Exclusive: Peace group tried to scrub involvement with soldier linked to Ft. Hood plot 28JUL11

I have posted information on my blog about Pfc Nassar Abdo and his issues concerning his conscientious objector status and the war in Afghanistan. I got my information from Courage to resist and IVAW. I am not blaming them for what I posted on my site. I posted the information because I believe what these groups believe, that conscientious objectors do have the right to refuse to participate in military combat, including positions that actively support military combat because of their beliefs. In spite of the deception of Pfc Abdo, in spite of his involvement in child porn and in spite of his plans to attack and kill soldiers, a plan so hypocritical of someone who claims to be a conscientious objector, I STILL BELIEVE there are good men and women out there, people of character and strong convictions, who can not participate in military combat because of their beliefs. It is because of these people that I will still, in good faith, work to protect their right to C.O. status. From The Raw Story....

Pfc. Nasser Abdo, the 21-year-old soldier arrested Thursday in connection with an alleged plot to attack Fort Hood, had ties to a number of prominent anti-war organizations, including Iraq Veterans Against the War and Courage to Resist, Raw Story can confirm.
Abdo, who went AWOL from duty over the July 4 weekend after being charged with possession of child pornography, was an applicant for conscientious objector (CO) status, supported by the Oakland-based GI rights group Courage to Resist. In turn, his efforts to resist deployment were supported by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), one of the best-known anti-war groups in the nation.
He was arrested Thursday outside Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, after police received a tip informing them that Abdo had purchased firearms with cash, from the same gun store that Major Nidal Hasan visited before murdering 13 of his fellow soldiers in 2009.
In the wake of Abdo's arrest, Courage to Resist removed a page on their website that detailed Abdo's plight, but it was preserved through Google cache. Reached by Raw Story, Jeff Paterson, the group's project director, acknowledged that they had tried to cover up their involvement with the soldier and said they would be issuing a statement in the coming hours.
He added that his impression of Abdo was a young man with "mental health issues" who was "very difficult to work with."
"I worked with him last August, in order to help formulate his application as a conscientious objector, then we helped formulate his legal appeals for the objector process," Paterson said. "Then he got hit with pornography charges on his laptop, at which point we told him that we would help him through the resolution of his objection issues, but he would have to find himself legal defense separate for these criminal matters."
"We're shocked [at Abdo's arrest]," Paterson said. "I believe he had some significant mental health issues that became apparent as we worked with him. He had a particular version of Islam that was certainly ... He was disrespectful to women. These were the kinds of issues we argued over late last year. It's not a religious thing, it's a matter of human decency."
"He was a very difficult young man to work with. Our statement is that we hope people don't think of conscientious objectors as homicidal."
IVAW, similarly, admitted to Raw Story that they also worked with Abdo, but a spokesperson who asked not to be named said they absolutely condemn his alleged actions.
"We have worked with him in the past, but he was not ever a member of this organization," the spokesperson said. "We have had three interactions with him in the past: We supported his application as a conscientious objector; we publicized a statement by him condemning Islamophobia; and finally, he lended his support to our 'Operation Recovery' campaign last Veteran's Day. Besides that, we do not have a concrete link with him.
"IVAW is committed to nonviolence. We do not condone any sort of violence against the military or any individual."
The spokesperson added that they had no comment about Abdo's mental health.
"We support conscientious objection, so he was someone who was brought onto our radar because of that."
Abdo was the first Muslim soldier to seek CO status due to his faith. In televised interviews, he claimed that his beliefs would not permit him to kill other Muslims.
In spite of this claim, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy said last year that he should not be granted CO status and instead face a military tribunal for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan.
A message left for Abdo's attorney went unreturned.

COURAGE TO RESIST E MAIL NEWSLETTER 8NOV10

ARTICLES AND UPDATES on PTSD, TBI, conscientious objectors, Bradley Manning, Jeff Hanks, and Naser Abdo.

