Military Resistance: thomasfbarton@earthlink.net 5.19.14 Print it out: color best. Pass it on.

Military Resistance 12E9

[Thanks to SSG N (ret’d) who sent this in with caption. She writes: "Welcome home to

the world.”]

AFGHANISTAN THEATER “US Foreign Fighters Under CIC Obama Suffered 64 Combat Casualties Between April 16 And May 14 As The Total Rose

To 40,547” May 14, 2014 www.michaelmunk.com [Excerpts] AFGHANISTAN THEATER: US foreign fighters under CIC Obama suffered 64 combat casualties between April 16 and May 14 as the total rose to 40,547. The total includes 21,582 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and 18,965 dead or medically evacuated (as of Dec. 3, 2012) from what it calls "non-hostile" causes.

US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by reporting regularly only the total killed (6,807: 4,489 in Iraq; 2,318 in Afghanistan) but rarely mentioning those wounded in action (52,003: 32,238 in Iraq; 19,765 in Afghanistan). They ignore the 59,908 (44,607 in Iraq, 18,463 in AfPak (as of Dec 3, 2012) military casualties injured and ill seriously enough to be medevac’d out of theater, even though the 6,807 total dead include 1,462 (961 in Iraq, 501 in Afghanistan) who died from those same "non hostile" causes of whom almost 25% (332) were suicides (as of Jan 9, 2013). WIAs are usually updated on Wednesday at http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Resistance Action 17 May 2014 TOLOnews & 17 May 2014 & May 18 2014 By Ghanizada, Khaama Press An Afghan policeman was killed and four others were injured in twin blasts in western Herat province on Friday night, local officials said. The first blast took place at about 8 a.m. near a mosque in Islam Qala of Herat close to the Afghanistan and Iran border. Police forces responded to the first attack when the second bomb detonated killing one policeman and injuring four others, said Safiwullah, border police chief in Islam Qala. The victims have been taken to a hospital for treatments. Preliminary reports suggest it was a bomb attack followed by gunfire. A policeman was killed following an improvised explosive (IED) explosion in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan. The incident took place in Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand around 10:00 am local time, local officials said. At least four Afghan national army soldiers were martyred following improvised explosive device (IED) explosion. Defense ministry spokesman, Gen. Zahir Azimi confirmed that four Afghan soldiers were martyred following the blast; however he did not disclose further information regarding the exact location of the incident.

Military Resistance In PDF Format? If you prefer PDF to Word format, email: contact@militaryproject.org

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

“At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. “For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. “We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.”

Frederick Douglass, 1852 It is a two class world and the wrong class is running it. -- Larry Christensen, Soldiers Of Solidarity & United Auto Workers

Love, Dad [From GI Special, March 2009] From: Dennis Serdel

To: GI Special Sent: March 03, 2009 Subject: Love, Dad By Dennis Serdel, Vietnam 1967-68 (one tour) Light Infantry, Americal Div. 11th Brigade, purple heart, Veterans For Peace 50 Michigan, Vietnam Veterans Against The War, United Auto Workers GM Retiree.

************************** Love, Dad Son, we can’t send you any packages like we have sent you before because the shop that I worked for for 27 years has just went bankrupt my pension money is gone didn’t get severance pay after all those years and I would have to pay Cobra for health care but I don’t have money for that they didn’t even give me my vacation pay they gave me nothing nothing at all I took our savings and paid off our home but now all I get is unemployment checks and food stamps that will stop in months I don’t know what I will do then, I’m old and nobody will hire me but even the young can’t find any jobs Soon they will take our car turn off electricity and turn off the heat Son, I know you have troubles of your own in Iraq but I think you are fighting the wrong enemy over there I think all of you should come home fight the government the corporations and defend us from the bill collectors kill the white shirt bank criminals the oil company criminals

kill all the Madoof’s that have taken over our country because nothing works over here anymore. Love, Dad

“The Revolution In Ukraine Came From The Left”

“It Was A Mass Movement Of The Kind Europeans And Americans Now Know Only From The History Books”

