Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW): Petraeus Testimony Contradicts What Troops on the Ground Report, Say Iraq Veterans Attending Hearings
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2008
12:33 PM
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CONTACT: Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)
Francesca Lo Basso, 215-498-3347
media@ivaw.org
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Petraeus Testimony Contradicts What Troops on the
Ground Report, Say Iraq Veterans Attending Hearings
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WASHINGTON, DC - April 9 - Contrary to General Petraeus's
testimony, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)
attest that the major destabilizing force in Iraq is the ongoing U.S.
occupation. What's more, U.S. troops are being commanded to perform
acts that directly violate their moral codes and the rules of war,
making a positive outcome exceedingly difficult to achieve.
Less than one month ago, over 100 veterans and
active-duty soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan shared their
eyewitness accounts
of the occupations at Winter Soldier: Iraq and
Afghanistan. Their
testimony illustrated how the ongoing occupation of
Iraq is resulting
in the dehumanization and abuse of the Iraqi people,
the
destabilization and breakdown of the U.S. military,
and the emotional
and physical injury and damage to thousands of U.S.
troops.
Testifiers
gave firsthand accounts of being ordered to raid the
homes of
innocent
Iraqis, physically and psychologically abuse Iraqi
prisoners, and indiscriminately shoot at civilians.
"Petraeus continues to repeat the administration's
talking points
while ignoring what the soldiers on the ground know:
the Iraq
occupation is not working," said Kelly Dougherty, a
former Military
Police Sergeant in Iraq and Executive Director of
IVAW.
Iraq Veterans Against the War was founded in 2004 to
give those who
have served in the military since September 11, 2001
a way to come
together and speak out against an unjust, illegal
and unwinnable
occupation. Today, IVAW has over 1,000 members in 48
states,
Washington, D.C. and Canada and on military bases
overseas. To view
the public testimonies mentioned above, visit
http://ivaw.org
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