National

Many of our American Veterans believe that dissent is patriotic. Support your soldiers, some people are wearing blue every friday to show their solidarity with American Troops and support bringing them home. This friday the Fourth of July show your support for our troops by wearing blue this friday and every friday after until they come home.

Vets for Peace the video:

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-41122

Here is the song.

From a 6 year Veteran (Infantry Medic):
VFP (Veterans For Peace)
Flag draped boxes
As far as you can see
If this is such a noble cause
Why don't we ever see them on the TV screen
All of king george's horses
Are killin' all of king george's men
The whitehouse has got their shades pulled down
And Baghdad's up in flames again
We're not gonna take it layin' down
We've been there and back
And we served our country proud
We're not gonna stop until they cease
Cause we are Veterans For Peace
So shout out to your neighbors
And every lemming runnin' blind
To hold george bush accountable
For the sake of humankind
While he milks your fear with terror
He leaves a trail of blood behind
Well he can tap our phones
He can tap our bank
But he'll never tap our minds
We're not gonna take it layin' down
We've been there and back
And we served our country proud
We're not gonna stop until they cease
Cause we are Veterans For Peace
We are Veterans For Peace

Some forget when veterans speak of peace, they have authority and experience backing up their position. Honoring our veterans is more than a slogan, a bumper sticker or merely agreeing that those in danger are heros. Opposition to war is not unpatriotic and is required by our sense of duty to communicate this truth to those who do not know it.

Yes, I found this statement particularly compelling:

We took an Oath:

I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic_.

Then at the end they said:

America needs our services now more than ever.

www.veteransforpeace.org

These are men who love and care for their country.

Here is Tuesdays Tribute to our Patriotic Iraq War Heros:

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-41218

September 11th, 2001 was a long time ago. I was in High school, sitting in a geometry classroom, when I decided to join the Marine Corps. My father had to endorse my decision since I was only seventeen.
From that point, my young mind was at the mercy of the warring nation I was serving, the public outcry for revenge, and the eventual "terror" I would battle. That point would mark the beginning of my young life thrown about and lost. My one and only young life.

I had first joined to enter the Marine Corps Security Forces, an infantry job description that included the protection of the white house, embassies and other government installations. The recruiter had promised that I would get that job when I signed on the dotted line. Unfortunately, when it was time to head to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, in August, 2002, I was denied the job I signed for and was dropped into the Infantry. This guaranteed that I would not be stateside- I would be at the forefront of the impending war in Afghanistan. The war in Iraq had not yet begun.

I was assigned to 1st Bn. 1st Marines located at Camp Pendleton in Janurary, 2003. The unit had just returned from Afghanistan and were instrumental in the capture of Camp Rhino, a crucial airfield. The unit's next deployment was going to be as a strategic reserve aboard ship, so in October of 2003 my unit was dispatched to the Persian Gulf. Around that time, we were able to get off the ship and secure a small seaport in Iraq called Umm Qasr and participate in Operation Sweeney- An oil-smuggler interdiction operation with the British troops located there. The Iraqi's living and working there loved us, and there was no real insurgent threat. In fact, we didn't even wear body armor or helmets! Basrah, a nearby city in southern Iraq, was a relatively safe place.

Since then, after two more deployments (next, to rural southern Baghdad and last to rural Fallujah, Karma, and Abu Ghraib) I watched as our body armor became heavier and the locals became less trustworthy. I was sure that things were not improving. The once peaceful Basrah was becoming more and more of an insurgent haven as British troops struggled to keep order. In the town near Abu Ghraib, I witnessed the accidental killing of a civilian family at the hands of marines, who were provoked by the fast-moving van the family was driving. Soon after, a friend of mine was shot and killed on a rooftop observation post. I had to wonder- were the people we were fighting terrorists? Or were they seeking revenge?

On August, 2006, my active enlistment was over. I returned home to use the Illinois Veteran Grant and attend college at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The GI Bill, which I had to pay into, was only 1,200.00 a month and only payed for half of a semester. Thankfully, my wife was working as a pre-school teacher and could support me. Without the Illinois Vet Grant, I would not have been able to attend school full-time without working nights or weekends.

In September, 2007, I was on the train to Chicago when my father called me and explained I had received a Fed Ex express mailer from Marine Corps Mobilization Command. It contained instructions to report to Kansas City, MO, to conduct a screening that would determine if I was eligible to return to active duty. I was being recalled. A couple of weeks later, at the airport, I ran into a few of my old friends from my unit who were also being recalled. We took the trip out to Kansas City together.