“Its Enemy Was An Authoritarian Kleptocrat, And Its Central Program Was

Social Justice And The Rule Of Law” May 11, 2014 By Timothy Snyder, The New Republic [Excerpts] People who criticize only the Ukrainian right often fail to notice two very important things. The first is that the revolution in Ukraine came from the left. It was a mass movement of the kind Europeans and Americans now know only from the history books. Its enemy was an authoritarian kleptocrat, and its central program was social justice and the rule of law. It was initiated by a journalist of Afghan background, its first two mortal casualties were an Armenian and a Belarusian, and it was supported by the Muslim Crimean Tatar community as well as many Ukrainian Jews. A Jewish Red Army veteran was among those killed in the sniper massacre. The Maidan functioned in two languages simultaneously, Ukrainian and Russian, because Kiev is a bilingual city, Ukraine is a bilingual country, and Ukrainians are bilingual people. Indeed, the motor of the revolution was the Russian-speaking middle class of Kiev. The current government, whatever its shortcomings, is un-self-consciously multiethnic and multilingual.

In fact, Ukraine is now the site of the largest and most important free media in the Russian language, since important media in Ukraine appears in Russian and since freedom of speech prevails.

“People Need Not Be Helpless Before The Power Of Illegitimate

Authority” “By Getting Together And Acting Upon Their Convictions People Can Change

Society And, In Effect, Make Their Own History”

From: SOLDIERS IN REVOLT: DAVID CORTRIGHT, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1975. [Excerpts]

*********************** In the final analysis the stationing of American forces abroad serves not the national interest but the class interest of the corporate and political elite. The maintenance of a massive, interventionist-oriented military establishment is based not on the nation’s legitimate defense requirements but on the need to

protect multinational investment and preserve regimes friendly to American capital. Imperialism is at the heart of the national-security system and is the force fundamentally responsible for the counterrevolutionary, repressive aims of U.S. policy. Only if we confront this reality and challenge it throughout society and within the ranks can we restore democratic control of the military. Of course nothing can be accomplished without citizen involvement and active political struggle. During the Vietnam era enlisted servicemen created massive pressures for change, despite severe repression, and significantly altered the course of the war and subsequent military policy. To sustain and strengthen this challenge we must continue to build political opposition to interventionism and support those who defy military service. To this end the patriots who resisted the Indochina war should be granted universal and unconditional amnesty, as a sign of our agreement with their acts and as the first step toward restructuring the military and legitimatizing resistance to illegal war. The central lesson of the GI movement — and, I hope, of this book — is that people need not be helpless before the power of illegitimate authority, that by getting together and acting upon their convictions people can change society and, in effect, make their own history.

******************************************************************************

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A Film About How An Armed Forces Rebellion Stopped An Imperial War

Sir! No Sir!

Hundreds have been distributed and we want to see that number grow into the thousands. The response has been tremendous.

David Zeiger and Jade Fox Displaced Films

*********************************************************

To Whom it May Concern: I just wanted to say thank you for this film, for raising my awareness, I never even knew some of these things happened. I think this probably is one of the most important documentaries made about war resistance. Thank you again, SGT Spencer Batchelder

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HELP GET SIR! NO SIR! INTO THE HANDS THAT NEED IT MOST

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Also available is a Soundtrack CD (which includes the entire song from the FTA Show, “Soldier We Love You”), theatrical posters, tee shirts, and the DVD of “A Night of Ferocious Joy,” a film about the first hip-hop antiwar concert against the “War on Terror.”

