Transparency & Democracy: Why the U.S. Should Free Bradley Manning 5DEZ10

BRADLEY MANNING, American hero, deserves our thanks, not prison. He has exposed the lies, propaganda, manipulation and deception our own government used and is still using to justify the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has exposed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Enough of killing, maiming, and destruction in our name (when we all know it is for increasing the profit margins of the military industrial complex in America). Please support him by sending him birthday cards and Christmas cards and by supporting the fight for his freedom!

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On December 17, in a prison cell in Quantico, Virginia, Bradley Manning will be celebrating his 23rd birthday alone. Manning stands accused of releasing classified documents about America’s wars and foreign policies, including the Collateral Murder video showing American troops killing two Reuters employees and civilians who offered humanitarian aid to the wounded. Many speculate that Bradley Manning may be responsible for the Afghan War Diary and the Iraq War Logs, which show in frightful detail the scores of civilians being killed by America’s ongoing foreign wars and the inhumane tactics employed by our troops overseas. And last week, the biggest leak of all: the first wave of over 250,000 secret diplomatic cables that have brought to light America’s bullying imperialism and backroom deals.
Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and ex-Pentagon official KT McFarland are calling for Manning’s execution, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is vowing “aggressive steps” will be taken against those responsible for the leaks. As WikiLeaks scrounges to find a way to keep their site alive after being shut out by PayPal, Amazon and EveryDNS, Manning is held in prison, unable to meet with his family and prevented from getting the vast majority of his mail.
Reviewing the still-unverified chat logs between Manning and unscrupulous journalist Adrian Lamo prior to Manning’s arrest sheds light on the motivation and goals of the alleged whistle-blower. Manning stated that he hoped the publication of the diplomatic cables would spur “worldwide discussion, debates, and reform.”
Manning stated: “I want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.”
This speaks to the real purpose of the leaks and the reason every citizen in America should care deeply about the fate of Bradley Manning.
America is a democracy. We take pride in the fact that all citizens have the right to participate in our government. Based on the promises, history, and positions of our politicians, we citizens make decisions about who we will elect to represent us.
But democracy is destined to fail if voters don’t know the truth about their government.
As the ACLU has pointed out, it is because of conscientious whistle-blowers that we now know about secret CIA prisons overseas, the level of civilian casualties in the Iraq War and the NSA’s warrantless wiretap program. This is information that can and should impact how the public feels about our government. It’s information that belongs in the public domain, even if it makes Washington politicians uncomfortable. Because when Americans become frustrated or disenchanted with their elected representatives, we have the right to replace them.
This is why transparency is vital to a democracy. Whether or not you agree with America’s wars, you must know the truth to form an educated opinion about them.
Informed citizens are the foundation of our society. In the last year, WikiLeaks has provided damning evidence detailing how the United States government has obfuscated, down-played and misrepresented the reality of our foreign policy. This is the unique, powerful, and necessary role of whistle-blowers: to shine a light in the darkness of corruption, secrets and falsehood.
If Bradley Manning is, in fact, the WikiLeaks whistle-blower, then we owe him our gratitude. He embodies the principles of democracy that would make our founding fathers proud.
For Bradley Manning’s birthday, to be celebrated in solitude in a military prison cell, we’re calling on all citizens who believe in democracy to sign a petition for Manning’s freedom and make a donation to our defense fund. Manning will be facing the full force of the United States’ wrath over the leaked documents. You can save him.

Sign the petition: www.standwithbrad.org
Donate to the defense fund: http://tinyurl.com/savebradley

Now is the time, for those who believe that transparency is central to democracy, to stand with Bradley Manning. Join us!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/savebradley
Facebook: www.facebook.com/savebradley

Churches Call to End the War in Afghanistan from SOJO 18NOV10 & A CALL TO END THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN BY THE NAT COUNCIL OF CHURCHES 9NOV10

IT IS TIME TO END THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN AND TO BRING OUR SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN HOME. READ THE RESOLUTION FROM THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES GOVERNING BOARD BELOW...IT IS A WELL WRITTEN, COMPASSIONATE AND REALISTIC DECLARATION AGAINST CONTINUING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN AND OFFERS ALTERNATIVES TO THE BLOODSHED AND CARNAGE WE ARE NOW EXPERIENCING.
 
