The Presence of Evil

Sunday, Aug 13, 2006

Sometimes there are moments in life when the presence of evil enters our lives and we don’t recognize it until too late. Other times it is all too obvious.

As a 17 year old I enlisted in the Marines thinking I would go to Vietnam and be part of an honorable endeavor to defeat the evil of communism. I trained to kill other humans and I somehow thought nothing was evil about such training.

I went to Vietnam in December 1967 thinking I was about to take part in an honorable act. By the end of January 1968, I realized I was in the presence of evil so dark and ghastly I couldn’t fathom ever returning to a state of goodness.

That darkness of war and killing still stains my soul to this date.

Even though I knew the evil by January, 1968 I continued as a participant until February 1969. I felt helpless to change my destiny or my life’s course despite realizations of the horrible path I was on. I only thought I could stay alive and help those around me stay alive.

Any consideration of standing up against the abstract evil seemed out of the question.

Once I had returned, I found the evil too much to bear and repeatedly walked away from the Marines rather than carry out my duties.

After more than one year of being absent without leave and being declared a deserter, I left the Marines with an Undesirable Discharge. It was by mutual agreement I left the Corps with the discharge that would leave me without VA benefits.

The Marines didn’t want a court martial of a combat veteran who had hired an ACLU lawyer. I didn’t want one more day or one more minute in the Marines. I didn't want one more visit to the brutal brigs of that time.

Leaving the Marines didn’t mean I left Vietnam. I still have the dark cloud of Vietnam on my soul 38 years since I first entered the country. I’ve come to realize I’ll never completely wash my hands of the evil of that time.

Since the end of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency and beginning of the presidency of Richard Nixon I’ve also known the evil of American politics. I’ve come to expect evil from our politicians from the way they’re elected to the ways they either cause or allow evil and suffering to happen.

No time have I felt more evil emanating from politicians than since George W. Bush took the office.

The presidency of Bush is without a doubt the most evil of times I’ve known in my life. The overt corruption is only outranked by the violence and death wrought by his regime.

If any man could qualify as a candidate for the anti-Christ, it surely would be Bush or one of his cabinet. I try hard not to hate others but I fail in my efforts not to hate Bush and the people who surround him.

Today, on a hike with my wife, I came across the presence of evil once again.

This time it had little to do with politics or war but yet there was a connection. The irony was the trail we hiked was Hell’s Hole in the West Chicago Creek area of the Mt. Evans National Wilderness near Denver.

The area is pristine aspen groves, wild berries, wildflowers and rugged terrain. Our hike took us to a ridge above the Hell’s Hole where the mountains of Colorado were glorious and wild off in the not too far distance.

Hiking is a spiritual experience to us. The magnificence of God is clearly shown in special places such as the Rocky Mountains.

Today the joy of witnessing such beauty led us up the steep trail toward each new ridge and crest of hill where even more beauty could be seen. The green of the forest was breath taking; the flowers in full glory and huge mushrooms of wildly different colors dotted the landscape.

And in a brief moment of madness, the presence of evil entered into the spiritual world we had come to see and be part of.
As we reached a point near the final ridge of the trail, we were approached from the rear by an athletic man in his mid thirties or early forties. He seemed pleasant and harmless.

Since we were going at a slower pace than him, we stepped aside to allow him to pass.
Instead of passing, the man stopped and engaged us in talking about the hike and the weather.
His affect struck me as strange right from the beginning. He seemed to argue about the state of the weather forecast and he seemed unable to make adequate eye contact. But the conversation seemed appropriate for the setting.

Suddenly without any reasonable prompt, the man told us he talked with his pastor about heaven and hell. He said the pastor didn’t really give him much of an answer.

At first mention of religious matters I began to have more concern about this intruder into our spiritual time in the forest.

I had greater reason for concern when he told us he hadn’t gotten the answer from the pastor about going to hell if he were to kill somebody.

Seconds later he reached into a pocket of his hiking shorts and withdrew a knife. He quickly flicked the knife open to reveal a long slender blade. I realized he had just pulled a switchblade out.

He began tossing the knife in the air and letting it hit the ground. He bent down each time and picked it up.

He continued to talk about the question of going to hell for killing somebody and the sharpness of his knife.

I started to answer the man about the conversation with his pastor by telling him about one I had with a priest after my return from Vietnam.

I was going to tell him I’d asked the priest if killing in Vietnam would be considered breaking a commandment.

I was going to tell him the priest had answered me to say God wouldn’t hold me responsible for times of war.

I was going to tell him I told the priest I didn’t believe God wouldn’t hold me responsible.

The appearance of the switchblade and the man’s bizarre actions changed the conversation.

I knew I had entered into the presence of evil and a man was talking about killing and if he’d go to hell for killing. And he was brandishing a knife.

I began thinking I might have to kill again.

I began thinking about my wife. He was standing closer to her.

My mind was doing an inventory of what actions I needed to take to protect her and prevent him from killing us.

I asked him why he had a knife out in our presence.

He told me “because I like playing with it”.

He continued to talk about the sharpness of the knife and whether he’d go to hell for killing. He ran the knife blade across his forearm and acted as if he were going to cut his arms with his “sharp” knife.

I told him we needed to get going and moved over closer to my wife.

He suggested he would “hike up with you”.

We told him “no, we’re going down” but he continued asking us to go up with him. He cajoled us we were close to “the end”.

Before I could answer, my wife yelled out in frightened voice, “you need to back away from us; you’re freaking me out with that knife!”

I realized while I was trying to avoid the possible fight, my wife was seeing the evil threat of this man. He frightened her.

I was thinking of harming him if he moved toward her or me. I didn't feel fear. Only evil. I know evil.

The man continued to toss the knife around and stroke it across his forearm without heeding what my wife said.

My wife placed her hiking pole up in the air with the sharp end aimed at the man’s face.

I moved between my wife and the man and put my pole in his face and told him, “You need to get away from us and get up the trail!”

My wife told him he didn’t want to risk his life with me.

Still the man continued talking about his sharp knife and killing.

I knew I had to become aggressive toward him by moving forward with the sharp point of the pole at ready.

I knew I had to watch him for any aggressive move to grab the pole or lunge at me. I thought of the weak points of his body that I would have to strike to disable him.

I thought I might have to kill him to keep him from killing me or my wife.

I moved toward him. Again I yelled he needed to move away from us and go up the trail in the opposite direction. He argued I shouldn’t tell him what to do but he moved.

I angrily told him he needed to talk more with his pastor. He yelled back that I should mind my own business.

My wife started quickly down the trail away from him. I followed behind her turning my head to keep sight of the man.

We scrambled down the trail with continuous looks back to make sure the man didn’t come from behind us to attempt a violent act.

We encountered several groups of hikers and warned each of them of the man and told them of his threatening behaviors. Some continued up but all came back down before we reached the beginning of the trail.

We reported the events to the campground hosts and were given a phone to call the county sheriff.

While waiting for the sheriff to arrive at the remote camp site we found another hiker who had encountered the man.

He told us he felt strange about the man…like he was a “sort of Ted Bundy type”.

The name of Ted Bundy came up in the conversation my wife and I had as we descended the trail. Both of us are psychiatric RN’s and have dealt with psychotic and extremely mentally ill clients.

I’ve had extensive experience dealing with antisocial men and women who have killed. Very few ever frightened me.

This man frightened me in the sense I felt the evil and the possibility he would harm someone. I felt he was a predator. A predator like a Marine hunting down a Viet Cong in a violent war zone.

The presence of evil sometimes remains hidden to us until it’s too late and sometimes it becomes so obvious we can only revert to old habits to protect ourselves.

Sometimes we become the evil. Today I was ready to kill again to protect my wife and myself from evil.

Today, the world’s evil came from behind us on a beautiful and serene mountain trail. It interrupted our spiritual time in the most remote place. It reminded me there is no escape no matter how we try.

