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"There's No Way I'm Going to Deploy to Afghanistan"
MARFA, Texas - "It's a matter of what I'm willing to live with," Specialist Victor Agosto of the U.S. Army, who is refusing orders to deploy to Afghanistan, explained to IPS. "I'm not willing to participate in this occupation, knowing it is completely wrong."
Agosto, who returned from a 13-month deployment to Iraq in November 2007, is based at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
While in Iraq, Agosto never left his base, located in northern Iraq.
"I never had any traumatic experiences, never fired my weapon," Agosto told IPS in a phone interview. "I mostly worked in information technology, working on computers and keeping the network functioning well. But it was in Iraq that I turned against the occupations. Through my reading, and watching what was going on, I started to feel very guilty."
Agosto added, "What I did there, I know I contributed to death and human suffering. It's hard to quantify how much I caused, but I know I contributed to it."
Having served three years and nine months in the U.S. Army, Agosto was to complete his contract and be discharged on Aug. 3. But due to his excellent record of service and accrued leave, he was to be released the end of June. Nevertheless, due to the stop-loss program, the Army decided to deploy him to Afghanistan anyway.
Stop-loss is a program the military uses to keep soldiers enlisted beyond the terms of their contracts. Since Sep. 11, 2001, more than 140,000 troops have had tours extended by stop-loss.
A copy of his Counseling Form from the Army, dated May 1, reads, "You will deploy in support of OEF [Operation Enduring Freedom] on or about [XXXXX] with 57th ESB. This is a direct order from your Company Commander CPT Michael J. Pederson."
Agosto posted copies of the Counseling Statements issued by the Army on his Facebook page. Counseling Statements outline actions taken by the Army to discipline Agosto for his refusal to obey a direct order from his company commander.
On one of them, dated May 1, Agosto's written statement appears: "There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan. The occupation is immoral and unjust. It does not make the American people any safer. It has the opposite effect."
In another, dated May 18, he wrote: "I will not obey any orders I deem to be immoral or illegal."
On that day, Agosto was ordered to get his medical records in preparation to deploy to Afghanistan. He refused to do so. The Army threatened to take punitive measures, but Agosto wrote on the Counseling Statement, "I am not going to Afghanistan. I will not take part in SRP [Sealift Readiness Program]."
If Agosto continues to refuse orders, he almost assuredly will face court martial, and likely jail time.
When IPS asked Agosto if he is willing to take whatever consequences the Army is prepared to mete out, he replied, "Yes. I'm fully prepared for this. I have concluded that the wars [in Iraq and Afghanistan] are not going to be ended by politicians or people at the top. They are not responsive to the people, they are responsive to corporate America."
Agosto added, "The only way to make them responsive to the needs of the people is if soldiers won't fight their wars, and if soldiers won't fight their wars, the wars won't happen. I hope I'm setting an example for other soldiers."
Agosto has overtly refused to follow any order that has anything to do with his taking an action that would support the occupation of Afghanistan. For a time, according to Agosto, he was given simple orders to clean the motor pool, or pull weeds.
"They switched that recently," he told IPS, "I've continued to be fairly defiant, so on Tuesday I have to meet with Trial Defense Services, which then begins the process of getting an Article 15, which is movement towards being court-martialed, if these reprimands continue."
"If I take the Article 15, I'll take a reduction in rank and pay. I don't' know what is going to happen. I agreed to sweep the motor pool and pull weeds, but nothing else that I feel directly supports the war. I'm not going to follow orders I'm not comfortable with."
Agosto's case is not unique. The group Courage to Resist, based in Oakland, California, actively engages in assisting soldiers who refuse to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
"Although the efforts of Courage to Resist are primarily focused on supporting public GI resisters, the organization also strives to provide political, emotional, and material support to all military objectors critical of our government's current policies of empire," reads a portion of the group's mission statement.
IPS spoke with Adam Szyper-Seibert, an office manager and counselor with Courage to Resist.
"Currently we are actively supporting over 50 military resisters like Victor Agosto," Szyper-Seibert told IPS, "They are all over the world, including André Shepherd in Germany, and several people in Canada. We are getting five to six calls a week just about the IRR [Individual Ready Reserve] recall alone."
U.S. Army Specialist André Shepherd, who went AWOL after serving in Iraq, has applied for asylum in Germany after refusing military service because he is morally opposed to the occupation of Iraq.
The IRR is composed of former military personnel who still have time remaining on their enlistment agreements but have returned to civilian life. They are eligible to be called up in "states of emergency." The Army is currently undertaking the largest IRR recall since 2004, despite the recent inauguration of a so-called anti-war president.
Szyper-Seibert said that the number of soldiers contacting Courage to Resist has been increasing dramatically in the last year, and particularly in recent months.