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Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the email address if you wish and we’ll send it regularly with your best wishes. Whether in Afghanistan or at a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to injustices, inside the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or write to: Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki Tries To Resign But White House Still Has Him

On Hold

Photo Credit: Defense.gov

May 7, 2014 By Paul, The Duffle Blog WASHINGTON, D.C. — The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that he’s been trying to get “this damn resignation business” straightened out with the president all day, but he’s been sitting on hold with The White House for hours, Duffel Blog has learned. “The American Legion wants me to resign, so fine, I’ll resign,” Shinseki said, placing his phone on speaker as The White House hold music stopped to announce ‘Your call is important to us. Please remain on the line.’ “Unfortunately, I can’t get through to anyone at The White House. It’s like they don’t even care about me personally or have any interest in my needs.” After a major scandal involving the Phoenix VA keeping a “secret waiting list” for patient appointments — resulting in the deaths of at least 40 veterans — The American Legion veterans group called on Shinseki and two other top VA executives to step down. But it’s not that simple, according to department regulations. His call to the president to request his resignation is just the first step, as he’ll need to submit a written request for review, which can take six to 12 months. That could be longer if he’s denied and wants to appeal.

“If I could call the Legion directly and resign directly to them, that would be great,” Shinseki said, as The White House hold music transitioned to Pharrell Williams “Happy.” Moments later, the phone, which had been on hold for roughly five hours, suddenly disconnected. “Goddamnit!” Shinseki said. “Goddamn piece of shit White House. I sit on my ass on hold for hours and then they disconnect me. God I hate the goddamn White House. No wonder so many VA secretaries are committing suicide.” At press time, Shinseki had given up on calling to search for pay stubs that would prove to his finance office he had not been overpaid $452,395, as a letter from the VA chief financial officer claimed.

STUCK ON STUPID

Stupid Headline Of The Week, So Far: “How Obama’s New Cold War Could Spin Out Of Control In The Ukraine”

From “Stopwar.Org.UK”

Comment: T There’s a lot of hysterical bullshit going around. The writers promoting this fear pornography are either too stupid to know, or too dishonest to care, that the immediate crisis is over. The Russian Empire, the U.S. Empire, and the EU are busy cutting a deal. Duh. The headline also reflects perfectly the politics puked up by assorted disgusting apologists for Putin’s dictatorship. They, and apologists for the U.S. Empire, are two sides of the same coin, and a blood covered coin at that. The hypocrisy of those political commentators who see the Putin regime as some kind of progressive force in world affairs is as monumental as the hypocrisy of those who see the Obama regime as some kind of progressive force if word affairs. They are equally trash without honor, serving one exploiter and oppressor or the other.

CLASS WAR REPORTS

Officials Say Death Toll From Explosion At Mine In Turkey

Likely To Be Around 300; “Locals Say The Authorities

Covering Up Far Greater Loss Of Life”

“Miner Said: ‘This Is Disgraceful, An Incredible Lie. They Are Trying To Cover Up

The Exact Numbers Of The Accident”

Government Had Been Warned Before Fire That “Carrying Out Production Might

Lead To Disaster”

One miner said: ‘This is disgraceful, an incredible lie. They are trying to cover up the

exact numbers of the accident.’ Photograph: Imago/Barcroft Media

Relatives of a victim of the mine accident stand next to the grave of their loved one, in

Soma, Turkey, Saturday, May 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

16 May 2014 Constanze Letsch in Soma, Guardian News and Media Limited [Excerpts] The final death toll from Turkey’s mine disaster will likely be around 300, government officials have said, though furious locals say the authorities are covering up far greater loss of life. According to the latest official numbers, the number killed in Monday’s explosion and fire at the mine in western Turkey stands at 284. The energy minister, Taner Yildiz, said on Friday that 18 miners were still missing. But one miner who works at the pit in Soma who wished to remain anonymous disputed the energy minister’s claim: "This is disgraceful, an incredible lie. They are trying to cover up the exact numbers of the accident. I have been down there. There are more than 18 bodies still trapped in the mine." In a first press conference since the accident four days ago, Akin Çelik, the operating manager of the Soma Coal Mining Company, denied responsibility. However, previous reports contradict company officials’ claims. According to Turkish media, a 2010 report by the Turkish Chamber of Architects and Engineers (TMMOB) warned of major safety deficiencies in the Soma mines. Ventilation systems, pre-warning mechanisms and faulty wall supports all presented a serious danger to workers’ safety, the report stated. "No production should be made before the necessary research has been completed. Carrying out production with the lack of experience might lead to disaster," the TMMOB report warned.