And my personal escape from evil reminded me of the daily struggles of others around the world to escape the evil brought down on them because of my government.

How do children escape the evil of the bombs and artillery rounds sent by adults?

While we all sometimes have to face evil in personal ways, we also need to face the evil we allow to happen, we take part in and we don’t care to know about.

Evil like George Bush has brought to our entire world.

Wm. Terry Leichner, RN

USMC combat veteran

VVAW Denver member

Disappearing Wars

"Stop the War" Rally

Defend the People of Palestine and Lebanon
Join a National Day of Action

Saturday, August 12, 2006
10:30 am

Denver City & County Building
1437 Bannonck St., Denver

10 am sign making (BYO supplies), 10:30 speakers, 11:00 am March
We will march down the 16th Street Mall and back to the City & County Building
(image placeholder)
In coordination with the National Emergency March in Washington DC
Initiated by ANSWER, National Council of Arab Americans (NCA), Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
Local Organizer: Front Range Coalition


Monday, August 7, 2006 I went to a meeting concerning the rally advertised above. Once in the meeting I felt I must have entered a time warp in which a marvelous thing occurred. Apparently the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have ended! If you look above you’ll notice only the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the continued occupation of Palestine are on the “Stop the War” flyer.
Since it was my first meeting with this particular group, I decided to remain quiet and just observe and listen to the proceedings. There was much talk about the situation in Lebanon and Palestine as well as the logistics of the upcoming rally. There was discussion about bringing flags to the rally; including the Israeli flag.
Several members of the Muslim and Arab communities objected to the Israeli flag being present at the rally. Members who weren’t associated with the Muslim and Arab community felt it wouldn’t be inappropriate to bring both American and Israeli flags.
One man in an emotional outburst wanted to know if he wasn’t allowed to bring the flag of his country if he’d be allowed to bring “his God”. I’m not sure exactly who “his God” is but hopefully his God isn’t swayed by the flag of any nation.
I found it a little disturbing when a young brother from the Muslim/Arab American community wanted some discussion about the issue of having the Israeli flag as part of the rally but was told the discussion had already taken place in a sub-committee. I kept wondering if the young brother had been African-American instead of Arab-American if he’d have been dismissed as he was by the facilitators of the meeting.
Later, thinking back on the scene, I wonder if the flag in question was a Confederate flag and the event was a civil rights rally and march whether a complete discussion could have been held? Or if any discussion would have been necessary?
I’m hopeful the facilitators and the mostly white group understood the inflammatory meaning of the Israeli flag for most Muslims and people of Middle East background. Somehow it didn’t seem they placed much importance on the objection of the brother to this flag. A friend whispered apparently the Nazi flag will be allowed at the next holocaust commemoration if this particular group was in charge.
I continued to find myself uncomfortable at the meeting without knowing exactly the reason so my writing is merely a gut reaction. Middle aged white men seemed to be in charge and the traditional hierarchy system implemented.
There was a particular interaction between one of the white men in charge telling one of the elders from the Muslim/Arab American community the “disappointment” he had because of some email exchanges initiated by this elder. When the elder attempted to rebut the white male’s remarks he was interrupted and told to hold his remarks until after the meeting.
I guess the dismissive attitude I witnessed twice in less than an hour toward Arab Americans is perceived differently for someone new. Perhaps if I’d been a consistent participant I could understand it. I couldn’t imagine I would feel different but the interaction seemed acceptable to the larger group.
And anyway, I’m writing this to celebrate the disappearance of Iraq and Afghanistan from the rolls of nations in need of help against wars perpetrated by the American government. Iraq was mentioned only once during the 1 ½ hours I was at the meeting. A local Imam from Iraq was mentioned as being a speaker at the August 12th rally.
Sadly, the next war, which is apparently going to be in Iran, was brought up. A campaign called “Don’t Do It” was mentioned a few times. This group seems convinced the U.S. will begin bombing Iran in the very near future. A military scholar named Stan Goff (The Feral Scholar; http://stangoff.com/) recently dismissed this idea as a ploy and diversion. I guess we’ll have to see how things work out and hope Stan’s better informed.
After attending this meeting and coming home to find email with the flyer above, I was confused. I tried calling my friends at Iraq Veterans Against the War. I couldn’t get through. My hopes soared. They must have disbanded now that the war has been resolved.
To be sure, however, I decided to discuss the meeting and flyer with my friend, “The Iraqi Woman”. I can’t identify her to protect her identity….but since she was once identified by a local investigative reporter as “the Iraqi woman”, I’ll use that.
We began the discussion with me reviewing her background:
“So, let me get this straight …..You’re Iraqi, correct?”
“No. You know I was born in America. My father is Iraqi.””
“So, you’re Muslim?”
“No! My father is Muslim and my mother is Jewish.”
“Ok, then you are Jewish?”
“No! You know I’m not Jewish”.
“Yeah, right…So if your father is Muslim and your mom is Jewish, you must be Protestant.”
“Smart ass”.
“Let me ask you about that meeting last night. Since Iraq wasn’t mentioned as part of the rally and the flyer doesn’t mention Iraq; is the war over?”
“No! I called my family yesterday and the war is far from over. It’s worse now than either time I’ve been back since the war started.”
“I don’t get it. No one mentioned the war in Iraq or Afghanistan last night. When I got home I had this nice flyer about stopping the war but Iraq and Afghanistan weren’t mentioned. I thought some miracle occurred and all that vanished. I mean there was a room full of activists we both know in that room last night and not once did they mention Iraq. Except when they mentioned the Imam as a speaker”
“I know but the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are still raging. In fact, its worse there right now than ever before. More people are getting killed than in Lebanon or Palestine.”
“No way! I’ve seen nothing but the tragedy of Lebanon’s civilians getting killed by American munitions to protect Israel’s homeland. Where did Iraq go?”
“You’re not listening! Iraq is totally destabilized and occupied by the U.S. and allies, including Britain. A conservative estimate of civilian dead since 2003 is 100,000. And that doesn’t account for the years of the sanction from 1991 until 2003.”