The next few days of the screening, I was able to plead my case. I brought letters of deferment from the associate dean and director of my College, an honorable record of my military service which showed my rank as a Sergeant with eleven decorations and three combat tours overseas, and even letters from my wife's therapist. Later, I found out that the Marine Corps granted my request to stay off active duty. However, some of my friends were not as lucky, since they did not have the documentation that I had.

Now that I have steered clear of a fourth tour, I find that I am quite cynical. The U.S. government has literally sucked the life out of me. I am deeply engaged in this political showdown because I know that whoever is next to sit in the oval office is directly responsible. I have seen a fearful american public head off to war in Afghanistan to fight the nebulous "war on terror". I have heard the political spin around Iraq that sent people like myself and others into a country that never attacked us. I have watched the faces of crying Iraqi women and children, defiant iraqi men, and the crowded prisons of Abu Ghraib. I have wept over the bodies of the fallen.

There is never peace after war. There will always be the restless ghost of conflict that clutches the heart- the heart of the soldier, the soldiers family, the innocent iraqi, the iraqi's family. The mentality we want to change is precisely what we're fighting against: Terror. Not terrorism. It exists in many forms. When a roadside bomb explodes next to someone, it is terror. When a veteran can't pay for college, it's terror. When an Iraqi is imprisoned just for being near the site of a shooting, it's terror. When someone who served honorably is recalled to active duty, it's terror. Whenever humanity suffers...

That being said, my questions to the candidates are obvious. Is war ever warranted? Is the cost of life justified? What can be done to ensure that Humanity is protected, instead of just the interests of the United States? Humanity is a trait that all of us on this planet share. My life since September 11th has been affected by war in so many ways that can only be understood by those who have experienced the struggle. It is my sincere hope that these questions are answered.

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" Thomas Jefferson

Wednesdays Tribute to our Patriotic Iraq War Veterans

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-41194

One of my favorite movies growing up in the 80's was Red Dawn.

Without spoiling the movie I will say that in watching Red Dawn as a kid, I missed the Cold War / Anti-Soviet propaganda endemic in the film. Back then, I watched movies solely for entertainment value. WOLVERINES!
Retrospectively however, I see Red Dawn as an opportunity for mental exercise.
The question: How would you react were the United States actually invaded and then occupied?
It is easy to say you would react the same way the kids in Red Dawn did from the safety of home but, experience has shown me that what we say and what we actually do aren't always the same. And what if the occupying army was offering shelter, provisions, medical care and so on? Would that make it harder to resist? What if the ideology of the occupying army matched your own?
My guess: most of us have such a sense of patriotism, of a homeland, that not only would we resist, we would band with others to take up arms - covertly and overtly. We would rigorously recruit those who, initially, might not have been brave enough (or for mere survival chose not) to resist, or those whose ideologies paralleled that of the invaders all in hopes of swelling our ranks. The goal: oust the occupier and win back home.
Can you play out these scenarios in your mind's eye? If so, lets take that train of thought one step further.
Imagine yourself as an Iraqi civilian. You grieved for America over the events that happened on 9/11, and then stood by, helplessly befuddled, when American troops began occupying your land, your country, your home. Your country had nothing to do with the attacks on the twin towers and the pentagon - something the American government would later admit, and you did not ask them to come. But here they are nonetheless - and it doesn't look as if they plan on leaving anytime soon. What would you do?
The reason I wanted to take you through this exercise was to highlight reasons why continuing our occupation would be a mistake.
Not just because our occupation / invasion costs us 2 Billion dollars per week.
Not just because our occupation / invasion costs us lives of our service men and women.
But also because our occupation / invasion is converting what could've been a potential ally in the Middle East into an enemy.
I was there when we ousted Saddam. The number one question I would get from Iraqi civilians afterwards: Why are we still here?
Good Question.

Thursdays Tribute to our Patriotic Iraq War Veterans:

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-41483

Front the Front
USMCaptain
Quantico, Virginia

My brothers and sisters in arms currently serving in Iraq need to be brought back home NOW. I recently retired after serving over 20 years in the United States Marine Corps after being completely burned out by the current operational tempo. The troops are not getting enough time in between deployments and the true effects of this will not be felt for several years.
This administration completely missed the mark on this entire evolution, and today American forces are being targeted and killed only to protect the political image of the Bush Administration. It's not fair that so many Soldiers and Marines have been sacrificed in this manner, and someone (at the very top) should be held accountable for all the mistakes made throughout this campaign.
The next President needs to be man enough to end this and not simply continue for the sake of a political agenda. This is not what we signed up for and why I retired.

