Friends,

I hope you have enjoyed your Thanksgiving meal. In one of the most isolated bases in Afghanistan, U.S. Marines were forced to have their translators convince Afghan border police to buy some fresh food and then cooked it themselves in order to not have to eat MREs again. While they had to fend for themselves we see familiar faces cashing in on the occupation. Dyncorp recently signed a 5 year contract to provide services to the U.S. military in Southern Afghanistan. After eight years of occupation they are lining up to get more contracts training the barely functionable Afghan Army and police, with their previous efforts turning out so poorly why should they even be considered.

For a number of families around the state it was a blessing to have a family member back from Afghanistan. The 951st Sappers based out of Tomahawk and Rhinelander returned to their families on Saturday after a ten month tour in Afghanistan. These just over 100 servicemembers faced one of the toughest deployments of the Wisconsin National Guard since World War II, receiving among other awards the following: 100 combat action badges, four combat medic badges, 15 Purple Hearts, 21 Bronze Star medals, four Bronze Stars with Valor device, five Army Commendation medals with Valor device. As a result of this deployment at least 20 of them will have Post Traumatic Stress, based on previous levels following deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Due to their isolated location in the state they will likely have to travel an hour or more to get treatment.

As you have probably heard it is expected that President Obama will announce that 34,000 more U.S. combat troops will be sent to Afghanistan on Tuesday. If the 951st is an indication of what these servicemembers can expect they too will be hard hit mentally and physically. In addition to the stress of the deployment, many of those who will be sent will be on their 3rd, 4th, or 5th tour since Oct. 2001. This deploys almost every Army Combat Brigade that is available, at a cost of $1 million per servicemember each year. To read more about how the continuation of the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan have strained the U.S. military from multiple deployments, see this article in the Washington Independent. Two of the most heavily deployed units in the military will be among those sent to Afghanistan with this escalaltion are the 10th Mountain Division (Ft. Drum in upstate New York) and the 101st Airborne Division (Ft. Campbell, Kentucky).

We must stand against this. Even though the President has recently read about a similar decision faced by President Johnson, he has failed to take a stand. After eight years of mismanagement, the occupation of Afghanistan has produced neither a democracy nor an army or police able to function. Please call the White House (Comments: 202-456-1111) or send an email message expressing displeasure with the continued occupation of Afghanistan and ask for other options for U.S. policy. You can also sign this message which will be delivered to the White House on Monday.

We must not sit idly by while we pump money and lives into an occupation. As the military escalates, conditions on the ground have become so dangerous that many aid organizations are leaving the country. "The reason for the lack of security is that many Afghans are jobless. If they can have work, there will be peace," said a Ministry of Economy official. Many Afghans consider poverty and unemployent their number one problem which is driving the current unrest.

Other Afghans have also said that they face two enemies to self-determination, the occupation forces first and the Taliban second. By escalating the occupation the Afghan people will have both of more enemies and will continue to face a dire situation.
"now my people are sandwiched between two powerful enemies: from the sky, occupation forces bombing and killing innocent civilians—as I said, these troops themselves are the victim of this wrong policy of their government; on the ground, Taliban and these warlords together continue to deliver fascism against our people." - Malalai Joya, Afghan Parlimentarian

It is clear that there have been no efforts to empower the Afghan people in rebuilding. In 2002, Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani said that the government and not the donors would set priorities and development agendas.
"Government ownership is critical to the establishment of a prosperous, secure Afghanistan. We are fully committed to seeking partnership in this long-term process, but we must demand that it be a partnership of equals," he told the meeting.
When the occupation produces no tangible benefits for the Afghan people it creates a situation where they see two enemies and are disempowered in their own country.

We must call for a withdrawal of occupation forces for the security of Afghanistan, for the mental and physical health of our military members, and for the financial health of the United States. In calling for withdrawal, we must also call for creating an international aid central fund and empower the Afghan people to rebuild their country as they desire. By isolating the Taliban and empowering the population, terrorism will end as has been shown in past occurrences, there is no military solution to terrorism.

Please Join Us for These Actions in Madison

November 30 – Before the announcement, we must let President Obama know our demands

5:00 PM – Gather at Library Mall on campus for procession. Dress in black if possible

5:30 PM – Press conference – Library Mall

6:30 PM Showing of the movie Rethink Afghanistan and panel discussion – Humanities Building, UW-Madison Campus, Room to be announced (See TITU)

December 1 – President Obama’s speech

7:00 PM (time may change depending on when the President speaks) – Watch Obama’s speech with other peace activists, followed by open mic and call to action – Humanities Building, UW-Madison Campus, Room to be announced (See TITU)

December 2 – Response to President Obama’s action

11:00 AM – Gather at Lisa Link Peace Park. (We need volunteers who are dressed in black with black hoods or caps who are willing to be part of March of the Dead. We need volunteers to carry coffins.)

We will have a somber March of the Dead to the Capitol Square where we will remember and mourn the dead by reading their stories. We will deliver our demands to Senator Kohl’s office and Congresswoman Baldwin’s office, calling on our legislators to refuse to fund the escalation.

December 12 – Screening of Rethink Afghanistan

3:00 PM – Gather at the Dardanelles Restaraunt, 1851 Monroe St., for a free screening of this powerful documentary, co-sponsored by the Madison Area Peace Coalition, more info: 442-8399

--
Todd E. Dennis
715-533-2887 (Cell)
todd@ivaw.org

U.S. Navy 1997-2003
IVAW: President Chapter 7, http://www.ivaw.org

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