“Yeah, I heard about sanctions but no one here seemed to think it was a problem.”
“That’s part of the problem. The sanctions didn’t harm Saddam they harmed the civilian population of Iraq. The population at the time of the sanctions was 50% children. Some humanitarian groups estimate 2 million kids died during those years because of the sanctions. Most of the deaths could have been prevented with proper water and medical equipment.”
“So, how do you know so much?”
“I’ve been there twice”
“Iraq? You’re telling me you’ve been to Iraq twice?”
“Yes. I went once right after the war began and again this past Christmas. I just returned in the spring. I talk with my family there every week. There’s still rolling blackouts, gas lines and no potable water for most Iraqis.”
“Damn! Then I really can’t understand why Iraq is not mentioned in this upcoming rally’s flyer. Don’t we need to link the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the continued occupation of Palestine?”
“One would think so. We know AIPAC, the Israeli lobby in Congress, has great influence on the Bush Administration. In fact Bush has four members of his Administration now or in the past that were also cabinet members of the Israeli premier.
“Israeli troops have helped train Kurds in the North of Iraq. Israeli’s have helped train American interrogators in Iraq. Israel buys or is given American weapons that are used in Palestine and Lebanon. The occupation of Iraq by the U.S. is in the best interest of the Israeli government. The tactics and the plan of occupation in Iraq is very much a carbon copy of Palestine”.
“There are obvious links between what happens in Lebanon and Palestine and what happens in Iraq and Afghanistan. To have a rally without acknowledging and including Iraq and Afghanistan diverts attention from the atrocities that continue to occur and puts the focus on the actions of Israel. And truthfully….most Americans are sympathetic to the Zionists of the Israeli government.”
“But the American peace movement has never wanted to link the actions of the U.S. and Israel. Scott Ritter recently put out a piece saying there needs to be a singular focus on ending the Iraq war by the peace movement. Like Americans are too stupid to understand the tax dollars aren’t just going to Iraq and Afghanistan to bomb; they’re going to Israel to use in Lebanon and Gaza.”
“Yeah, I’m not an “expert” in the Middle East policies but I did see combat in Vietnam when I was 18 and 19. And I knew early on the war was wrong and there was a link between Vietnam and Laos and Cambodia. It was all one policy. “
“My dad was in WWII and Americans were able to follow there were two fronts of the war…..the Pacific and the European fronts.”
“Of course WWII was when the death camps occurred and the holocaust took place. That seemed to create the state of Israel. I read David Ben-Gurion actually said the holocaust was beneficial to the Zionist movement in the Palestine territories.”
“Right. And the Jewish faith is not Zionism. People need to keep that in mind. There’s a strong peace and justice movement in Israel we never hear about and in the American Jewish community. Remember the media is controlled in large part in both of these alleged model “democracies”. That is a powerful tool to use to have Americans exposed to only one side of things. The Zionist side.”
“We also have to understand there’s a mind set an American or Israeli death is exponentially ten times that of an Iraqi or Palestinian. To Americans and Israeli leaders a dead Iraqi child is no different than a dead Lebanese child. And that’s true but they see children dead and apologize that the deaths are part of war and quickly turn to their dead soldiers to compare.”
“Approximately 10% of the dead in Lebanon are combatants while the majority of Israeli dead are soldiers. This has been true in Iraq and Afghanistan. The governments of both countries will say the numbers are skewed because they only have soldiers in these places. They won’t say the ratio of the dead is 10:1 or more with 80% civilian casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine. “
“And they won’t tell the public most of the deaths are caused by tactics in direct violation of the Geneva Convention and the Nuremberg agreements. Population centers are bombed and barraged with artillery. The munitions used often contain depleted uranium.”
“White phosphorous, a new generation of napalm and cluster bombs are all in violation of agreements mentioned but they are used daily by both Americans and Israelis.”
“We’re told we have to fight terror off our shores to protect our homeland. The Israelis are told “never again” and that all Muslim nations want to kill Jews. So, they too must protect their homeland. Only problem is both countries have committed the greatest acts of theft imaginable. They both took a land away from indigenous peoples and made it appear they were the victims when the indigenous people fought for their land.”
“They depersonalized the indigenous people to make it easier to slaughter them. When they succeeded in taking the land they created “reservations” and “territories” for the remaining indigenous people.”
“How can we exclude American policy in Iraq from Israeli policy in Palestine when we call for a rally and march against “the war”? Again, it just seems to divert attention away from the continued killing in Iraq and put it on the war in Lebanon and Palestine which is favorably viewed by most Americans.
I just have to think we’re playing into the neo-con plan at a time when national elections are coming up.”
“Well, what I know is my family is still under the guns of American occupation and they are at more risk than when Saddam was in power. I know I can’t tell the difference between the dead child under the rubble caused by American made bombs in Fallujah and American made bombs in Beirut.”
“I can only see true terrorists wearing American and Israeli uniforms carrying out the policies of white men seeking to rule the world. Which is more terrifying; a bomb dropped on a hospital or school or an IED on a road? Which is more terrifying; large armed men knocking down the door of a home with children and brutally throwing parents to the floor or rockets fired at military targets?”
“The American peace movement is so splintered and in denial they can never be effective.”
“I agree. So the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq haven’t disappeared except in the planning of some American peace groups. I don’t suppose we can ever get them to include the costs of war to the domestic needs of their own country. That, apparently, would be too much information and people might get upset.”
“I guess I’ll pass on the August 12th rally because I’m so outraged I feel like using the profanity of the Vietnam era peace movement. I don’t know at what point we quit worrying about upsetting people and authorities. When do we say,” enough!”? When do we show people they should be upset and outraged?”
“Good question but it seems the quest to always be “civil” and not upsetting takes precedence over the emotion of outrage.”