In his December 2009 speech on Afghanistan, President Obama announced that he was sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, but that

… these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011.

In recent weeks, however, the military and now the administration are backpedaling from that statement as fast as they can. A news story yesterday reported that  ”The White House on Tuesday unveiled a plan for Afghanistan that foresees U.S. troops remaining there until at least the end of 2014.” Another asked, “Is 2014 the new 2011 for Pentagon war planners?” saying, “Senior U.S. military officials are increasingly deemphasizing the July 2011 deadline set by President Obama earlier this year for beginning U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, instead talking up a 2014 date ….”
With this rapid change of message, it is good news to read that the National Council of Churches Governing Board last week passed a resolution, “A Call To End The War In Afghanistan.” While urging that development aid be continued and that the human rights situation be carefully monitored, the resolution:

… Calls upon the President of the United States to negotiate a withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan to be completed as soon as possible without further endangerment to the lives and welfare of U.S. and NATO troops, Afghan troops and Afghan civilians …

That is welcome news. The church has been largely been silent on the war, and it is time for its voice to be heard. The war in Afghanistan has gone on for too long, at the cost of too many deaths and too many resources desperately needed elsewhere. May this statement be the first of many actions toward ending the war.
Duane Shank is the senior political advisor at Sojourners. 

A CALL TO END THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
ADOPTED BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES GOVERNING BOARD,
NOVEMBER 9, 2010, IN NEW ORLEANS
INTRODUCTION
The War in Afghanistan – dubbed “Operation Enduring Freedom” at its onset – has been raging 10 since October 7, 2001. It is the longest war in U.S. history. The war began with significant popular support and in its initial stages was the lead story moved daily on U.S. media. Today, the story no longer tops the agenda of public interest. President Obama has set a deadline of July 2011 for the tactical end of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. The President has rejected calls from politicians, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, to cancel the deadline and set an open‐ended commitment to U.S. military involvement, but he is under continuing pressure to change his mind. It is the considered view of the National Council of Churches and its 36 member communions that the war must end as soon as possible – in July 2011 or before – and that the United States must hereinafter pursue a policy of just peace in all of its foreign engagements.
After nearly a decade of war in Afghanistan, it is clearly too late to correct the mistakes and miscalculations of the past. But we set before the churches a call to greater vigilance in the future. It is no mere cliché that history repeats itself, and there is little doubt that U.S. presidents and military leaders will again be tempted to choose war over diplomacy as a means of redressing grievances. When those circumstances arise, may the church, which too often has been silent in the face of war, be prepared to offer its Christian witness that war is always contrary to the will of God, and that there are alternatives to war that wise leaders must seek.

