Iraq Veterans Against the War statement following the recent attacks in Lebanon, Afghanistan, France, Iraq, & Nigeria.
Our hearts and thoughts go out to the victims and families who have suffered from the acts of brutality committed in Beirut, Paris, Baghdad, Zabul and now multiple cities in Nigeria over the last number of days.
We condemn these terrorist attacks in Lebanon, Afghanistan, France, Iraq and Nigeria. We mourn with the victims and send our deepest condolences to their families. No one’s life should end in this way; no family should suffer the anguish and loss that these people are suffering.
For these attacks to stop, we must address their root causes and take responsibility for U.S. participation in the destabilization of countries that span the Middle East, North and Western Africa, and South and Central Asia. The deliberate destabilization of once functional states in the region, and the current bombardment of Yemen by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, has created the perfect environment for groups like ISIS and Boko Haram to grow and thrive. We must see the rise of terrorism and the attacks in Paris for what they are, blowback for western intervention in the Middle East and elsewhere around the globe.
We, as current and former military members, understand that who the U.S. military kills is never certain and differentiating combatants from civilians is not a priority. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have been killed and thousands of others are being stalked and killed by drones in at least seven countries, creating an environment filled with constant terror. Russia joining the bombardment of Syria and Iraq, the recent announcement of more troops to be deployed around the globe, and the extension of troop withdrawal in Afghanistan will only exacerbate an increasingly volatile situation until the “all out war” that France’s President Hollande called for is upon us. The end result of all of this can only be destruction, terror and lost lives, not only from predominately Muslim countries, but everywhere terror and war will inevitably reach.
We know from experience that declaring war on terrorism is a futile gesture that engages the world in a downward spiral of destruction. A full land war in Syria plays into the goals of terrorist groups and will undoubtedly destroy more innocent lives. Meanwhile, western countries will be no safer than before, in fact, increased blowback resulting from these actions will remain an ever present threat for years to come. An escalation of warfare will also violate civil liberties by establishing a securitization regime in France as an extension of the already existing “security measures” in the U.S., England and elsewhere
We call on the US and its NATO allies to;
1) Exercise restraint and exhaust all avenues of diplomacy;
2) Take full responsibility and hold themselves accountable for the illegality of the Iraq war and the continuance of the Afghanistan war, their colonial exploits, and their extra military actions which gave rise to the instability of various regions as we see today;
3) De-escalate from the perpetual violence, and reduce militarization both at home and abroad; and
4) Accept responsibility for the resettlement of all refugees, who are victimized by the so-called “War on Terror,” and resist scapegoating those with the least power in this tragic string of events.
Repeating the disastrous choices made by our nation after September 11th will result in nothing short of squandering the future of millions. This cycle of violence and exploitation has to end now.
Veterans For Peace UK 
Hi, Alan
Many thanks for your responses. I was beginning to think I am some kind of deluded idiot who sees conspiracy everywhere. However, I think you would have to be deluded to believe the reported unfolding of 9/11 and for many, many reasons that require personal research. I simply choose to ignore all the recent world events and feel like packing bag and fulfilling my long held dream of travelling around the world while there are still beautiful things to see and before we have destroyed it all. I do not think I like living in the USA, it`s a rich country but full of poor people! Drop me a line some time, I would like to hear more on your views on such matters and how you arrived at them both during your time in the military and out of it,
garry-harriman@outlook.com
Cheers
Garry
Ga
USA
Hi Gary.
Yes I think that most of us were duluded into believing at least some that false information the general public are feed, once anyway.
I am now of the opinion that we should doubt most of what we are feed regarding these things.
It is only when one takes the time and make the effort to check out other sources of information, one begins to question the truth of any of it.
It is an complexed web of deception that’s for sure and takes at lot of untangling.
Like all deceptions, the lies about wars and associated topics are interlaced with some truths to make it seem plausable
Like you said Garry, Bush only got to that position by the default ( or so it seems ) Money played a big part in that. It looks clear from what I have heard about what went on in Florida at the time ,with the rigging of that vote .
He was the man for the Job at the time and what a price the world has paid and is still paying.
A few have a agenda to promote war and get rich in the process, Freedom and human life are their last concern that is for sure ,what ever lies they tell us for their motives.
Peace will only come when the Love of money is taken out of the picture,it is just to much for some to resist it seems.
All the best, Alan
i agree with this message of the article, But often dispair to how little effort is put into forwarding the idelas laid out with in it.
War is big business, that is for sure and it is in the interest of a few fat cats to keep the whole process going.
Like Gary H in his statement the whole war situation is substained by events like 9/11 and that has been the case over the years, like Pearl Harbour and the many others too. All the time these war mongering fat cats control the media, ( and the imformation the population on a whole receive ) as they do things seem to be going their way.
For those of us who have seen though their false information and lies it is a duty to expose them for what they are.
Who better than veterans to do this, but we should not leave it to just them, it is the responsabilty of us all.
“Wars a Racket” as venteran General Smedley Butler stated In the book of the same name in wrote after seeing it from the inside at a higlh evel.
Hi, Alan
I used to believe recent acts of
terrorwere the result of so calledblow back, but I do not think this is the case at all, I hope I am wrong and maybe I am deluded and nuts but 9/11 convinced me, unquestionably, that a more sinister explanation is behind the real unfolding of those events and with the more recentterror attacksand, like all such events whether in New York, London, or Paris, have a generic motives. No doubt, the bombs will now be falling on Syria soon andAssad the terriblewill soon be deposed!Like all of us in the UK, we all wondered why and how Bush become US president (well, he didn`t actually become US president did he…..Al Gore did)…….then 9/11 happened and maybe he and the rest of us finally understood how he and why he had captured that Office!
I hope Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, John Bolton, Richard Pearl and all other members of the PNAC have a nice and comfortable life as the rest of world suffers the consequences of their grand world view! I`m sure the oil, gas, energy and financial corporate giants will also share in their successes!
Cheers
Garry
I agree, whole heartedly with all of the words as articulated in the above article. I wish I could believe, however, that the recent and new manifestation of terrorist attacks occurred just how they reported to have occurred in the main stream corporate news media outlets, After may years of personal research, I firmly believe that the
big eventthat initiated our recent forays into the Middle East and Central Asia,9/11simply could not have happened as it is was reported to have happened, Further, many credible people, pilots, engineers, former security professionals, etc, also share this view. I can only conclude that what is occurring today, a continuation of such events of strange incidents that seem to beg further scrutiny are events that are on the same level of9/11and all serve a common generic agenda. Is all about protecting the US Dollar as the global reserve currency? is about geopolitical access to diminishing oil and gas reserves and pipe line routes? is it about creating permanent instability in geopolitically important regions? Who knows, maybe I`m just deluded…….I hope I am. What I am not deluded about, however, is my desire and sincere wish that human beings come to realise that we all share this planet and we all share imminent threats to our survival that need to be worked on together if we and this beautiful world and all we share it with are to survive!Garry H
RAF 1987-2006
Ga
USA