"The number of soldiers contacting us is increasing," he explained, "With five to six IRR's contacting us a week, plus others going absent without leave [AWOL], the numbers are all climbing, as compared to a year ago. Since May 2008, we've had a 200 percent jump in how many soldiers are contacting us."
According to Courage to Resist, there have been at least 15,000 IRR call-ups since Sept. 11, 2001, for deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Sgt. Travis Bishop, who served 14 months in Baghdad and is also stationed at Fort Hood, recently went AWOL when his unit deployed to Afghanistan.
Like Agosto, Bishop feels it is immoral for him to deploy to support an occupation he morally opposes.
"I love my country, but I believe that this particular war is unjust, unconstitutional and a total abuse of our nation's power and influence," Bishop's blog reads, "And so, in the next few days, I will be speaking with my lawyer, and taking actions that will more than likely result in my discharge from the military, and possible jail time... and I am prepared to live with that."
The reason he made this decision is addressed in his blog.
"My father said, ‘Do only what you can live with, because every morning you have to look at your face in the mirror when you shave. Ten years from now, you'll still be shaving the same face.' If I had deployed to Afghanistan, I don't think I would have been able to look into another mirror again."
- Posted in
77 Comments so far
Show AllThese soldiers are our TRUE heroes, God bless them.
All hail this moral Victor.
This takes a LOT of courage. A "Merkin" soldier who doesn't wish to be complicit in the killing and subjugation of littler, browner people---gives me hope. The great writers about war--Halberstam, Keenan, Fussell--all point out that men go into combat, a truly horrifying experience, because they fear the scorn of their fellows more than death or dismemberment. So, it is TRULY courage to say no.
Agosto is an atheist, but he'd probably thank you for the thought.
-If Agosto continues to refuse orders, he almost assuredly will face court martial, and likely jail time.
Surely Obama won't "look back" at this!!
I guess the Democrats aren't too woried about missing a few soldiers, they can just increase the deficit and borrow more money from China to pay for some more mercenaries (sorry, contractors, I meant contractors).
What a joke Obama is, criminalizing the disobeying of an illegal order.
Not to mention Obama's health care "reform" that will criminalize the uninsured thereby forcing more Americans to become victims of the defacto draft that the current economic depression's dearth of jobs has created.
How many Combat Medals do you have?
How is that relevant to the current article and commentary?
How many Combat Medals do you have?
How many kids have you killed?
- Insurgent
political_insurgent
You obviously have none. And thank God for it as no one could depend on you. This may be one of the lowest posts I've seen here. I am heartily sick of the supposed moral superiority from people that have never had to make a harder decision than which shirt to wear.
He asked that question to find out if the person had any qualifications other than an opinion to base their comment on obviously.
One should not need combat experience to know that aggressive war, as in Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan is wrong. The invaded have little choice but to conduct a defensive war.
Terrorism is a crime and should be dealt with as such. It us just another crime, like arson or murder or rape, and all of those have been used by terrorists. It is a law enforcement issue and not a reason to go to war and in that process kill a lot of innocent people. At that point, who is the terrorist? We kill 700 people, 14 are said to have been high value terrorist leaders, and the rest collateral damage. How does that win hearts and minds? How does killing hundreds of innocents make us safer? It annoys and angers their friends and relatives. If there are 14 known terrorists, and their location is known, send in the police, not the entire U.S. army, air force and marines.
I am not anti-war. I am anti-aggressive-war. Big difference.
One does not need combat medals to have an opinion on whther or not it right or wrong to be at war in Afghanistan.
Fascism shows itself once again when people suggest one needs Combat medals in order to have an opinion.
Is that a qualification for speaking as a citizen? If so, you have just automatically disenfranchised about 50% of the population - women, who were not allowed into combat until recently. And you have disqualified most other people.
I think people deserve medals for raising good children in a bad neighborhood, for instance. Or putting up with an abusive work situation for years for the sake of the family. War is far from the pinnacle of human achievement.
Joe
Maybe this will be the crack in the dam. If enough service men and women refuse to obey immoral orders and refuse to deploy to our wars of conquest, occupation and oil, perhaps we will see an end to torture, to wars of offense, to empire building in general.
Kudos to Victor Agosto, to Lt. Watanabe, to the many who have risked, or are enduring, imprisonment because they have a working conscience. That is hard to maintain in a nation that has become so dedicated to greed, power and the bottom line uber alles.
This happened with Vietnam veterans and helped bring an end to that political slaughterhouse.
I believe it was Jefferson who said, "For evil to succeed, all that is needed is for good men to remain silent."
