Smith, www.ivaw.org

Looking out the passenger window of my truck, I had never seen such a mass of people before. Beads of sweat are dripping down my face, and fear is gripping my heart. I am clutching my M-16 rifle as if it is the savior of my life. A seeming ocean of faceless faces just look at me. They stare, as if they are contemplating my existence. In an instant, the faces vanish. Suddenly a terrifying explosion occurs in front of me. A fireball of the deepest orange soars through the sky. The smell of something burning is putrid, and now I am living in slow motion. Everything around me is burning, and I begin to prepare my soul so that I may face God. I want to cry, but I can't. I want to escape, but there is no end. Children begin shooting at me; I know that I am going to die. I start screaming.

By Mary Hanna

remarks at press conference on August 31, 2007, in Charlottesville, Va.

[photos, audio, video, media coverage: http://afterdowningstreet.org/maryhanna ]

It's been said that people fear public speaking more than death. I can definitely attest to that. I'm extremely nervous and inexperienced with this, so please bear with me.

My son, Evan Knappenberger, is a former Albemarle High School student and a veteran of the Iraq War. As I speak these words, he is sitting in a makeshift guard tower on the Mall in Washington DC, protesting the US military's stop-loss policy, which is the involuntary extension of soldier's active duty enlistment time.