Turkish Dictatorship Use Police To Stop Allies From Reaching Miners

A Turkish lawyer from a group that came to support the miners’ families flashes the V-sign in a bus after he and other colleagues were detained by police in Soma, western Turkey, May 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

OCCUPATION PALESTINE

On Nakba Day, Israelis Forced To Confront A Guilty Secret: “Marchers Waving Palestinian Flags Massively Outnumbering Israeli Police And A Counter-

Demonstration By Jewish Nationalists”

“A New Generation Of Palestinians No Longer Willing To Defer To Their

More Cautious, And Traumatised, Elders”

“Youth From Two Christian Villages, Iqrit And Biram, Have Set Up Camps At Their Old Churches, Daring Israel To Hound Them Out Like Their Grandparents”

Thousands of people gather to commemorate the 1948 Nakba in the destroyed village of

Lubya. (Photo: Dan Cohen) May 15, 2014 by Jonathan Cook, Mondoweiss.net For 66 years Israel’s founding generation has lived with a guilty secret, one it successfully concealed from the generations that followed.

Forests were planted to hide war crimes. School textbooks mythologised the events surrounding Israel’s creation. The army was blindly venerated as the most moral in the world. Once, “Nakba” – Arabic for “Catastrophe”, referring to the dispossession of the Palestinian homeland in 1948 – would have failed to register with any but a small number of Israeli Jews. Today, only those who never watch television or read a newspaper can plead ignorance. As marches and festivals are held today by Palestinians across the region to mark Nakba Day – commemorating the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and the erasure of more than 500 villages – Israelis will be watching. In fact, the Israeli media have been filled with references to the Nakba for the past 10 days, since Israel celebrated its Independence Day last week. The two anniversaries do not quite coincide because Israel marks its founding according to the Hebrew calendar. While Israeli Jews were trying to enjoy guilt-free street parties last week, news reports focused on the activities of their compatriots – the Palestinians who remained inside the new state of Israel and now comprise a fifth of the population. Estimates are that one in four of these 1.5 million Palestinian citizens is from a family internally displaced by the 1948 war. More than 20,000 staged a “March of Return” to one destroyed village, Lubya, buried under a forest near Tiberias and close to a major Israeli highway. Long tailbacks forced thousands of Israeli Jews to get a close-up view as they crawled past the biggest Nakba procession in Israel’s history. For others, images of the marchers waving Palestinian flags and massively outnumbering Israeli police and a counter-demonstration by Jewish nationalists were seen on TV news, websites and social media. The assault on Israel’s much cherished national mythology is undoubted. And it reflects the rise of a new generation of Palestinians no longer willing to defer to their more cautious, and traumatised, elders, those who directly experienced the events of 1948. These youth see themselves as representing not only their immediate relatives but Palestinians in exile who have no chance to march back to their village. Many of Lubya’s refugees ended up in Yarmouk camp in Damascus, where they are suffering new horrors, caught in the midst of Syria’s civil war. Palestinians in Israel are also being galvanised into action by initiatives like prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to legislate Israel as a Jewish state.