SUMMARY.
The War in Afghanistan, titled “Operation Enduring Freedom,” is one critical response of the United States to the al‐Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001. The United States committed itself to a military operation with the expressed cognizance of further consideration given to economic, political and diplomatic alternatives to end the war. The war continues at this time on several fronts due to a growing resurgent presence by Taliban forces in the country. The cost
of the war to the United States as well as to Afghanistan is measured in the balance of human life and precious national resources. The effects on both resources have been staggering. From late 2001, and relative to the process of justifying an increased U.S. military presence in the Middle East, the Christian churches have expressed serious and informed reservations about how just the war has been and continues to be. (See appendix)
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That the Governing Board of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America, Cognizant of the valiant and courageous efforts of women and men of many nations who have served in Afghanistan as military personnel, diplomats and humanitarian workers, such as Church World Service and others, with the aim of bringing peace, justice and stability to Afghanistan, and
Concerned for the spiritual, physical and mental health of the veterans of this war, yet Convicted by our common discernment that war and violence fall short of God’s will for methods of rooting out tyranny and injustice, and deeply grieved by the loss of life, homes and property in Afghanistan since U.S. and NATO forces launched “Operation Enduring Freedom,” a war against the Taliban in October 2001, and concerned that continued U.S. and coalition military operations against Afghan insurgents will solidify resistance and stimulate support for Taliban and al‐Qaeda terrorists, and mindful of the millennia‐long history of failed efforts by foreign powers to defeat entrenched and insular Afghan forces by military means,
and deeply convicted that we must reaffirm our witness to Christ’s commandment to love our enemies, Therefore calls upon the President of the United States to negotiate a withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan to be completed as soon as possible without further endangerment to the lives and welfare of U.S. and NATO troops, Afghan troops and Afghan civilians; and urges the President of the United States to continue to monitor the human‐rights situation in
Afghanistan in the context of the United Nations declaration to use all available diplomatic means to protect the population from crimes against humanity, and to employ military means of protection only as a last resort; and urges the President of the United States to continue, upon invitation of the Afghan government, the American support of the development of medical facilities, schools and other
essential institutions in Afghanistan; and calls upon the President of the United States to appoint a commission composed of high ranking government, military and religious leaders to discern and recommend policies through which the United States will pursue the goals of a just peace; and calls upon the member communions of the National Council of Churches to engage in further study of the war in Afghanistan, the factors that led up to it, and the opportunities for nonmilitary engagement with the people of Afghanistan to under gird a safe and stable way of life; and calls upon the member communions of the National Council of Churches to articulate to one another and to government authorities the concept of a “Just Peace” as a proactive strategy for avoiding premature or unnecessary decisions to employ military means of solving conflicts. 
Policy base:
Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly, December 6, 1963
Imperatives of Peace and the Responsibilities of Power, adopted by the General Board, February 21, 1968
Human Rights, The Fulfillment of Life in the Social Order, adopted by the General Board, November 17, 1995
Pillars of Peace for the 21st Century, A Policy Statement on the United Nations, adopted by the General Assembly, November 11, 1999
Related Resolutions:
Out of the Ashes and Tragedy of September 11, 2001, a statement adopted by the General Assembly, November 15, 2001
Resolution on the Threat to Civil and Religious Liberties in Post‐9/11 America, adopted by the General Assembly, November 9, 2005
Resolution on the Responsibility to Protect, adopted by the Governing Board, September 24, 2007
 
APPENDIX BACKGROUND:
Most Americans, including the estimated 45 million persons who worship in the 100,000 congregations related to the 36 member communions of the National Council of Churches, have vivid and painful memories of the circumstances that led to the war in Afghanistan. On September 11, 2001, al‐Qaeda operatives hijacked four commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. A fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 persons died in the attacks.
Although none of the 19 hijackers were Afghan nationals, Afghanistan was the al‐Qaeda base and President George W. Bush quickly drew up plans to invade Afghanistan as a means of combating terrorism. “Operation Enduring Freedom,” the war in Afghanistan, commenced on October 7, 2001.
 