Many thanks to "Iraqi Woman" - her expert knowledge of the current situation has allowed me to see the human side of things. And if we're going to send our young out to hunt and kill other humans; we need them to know the human side. Maybe we should practice it more.

Infiltrators, Self Inflicted Wounds and Youthful Wisdom

Infiltrators, Self Inflicted Wounds and Youthful Wisdom

Recent postings in internet groups I have membership in have caused me to think back to my days of organizing VVAW here in Denver. As we grew bigger on both a national and local level we started getting folks claiming to be vets coming to our meetings or activities talking about “the revolution” and putting it to “the man” or ‘the system”. They’d encourage members to confront “the pigs” in ways that obviously would create a violent response.
Even being a stupid 20 year old grunt, it didn’t take me being a brain surgeon to figure we probably had some infiltrators sent by J. Edgar and his bullies. The perfect way to discredit VVAW was to have the public perceive us as a violent fringe group not representing the welfare of our brothers and sisters still in a war. Much like they discredited a group of noble brothers in the Panthers.
With the more sophisticated methods of communications in the world today, the opportunities for infiltration seem much greater. The misinformation of certain individuals in a group or on a blog site of a peace and justice activist is most likely not some accident in many cases. Rumsfeld has made it clear the internet was something needing to be addressed in selling the current wars to the public. He suggested entering groups and blogs of well known activists to disrupt their message.
Personal attacks on individuals, innuendo of someone lacking solidarity and overt attempts to divide groups need to be viewed with caution and skepticism, I believe.
A recent attack on someone who marched from Mobile to New Orleans because they disputed an article claiming nonviolence will never win in Israel seems to be an example. Throwing out words like Zionist or Nazi toward an individual because they express a differing opinion doesn’t seem in keeping with the ideals and goals of a group seeking peace and justice.
I think we also have to look at self-inflicted wounds we all sometimes cause. Anyone who reads anything I write should know by now I’m provocative by design. That means questioning the values or directions of the group. It means stating a personal opinion. The groups I’ve been part of have tolerated my rants. Many individuals have been very supportive of what I’ve written. So, I can’t complain about personal attacks.
I do want to complain about a recent response to something a member of IVAW was alleged to have said about Code Pink. Since this Iraq vet is from my home state of Colorado and I’ve crossed his path a few times, I know him to be a thoughtful and concerned activist.
The vet’s comment about Code Pink was something like “the veterans and families will end this war, not Code Pink.’ The blowback toward him was totally out of proportion in my opinion. I find it difficult to understand why the Iraq vet was accused of misogyny because he expressed an opinion about which groups he felt would be more effective in changing public opinion against the war.
He rightfully questioned the action of Code Pink outside Walter Reed Hospital. I remember there were many vets I know who are either members of VFP or VVAW who questioned that action at the time also. Questioning the action wasn’t about whether Code Pink had good intentions or whether they were a righteous activist group. It was a question of how the wounded troops in Walter Reed would perceive things.
Since I’ve been involved in many of the national actions as a person just wanting to help and not necessarily wanting to “take charge” I have seen things I’ve disagreed with in tactics. I voiced an opinion about Camp Casey and the possibility organizers were “playing” to the mainstream media too much in my local peace and justice yahoo group. I was “flamed” as being a misogynist, being unable to accept strong women as leaders, being against Cindy Sheehan and on and on.
Working as a RN for 20 plus years has given me ample opportunity to work with very strong women. I’ve been very fortunate to have supervisors who were exceptional. My role models in nursing are all women. I’ve enjoyed and benefited being with most nurses I’ve worked with in my career. More than 90% of my colleagues have been women.
Outside of my career I’ve become close with members of the local Code Pink through the activism I do for veterans. I give presentations at colleges and have spoken at several rallies in the Denver area representing VVAW and veterans. I talk about heroes in every talk I give.
My heroes are three nuns, Jackie Hudson , Carol Gilbert and Ardeth Platte, who entered a nuke site, spread their own blood in the sign of a cross and beat on the canopy of the underground missile to represent beating swords into ploughshares. (See the movie Conviction released this year – website http://ztsp.org/).
Rather than compromise their values they went to Federal prisons. They easily could have accepted a plea bargain but it would have suggested guilt where there wasn’t anything to be guilty about. I make sure to mention them everywhere I go.
So, being attacked as I was for voicing an alternative opinion was a lesson in how far we still have to go within peace and justice organizations to adhere to our own values. I wasn’t the only one to have the opinion about tactics used at Camp Casey related to the press. Many veterans made similar comments. Many veteran peace activists made such comments.
The Iraq veteran’s comment about Code Pink was definitely not the first one that criticized or intimated disagreement with tactics. Several VFP members “chased” a Code Pink member from the veterans’ ranks at the September 25, 2005 rally in D.C... I know because the woman dressed in pink came over to the veterans’ area to talk to me and my wife. She was a friend I’d not seen in months and we’d arranged to meet at the rally.
She and a friend were explicitly told by prominent members of VFP they “didn’t belong here”…with the veterans. I lost a lot of respect for men I once felt to be righteous activists that day.
In Covington, Louisiana I was at a meeting of organizing members of relief efforts for Katrina survivors late one night. A photojournalist from Michael Moore’s organization was present and asked the group what they thought of Code Pink. Like so many “good ole boys” meetings I’ve been at, the response was predictable.
One member called pink the most dangerous and negative color known to “man”. The male photojournalist made disparaging remarks. Others also spoke out negatively. I wrote about both incidents of the bashing of Code Pink in the local Yahoo group. Still, today, there are members of that group that have quit communicating with me because I questioned things at Camp Casey.
I liken this relatively small slight to the labeling of members of the Jewish faith as being Zionists. Zionism isn’t about the practice of Judaism anymore than beheadings of innocent people is about Islam or dropping cluster bombs on civilian populations is about Christianity.
We in the peace and justice community call ourselves liberal or progressive but clearly some of us ….most of us….don‘t like opinions that may be critical of ourselves. Coloring outside the lines of the group is frowned upon. And I’m not talking about overt attacks, racist remarks or hateful remarks. I talking about sometimes having a differing opinion or disagreeing with leaders like Cindy and Medea or Stan and Dave.
We create celebrity and icons in this country which sometimes works to our disadvantage if we find ourselves in disagreement. It becomes a microcosm of the larger syndrome of “America, love it or leave it”. Sometimes the very concept we profess to hate and despise becomes what we practice.
One other thing occurred to me as I read the “flaming” of the Iraq vet who made the statement about Code Pink. I work with a lot of younger people and believe in them. I truly believe it’s time for Vietnam veterans to turn the leadership over to the “young bloods”. It’s the young who will pay the greatest price for our generation’s failures. Let them have their rightful role of leadership!
It seems we’ve taken a parental role towards the younger members of the peace and justice movement. Their absence clearly makes a statement about how they feel. I hear from them about being excluded and tired of hearing “We Shall Overcome” or “Imagine”. When I step outside the “movement” and go looking for the young people I find incredible slam poets, musicians and intellectual people.
I marvel at how we’ve wasted the potential of the young, the communities of color and the poor and disenfranchised. We keep hearing the same “old” voices saying the same things but fail too often to have voices of diversity, fresh voices, and voices of the young.
The Vietnam veterans and our generation aren’t the keepers of wisdom. The wisdom of so many young people I talk with is allowed to be discounted or alienated. It seems time for us (my generation) to shut up occasionally and listen to the wisdom of those we’ve allowed to be excluded.
And I say all this with peace in my heart and mind.
Peace and solidarity,

Wm. Terry Leichner, RN
VVAW – Denver member
Combat vet of a war long ago

Fruitless Blame

At this point trying to lay blame for what triggered what in the killing fields is fruitless. Let's lay the blame on adults of the world that have taught their children hate for centuries and then cry out in agony when their children die in wars.
How many generations of hate in the so-called civilized world will there be before we take the guns out of the cribs of our children?
The American culture is the one I know best so it becomes the one I use to make the point of the militarism of our children.
Violence packaged as video games and movies to entertain are a big part of what our children grow up with in their lives. Football and major sports become "life and death" struggles.
Toys like GI Joe and all the other fantasy combatants are the norm for the little ones starting at the time they walk.
The rape and pillage of the planet is most likely the factor that will kill the inhabitants of Earth. Peacemakers talk about violence but fail to mention the gift of nature and all its wonders trashed and polluted.
The actions of humans toward the environment already kills millions in polluted water and air. Poisons from the finely manicured lawns of America enter our water to build up with poisons of industries refusing to acknowlede need to have accountability toward the Earth.
And,of course, our wars ravage the lands with poisons like Agent Orange or DU. We're too busy to stop the killing with sophisticated and barbaric weapons to think what the aftermath may be even if the killing by humans stop...highly unlikely as that is.
Who is to blame...seems there's enough to go around for all. The bottom line is the victims of all wars since WWII are 80% civilian. Forty percent of that number are children.
We say we love our children but I wonder if we really do. Maybe instead of sending them off to kill a few thousand "bad guys" on their computerized video game there's some life affirming activity to give them.
Studies have shown American children playing video games adjust very quickly to controling Bradley's and other computerized weapon systems. Hand to eye coordination is enhanced to ready them for the next war.
The thought of giving up one form of life for a life that's truly based on the sanctity of living seems only a lyric in John Lennon's "Imagine".
One truth does exist it seems. At the time of judgement, the little children won't be at blame for the horrific destruction and hate in our world. They'll only be the victims of adults alleged to be mature.
In hopes of peace and justice,
Wm. Terry Leichner, RN
ex-warrior USMC
Denver VVAW member