They see this as the latest phase of an ongoing Nakba – an attempt to erase their nativeness, just as the villages were once disappeared. Palestinians are making a noise about the Nakba on every possible front – and not just on Nakba Day. Last week media around the world reported on one such venture: a phone app called iNakba that maps the hundreds of destroyed villages across Israel. Briefly it became one of the most popular iPhone downloads, connecting refugees through new technology. iNakba visibly restores a Palestine that Israel hoped literally to have wiped off the map. The app is the initiative of Zochrot, an Israeli organisation that is jointly run by Jews and Palestinians. They have been finding ever more creative and provocative ways to grab headlines. They arrange regular visits to destroyed villages that a growing number of curious Israeli Jews are participating in, often in the face of vehement opposition from the communities built on the rubble of Palestinian homes. Zochrot has created a Hebrew information pack on the Nakba for teachers, though education officials ban it. Last year it staged the first Nakba film festival in Tel Aviv. It is also creating an archive of filmed interviews with Israeli veteran fighters prepared to admit their part in expulsions. Zochrot also held last year the first-ever conference in Israel discussing not just the principle but how to put into practice a right of return for the millions of Palestinian refugees across the region. Palestinian youth are taking up the idea enthusiastically. Architects are designing plans for new communities that would house the refugees on or near their old lands. Refugee families are trying to reclaim mosques and churches, usually the only buildings still standing. Israeli media reported last month that internal refugees had been attacked as they held a baptism in their former church at al-Bassa, now swamped by the Jewish town of Shlomi. Workshops have been arranged among refugee groups to imagine what a right of return might look like. Youth from two Christian villages, Iqrit and Biram, have already set up camps at their old churches, daring Israel to hound them out like their grandparents. Another group, I Won’t Remain a Refugee, is looking to export this example to other villages.

The size of the march to Lubya and the proliferation of these initiatives are a gauge of how Palestinians are no longer prepared to defer to the Palestinian leadership on the refugee issue or wait for an interminable peace process to make meaningful progress. “The people are sending a message to the leadership in Ramallah that it cannot forget or sideline the right of return,” says Abir Kopty, an activist with the Lubya march. “Otherwise we will take the issue into our own hands.” Meanwhile, progress of a kind is being made with Israeli Jews. Some have come to recognise, however reluctantly, that a tragedy befell the Palestinians with Israel’s creation. But, as another march organiser notes, the struggle is far from over. “That is a first step. But now they must take responsibility for our suffering and make amends.”

Sometimes The Daily, Petty Nastiness Of The Occupation Is

Encapsulated In The Dismal Theft Of A Few Farming Tools: “Did The Thieves Who Broke Into Ryad’s Shed Need Those Tools

And Utensils? Not Likely” “But They Took Them Because

They Knew They Could, And That Nothing Would Happen”

“There Would Be No Investigation, No Indictment; They Knew They Were The

Lords Of The Land” May 11, 2014 By Yossi Gurvitz for Yesh Din, +972 Magazine

Ryad, who lives near Bethlehem area, has a small orchard with apricot, hazelnut, olive and fig trees. Near the orchard is an ancient agricultural structure, aged some 100 years, which serves Ryad and his family as a tool shed, as well as a resting place in the far too many hot days. One day, Ryad was asked by his nephew, Khader, to hold a family barbecue by the shed. Ryad agreed. When Khader got there, however, he was shocked to see a few men, whom he would soon identify as Israeli civilians, attempting to damage the structure. Khader shouted at them and moved in their direction, and the three immediately fled. When Ryad got there, after being summoned by Khader, he found that the Israeli civilians had not limited themselves to their attempt to destroy the structure: they also stole some agricultural tools and silverware that were in it. Why? Just because. We’ve already become pretty much inured to the daily violence against Palestinians, whether coming from the military or civilians. We’ve grown used to it. After all, it happens so often you could mumble the excuses in your sleep: the soldier felt in danger, they were near the fence, they were somewhere they shouldn’t be, and anyway, you know what they would do to us if they only could. Violence toward a person can always be excused, if that’s your cup of tea. Just as rapists and their supporters can always find excuses for sexual violence towards women (she wanted it, why did she leave the house at such an hour, what kind of person walks around such places, why did a dress like that). Such excuses are necessary for any injustice. You want to be able to look in the mirror afterwards, after all; furthermore, you should be ready for a situation where such actions are routine. “To plunder, to butcher, to steal: these they falsely name empire: they make a desolation and they call it peace.” These are piercing words by the Roman historian Tacitus in the mouth of the warlord Calgacus, planning his final battle against the Roman invader. To the insurrection of people fighting for their freedom, we give the misnomer of “disturbances of order”; land stolen from them by the cunning of jurists, is called “public lands”; coated steel bullets, “rubber bullets”; shooting an unarmed man, “the soldiers were acting in accordance with the rules of engagement.”

