This is the ONLY way to heal those wounds, come to grips with reality!

Josh and Eithan. power to you.

After 1991, soldiers went back to Iraq, and hugged their Iraqi counterparts. All were ill (both 'sides") with apparent poisoning from DU. Here in the UK, those who went had homes raided, computers taken, were accused of being traitors, but they stayed with it. Knew they had been duped. Those who survive, still are battling for peace and concilliation, as you.

I have one question, though. there are varying reports as to whether the children you took from the Kia were taken to a US medical unit, or handed to Iraqi checkpoint operatives to take them to an Iraqi medical centre, all, which have near nothing.

Can you clarify this, please?

So, what are these two guys doing for a living, now?

Still employed by Mass Murder, Inc. – a.k.a. US Government?

Thanks for coming forward! I hope you provide specifics to support your assertion that this was "an everyday" occurrence.

SONG OF THE BULLET

It whizzed and whistled along the blurred
And red-blent ranks; and it nicked the star
Of an epaulette, as it snarled the word--
WAR !

On it sped -- and the lifted wrist
Of the ensign-bearer stung, and straight
Dropped at his side as the word was hissed--
HATE !

On went the missile, smoothed the blue
Of a jaunty cap and the curls thereof,
Cooing soft as a dove might do--
LOVE !

Sang! -- sang on!-- sang hate, sang war--
Sang love, in sooth till it needs must cease,
Hushed in the heart it was questing for. --
PEACE !

---James Whitcomb Riley

The specifics supporting incidents like this as everyday occurrence, monroemat, come in Winter Soldiers testimony (including first-hand soldier-made films) at Silver Spring, MD and elsewhere. Also in a statement by General Stanley McChrystal himself that "we always kill the wrong people."

Recently, I've expanded my list of most awful people in the world to include such goofy commentators as Ros Atkins of World Have Your Say at BBC.com . He devoted the main part of a show to having people challenge the authenticity of the film being discussed here. He continued doing this even after the Icelandic film-maker reported on her follow-up discussions with relatives of the murder victims.

Why? Because the punditocrisy will do anything to avoid the emotion involved in these incidents, will go around them, will minimize them, will lowball the figures for Afghan and Iraqi civilian dead even when such reputable outfits as the British Odyssey and Johns Hopkins, Columbia School of Nursing, The Lancet have applied the best statistical research methods available in the world and have come up with much higher figures.

Most dismaying is when anti-war activists accept the governmentally lowballed figures without a peep, are trying to be more convincing by "choosing the most conservative figures available," I suppose.

What they do instead is demonstrate the Yeatsian truth:

"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."

i found this to be very moving - and the kind of "change" that will change the world, waking up and saying no to be a perpetrator of violence of any kind.

Too bad one cannot view the signatures to the petition/letter, for it will caarry little weight if not signed by tens of thousands, especially members of the officer corp. But most important is the lack of any investigation into the criminality of BushCo by ObamaInc.

Here's a 2 and a half minute video commentary that takes the same basic position, entitled "Shooting Arabs for Sport."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOyxDhlE20

I find it very touching but the simple kind words from a couple of former military men cannot begin to repair the damage that our U. S. government did in Iraq and are doing yesterday and today and will again be doing tomorrow in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We are on a massive ego trip beyond comprehension and the President and Congress are thinking they've got the American public hookwinked to the point that we're doing it all to rid the world of terrorism.

It's like the neverending battle of the homeowner who wants to have an attractive, respectable looking lawn but there's that damn crab grass again.

Trouble is that, much as our government leaders would like for us to believe, it is not those evil organizations like Al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah that are representive of the crab grass. we are the crab grass, we are the terrorists and no matter how many attacks similar to 9/11 perpetrated against this nation, we will never take the blame for them.

Every day that we are occupying a country in the Middle East (as well as being locked in a passionate embrace with Israel) we are prompting retribution and when it happens we have no one to blame but ourselves. But we'll always pass the buck. We will always continue to maintain that we are the good guys wearing the white hats.

Instead of being concerned about the possibility of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of terrorists, we direct our attention to Iran, and what sanctions we can come up with to restrict their uranium enrichment.

I believe I've said it here before, that if Ahmadinejad is lying about they're only doing so for energy purposes, worse case scenario is they develop nuclear weapons in 3 to 4 years and that's Israel's problem, NOT OURS.