PTSD Soldier refusing deployment "I am just trying to get help," insists Jeff Hanks, US Army infantryman who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is expected to surrender to the Army next week. Bradley Manning legal overview We expect the pre-trial hearing of accused Wikileaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning to take place early 2011, followed by trial about four months later. Naser Abdo, Muslim peacemaker On the anniversary of the shooting at Fort Hood, Naser Abdo, a Muslim servicemember seeking Conscientious Objector status based on the principles of Islam tells the missing story of Muslim peacemaking. SF Bay Area event: Mailing / pizza party this Wednesday Help Courage to Resist mail our tri-annual newsletter and fund appeal to supporters around the world. Join us at 55 Santa Clara Ave, Oakland CA 94610 this Wednesday evening, November 10, from 5pm-10pm. AWOL Soldier Jeff Hanks refusing deployment due to PTSD Please consider a donation to Jeff's defense fund hosted by Courage to Resist. Est. need is approx. $1,500. By Sarah Lazare, Truthout. November 5, 2010 "I am just trying to get help," insisted Jeff Hanks (photo right), active duty US Army infantryman, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "My goal in this situation is to simply heal. And they wonder why there are so many suicides." Jeff spoke rapidly over the phone from Virginia, where he, his wife and his two young daughters are staying while he is AWOL from the military. Days earlier, Jeff had walked out of an airport, refusing to board a plane headed for Kuwait, which was to be his first stop on his way back to Afghanistan. During his mid-September leave from his second combat tour with the 101st Airborne Division, Jeff sought help from Fort Bragg and Fort Campbell military doctors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and physical wounds sustained in battle. Yet, just as his treatment was getting started, his command interfered, insisting that his military health care providers grant him clearance for immediate deployment. His providers acquiesced, even though they had not completed preliminary testing. Jeff, who has trouble being in large crowds of people and difficulty controlling his anger, says he is in no state to deploy back to the war from which he is still struggling to heal. The 30 year-old soldier decided that his only choice was to go AWOL. Jeff plans to turn himself into his command at Fort Campbell on Veterans Day, November 11. He will be accompanied by supporters, including members of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Read more... Bradley Manning legal update and overview We expect the pre-trial hearing of accused Wikileaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning to take place early 2011, followed by trial about four months later. Both hearings should be open to the public and media in the Washington DC area. Supporters will be encouraged to attend. - Courage to Resist By David Coombs, attorney for Bradley Manning. November 1, 2010 I. The Military Process: The basic structure of the military process is similar to any criminal trial in a civilian court. Once allegations are made, the government begins to investigate the alleged crime. The government’s investigators are usually either Military Police Investigators (MPI) or Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officers. These individuals interview the key witnesses, secure all available evidence, and create a report that details the nature of their investigation. Based upon the investigation by MPI or CID, the government prosecutor (Trial Counsel) then discusses the case with the soldier’s chain of command. The trial counsel will typically recommend to the command the possible charges that could be preferred against the individual soldier and discuss the likelihood of success at trial. II. Charges have been Preferred: Once charges are preferred against a soldier, each level in the chain of command will make a recommendation as to what level of court-martial should hear the soldier’s case. The command can recommend a Summary Court-Martial, a Bad Conduct Discharge Court-Martial, or a General Court-Martial. Each level of court-martial has different maximum punishments that it is authorized to impose. If the charges against a soldier are serious, such as in this case, then they will be most likely be heard by a General Court-Martial. In any case where the command has recommended trial by General Court-Martial, the Brigade Commander will direct that the case be first investigated by an Article 32 Investigating Officer. Read more... Naser Abdo: The missing story of Muslim peacemaking On the one-year anniversary of the shooting at Fort Hood, TX, Naser Abdo (photo right), a Muslim servicemember seeking Conscientious Objector status based on the principles of Islam tells the missing story of Muslim peacemaking. Please consider a donation to Naser's defense fund hosted by Courage to Resist. By Kimber Heinz, War Resisters League. November 5, 2010 Today, November 5, 2010, marks the one-year anniversary of the Fort Hood shooting, in which former Army psychiatrist Major Nadal Halik Hasan shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, wounding 42 others. As U.S. servicemembers and the families of the victims of this shooting grieved for those who were killed and Americans mourned the loss of life, reports on these crimes riveted the mainstream media. The shootings were certainly newsworthy. The problem is that almost the only time Muslims are featured in the U.S. news media is when a Muslim engages in an act of violence. A one-sided focus on violence committed by some Muslims fuels the racist narrative that “Islam is a religion of violence"—which underwrites the so-called “Global War on Terror.” In spite of ongoing efforts by many in the Muslim religious community and Muslim-American organizations, the long and vital history of Muslim peacemaking has been lost in the avalanche of reports on Muslims where the mainstream media connects them only with violent extremism. The lack of acknowledgment and recognition in the U.S. of Muslim peacemakers continues to have grave effects on Muslims all over the world as well as those at home in the U.S. Additionally, the ongoing hyper-focus by the U.S. state and mainstream media on Islamic militants to the exclusion of those Muslims whose peacemaking efforts oppose militarism of all kinds continues to prop up and justify ongoing U.S.-backed military occupations, including those of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine. Private First Class Naser Abdo, a 20-year-old Muslim servicemember currently serving in the U.S. Army and seeking Conscientious Objector (C.O.) status on the grounds of Islam, is a Muslim peacemaker. Read more... Please click here to forward this to a friend who might also be interested in supporting GI resisters.