There is No Justification

Why do we justify the indefensible? In less than a week, we’ve been exposed to worsening violence in the “new” democratic Iraq, we’ve seen Israeli troops enter Lebanon after heavy artillery and bombing of civilian areas and we’ve heard the American President tell scientists and healthcare workers he couldn’t possibly allow “innocent” lives to perish in the use of fetal stem cell research; that it would be immoral.
His new press hack, Tony Snow, likened the use of fetal stem cell research to “murder”.
If it weren’t so damn pathetic and tragic it would be laughable to hear George W. Bush talk about morality.
While George and Tony worry about fetal stem cell death, they seem to think there’s some morality in the continued slaughter in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Gaza. While the unborn seem to gain all their moral respect the already born seem to lack any respect.
While its doubtful fetal stem cells feel pain, certainly the innocent kids hit by white phosphorous, napalm and depleted uranium weapons do feel a great deal of pain. These are all weapons of terror; especially in the eyes of 18 month old Reem Shahour of Tyre, Lebanon.
Little Reem was on the front page of the local Rocky Mountain News opposite a larger photo of Israeli soldiers carrying a wounded comrade on a stretcher. Somehow the News feels the photo of adults with weapons balances the much smaller photo of an eighteen month old child whose major worry should be playing, dinner and bedtime. It’s more of the same pathetic thinking that says fetal stem cells are the moral equivalent of live people.
A few days ago we learned Israeli jets have bombed U.N. peacekeeping observers near the Lebanon border by accident…unless of course they didn’t want to be observed in their campaign of terror.
Maybe the secret to keep hidden is what doctors in Lebanon are trying to understand in the types of wounds seen in the dead and wounded civilians. Wounds never seen have been widely reported. It’s incredibly strange doctors in Lebanon would find wounds they’ve not seen.
The wounds are consistent with possible experimental weapons such as laser or microwave energy that would bore holes through the body or cause internal heating until death occurs. (Israel accused of "using chemical weapons" )
The Pentagon has admitted these weapon systems are in the beginning stages. Reporters have seen examples of lasers in Afghanistan used to destroy mines and IED’s.( Lasers and microwave weapons) Recent psychological operations by the Israelis dropped leaflets with the chilling statement, “This is just the beginning”. A few days later the U.N. observers were killed. Many in the U.N. leadership believe it was a deliberate action.
Again we see the contrast of life and death in scientific studies. Science that could very well save thousands is said to be murder while science of mass destruction is said to bring freedom and democracy and make a safer world.
The same rationale of the penultimate weapon making for a safer world led us to the atomic bomb. Even before the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, many scientists knew the horrible truth of the nuclear age. Life had just become much more dangerous.
Scientists creating newer and better ways to kill have struck a pact with the devil. They either endorse the brutality of war or they delude themselves more and better weapons will help keep the world safe. Or…..there’s great money to be made in the arms industry.
I believe the men and women who “create” these weapons should be required to view their handy work live and in person with the victims. But like the soldier in an artillery battery or a pilot on a bomber it’s become so easy to kill when only the pulling of the proverbial “trigger” is witnessed.
The scientists attempt to maintain a purity of facts would have life being lived in a Petri dish or test tube. They too often forget little side effects of science like what happens when the science results in the babies getting in the way.
Fetal stem cells have become life as we know it but Reem Shahour has become a throw-away like some damn fast food wrapper. As long as we keep those fetal cells alive we can replace her. And we’ll need thousands more to replace all the other little ones that have perished.
It sickens me to see the photos of babies, young men and women, old men and women and unarmed men and women with the death smile or missing parts of their skulls or lying in a pool of blood. But I look at them. I do so to not forget. I don’t want to forget.
I want the Americans who support the war to see the daily blood of babies. I want them to see the families screaming in agony when they lose a child to the war’s anonymous weapon systems.
I want the young boy of Palestine or Lebanon to be as important as the young of the U.S. or Israel. We cannot grieve for the American soldier without grief for the innocent victims of that soldier’s actions in war. While some would like to ignore the dead woman shot at a checkpoint by a Marine or a family killed fleeing the violence by shoot to kill sentries we shouldn’t allow this to happen.
There’s been great debate about which came first; terrorism or retaliation. It matters little to parents receiving a knock on the door and hearing the words “we regret to inform you….”
The continued glorification and acceptance of violence as an answer to differences between living beings only spawns more of the same. It only deepens the scars and the hate and healing fails to ever take place.
I’ve ranted angrily against the American government and the American people because more should be expected of a people so wonderfully blessed. A people saying it believes in freedom but supporting tyrants and building more weapons than all other nations combined is failing in its duty to the rest of the world.
A nation refusing to accept responsibility for misdeeds and injustices perpetrated against a weaker nation has failed in its duty.
A nation refusing to understand the anger of others injured because of unjust and deceitful agents of our government is failing in the duty as a world leader.
We, the people, should expect more. We should demand more. We, the people, should never forget a young girl’s blood stained face or her cries of grief for parents killed by the guards of a checkpoint.
We should keep grotesque shapes of humans killed in war seared in our minds. We need to see the dead of war and think of the laughter and joy missed. If we’re to tell our young the honor and glory of becoming a soldier we should also tell them of the horror and misery of being a soldier in war.
I’ve survived the insanity of war and known the joy of loving a woman for 34 years of marriage. I’ve been lucky to know the glory of seeing my children born. I’ve known the solidarity of friends and comrades joined together for the cause of peace.
I would fail the memory of those who died on the fields of my war if I didn’t keep the images of that war alive in my mind. I need to tell others there is no honor or glory in killing another person in a war. Just as the Jews of the Holocaust say never again, so too must veterans of war say the same.
I can’t justify that which is indefensible when I look at the photos of the little ones killed by adults in war.

Wm. Terry Leichner, RN
USMC combat vet
Denver VVAW member

Betrayal of the People by UFPJ

I'd agree with Gabriele Zamparini's (The Cat's Blog) comments that UFPJ's recognition of the puppet government of Iraq is a shameless act. It's an act of grandstanding by an organization that seems more intent on maintaining the American status quo than really effectively working to end the cycle of violence and imperialism.
Were Al-Maliki a Saddam Hussein or the Shah of Iran I wonder if UFPJ would be so welcoming and appeasing. Whether they realize it or not, Maliki is the same cookie cutter, propped up American puppet to carry out American policy as the Shah or Saddam.
We need to look at the long history of the U.S. in the Middle East to see we've consistently backed tyrants and puppets against the will of the people in nations we've interfered with in our "diplomacy".
And we can look outside the Middle East to Central America and South America to see our meddling in fledgling democracies that saw through our friendly "Yankee" aid to the real agenda of maintaining control.
We can look to Vietnam and the many opportunities to prevent the slaughter and to work with the popular political movement. Instead we enthroned a Catholic hierarchy in a country predominately Buddhist or other Eastern orthodoxy.
We could have avoided including Cambodia and Laos in the war but instead not only involved them but also created an atmosphere that bred the Khymer Rouge.
Sure Americans will point to the genocide that occurred in Cambodia as proof positive we needed to stay in Southeast Asia. They fail to recognize our actions created the ruthless regimes left behind when we effectively destroyed the will of the people with fruitless wars of aggression.
We bombed, defoliated and displaced millions of Southeast Asians leaving behind opportunity for ruthless thugs to prey upon the battered victims of our superior "firepower".
We also left behind our legacy of unexploded bombs and other ordnance that has claimed thousands of lives and thousands of limbs. Most victims were kids unwittingly picking up or disturbing the dangerous explosive devices.
The recognition of the illegitimate leader of the illegitimate government in Iraq is propagating continued wars in the area rather than solving the many issues of self government.
The recognition of the puppet is racist because it is the Christian white man's government dictating to an Islamic nation as if they weren't capable of making their own decisions. And it fails to remind the American people it was "we, the people" by means of our government that installed the dictator Saddam in the first place.
The recognition of illegitimate governments by the American peace movement is an act of bad faith toward the hopeful peoples of oppressed countries. They desperately need a voice to speak for them against death squads trained by Americans like Negroponte, Steele and Caseel....all of whom took part in training death squads in Central America. They now train or have trained Iraq police accused of actually being death squads.
The endorsement of puppet governments by UFPJ or any peace and justice movement is a betrayal.
The leader of the largest trade union in Iraq has called for the immediate withdrawal of the American occupation forces.
Iraqis outside the "green zone" Mr. Al-Maliki resides in know it is the festering sore of American occupation that increases the violence and the number of "insurgents" NOT "radical fundamentalism".
The perpetrators of five hundred pound bombs dropped on kids and old people are the only force that has an air force capable of such a deed.
The destruction of infrastructure in Iraq is done by the only force capable of such a wide scale of destruction.
The use of white phosphorous, napalm and depleted uranium is carried out by the only force capable of such use.
The continued imprisonment of military age males guilty of only looking dark-skinned in most cases is done by the only force in authority to do such a deed.
The list is far too long to even remember let alone write down on a page. The only force I'm referring to is, of course, the Americans and their agents...the illegally imposed Iraqi government.
In the last week this is the second example of UFPJ's true agenda. Earlier this week they deplored the Israeli killing and destruction in Lebanon but not before alleging the victims were partly responsible because they identified with Hezbollah forces who UFPJ explicitly said initiated the hostilities.
Clearly UFPJ doesn't want to alienate AIPAC and the Zionist movement. There are mid-terms coming up real soon that need that support.
Clearly UFPJ has selective recall of history and aggressors. They call the Hezbollah out for two abducted Israeli soldiers but didn't mention the thousands imprisoned in Israeli jails facing indefinite incarceration and lack of trials.
There are two buzz words UFPJ refuses to hear or see; Zionist and Palestinian. They're sure the use of the word Zionist is anti-Semitic and the mention of Palestine is anti-Semitic.
Not only is it time to use both words it is an absolute necessity if any peace or justice is to be found in the Middle East. UFPJ has peace and justice in the name but apparently not in the heart.
I'll be radical here and state Zionism and Israel aren't the Jewish religion anymore than America and Evangelicals are the religion of Christ.
Wm. Terry Leichner, RN
USMC combat vet
VVAW Denver member

It's About Humanity!!!