If you want more of the same vote McCain. Vote for the Reagan/Bush/Cheney/Rove/McCain ticket and you got it.

Yep: This illustrates why service doesn't qualify one man to be President while lack of service doesn't disqualify another to hold the office. Decisions made are the gage. Obama was correct when many jumped on the bandwagon supporting invasion of Iraq. McCain only quibbled about the execution of the war but not the fact of our decision to go or the reasons offered, which have proven false. This shows McCain's judgement to be flawed and Obama's to be sound. Case closed.

Fourth of July Tribute to our Patriotic Iraq War Veterans:

Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E&feature=re...

Speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9PO3K-PYyM&feature=re...

Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABx4fG1ZJL4&feature=re...

I was proud to see that some of my fellow Americans spent their day relaying their dissent directly to President Bush even though I didn't. (To busy having fun )

It was especially entertaining that our President was actually saying that we are a country that welcomes free speech even as the secret service was pulling two dissentors out of the area where his speech was being given.

Video:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/07/04/vo.b...

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Bush heckled during July 4 speech
Posted: 04:50 PM ET

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Watch protesters interrupt the president's speech.

(CNN) — It's The Fourth of July, but not everyone was in a festive mood when President Bush delivered a speech Thursday at Thomas Jefferson's famous home, Monticello.

The President, who was talking part in Monticello's annual naturalization ceremony, was interrupted several times by protesters.

"War criminal!" one protester repeatedly yelled as she was escorted out by Secret Service members.

"He has brought fascism to this shore," another man yelled.

The president did not appear to acknowledge the protesters.

"The United States can always be counted on to do the right thing-after it has exhausted all other options." -Winston Churchill

Good one.

My hubby is a proud member of Vets for Peace..... why wasn't there a presence at the "parade" today?

There were a couple of vehicles a hummer and some choppers with militry flags who were playing proud to be an american. I'm not sure who they were though I didn't see a sign. Beyond that I don't know why they weren't represented in the parade.

Song Posted by a Vet

Video

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-41438

I served my time far away from the front lines
But I've seen them come and I've seen them go
Bullets fly when politicians lie and soldiers die that's war
Their fathers and mothers wake up crying in the middle of the night
Their hearts jump at every knock upon the door
Young Americans bleeding and dying in the middle of this fight
Still trying to figure out what the hell they're really dying for
Bushwhacked and another soldier dies
They've been Bushwhacked
By a whitehouse war built on whitehouse lies
Bushwhacked
And by the time we realize we've all been Bushwhacked
Another roadside bomb another soldier dies
If you close your eyes force yourself to look inside
Read between the whitehouse lies that we've all been fed
In the name of humanity they peddled our democracy
Claim they're trying to set Iraqis free
So far we've freed a hundred thousand dead
And their fathers and mothers wake up crying in the middle of the night
Their hearts jump with every knock upon the door
Soldiers and civilians bleeding and dying in the middle of this fight
Still trying to figure out what they're really dying for
They've been Bushwhacked and another soldier dies
They've been Bushwhacked
By a whitehouse war built on whitehouse lies
Bushwhacked
And by the time we realize we've all been Bushwhacked
Another roadside bomb another soldier dies
Bushwhacked and another soldier dies
They've been Bushwhacked
By a whitehouse war built on whitehouse lies
Bushwhacked
And we're gonna lose a thousand more
Yeah we've been Bushwhacked
Maybe George should fight his own bullshit war

IF YOU WANT MORE OF THE SAME BUSHWACKING, VOTE MC CAIN. VOTE FOR THE REAGAN/BUSH/CHENEY/ROVE/MC CAIN TICKET AND YOU GOT IT.

Lay: I suspect most if not all the vets present are "for peace"

If there were those who are not "for peace" present, it's good they didn't present that view.

Prowar sentiments exist in much higher percentages among the civilian population.

Ron, I believe you are right. I would have liked to see some signs to that effect. Not just Hummers and tow trucks that drive on the blood of innocent Iraqis and Americans. It made me sick to my stomach.... we did not stay.