Hopefully, we are reaching a point where good men (and women) are no longer remaining silent, despite threats and punishments,
Finally, this is something worth HOPING for. Good for Victor Agosto.
"to Lt. Watanabe, "
Did you mean Lt. Ehren Watada?
Yes, sorry. Should have double checked the spelling.
Yes, sorry. Should have double checked the spelling.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke, 1729 - 1797)
The quote is oft repeated, particularly in times as now when it's abundantly true - and the silence is encouraged by repressive official policies too. Speaking out where and when it counts is an inborn talent in everyone of us which our exploiting controllers have learned to strongly subdue.
Speak up, say it everywhere: these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are wrong. They are illegal, unsustainable and harmful to all involved but the profiteers.
When we speak up
we learn to see:
the powers that be
are you and me
... no matter how much the controllers have hijacked our communication channels and energy sources, coercing us to play nice to get to use the communication channels and energy supplies. So by the time we're in a position to speak up, most of us have very little left to say, our opposition worn down and whittled off along the way. Yet the truth (the fit between facts and descriptons) remains free for all to see and say. As this Victor does.
Funny you called Lt. Watada Lt. Watanabe. Mr. Watanabe is one of my favorite characters. He is from Kurosawa's movie Ikiru. Finding he has a limited time to live (as we all do, actually) he decides to give up being a useless bureaucrat, a mummy, a half dead cog in the wheel, and live an authentic life.
Were you subconsciously thinking of Mr. Watanabe?
Joe
Rock on, Agosto.
Good for him! Good for Afghanistan! Good for the patriotic Americans who believe in our Constitution! Bad for the military-industrial complex. Bad for Bush/Cheney. Bad for Satan.
"The only way to make them responsive to the needs of the people is if soldiers won't fight their wars, and if soldiers won't fight their wars, the wars won't happen. I hope I'm setting an example for other soldiers."
says it all.
Now, this man is a TRUE hero! GAWD speed, my friend!!...and that comes from an x-Marine.
Angry,
I often fantasized that one day all the soldiers,sailors, and airmen, the world over would get together and say....No more fighting......I know it is just a fantasy but what a world it would be.......
There are a lot of videos of this song. But I chose this one because of the dedication.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Qs2_soPqo
"This song is dedicated to my brother Marines of Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines."
Joe
Great song!
Chevron bought Unocal a few years ago because Unocal owned some sort of "rights" to build a pipeline through Afghanistan to bring oil to the Arabian Sea from the Caspian Basin, thereby bypassing the pipelines that go through either Russia or China, countries that don't allow U.S. capitalist oil giants to own pipelines.
Retired General James Jones, the current Obama White House National Security Adviser, the principal adviser on military affairs, was a highly paid member of the Board of Chevron when Obama tapped him as National Security Adviser.
The pipeline will never be built. The people of Afghanistan will never be conquered or controlled by the U.S. or any other military force, and we have already killed enough children and other innocents there to engender a level of hatred that assures that there will never be a negotiated agreement to allow Chevron through.
How many people will die from U.S. war crimes before this effort which is doomed to failure is abandoned? Adding more troops equals more death and destruction and is exactly the wrong thing to pursue. The more who die from this ill conceived military approach to a question of negotiated transit rights the less likely it is to succeed.
Karzai once worked as a consultant for the oil company Unocal.
Why do you think Big Oil installed him as their chief Quisling in Afghanistan?
"How many people will die from U.S. war crimes before this effort which is doomed to failure is abandoned?"
A lot.
Now, this soldier demonstrated that his heart will fight the right battle. I hope more soldier will follow up with this...
These kind of soldiers are TRUE heroes... Facing the true injustice...
My respect!
Victor Agnosto is an honorable man.
He has the guts to stand by his convictions.
Bravo to him.
An honest assessment. A hero he is not. Not many deserve that accolade.
To me, Thomas, a hero is one who saves lives, especially so if those lives are total strangers thousands of miles away. A hero is someone who puts his own safety on the line in support of his convictions. A hero is someone who faces ridicule to speak the truth.
Bravo, Victor Agosto. My only regret is that your insight and courage are so rare. With more like you we'd have a chance at rescuing the once-Republic from its treacherous path, the imperial executive, the charade of a congress, the masters of those both, and the victimized albeit insensate electorate.
.
Carry on, Soldier.......ex S/Sgt Rafe Pilgrim
Sec of State Condy Rice was also on the board of directors of
Chevron. The pipelines must be built for Chevron..The
soldiers are expendable..Obama has bought into the Bush Cheney
System...Obama has never been in the Service.
Obama is just another over educated Ivy League Moron.
Stop-loss, I like it, stop the loss of life, tell the Army to get Fuc_ed. No war for the pigs in Washington and Tel Aviv.
