Iraqis and U.S. military veterans are coming together to hold the U.S. government accountable for the lasting effects of war and to demand the right to heal.
Iraq Veterans Against the War, the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq, the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, represented by the Center for Consitutional Rights, are working together to highlight the lack of accountability for the serious, widespread, and ongoing human rights violations of Iraqis, Afghans, and U.S. military veterans, from more than ten years of U.S. war.
We are requesting a hearing in front of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a body of the Organization of American States. If the hearing is agreed to, this inter-American body will call forth U.S. government officials to respond to our case. Such a hearing will raise the profile of these issues, lend our movement legitimacy in pushing for recognition of our human rights, and be an important step in holding the U.S. government accountable for violating them.
Your signature will help demonstrate the widespread support for such a hearing.
Will you sign on to a letter of support for this hearing?
In the current fiscal negotiations taking place between the White House and Congress, proposals have been put on the table that will cut the benefits to disabled veterans who are on social security disability. Veterans who have survived the traumas of war and their military service already are being underserved by the system. To balance the budget on their backs and the backs of seniors is unconscionable!
Instead, we are calling for deep cuts to the Pentagon budget - something that hasn't been on the table for real discussion in years.
Please contact Congress now and tell them to cut the Pentagon, not Veterans' benefits. Use the tool below.
In the current fiscal negotiations taking place between the White House and Congress, proposals have been put on the table that will cut the benefits to disabled veterans who are on social security disability. Veterans who have survived the traumas of war and their military service already are being underserved by the system. To balance the budget on their backs and the backs of seniors is unconscionable!
Instead, we are calling for deep cuts to the Pentagon budget - something that hasn't been on the table for real discussion in years.
Please contact Congress now and tell them to cut the Pentagon, not Veterans' benefits. Use the tool below.
Two members of Congress, Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC), have written a bipartisan letter urging President Obama to pursue an accelerated withdrawal of our troops and end the decade long war ahead of the 2014 timeframe.
Has your Congressperson signed onto the letter?
Use the tool below to send a message to your representative asking them to sign on to the letter to President Obama. If your representative has already signed, you can thank them.
Background:
After more than 10 years and nearly $600 billion spent in continuing the occupation in Afghanistan it's time to bring the war to an end. More than 2,000 service members have been killed, over 18,000 officially wounded and veterans' suicides have outpaced service members killed in Afghanistan this year. Thousands of Afghans have lost their lives or been wounded and women still do not have a voice at the negotiating table. Continued military occupation is not in either nation's interest.
As President Obama prepares for his second term the Pentagon is providing him with a set of recommendations for our continued military presence in Afghanistan. As recently as last Thursday the General slated to take over command in Afghanistan signaled the US's intention to stay well beyond the 2014 withdrawal date the President touted during his reelection campaign.
The time is now to pressure members of Congress to bring our troops home and end the occupation before 2014. Contact your representative today using the tools below.
Add your voice: Tell the Chicago VA to make good on promised improvements
At a meeting last spring with IVAW and National Nurses United, Chicago's Jesse Brown VA Medical Center Director, Michael Anaya, promised immediate action on a number of changes that will greatly improve the health care for veterans and working conditions for the nurses who serve them with such dedication. But after six months, we are still waiting.
Remind him that veterans should be getting the highest quality of care with dignity and respect. These are the issues:
1) Better staff to patient ratios in the mental health ward
2) Staff training in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Military Sexual Trauma, and Traumatic Brain Injury
3) Better patient garments that ensure dignity and privacy
As IVAW and NNU prepare to launch this campaign at other VA's around the country, we need to add your voice to the struggle.
Send an email to Michael Anaya using the tools below. Feel free to edit the sample email and subject line, but please keep your language clean.
In honor of Memorial Day, help the Operation Recovery Campaign by urging the Commander of Fort Hood to put soldiers' safety first. Tell him to hold a Safety Stand Down at Fort Hood to educate soldiers about their right to heal and hold commanders accountable. A Safety Stand Down is a day where all work activity ceases in order to focus on training and education about the safety and well-being of service members.
You can email by using the tools below. Feel free to edit the sample email and subject line, but please keep the language clean.
Or call his Administrative Officer, Karen Casey at 254-287-0126. Here are some talking points for your call:
Tell Ms. Casey that you are a supporter of the Operation Recovery Campaign for service members' right to heal.