But maybe before long, John McCain's favorite Beach Boys song will become a reality, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Iran"

I don't know if history will be truthful regarding U.S. aggression against the people of Iraq. Many people wondered how Hitler was allowed to carry out the horrible atrocities of the holocaust within the Nation of Germany. I wonder how the U.S. government has been allowed to carry out the horrible atrocities against the people of Iraq for over the past 20 years. The with-drawl of Kuwait could have been negotiated without a bloody war but George W.H. Bush chose to show off U.S. weapons and bombed Iraq into the stone age. The Bush administration then proposed the harshest economic sanctions against this bombed out nation of Iraq. Iraq was held under siege like a giant concentration camp.The cowardly act of allowing over 750,000 children under the age of five, die and millions suffered stunting from malnutrition and 5 million were orphaned due to the 1st Gulf War and the over 13 years of economic sanctions.The sanctions were beginning to break up because people all over the world were speaking out against the sanctions calling them genocide. The sanctions ended when George W. Bush illegally invaded Iraq. The U.S. troops were lied to about weapons of mass destruction and false connection to 9-11.Americans including the troops were betrayed. And the only one in congress who spoke of impeaching Cheney and Bush who betrayed Americans and slaughtered hundreds of thousands more Iraqi people was Dennis Kucinich .This open letter of reconciliation must include all U.S. barbaric acts of violence, wars, sanctions, torture, unjust imprisonments.It should also include amnesty for Iraqi prisoners of conscience.

"Our secretary of defense may say the U.S. won't lose its reputation over this, but we stand and say...."
should read:
the secdef is wrong. Our reputation was lost a long time ago, if we ever had a good one in this region. It will take generations of good actions before we 'lose' our reputation now.

Josh and Ethan, this is very brave. It is brave because you are doing something unpopular: telling the truth.

I sincerely thank you for doing so.

I'm sure it has not been an emotionally easy ride for either of you. I hope the act of writing this letter and speaking out is bringing you some healing.

I think nearly two decades of extra legal behavior by our government and its entities have softened our brains.
Wikileaks and other made it clear that this incident isn't a one off. It's the way the US does business in Iraq. It's one of many such incidents.
How about an apology for illegally invading their country and destroying it?
How about an apology for the other million plus people that have wiped out?
How about an apology for the 3 million refugees the US created or the thousands that the US tortured?
How about one more for stealing their resources and divying them up between US and British energy companies?

Velvet Fascism, Iron Imperialism

Those involved in the USan military-industrial complex are certainly accumulating a serious debt to the world community.

Yeah ok it's nice. But the u.s. cannot repay the people of Iraq for 20 years of monomaniacal torment, not even if it reverses course and starts pouring in food and water and housing and schools and hospitals with the same level of intensity it has waged "war" for the next hundred years.

Beautiful. These young men and women are victims too - victims of the propoganda, victims of the economy, victims of our militaristic culture, victims of the stifling of dissent, victims of a total lack of truth...

don't blame them.

Thankyou Josh Stieber and Ethan McCord for for finding the courage to stand up and say no. Thankyou for finding the courage to speak out. They claim it takes courage follow orders. I know it takes so much more courage stand up against the tide and say no, while they are calling you a coward for doing so. I hope people listen.

The crime is so large that no amount of compensation can make right what has been done. 1.5 million have died as a result of this invasion and occupation. There have been 4 million expat refugees and another 1.5 million internally displaced. This, in a country that used to boast the best free medical system and education system in the middle east. But the sooner we get out, the better.

Exemplary - Josh and Ethan. I am sure many more soldiers feel as you do, but you had the courage to do something. Welcome back.

Joe

This is just pure and utter nonsense, they are doing the same thing in Afghanistan right now.

This is just pure and utter nonsense, they are doing the same thing in Afghanistan right now.

What really scares me is that guys that have come back - and gotten out - are now re-upping because they can't get a decent job and their relatives are losing their homes. And you guys claim the CORPORATE STOOGES ARE GREEDY??? What kind of immorality does it take to KNOW you're slaughtering innocent people, and then sign up to do the same again - JUST FOR THE MONEY???