God Bless you Victor Agosto. To turn round and say NO takes real courage, and there are no medals for you, instead you get to be "shamed" as a coward, and and jailed. To me, you are a real hero.
Real heroes say no to government crimes.
I wish more soldiers had your moral fortitude. I do not live in the USA, but I hope many will support you in any way that they can.
The man is no coward. He served. His redeployment considering his time line is unfair. But he told it like it is....no searing experience, no real danger, never fired his weapon.....you can be sure this man is telling the truth and is willing to take the consequenses of his actions.
No hero, but an honorable man I'd be glad to treat to a brew.
Where are the rest of the Agostos?
Surely there are more than a handful of people in America who are willing to stand up for what is right, willing to stand up to the insatiable America war machine?
Rise up, you of conscience! Let the war-mongers go off and fight their own wars.
www.dangerouscreation.com
Agosto, Watada and those like them are the real patriots.
The men who understand that it is the Constitution that makes
this country what it is, makes it special. The scum that have seized this beloved republic aren't fit to shine Agostos and Watada's shoes. Patriots understand that when you fight for
America you fight to up hold the constitution not to build
empires. When you compare wealth, Agosto and Watada have something that Obama,Cheney,Pelosi and all the rest of those festering pustuals can never buy, they have honour.. I'd walk
with those guys any day of the week.
Fred in Boston
It's way about time--but this is not your 60's draftee--He joined--probably a lot harder to accept the truth--These were and still are illegal and immoral conflicts--much easier to discerne as pseudo wars--internet makes it harder to hide the facts--thank God! It would be great if many other men and women would think about this evil we commit in the name of our nation, both in and out of the military.
It's way about time--but this is not your 60's draftee--He joined--probably a lot harder to accept the truth--These were and still are illegal and immoral conflicts--much easier to discerne as pseudo wars--internet makes it harder to hide the facts--thank God! It would be great if many other men and women would think about this evil we commit in the name of our nation, both in and out of the military.
odoco
When I was a kid, before Vietnam and my personal visit there, I watched John Wayne, I killed 'Japs' and 'Krauts' and hunted down 'savage' Indians. Then, I went to war.
Now, I want my son to read about Agosto, and Ricky Clousing, and watch Watada's speech where he renounced the war and condemned its illegality. I want him to understand, and I believe he does, that humans are capable of nearly anything - especially when those who are mentally wired to be destructive can use the lives and fortunes of others to fulfill their own tormented desires.
All of our children, of every color, economic class, gender - need to understand that unless we stop this insanity they will not have a world worth living in. Our task, my friends, is to educate, and never stop educating.
Sometimes you have to plant a seed and give it a little time to germinate. Expose your kids to what is good but don't force it on them too much. Let them develop it in their own way. Sometimes it is not exactly what you had in mind; it can be different and better!
Joe
You are a brave soldier and thank you for standing up.
That is so awesome.
Thank you for your courage.
In respect, Emagin Peace
So if you didn't want war why did you enlist ? I doubt if your cowardice will make any difference. Soldiers follow orders.
I believe he enlisted to fight in legal and necessary wars. True soldiers will not follow illegal orders.
odoco
There are many reasons why young men and women enlist Odysseus. Many are lied to by their recruiters, made promises that are not kept, kept in a chair while they are force-fed the 'army story' of the recruiter, driven around in the custom painted Humvee driven to the high schools in poor urban and rural areas, seeing their pictures put on professionally made posters and hung in their high schools, with the slogan "American Heroes," etc. Many have to enlist because there are few if any jobs now. Recruiters often hang out in courtrooms, where many 18-20 year-olds are given the choice: jail or military? Many believe the evil spouted on the rightwing radio shows and feel compelled to go fight the 'evil' that Rush and Sean et al have described as threatening to our civilization - except of course few if any of those that spread the propaganda ever served themselves.
As for cowardice, Odysseus, who are you to judge? Do you know them? Have you spoken to them, any of the resisters, from you heart, and taken the time to hear their heart songs? I believe in takes much more courage to follow one's conscience when that path is aligned against an entirely corrupted system than it does to simply 'follow orders' and participate in an illegal and morally bankrupt war.
It also, obviously, takes a higher intellect.
odysseus
This man is no coward. There are many reasons men do what they do in a war. He served...if he had been a coward he wouldn't have gone at all. Remember he is not deserting or running, he is facing up to the consequences of his decision. No coward that.
People don't enlist for war by the way. And he is not in a combat zone so following orders is not so critical to survival. And no soldier has to follow any order he deems illegal. He simoply has to prove his point or suffer the consequenses.
The services aren't pushing prosecution on this...wisely so.