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COURAGE TO RESIST E MAIL NEWSLETTER 13OKT10

INFORMATION on actions and programs of Courage To Resist, with an intelligent explanation of why they are supporting the application of discharge as a conscientious objector by PFC Nasser Abdo. Also and update on Bradley Manning and Operation Recovery.

Support US Army Muslim objector Fort Bragg infantry soldier Nasser Abdo has applied for discharge as a conscientious objector based on his Muslim faith; however, his unit may attempt to deploy him anyway. Operation Recovery launched "Military commanders are pushing service members far past human limits for the sake of 'combat readiness.' There is a problem, a basic right is being denied, and we will organize to get it back," declares Iraq Veterans Against the War. Alliance for Global Justice We're now a program of the Alliance for Global Justice, a nonprofit 501(c)(3).This allows us to focus on our mission--and less on non-profit administrative paperwork. Free Bradley Manning Alleged Wikileaks whistle-blower Army PFC Bradley Manning remains at the center of our daily work. We'll be launching a public declaration and petition "We Stand with Brad!" soon. Check out "20+ Cities rally support for Bradley Manning" if you missed it. Support US Army Muslim objector Nasser Abdo By Courage to Resist October 12, 2010 Please consider a donation to Nasser's defense via Courage to Resist. We hope to raise at least $1,000 towards his civilian legal representation. Nasser faces deployment, and likely jail if he refuses. "To a soldier the association of terror and Islam serves the purpose of falsely justifying ones actions in combat by stripping Muslims of their humanity. The association of terror and Islam is what we now refer to as Islamaphobia, and furthermore that it is as if the US public is just recently following a trend that has been rampant in the military for years. Only when the military and America can disassociate Muslims with terror can we move onto a brighter future of the religious collaboration and dialogue that defines America and makes me proud to be an American.” --PFC Nasser Abdo As Chuck Fager, Director of Quaker House, Fayetteville, NC, explains in support of Nasser, “A Muslim soldier whose interpretation of his faith leads him to the conviction that he can’t participate in war deserves the same respect from the Army as does a Quaker, a Mennonite, or any other person following their conscience.” A handful of past Courage to Resist donors have expressed objections to our support of PFC Nasser Abdo. There are always a couple of folks that have problems with any particular objector and their reasons for refusing to fight or speak out. However, in Nasser's case, it's been far more than usual. For Courage to Resist, we help objectors tell their stories and support them when they come into conflict with the military as a result of reasons of conscience. For audio and video interviews with Nasser, visit www.freenasserabdo.org Operation Recovery launched to resist repeated deployments By Iraq Veterans Against the War October 7, 2010 Thousands of troops are being sent to war despite suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Military Sexual Trauma (MST). Many of us within IVAW have faced or are currently facing deployment as we try to recover from the severe trauma we have already experienced. While we recognize that we must stop the deployment of all soldiers in order to end the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, we see the deployment of soldiers with PTSD, TBI, and MST as particularly cruel, inhumane, and dangerous. Military commanders across all branches are pushing service members far past human limits for the sake of 'combat readiness.' We cannot allow those commanders to continue to ignore the welfare of their troops who are, after all, human beings. Read more... Operation Recovery web page and resources Making the Pledge of Support Now a program of Alliance for Global Justice By Courage to Resist. October 12, 2010 Courage to Resist is now a program of the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ)! We would like to thank the International Humanities Center (IHC) for their fiscal sponsorship during the first five years of our collective. Like IHC, AfGJ is a nonprofit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. This relationship allows Courage to Resist to focus more on our mission of supporting the troops who refuse to fight--and less on the administrative paperwork required to keep a non-profit running. Like most fiscal sponsors, AfGJ hosts a number of projects. However, Courage to Resist is autonomous from and independent of any political organization, party, group, or other AfGJ-sponsored project. Read more... Please click here to forward this to a friend who might also be interested in supporting GI resisters.

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