I think I liked conscription (the Draft) better - yeah, people can still avoid it (my family did with Vietnam - but because of my father's strong principles against Nazi/fascist invasions and occupations when not threatend - imagine what he'd say if he were alive today!) but you get a better representation of ordinary people, instead of gleaning those with the least morals and principles. The military LOVES psychopaths on the front lines - that's why they adopted Nazi indoctrination after WWII - raised their 'kill ratio' a hell of a lot... and turned the stomachs of many long-serving officers (including my dad) with their 'win at any cost' rationalizations. (That's what aerial bombing is - mass murder.)

A good full sobbing apology,sincere and heartfelt! So many decent,caring people on CD and similar sites,yet led by a most unethical Govt.and a military industrial complex.I cannot understand this paradox.

and to think, "we used to see it on t.v.."

There may be another way.

The revolution starts....today or is it tomorrow..??

As said before, "this ones not televised"

We haven't even begun to see the negative karma that is due to be delivered to the USA, and i don't mean just Iraq and Afghanistan, but , slavery, the indigenous peoples of america, the abuse of nature and the planet, child abuse, the catholic church, monetary slavery and the list goes on. readers, please add to the list as you see fit.

Locust is right. And he has been for a long time.

So this stuff really upsets you people, eh?

Well...

Clearly we need to do something about all this tea party stuff real quick. Right? I mean, that's what every third article on CD is about now, right? This Afghanistan stuff is just a distraction, don't you see, from talking about gay marriage or carbon taxes, or what the latest tea party boogy-man said about our beloved peace prize warrior-saint Obama. Locust has consistently posted over the last four years again and again and AGAIN what needs to happen in regard to the never ending "War on Terror" (R) and I have not seen ONE SINGLE ARTICLE on this site even ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT HE SAYS IS TRUE! He is correct! Repeal Public Law 107-40 or admit you don't really care.

Think about that for a moment. No article on Public Law 107-40 for nine damn years? Who is leading whom?

There's an email making the rounds that came under discussion in a small circle this week. It links to a video and suggests that we all should thank a soldier. I took exception to the email as another attempt to romanticize and glamourize the military profession. However, I am very happy to follow the suggestion of the email here: Steiber and McCord, thank you for your brave service to our country. May you be supported and richly rewarded as your service continues, and may your service swiftly bring about the ends you envision.

It is easy to apologize after the fact when all eyes are upon you. It takes more balls and brains to preserve a life.
But, we realize the pressures you were under from your "country". Maybe you should be out there telling guys not to sign on the dotted line. What they forgot to tell you at the recruiting station(and in school)is that not all heroes need sidearms.
In fact, the greatest ones never did.
And look at Blackwater making many times the cash you make for doing the same job you did with no laws or shackles. What does THAT tell you about your employer?
Patriots love justice. Are you a patriot or a follower?
---------------------------
Check your oil for blood.

John and Ethan. I think there was no excuse for you to have been in those job positions in the first place.

Having said that, it seems you have learned and grown from your experience, and are attempting to make reparation. That is all that you can do.

(unless, of course this is some kind of psy ops attempting to make u.s. military look compassionate)

I just had to throw that in there. It did occur to me. But i certainly hope not.

peace,
rita

Way to go guys!

I am wondering why you limit the observation like this, "this is the nature of how U.S.-led wars are carried out in this region."

This is how the way American war policy worked in Viet Nam. I spent five years as an NGO civilian aid worker in VN from '66 to '70, the last year spent doing relief work specifically with war wounded children. I don't need to tell you how horrible that was. The only difference that I see, other than a much more destructive war making technology, is that in VN it was primarily a rural population that experienced the sort of egregious war crimes that you are sympathetically apologizing for participating in in Iraq.

If it is any help, my experience during that war, and from several trips back (I speak Vietnamese BTW), is that the terrorized populations tend to distinguish between our criminal government and ordinary American people, including low ranking soldiers. Somewhat unbelievably most Vietnamese LIKE Americans. Their culture has been adapting to aggressive war for thousands of years. There is space there for forgiving mere lowly soldiers. It might be interesting for you to visit VN and talk with older folks like me (the majority of the population was born well after the war and tend to not understand) about their memories of the American war and their feelings about those times. It could be healing.

Your officers on the other hand, need their own Nuremburg trials.

herb