[LCM Events] Iraq veterans tour-MIT Stop tomorrow (fwd)

[Hanan Karam]

******************************
A report from the front lines...

Do youth have a military obligation?
Should soldiers talk about politics?
Why is the US in Iraq?
Is US policy making the world safer?

Come hear a veteran from this recent Iraq war share her perspective on
these and other questions.

*******************************
When: Tuesday, Feb. 1, 4:45pm
Where: MIT, Room 6-120
http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?mapterms=6&mapsearch=go

more info:
http://bringthetroopshomenow.com
MIT contact: beyondthevote at mit.edu
*******************************

speaker info:

*******Kelly Dougherty*******

Kelly, 26, spent 10 months in Iraq as a Sergeant with
her National Guard unit, the 220th Military Police
Company. She is a cofounder of Iraq Veterans Against
the War (IVAW). "When we first arrived in Iraq, part
of what struck me was the poverty and desperation of
the Iraqi people.
They didn't expect to be terrorized by the foreign
troops and treated as trespassers in their own country.
When the Shia'a uprisings began in Southern Iraq this
spring, I was surprised only that the violence hadn't
begun earlier. I believe that as long as the U.S.
continues to occupy Iraq, the Iraqis will continue to fight
against us."

"It's unacceptable that more than 1200 Americans have
died and so many thousands of Iraqis have died in a
place that [U.S. forces] shouldn't be in the first
place."

*******Michael Hoffman*******

will not be able to visit MIT, but he is also touring
Massachusetts schools.


Michael was a Lance Corporal in a Marine Corps
artillery battery during the March 2003 invasion of
Iraq and is a cofounder of Iraq Veterans Against the
War (IVAW). "The chaos of war should never be
understated. On the way to Baghdad, I saw bodies by
the road, many in civilian clothing. Every time a car
got near my Humvee, everyone inside braced themselves,
not knowing if gunfire would suddenly erupt out of it.
When your enemy is unclear, everyone becomes your
enemy."

"War for oil: is a term the troops in Iraq
know well. That is the only reason left for this war,
leaving those on the ground with only one reason to
fight - get home alive. When this kind of desperation
sinks in, it is easy to make the person across from
you less than human, easier to do horrible things to
them."

Sponsored by the MIT Greens, the MIT Free Radicals, the Thistle,
and the UA Finboard.



_______________________________________________
peace-announce mailing list
peace-announce at mit.edu
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/peace-announce