DEEP CONCERNS
While there is no doubt that Operation Enduring Freedom was supported by persons of faith, including many members of churches related to NCC member communions, including church leaders, have nonetheless expressed profound concerns about the war. Costs in lives and property continue to mount, as does the political instability that continues in Afghanistan despite – or perhaps because of – the U.S. and NATO presence there. Neither the initial motivation to go to war nor the more recent decisions to escalate military operations in Afghanistan are consistent with the criteria some churches support for entering into a “just war.” Indeed, the decision to go to war was made without a considered deliberation about peaceful alternatives, including forms of economic sanction and diplomatic pressure.
Costs. Apart from the billions of dollars the United States has spent on the War in Afghanistan since 2001ii, the cost in terms of lives has been staggering. Precise figures are difficult to confirm. A report (http://icasualties.org/oef ), based larger on Department of Defense sources, indicates that more than 2,070 coalition members were killed between 2001 and 2010, with Americans accounting for at least 1,275 of those deaths. Another source claims to have “conservative” counts estimating the number of persons killed – Afghan troops and civilians, U.S. troops, Coalition troops, contractors and journalists – at more than 19,600.
Just War. When U.S. and British air forces began a bombing campaign, “Operation Enduring Freedom,” against Taliban forces in October 2001, polls indicated a large majority of Americans – including persons of Christian faith – supported the military effort as an appropriate retaliation for the terror attacks of September 11. Among the leaders of most NCC member communions, however, there was even then considerable doubt that the retaliation satisfied the generally accepted criteria for a “just war”, including
• The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain.
• All other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective.
• There must be serious prospects of success.
• The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be
evaluating this condition.)
(http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/just_war.htm)
When many of the communions that form the National Council of Churches met in 1948 to form the World Council of Churches, the world looked to the gathering for a comment on the recently concluded Second World War and the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Our comment was blunt: “War is contrary to the will of God.” Moreover, the churches said in 1948: There is a settled Christian conviction that the use of force, however unavoidable it may be for the fulfillment of the distinctive tasks of the state, is in itself absolutely opposed to the commandment of love. It can only be used as the lesser of two evils in reliance on divine
forgiveness. (Christian Responsibility in a World of Power, The Amsterdam Series, 1948, p. 207.)
As the world reeled with the implications of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the churches prayerfully sought to apply their theological convictions to current realties. On November 15, 2001, in the midst of the Afghanistan invasion, a statement adopted by the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches and Church World Service in Oakland, Calif. expressed the sense of the churches that, instead of war, it would be wiser to address the political, economic and cultural injustices that give rise to unrest and terrorism:
It is time for us as an ecumenical community to make a renewed commitment to a
ministry of peace with justice, and to make real in these days the call of Jesus, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) In his Beatitudes, Jesus calls us, his followers, to be merciful if we are to receive mercy; he reminds us that the peacemakers are blessed and will be called children of God. And, he proclaims us "the light of the world"; our good works should be a beacon to others so they may give glory to God. (Matthew 5:1‐4 16).
We lift up "Pillars of Peace for the 21st Century," a 1999 Policy Statement of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. We reaffirm and highlight the Statement’s call to build a culture of peace with justice characterized by these convictions:
1. "the transcending sovereignty and love of God for all creation and the expression of that love in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, whose mission was to reveal understanding about that divine presence, to proclaim a message of salvation and to bring justice and peace;
2. the unity of creation and the equality of all races and peoples;
3. the dignity and worth of each person as a child of God; and
4. the church, the body of 130 believers, whose global mission of witness, peacemaking and reconciliation testifies to God’s action in history."
Just Peace. Not all member communions of the National Council of Churches subscribe to or believe in a doctrine that regards war as ever justifiable – for example, the Historic Peace Churches and growing minorities within other Christian traditions. Indeed, the perspective that war can ever be just is disputed by many Christians in the U.S. and around the world.
The Historic Peace Churches believe that the life and teachings of Jesus Christ are a trustworthy ethical guide when faced with the issues of war and violence in our world. In Jesus’ life and teachings, as communicated in the gospels and the New testament, it is clear that love for the enemy must be the norm – and this is not compatible with military action.
In fact, the World Council of Churches in its first Assembly in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1948 provided a glimpse to where that worldwide ecumenical body has come in its thinking about an appropriate response of Christianity toward warfare and violence. The first Assembly’s clear statement that “War is contrary to the will of God” presaged current work by the WCC that may well entirely replace the concept of “just war” with an understanding of “just peace.” While the just war position only defines criteria under which the use of force is acceptable, a just peace perspective describes foundations for nonviolent conflict and the building of justice, reconciliation, and abundant life. The engagement of “just peace” is not merely a reaction to conflict. “Just peace” is proactive, requiring governments and other authorities to address in advance those conditions that may lead to future violence: poverty, hunger, economic injustice, climate change and many more.
One outcome of this historic and emerging stream of thought has been the initiation of the Decade to Overcome Violence (2000‐2010). However, the events of this decade – specifically the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ‐‐ led the World Council of Churches to wrestle anew with the ethics of war and violence, and the WCC is now drafting an ecumenical declaration on just peace – a major document that is expected to reflect a crucial shift in global
Christian teaching on the issue of war. For an increasing number of Christians, there are no gospel criteria that may adequately justify
going to war. Instead, these Christians earnestly seek a just peace that is grounded in the God who loves all creation and all the peoples of the earth, and that seeks the help of the Holy Spirit to love the enemy and friend alike.
 