But while we’ve become accustomed to excusing violence toward persons, we still have a problem explaining away simple theft. Such incidents pierce the foggy veil of security. Every IDF veteran can easily recite all the excuses for why it is proper to fire a lead bullet from an assault rifle through the body of an unarmed child; but he’d have a hard time justifying the looting of the body. And such incidents allow us to see what lies beyond the veil of excuses. And what we see, when all is said and done, is theft. Theft on the part of people living in a well-to-do settlement, enjoying all the munificence the government of a high-tech superpower can throw at them. The theft, as we’ve seen in an earlier case, of a donkey and a few obsolete agricultural tools. Did the thieves who broke into Ryad’s shed need those tools and utensils? Not likely. But they took them because they knew they could, and that nothing would happen. There would be no investigation, no indictment; they knew they were the lords of the land and that they could express their lordship by carelessly harming the property of others. Is there, or can there be, any excuse – a security excuse, a national excuse, a religious excuse – for damaging a shed used by farmers for shelter and stealing their tools, tools which will not make much of a difference to the thief, but for the victim, cause real damage to his ability to make a living? And, behind all the bright shining lies that the Israeli civilians in the West Bank tell themselves – the “security needs” lie, the “redemption of land” lie, the “land of our forefathers” lie – can’t we see the same urge, the urge to better yourself at the expense of someone whose condition is far worse than yours? The urge to show your lordship by harming the defenseless? Is there anything behind the big words, aside from a small, dismal robbery?

“Violence And Bullying Are What The Israel Defense Forces’

Presence In Hebron And The West Bank Is Really All About”

“The IDF’s First Mission In The West Bank Is To Ensure The Continuation Of The Settlement Enterprise, Which

Means Expelling The Palestinians From Their Land”

“The Violence Of The Army And The Settlers Serves This Mission”

05.12.14 by Amira Hass, Haaretz Why did his commanders send a soldier with a record of violence to bully Palestinians in Hebron? The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit chose to respond to Haaretz’s question with “no comment.” Perhaps that’s because the right answer is: Violence and bullying are what the Israel Defense Forces’ presence in Hebron and the West Bank is really all about. And another right answer: The IDF’s first mission in the West Bank is to ensure the continuation of the settlement enterprise, which means expelling the Palestinians from their land. The violence of the army and the settlers serves this mission. The proof? The hundreds of buildings in Hebron’s Old City that have been emptied of their owners and tenants. The violent and bullying behavior of David Adamov — the soldier who was videotaped aiming his rifle at a Palestinian teen, setting off a storm in the media, especially the social media — was not exceptional. What was exceptional was that the Israeli public initially believed he was sent to military prison because of his violence toward Palestinians. By what authority did Adamov and his fellow soldiers detain several Palestinians for two hours at a military checkpoint whose entire purpose is to ensure that members of the Chosen People can march proudly down Shuhada Street and that Palestinians are kept away? This incident predated that of the now-famous video. To this question, too, the IDF Spokesperson declined to respond.

In any event, soldiers (and employees of civilian contractors) detain Palestinians freely at every checkpoint and roadblock. The robbery of the Palestinians’ time by the Israeli authorities – at every level, both military and civilian – is an integral part of the Israeli domination regime. Why do soldiers bark obscenities at Palestinians? I didn’t ask the IDF Spokesperson this question. Since I first began covering the occupation, nearly a quarter-century ago, I have learned that soldiers must do so in order to overcome the cognitive dissonance in which they operate. After all, 18 and 20-year-olds can think and feel, in short, be responsible for their actions – and here I part ways with the military experts, obviously. Clearly, 18- and 20-year-olds know the Palestinians are human beings just like us. The trash talk and humiliation builds up the dehumanization, until the soldiers are convinced that the Palestinian is different. Commanders don’t want to stop this, because only then can the soldiers fully carry out their mission: to prevent the Palestinian from walking down the street where he lives, to prevent him from living on the street where he and his parents were born, to destroy the livelihoods of many thousands of people. Humiliation of the Palestinians by every level of the civilian and military apparatus is an inseparable part of building a nation of overlords. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit also chose not to respond to questions concerning the arrest of Saddam Abu Sneinah, the youth from the video who was holding prayer beads, and who Adamov said was holding brass knuckles and supposedly threatening him, the poor guy. Threatened? In a settler area, in front of a checkpoint manned by armed soldiers? Next to a military camp? Chief of Staff Benny Gantz – With soldiers who are so weak, insecure and delusional, you should be very worried. Soldiers beat Abu Sneinah when they arrested him. The IDF Spokesperson did not deny or respond to this assertion. Because it’s the norm. Soldiers beat handcuffed Palestinian detainees. It’s part of the dehumanization, of the routine violence. It’s gone on for 47 years (the occupation), for 66 years (the State of Israel), and we’re not done yet.