The bullies of nationalism and Zionism have ruled the roost far too long in this nation. It’s time for Americans and American Jews to separate the state of Israel from the religion of Judaism.
Israel and the U.S. have been linked together far too long without serious questioning of roles they play in the blood arenas of world violence. Both countries would like to be seen as morally superior when in fact both are the most violent and morally bankrupt nations since the days of the Third Reich.
Yes, there it is….the comparison with the Nazis that will label this as anti-Semitic for all who refuse to see the true distinction between the opposition of overt Zionism and nationalism and anti-Semitics.
But truly this isn’t about Zionists or nationalists as much as it’s about humanity. That’s right, humans are dying and they’re dying with far too much frequency because of American arms and support of friends with large stockpiles of arms.
This is about seeing children dead from bombs manufactured in the U.S... This is about brutal forces of artillery and jets killing old men and women, babies and school kids time after time in the guise of self protection and freedom.
We have madmen in control of two nations that represent themselves as the beacons of liberty. They think little about tearing the heart out of the freedom of poor and oppressed people if it means profit or more power.
The histories of Israel and the U.S. have become so enmeshed many think of Israel as the 51st state. The trail of blood leading from Korea to Vietnam to Lebanon to Palestine to Iraq and Afghanistan should appall Americans and Israelis but the blood keeps flowing.
Since September 11, 2001 George W. Bush has been given carte blanche by Americans so afraid they have willingly given up free elections and their own Bill of Rights. And George W. Bush has consistently looked the other way as the Israeli government has slaughtered and bullied its way throughout Palestine and the surrounding territories.
Bush’s deference to Israel’s brutality should be no surprise since every politician running for election quivers in fear of harming their relationship with the American Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC). The fact that four of Bush’s closest advisors were once cabinet members of an Israeli premier is another reason we shouldn’t be surprised at his failure in leadership toward confronting the rampant abuses of Israeli power toward their perceived enemies.
The irony of a wall, much like the walls of Warsaw’s ghetto, being built around the ghettoes of Palestinian refugee camps is a sad legacy to those who survived the camps of the Third Reich. The mass punishment of entire families and towns to create compliance and cause fear is classic tactics of fascists – and American operatives ranging from El Salvador’s death squads to the secret police of the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein.
The cries of “never again” ring hollow as the victims and their progeny have now become the perpetrators. There is justified anger and outrage whenever a suicide bomber kills innocent people. Bombings and acts of terrorism toward unknown and innocent populations are reprehensible.
The memory of David Ben Gurion, Rabin, Begin and Dayan using acts of terrorism to help establish the state of Israel seems conveniently forgotten. The war crimes of the Stern Gang, Irgun Gang and Haganah may have happened long ago but their legacy remains firmly intact in the continued use of force and terror by the military of Israel. The subject of Dayr Yasin’s ethnic cleansing never comes up in the discussions of terrorism.
Desmond Tutu remarked in 2002, “But you know as well as I do that, somehow, the Israeli government is placed on a pedestal [in the US], and to criticize it is to be immediately dubbed anti-Semitic, as if the Palestinians were not Semitic. I am not even anti-white, despite the madness of that group. And how did it come about that Israel was collaborating with the apartheid government on security measures? “
“People are scared in this country [the US], to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful - very powerful. Well, so what? For goodness sake, this is God's world! We live in a moral universe. The apartheid government was very powerful, but today it no longer exists. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pinochet, Milosevic, and Idi Amin were all powerful, but in the end they bit the dust.”
“Injustice and oppression will never prevail. Those who are powerful have to remember the litmus test that God gives to the powerful: what is your treatment of the poor, the hungry, the voiceless? And on the basis of that, God passes judgment.”
Yes, this is a question of morality and humanity. Today in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon American weapon systems will take the son or daughter of a family in the continued orgy of blood.
Today Israeli and American forces will be responsible for the lives of an infant suckling at a mother’s breast. They will make the decision to kill a child on the way to school. Today, the old man limping on the dusty road will be at their mercy.
Today in Beirut and Haifa rockets and artillery will be exchanged. It will alter the course of the lives of innocent families. Only body parts will remain of humans wanting to live in peace. The bedrooms and kitchens of the homes where they lived are rubble because peaceful means can’t be used to settle disputes.
My grandfather came to America with his family fleeing the pogroms of the Russian government. As German Jews they were displaced from the land they share-cropped. They were told to leave or perish.
I wonder if the disruption of my grandfather’s life was much different than what Palestinians have faced since the 1930’s and 40’s. Sadly it is the people of my grandfather creating pogroms and erecting walls to ghettoize an oppressed people.
There continues to be apologists for the racist policies of Israel and the U.S. but the arguments of “self defense” and “freedom” ring false and hypocritical. The truth is Israel with American sanction plans on “cleansing” opposition from the indigenous peoples of Palestine. That plan has always been in place.
Just prior to the British conquest of Palestine, Chaim Weizmann wrote describing the indigenous Palestinians:
"[the indigenous population was akin to] the rocks of Judea, as obstacles that had to be cleared on a difficult path."
Moshe Dayan, one of the early founders of the Haganah and the Israeli Defense Force, wrote in 1955:"The only method that proved effective, not justified or moral but effective, when Arabs plant mines on our side [in retaliation]. If we try to search for the [particular] Arab [who planted mines], it has no value. But if we harass the nearby village . . . then the population there comes out against the [infiltrators] . . . and the Egyptian Government and the Transjordan Government are [driven] to prevent such incidents because their prestige is [assailed], as the Jews have opened fire, and they are unready to begin a war . . . the method of collective punishment so far has proved effective."
We must question what’s changed since that time. Unfortunately the weapons have become devastatingly more powerful. And always lurking in the shadows are nuclear weapons of both the U.S. and Israel. The madmen of these countries seem every bit as reckless as the one they vilify in North Korea.
Already depleted uranium is utilized in the weapon systems of the U.S... Continued development of tactical nuclear weapons remains an option of Bush and his cronies. No doubt they will gladly share with their friends in Israel.
Already depleted uranium has begun to take a toll on the populations where it’s been used. The radioactive path leads from Iraq, Croatia, Serbia, Afghanistan and once again Iraq. Ten-fold increases in birth defects and childhood cancers are evidence of the deadly epidemic still to come. Symptoms of radiation poisoning have started to appear all along the path.
Few Gulf War I veterans perished in the actual combat. An estimated ten thousand are dead today. Gulf War Syndrome has claimed over two hundred thousand in disabilities and continued illness. Studies have been done that show the major factor in the syndrome is depleted uranium.
Again, however, the real issue is the dead little girl held in her mother’s arms following the bombing of her neighborhood. The real issue is the American soldier missing both legs following the detonation of an explosive device by the vehicle he rode in.
The real story is a return of terror and disregard for life in Beirut. The real story is killing of young Palestinians throwing rocks at extremely well armed soldiers of Israel.
When does the blood flow stop and sanity return? Given the words of alleged leaders of the world’s governments, the answer is “never”. Sanity and absolute power don’t mix. Greed and power are the antithesis of peace and justice…..and sanity.
Back in the days of Vietnam there was a song, Universal Soldier, sang by several artists but made popular by Donovan. The words of the song talk about the unthinking soldiers following orders of “leaders”. It tells us the orders come “from here and there” and everywhere and “comes from you and me…and brother can’t you see, we’ll never find the end of war this way?”
And brothers and sisters it falls upon all of us to bring an end to the killing. Veterans who fell prey to the lies are needed now more than ever to testify against the madness. Parents and family members are needed to question the sacrifices of children for immoral and unworthy causes.
We surely must say never again. In doing so it seems the forgotten dead of wars past and the victims of all genocides must be remembered and honored. We must put an end to the violence of war and against one another. It seems we have to begin with the children who will hopefully have a world to live in when we, the adults are gone.
Wm. Terry Leichner, RN
Denver VVAW
USMC- Vietnam combat veteran
December 1967-Feb 1969