COMPLICATING FACTORS
While the church’s message of justice and peace is firmly based on a common understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the incarnational love of God, it is nonetheless important to consider the implications of the gospel in a world where evil reigns. If the United States and NATO forces were to withdraw unconditionally from Afghanistan, what would be the effect?
Most analysts express concern that the current government of President Hamid Karzai is too Taliban and al Qaeda forces would soon regain control of the country. If President Karzai’s government falls, one fear is the re‐establishment of safe havens in Afghanistan for al‐Qaeda and other terrorist factions whose goals are to strike at the vital interests of American and European societies. Perhaps an even more imminent and compelling scenario of a Taliban restoration is the bloodbath that might be inflicted on women and men who failed to observe fundamentalist religious law, and the abusive subjugation of women and girls. In these
situations, what is the moral obligation of the United States, and what must be the counsel of the churches?
Responsibility to Protect. Atrocities on a civilian population inspired by religion are a frightening and unacceptable outcome, in Afghanistan or elsewhere. The National Council of Churches has endorsed the “Responsibility to Protect,” a declaration adopted by the United Nation’s General Assembly in 2005 that “each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” and that the international community, through the UN, should “take collective action” to prevent these
crimes “should peaceful means be inadequate and national authorities are manifestly failing to protect their populations” from these crimes.
The NCC resolution on the Responsibility to Protect, adopted September 24, 2007, recognizes “that war is always a failure to find peaceful resolution to conflict” and encourages the U.S. government and the international community “always to first seek non‐violent means of intervention, and exhaust all opportunities for peaceful resolution, as a means of protecting those threatened by genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.”
 
A STRATEGY OF PEACE
Committed to our call to be Christ’s witnesses for peace and love in an unredeemed world, we believe it is imperative to raise the question as to whether military intervention by powerful outside forces is the most effective way of compelling governments to live within the acceptable guidelines of civilized nations. In addition, armed conflict has increasingly involved non‐state actors, such as insurgencies and terrorist groups, the actions of which are not bound by these guidelines, thus creating an additional set of moral and ethical issues and responses. Given the limitations of military solutions to threats in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the member communions of the National Council of Churches welcome and endorse peaceful efforts already undertaken by the United States and its allies to strengthen the infrastructure and support the development of well‐trained law enforcement specialists, health‐providers and educators in Afghanistan. Bombs and guns can destroy lives and infrastructures, but that kind of devastation may be the most frightening nightmare of all. And bombs and guns can also sow hatred and
resolve in the hearts of those we call our enemy – and one of the safest predictions we can make is those who hate us will remain in their native Afghanistan long after we are gone. In the long‐run, we believe, peaceful partnerships and humanitarian aid will be far more effective in achieving our goals of eliminating extremist insurgents. A peaceful American partnership in
Afghanistan will go a long way towards effectively refuting claims by insurgents and al Qaeda combatants that we are an occupying power intent on destroying Afghan way of life. It is our faith that convicts us that arms and violence are not the way to assure security, but even the most pragmatic observers will conclude that clinics and schools are more powerful alternatives against extremism than guns and bombs

We stand with accused whistle-blower US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning from COURAGE TO RESIST 26OKT

JOIN the struggle for Bradley Manning's release from prison and against the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and against the abuse, corruption, deception and manipulation of the American public and the world by the pentagon and the military-industrial complex! Click the header or the link below to sign the letters of support for Bradley Manning!

"We stand for truth, for government transparency, and for an end to our tax-dollars funding endless occupation abroad... We stand with accused whistle-blower US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning."

The Bradley Manning Support Network and Courage to Resist are launching a new campaign, and we wanted to give you a chance to be among the first to add your name to this international effort. If you sign the letter online, we’ll print out and mail two letters to Army officials on your behalf. With your permission, we may also use your name on the online petition and in upcoming media ads.

