Annals of the New GI Resistance
by Michael Uhlfrom the upcoming issue of the Veterans For Peace Newsletter
When a combat vet who witnessed war crimes in Iraq testified recently at the asylum hearing of a self-retired soldier ("deserter") who fled the U.S. army for Canada, the history of the Vietnam-era GI resistance seemed to come full circle.
In the late stages of the Vietnam War, following the public revelation of the My Lai massacre in the U.S. and world press, many returned veterans were radicalized and became active in the antiwar movement after giving public testimony about war crimes that they or their units had committed in Southeast Asia. Such revelations of Vietnam atrocities on a wide world stage had an impact on those still on active duty, no doubt contributing to the highest rates of desertion the modern U.S. military had ever experienced. The subsequent political cross- fertilization among active duty GIs, radicalized vets returned from Nam, and GIs in exile created a force of inestimable significance in bolstering the late mobilizations against that war. This potent movement, essentially working class in character, exercised an influence not yet fully understood to help escalate the erosion of public support for the Vietnam war throughout the communities of middle America.
And now, on December 7th past, we have our own Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey (ret.), a 12-year veteran of the Marine Corps, and co- founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) telling an asylum board in Toronto that his unit in Iraq "routinely shot wounded Iraqis and killed them." And that former Army private Jeremy Hinzman's decision to decamp Fort Bragg for Canada rather than go to Iraq is justified legally and morally by his refusal to participate in a war where such crimes, primarily against non-combatants, are both predictable and commonplace. Hinzmanís arguments of personal conscience can only be concretized by such testimony as that given by Jimmy Massey. And the hearing board cannot now fail to grasp what is at stake for many GIs who are misfortunate enough to find themselves in Iraq. If Hinzman is granted asylum, then the sense of deja vu between Vietnam and the current struggle will be transformed into one more visible sign that a the new GI Resistance is alive and growing.
posted 02 january 2005
by Michael Uhlfrom the upcoming issue of the Veterans For Peace Newsletter
When a combat vet who witnessed war crimes in Iraq testified recently at the asylum hearing of a self-retired soldier ("deserter") who fled the U.S. army for Canada, the history of the Vietnam-era GI resistance seemed to come full circle.
In the late stages of the Vietnam War, following the public revelation of the My Lai massacre in the U.S. and world press, many returned veterans were radicalized and became active in the antiwar movement after giving public testimony about war crimes that they or their units had committed in Southeast Asia. Such revelations of Vietnam atrocities on a wide world stage had an impact on those still on active duty, no doubt contributing to the highest rates of desertion the modern U.S. military had ever experienced. The subsequent political cross- fertilization among active duty GIs, radicalized vets returned from Nam, and GIs in exile created a force of inestimable significance in bolstering the late mobilizations against that war. This potent movement, essentially working class in character, exercised an influence not yet fully understood to help escalate the erosion of public support for the Vietnam war throughout the communities of middle America.
And now, on December 7th past, we have our own Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey (ret.), a 12-year veteran of the Marine Corps, and co- founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) telling an asylum board in Toronto that his unit in Iraq "routinely shot wounded Iraqis and killed them." And that former Army private Jeremy Hinzman's decision to decamp Fort Bragg for Canada rather than go to Iraq is justified legally and morally by his refusal to participate in a war where such crimes, primarily against non-combatants, are both predictable and commonplace. Hinzmanís arguments of personal conscience can only be concretized by such testimony as that given by Jimmy Massey. And the hearing board cannot now fail to grasp what is at stake for many GIs who are misfortunate enough to find themselves in Iraq. If Hinzman is granted asylum, then the sense of deja vu between Vietnam and the current struggle will be transformed into one more visible sign that a the new GI Resistance is alive and growing.
posted 02 january 2005
posted by allanon at 5:22 PM
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