My place to find personal peace

Ok, I've written angry missives and rants almost entirely since the beginning of this blog. There is another passion of mine that I put on a related blog called Visions of Peace: Photos (http://visionphotos.blogspot.com).
Whenever I feel the need for personal peace and a reminder God exists, I go to the mountains and let my legs take me to the beauty. In Colorado, like many states, there's a good deal of beauty to find.
My secretive blog of photos is a way of sharing that beauty in a way words fail....even the photos really don't do it justice. Take time out from my dreary ranting and take a look at how lucky I've been to see God's beauty on occasion.
Peace,
Terry

More Observations then Answers

A fellow vet responded to my post on the 4th of July titled Land of the Greed and Home of the Brave. His questions deserved answers that I wish I had. I have few answers but a lot of observations. Here’s the questions and my answer to the vet:


Most effectively well put, Terry. How can VFP with VVAW, and the other peace and justice organizations we are allied with, in our rotten, spoiled, apathetic society addicted to consumerism in the third millennium, more effectively manifest a mass movement on the par with what Gandhi did against British Colonialism in the 30s and what MLK did against Southern Racist Hegemony in the 60s????

T,
I think your question and the examples given are a mirror for the peace and justice groups to look into for answers. Its clear communities of color have not embraced the traditional peace movement to provide the solidarity and diversity Dr. King and Gandhi were able to bring together.
While the mostly white and relatively secure members of the peace and justice groups constantly bemoan the lack of diversity; the oppressed, the communities of color and the poor constantly struggle to survive each day.
The master plan of the fascists and racists has been to keep the communities of ethnic minorities separated from each other and from the white progressive and liberal groups. Increasing poverty and distrust has been effective in achieving their goal.
The days of freedom marches have long ago passed and the gains have been eroded. Distrust between races has increased. For a brief fifteen minutes the “other America” of Katrina’s world was noticed by the attention deficit Americans before they turned back to the newest episode of Survivor and The American Idol.
The city high school of my day provided an adequate education for the neighborhood. Many of my classmates went to college. Many earned scholarships. Most students lacked much wealth. The class was a melting pot of many cultures. Today more than half the freshmen entering the high school fail to graduate four years later.
When the city of Denver dropped the residency requirement of essential employees like police, firemen, nurses and EMT’s there was a white flight to gated communities and the paleness of suburbia.
Suburban high schools have benefited with increased funding while the urban high schools are left to deteriorate. Classes are overcrowded. Textbooks are outdated. Buildings lack maintenance and upgrading. Teachers are disgruntled.
The kids left behind are not stupid. They clearly see the plantation masters of Washington D.C. and the state capitols have abandoned them. They also see football camps, swimming camps and basketball camps they’re not invited to attend unless they have extraordinary skills or the money to pay. They see state of the art computer labs not provided to them.
The parents of the kids see the jobless rate in their communities in double digits. They see the jobs they can get lacking healthcare benefits and a living wage. They look around at the emergency rooms they have to use to see other poor individuals and families. Many are people of color. They see who goes into the jails and prisons of our nation.
2500 dead Americans and approximately 250,000 dead Iraqis don’t attract the attention of Americans like the price of gas does. Rapes, torture and secretive prisons don’t attract the attention college tuitions or grocery bills do.
Like most humans, it seems, Americans look for someone to blame. A scapegoat is needed. The “illegals” fit the bill for most Americans. Illegals cost America billions in welfare, free medical care and lost jobs they say. Violent and criminal illegals cross over into America killing and robbing its people they say. Illegals won’t even learn the English language they say.
Wal-Mart, Halliburton, Kellogg, Brown & Root, GM, United Airlines, Enron, Tyco and Quest are examples of the American capitalist way, however. They provide work for millions of true Americans. They’re an asset to our nation.
I always remember a Black Studies professor I had at University of Colorado telling his class the true welfare queens of America are large American corporations. They lobby constantly for tax cuts and then demand more. They lobby for less restrictions on environmental concerns, pensions and labor and then demand more.
The cost of “corporate welfare” to America far outstrips all the cheating that occurs in social programs. And looking at the Medicaid fraud, the greatest offenders are medical professionals and suppliers not poor recipients of the program.
The damage to health and lives by corrupt companies far outstrip any crime by illegals in lost pensions, lost savings, and toxic effects of work places and cover up of health hazards.
Do Americans ever see that truth? Americans prefer to be critical, to bitch and moan and to scapegoat weaker people. They seldom do critical thinking that would allow them to see the real truth.
500 billion dollars spent in a nation without weapons of mass destruction but with the world’s second largest oil reserves doesn’t seem to set off alarm in most Americans. They’re told the money is for freedom and to keep terrorists from the American shores. They believe what they’re told by a media dominated by the friends of the powerful elite.
While the Bush people are bound and determined to ensure the gutting of most social programs they would never consider television as a luxury in this country. Television has become not only the vast wasteland but the great narcotic of the American people.
The Clear Channels of American media have also become the propaganda tool of the power mongers. Mainstream media promotes fear that keeps Americans in a constant state of anxiety or panic. Fear and more fear make for a panicked citizenry wanting mother government to protect them.
Since September 11, 2001 the slick propagandists have evoked the memories of towers toppling to the streets below at every opportunity. Like Israeli actions in Palestine it’s risky to question or challenge their lies and distortions about 9-11.
Looking back over the past four plus years since 9-11 there’s a clear pattern of the American government creating crisis after crisis whenever the Bush Administration’s immoral actions or deceptions come to light. And American media willingly takes the focus away from Bush to the new “crisis” d’jour. Fooled once, fooled twice and fooled a third time one would think the media might become skeptical. It doesn’t take a cynic to think the manipulation is agreed to by the corporate media.
I often shake my head in wonder seeing panicked parents rushing to schools to assure the safety of their children whenever media reports a crime nearby. The “Columbine syndrome” of parental panic is what I think of when I see these scenes.
I marvel I managed to survive the bike accidents and falls of my childhood when I see today’s children wearing helmets, knee and elbow pads and all sorts of protective gear to ride a bike or roller skate. I have to think the fear of parents must carry over into the lives of their children.
Sure I know the rationale for all the protective gear. I’m a medical professional. But, seriously, doesn’t it seem parents in America have become frightfully overprotective?
And yet, when it comes to sending children to wars, parents seem to miss the boat. They surely can’t stop their children from enlisting but couldn’t they scrutinize the wars the children are sent to fight a little more?
I hear from parents and family members of soldiers and Marines all the time who feel the war is wrong or being carried out without regard to the safety of their children. Often they seem paralyzed with the fear and worry to the point they won’t challenge their own government’s actions directly.
Why do they rush to the schools at the drop of the hat to see if their child is safe but fail to speak out directly when their child is at the greatest risk of their lives? Why do they make sure protective gear is worn to ride a bike but allow the government to send their children out into a combat zone without the proper body armor or armored vehicles?
I can’t understand why the parents of this nation allow the slaughter of their children in senseless war after senseless war without demanding an end to it. They say they want to “support” their kids but waving flags and believing the words of lying politicians hardly supports the troops.
I’ve heard from several troops who have been to Iraq or Afghanistan and know it was immoral and illegal. They say they don’t want to return for another deployment but think it necessary to “honor” their contract. Or they want to be “good” soldiers or Marines.
Others say they want to have the benefits offered by the military and will take the risk of a possible redeployment. The risk of dying or severe wounds seems to be worth the money for college or the cattle call care of the VA.
Like the “good German”, American youth are just doing their duty. Like faithful soldiers of fascists the doubting soldiers and Marines are just doing their job. Like sheep led to a cliff, American troops follow each other over the edge despite knowing the truth.
Yes, my words are harsh. I’ve lost my patience for the moral ambivalence of Americans when innocent Iraqi and Afghani children continue to be killed. Life is a series of choices that will either strengthen us or destroy us. Going to an immoral and illegal war is one of life’s most serious choices.
I don’t make such harsh remarks without some personal experience. In 1969 I returned from Vietnam as a decorated combat veteran of the Marines. My performance and proficiency ratings were excellent. A little over a year later I was given an Undesirable Discharge.
One month after I arrived at Camp Lejeune, N.C. to begin my new duty as an infantry trainer I became darkly and severely depressed. I couldn’t get my mind around the atrocities and immorality of the war I had taken part in fighting. I knew I had to leave Camp Lejeune or I would die.
I spent six weeks in Correctional Custody. I spent a month in Great Lakes Naval Station’s brig. The cell block at Great Lakes was tear-gassed by the Marine guards when a group of Vietnam veterans locked staff out of the cell block area following abusive actions of the staff.
I was handcuffed and hobbled with a dozen other AWOL Vietnam vets and taken across a tarmac at the National Airport in Washington, D.C. for a flight back to North Carolina. I was jailed in Denver City Jail for over a week following my arrest by six FBI agents pointing weapons at me and my father.
I was finally given the Undesirable Discharge as a plea bargain when the Marines discovered I had retained an ACLU lawyer from Oceanside, California to defend me against charges of desertion.
After I finally left the Corps my mother told me the year following Vietnam was as bad as Vietnam. She was right. Being told I was unworthy of being called an American and being threatened with many years of prison was difficult. But another thing my mom said was just as true. She said she’d never seen me more at peace and happy as when I finally decided not to cooperate with the Marine Corps in carrying out the war.
I don’t have the answers but only the observations of what I find in this nation. I think solidarity with the Americans of Katrina would be an excellent place to start.
I think becoming helpful and aligning ourselves with humans who migrate for better lives would be another excellent place we could gain.
I think including parents of troops from communities of color would be a good idea. As much as I love the things Cindy Sheehan has done, she doesn’t speak for these communities.
I think remembrance of Iraqi families destroyed is necessary on an ongoing basis. The face of the children of Iraq seems to be missing from much of our concerns for peace.
I think the time has come when concerned Americans go to D.C. and demand to be heard. But their voices will never be heard unless there is a coalition like the one Dr. King was able to forge. And when the rainbow faces of all Americans march into the nation’s capitol to confront the pale faces in the corridors of power, the elite will tremble.
Isolated voices from isolated communities will continue to be isolated from change. Solidarity and unity of communities will refuse to accept anything less than change from the tyrants.
Just the thoughts of an angry ex-Marine….emphasis on the ex.
Peace and solidarity,