Read the complete public letter and add your name at:
http://standwithbrad.org/

	Stand with Bradley! A 22-year-old Army intelligence analyst, Pfc. Manning faces decades in prison for allegedly leaking a video of a US helicopter attack that killed at least eleven Iraqi civilians to the website Wikileaks. Among the dead were two working Reuters reporters. Two children were also severely wounded in the attack. In addition to this "Collateral Murder" video, Pfc. Manning is suspected of leaking the "Afghan War Diaries" – tens of thousands of battlefield reports that explicitly describe civilian deaths and cover-ups, corrupt officials, collusion with warlords, and a failing US/NATO war effort. "We only know these crimes took place because insiders blew the whistle at great personal risk ... Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal," noted Barack Obama while on the campaign trail in 2008. While the President was referring to the Bush Administration's use of phone companies to illegally spy on Americans, Pfc. Manning's alleged actions are just as noteworthy. If the military charges against him are accurate, they show that he had a reasonable belief that war crimes were being covered up, and that he took action based on a crisis of conscience. After nearly a decade of war and occupation waged in our name, it is odd that it apparently fell on a young Army private to provide critical answers to the questions, "What have we purchased with well over a trillion tax dollars and the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan?” However, history is replete with unlikely heroes. If Bradley Manning is indeed the source of these materials, the nation owes him our gratitude. We ask Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John M. McHugh, and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General George W. Casey, Jr., to release Pfc. Manning from pre-trial confinement and drop the charges against him. Sincerely, Bradley Manning Support Network Advisory Board members: Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink: Women for Peace Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, board member for the National Whistleblower Center Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistle blower Kathleen Gilberd, co-chair of the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and activist Michael Moore, documentary filmmaker Jose Vasquez, executive director of Iraq Veterans against the War US Army Colonel Ann Wright (ret.), former US State Department official Kevin Zeese, co-founder and executive director, Voters for Peace Bradley Manning Support Network Steering Committee members: Gerry Condon, national co-chair of the Veterans for Peace GI Resistance Working Group Mike Gogulski, founder of bradleymanning.org Jeff Paterson, project director of Courage to Resist Loraine Reitman, privacy advocate
			Add your name! I Stand with Bradley Your name (and title) as letter signer: We will mail these on your behalf and publish your name and title online. Postage donation required to use this form ($5 Suggested). $  Or, sign with no postage donation. Resources & info  Print petition, single signature  Print petition, three signatures  Donate to the defense fund  View Collateral Murder video  Shirts, stickers, buttons... Write a personal appeal  Hon. Mr. John M. McHugh  Secretary of the Army  101 Army Pentagon, Rm. 3E560  Washington DC 20310-0101  General George W. Casey, Jr.  Cheif of Staff of the Army  101 Army Pentagon, Rm. 3E672  Washington DC 20310-0200