Nor did the IDF Spokesperson issue a response when asked whether the fact that such beatings are the norm meant the commanders support the beating of detainees. The soldiers kept Abu Sneinah handcuffed and blindfolded for an entire night, on a concrete floor with no mattress. The IDF Spokesperson did not deny or respond when asked if this was torture. The IDF Spokesperson did not identify either the commander who ordered Abu Sneinah’s arrest or the commander who was responsible for the atrocious conditions in which he was kept. The IDF Spokesperson also did not respond when asked why, when Abu Sneinah was released, after 24 hours, he was rearrested by different soldiers at the checkpoint near Shuhada Street. He was held for another hour, and the heroic soldiers beat him some more. There was no point asking the IDF Spokesperson why the soldiers don’t speak Arabic. The center operated by Youth Against Settlements — that’s the organization that published the videos of the encounter between Adamov and Abu Sneinah — has a Hebrew class for Palestinian children from Hebron’s Old City. So they can understand what the soldiers are saying, so they’ll remember that despite their job, the soldiers are human beings, with hearts and minds. “How are you?” one of the “youths” asked a soldier in Hebrew a few days after the Adamov incident. “Praise God,” answered the soldier, leading some settler children to shout at him: “Why are you talking to an Arab?” “You son of a bitch, as soon as I get a chance, I’ll shoot you,” a soldier named Effi told Issa Amro, one of the founders of Youth Against Settlements. “Keep your ugly mouth shut,” another soldier told Amro. On the orders of a Russian-accented civilian — a woman — the soldiers raided the organization’s center, ostensibly in search of rock-throwers. One can understand the soldiers and the way they talk to the Palestinians: The curses, the derogatory language, help the armed Israelis to pretend to be superior and righteous. It’s hard for them to confront the courage, nobility, determination and restraint with which the older Palestinian activists receive them. It’s hard for them, and others like them, when they are confronted with the courage, nobility, determination and restraint with which the vast majority of Palestinians continues to bear our violent and brutal presence, in the confident knowledge that it will end. To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded

by foreign terrorists, go to: http://www.maannews.net/eng/Default.aspx and

http://www.palestinemonitor.org/list.php?id=ej898ra7yff0ukmf16

The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves “Israeli.”

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

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Vietnam GI: Reprints Available

[THEY STOPPED AN IMPERIAL WAR]

Edited by Vietnam Veteran Jeff Sharlet from 1968 until his death, this newspaper rocked the world, attracting attention even from Time Magazine, and extremely hostile attention from the chain of command. The pages and pages of letters in the paper from troops in Vietnam condemning the war are lost to history, but you can find them here. Military Resistance has copied complete sets of Vietnam GI. The originals were a bit rough, but every page is there. Over 100 pages, full 11x17 size. Free on request to active duty members of the armed forces. Cost for others: $15 if picked up in New York City. For mailing inside USA add $5 for bubble bag and postage. For outside USA, include extra for mailing 2.5 pounds to wherever you are. Checks, money orders payable to: The Military Project Orders to: Military Resistance Box 126 2576 Broadway New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 All proceeds are used for projects giving aid and comfort to members of the armed forces organizing to resist today’s Imperial wars.

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