Wm. Terry Leichner, RN
Combat vet of Vietnam – USMC
VVAW member - Denver

Land of the Greed, Home of the Grave

July 4, 2006 means nothing more than another day for the parents of the dead children in Iraq. Freedom is just an American word meaning death, destruction and corruption.
Just days ago the U.S. newspapers were headlining the “barbaric” beheading of two American soldiers captured “on patrol”. A few days later we found out the soldiers captured were members of a unit that had stalked a fifteen year old Iraqi girl to rape her. After the rape, they killed her and her family.
Iraqi citizens had reported the crime but the “official report” had listed the deaths as killings by “militants”. Only because a soldier of the unit had developed a guilty conscience about the rape and killings did the truth emerge.
The “barbaric” killings now look like retribution against a rogue unit of soldiers by an Iraqi people sick and tired of the American bully. The bully that had so many reports of soldiers and Marines committing atrocities even the gutless and shirking press was beginning to tell the stories.
Still the American press lacks the outrage of acts by the killers in American ranks that it does for the killers of Iraqi or Arabic background. Still the stories of children crushed and destroyed by bombs of unseen planes fail to be told. Still American “free fire zones” are ignored.
Noted historian Howard Zinn rightfully suggests we not wave the red, white and blue flags of the American flag in pride this year on July 4, 2006. He points out the catastrophic results of the disease called nationalism that has driven this nation’s destiny. A destiny that seems to be forever one of a nation that has wasted more lives, more natural resources and more potential than any in the history of the world.
Fireworks continue at this late hour in my neighborhood. The firecrackers, pop bottle rockets and other pyrotechnics that add up to 610 million dollars in sales each year continue on without missing a beat while we fail the poorest and weakest of the nation.  Jobs, education, healthcare, mental healthcare, substance abuse care, clean air, environmental concern, prenatal care, veterans benefits and vital human programs go without enough funding while we foolishly spend monies on explosive devices for celebration and incineration.
500 billion dollars spent on the war in Iraq since 2003 and we have only a more sullied reputation to show for the money that could have done so much to improve humanity all over the world.
I see the flag of this nation and I feel shame for our greed and over-consumption. I feel shame for the hatred we’ve so rightfully brought upon ourselves with the continued swath of death and destruction we’ve brought to so many in the name of “freedom”.
I hear the self-proclaimed patriots say “freedom isn’t free” and I agree. We need only to ask the people of Iraq who have paid so heavily for the freedoms that we’ve taken with their lives.
I hear the patriots say, “America, love it or leave it” and I agree. They should either love our country enough to do what’s moral and legal or they should leave it to the tyrants and the liars who have already stolen much of the freedom that made this country a beacon to the rest of the world.
The young Americans responsible for the rapes, killings and atrocities they’ve committed deserve jail and punishment for what they’ve done. The time of saying they were only doing their jobs is over. The time of saying they only did their duty is over.  Time has come to accept personal responsibility for being part of immoral and illegal actions.
Americans thinking the atrocities are anomalies by just a few are foolish and complicit in those atrocities. Trying to hide behind the flag and patriotism is deceptive and self-serving.
The citizens of America need to stop fooling themselves about the reasons for the atrocities by their children in the military. The rotten barrel of apples begins and ends with a leadership that has allowed torture and illegal actions to become a norm.
George W. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Gonzales, Rove and all the stooges of this administration have given the green light to corruption and immorality so often it’s little wonder the soldiers and Marines have seen no limits to what they should be able to do while allegedly “fighting for freedom”.
July 4th is not a time of celebration in America. It’s a time of humiliation. July 4th isn’t a time for waving the banners of nationalistic pride. It’s a time of distress and shame. The only way the American flag should fly is inverted to signal a country in distress.
Peace and justice groups aren’t free of complicity either. At a time outrage is necessary and the only proper response, timidity and passivity seems to be the reaction. While young American men and women die and kill and innocent Iraqi’s die in ever more obscene and senseless ways, peace and justice groups spend hours talking about the problem rather than acting on it.
Departments of Peace, letters to corrupt politicians, campaigning for politicians no different in philosophy than the ruling tyrants and symbolic actions lacking the power to be meaningful are simply actions to feel good about things but not actions taking a risk of time, talent and energy to truly oppose the despots in charge.
The urgency of a nation rotting from within is lacking in a fog of consumerism, self centeredness and apathy. Rather than change we keep recreating the wheels of imperialism and nationalism. The same concepts with slightly different names are the rule not the exception.
America, America, God shed his light on thee…..nothing but words of a delusional nation thinking “their God” somehow favors them for their gluttonous and hedonist ways.

Terry Leichner, RN
Vietnam combat veteran
USMC
VVAW member
Denver, CO