IVAW responds to Wikileaks' Iraq War Logs 26OKT10

IVAW responds to Wikileaks' Iraq War Logs The latest release by Wikileaks of the Iraq War Logs is the largest leak in U.S. history and reveals in extensive detail what Iraq Veterans Against the War has been saying since our founding in 2004.  The U.S. has presided over a bloody occupation for seven years where war crimes are a common offense, civilian casualties have been grossly under-reported, and corporate contractors run amok.  See our official statement on the Iraq War Logs below. IVAW Statement on the Iraq War Logs - A Call for Accountability The recent Wikileaks release--The Iraq War Logs--has shed important light on the high rate of civilian death and widespread atrocities, including torture, that are endemic to the war in Iraq. As veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are outraged that the U.S. government sought to hide this information from the U.S. public, instead presenting a sanitized and deceptive version of war, and we think it is vital for this and further information to get out. Members of IVAW have experienced firsthand the realities of war on the ground, and since our inception we have spoken out about similar atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are asking the U.S. public to join us in calling on our government to end the occupations and bring our brothers and sisters home. The U.S. government has been claiming for years that they do not keep count of civilian death tolls, yet the recent releases show that they do, in fact, keep count. Between 2004 and 2009, according to these newly disclosed records, at least 109,032 Iraqis died, 66,081 of whom were civilians. The Guardian reports that the Iraq War Logs show that the U.S. military and government gave de facto approval for hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, rape, and murder by Iraqi soldiers and police officers. These recent revelations, along with the Afghan War Diaries and Collateral Murder footage, weave a picture of wars in which the rules of engagement allow for excessive violence, woven into the fabric of daily life with the U.S. military presence acting as a destabilizing and brutalizing force. The Iraq War Logs, while crucial, are reports produced in real time and themselves may be slanted to minimize the culpability of U.S. forces. Still, they represent an important part of evidence in assessing the reality of the Iraq war, evidence that can only be improved by the further release of documents and information and corroboration by individuals involved. To this end, our members are reviewing both Wikileaks' Afghanistan War Diaries and the Iraq War Logs to identify incidents we were part of and to shed more light on what really happened. IVAW has been speaking out about these atrocities and abuses since our inception. Our organization is comprised of over 2,000 veterans and active duty troops who have served since September 11, 2001. We demand immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, reparations for the people of those countries, and full benefits for returning veterans, including mental healthcare. At our March 2008 Winter Soldier hearings in Maryland, more than fifty veterans and active-duty service members publicly testified about the orders they were told to carry out in these countries, sharing stories of excessive violence, trauma, and abuse. Josh Stieber and Ethan McCord, two IVAW members who were in the unit captured in the Wikileaks "Collateral Murder" video, have spoken out about how the incidents caught on film are not isolated cases of 'a few bad soldiers' but rather, part of the nature of these wars. "There has been little accountability in the wars that my friends and I once thought represented everything that was noble about our country," wrote Stieber in anticipation of the Iraq War Logs. In an open letter, Stieber calls for policy makers to "take accountability for these wars and the full truth about them." As veterans, we know that the violence documented in the Iraq War Logs traumatizes the people living under occupation. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also have been marked by staggering rates of military trauma and suicide among the troops tasked with carrying out these orders. Last year, 239 soldiers killed themselves and 1,713 soldiers survived suicide attempts; 146 soldiers died from high-risk activities, including 74 drug overdoses. A third of returning troops report mental health problems, and 18.5 percent of all returning service members are battling either Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or depression, according to a study by the Rand Corporation. Our Operation Recovery campaign, launched on October 7, seeks to end the cruel and inhumane practice of redeploying troops suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Military Sexual Trauma, Traumatic Brain Injury, and other mental and physical wounds--a practice that underlies the continued occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Critics attacking Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's character are attempting to use ad hominem arguments to detract from the real issues and divert public attention from the content of the Iraq War Logs. We urge honest and thorough discussion of the content of these documents, and we think this discussion must not be sidelined. Furthermore, with past Wikileaks revelations, U.S. administration and military authorities were quick to vilify Army Specialist Bradley Manning who is being accused of leaking these documents to the public. Yet we insist that it is the right of the U.S. public to have accurate information about wars that are being fought in our name and funded by our tax dollars, and we support the public sharing of this information. Exposing war crimes is not a crime. Government deception is inexcusable. Authorities have kept this information secret in the name of 'national security,' but what they really are afraid of is public opinion, which they know will turn against them if the truth about these wars gets out in the mainstream. An accurate count of Iraqi dead, acknowledgment of torture, and full disclosure of the role of private contractors are facts that should be made public in a democracy. We believe that real national security is created where government transparency and accountability, free press, and an end to spending on illegal wars and occupations are the norm. Continued silence and secrecy is a grave threat to the security of the Iraqi and Afghan people, and we demand openness, accountability, and real discussion of these revelations. We grieve for the Iraqi and Afghan lives that were lost and destroyed in these wars. We also grieve for our brothers and sisters in arms, who have been lost to battle or suicide. The Iraq War Logs bring home part of the harsh reality of these wars, a reality that we--as veterans--live with everyday. We demand a real end to both wars, including immediate withdrawal of the 50,000 "non-combat" troops who remain in the Iraq. The Iraq War Logs underscore the urgent need for peace, healing, and reparations for all who have been harmed by these wars. The first step is to bring our brothers and sisters home.

Iraq Veterans Against the War is a 501(c)(3) charity, and welcomes your tax deductible contributions

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