Ask that General Campbell hold a Safety Stand Down to educate all levels of leadership and every soldier on post about his policies MEDCEN 01 and SURG 01.
These are strong policies that can help remove the barriers to getting mental health care for soldiers, but only if they are enforced. A Safety Stand Down could help make leaders accountable.
Please be respectful when making your call, so that we can ensure all of our voices are heard.
Background:
Operation Recovery Campaign organizers have learned about two major problems at Fort Hood:
1) Commanders routinely override or ignore the medical treatment plans (also known as medical "profiles") that soldiers get from their doctors.
2) Commanders regularly stigmatize soldiers who seek care through public humiliation or creating an environment of intimidation that discourages soldiers from speaking up for their own well-being.
These are systemic problems, despite the fact that Fort Hood's Commander, General Campbell, has issued two base policies, MEDCEN-01 and SURG-01 that specifically prohibit such behavior by commanders. But many soldiers don't know that these policies exist, and they are clearly not being reinforced. Lower commanders are not being held accountable for respecting soldiers' rights to heal.
We are calling on General Campbell to set aside a day to hold a Safety Stand Down across Fort Hood to educate and train the Fort Hood community about these policies.
Iraq Veterans Against the War and its Afghanistan Veterans Against the War Committee will march with the multitudes in Chicago on May 20 to protest the NATO Summit. We are marching to stand up for human rights and against the failed policies of NATO's generals, especially the 11-year Afghanistan War.
Over 500 Illinois National Guard soldiers have been called up to supposedly provide additional security at the NATO Summit. The Illinois National Guard Deputy Director of Domestic Operations recently declared publicly that the Illinois National Guard will be "ready to provide support in the event of any problems in Chicago."
IVAW calls on all members of the Illinois National Guard that have already received mobilization orders to stand down and stand with fellow veterans and the 99% of the American people who are calling for an end to wars and for resources to be used rebuilding America.
IVAW will be leading the march to the NATO summit to demand an immediate end to the Afghanistan War, to bring U.S. dollars home to fund our communities, and to support and acknowled the rights and humanities of all those affected by these wars.
Service members of the Illinois National Guard must not be used to suppress the rights of their fellow veterans and members of their communities.
Use the tool below to email Governor Pat Quinn and urge him not to activate the National Guard for the NATO summit on May 20. We have supplied sample language here, but feel free to edit and use your own words in both the subject line and the body of your email message.
You can only email the Governor from an Illinois zip code.
The recent massacre in a Kandahar village is the latest signal that we must end our military occupation of Afghanistan and take another approach toward supporting the Afghan people.
Last year, Rep. Barbara Lee of California introduced H.R. 780, which proposes cutting off US funds for the Afghanistan war, except the funds necessary for a safe and orderly withdrawal of American troops. The Lee measure can be voted on during this Congressional cycle, and getting your member of Congress to co-sponsor the measure is an important step in making this happen.
We have created sample text for an email to your representative. Check here to see if your Congressperson has already co-sponsored the resolution. If so, you can edit the sample text and thank them for being a co-sponsor.
About this petition: Every 36 hours, an active duty service member takes their own life. Despite studies that show Post Traumatic Stress and depression increases with each deployment, service members are being denied mental healthcare and are sent back to war again and again without proper treatment.
At Fort Hood, Texas the situation is dire. Fort Hood Commander General Campbell is responsible for the culture of denial that is at the root of the problem there.
Suicide continues to be one of the largest causes of death at Fort Hood, but General Campbell has stated publicly that he views service members’ post-deployment mental health problems as a discipline issue instead of a health issue. Thus, those who need mental health care at Fort Hood are severely stigmatized and are discouraged from seeking treatment.
The average wait for a service member to see a counselor at Fort Hood is six to eight weeks, a delay which can mean life or death for a soldier desperate for care. Service members have few if any childcare options while attending treatment appointments. Violence and sexual harassment of women soldiers is also rampant at Fort Hood and needs to be addressed.
Service members who do get mental health treatment are overwhelmingly prescribed psychological medications as the only treatment option -- often without receiving actual medical diagnoses. Many soldiers are on multiple medications.
General Campbell is denying his service members’ right to heal from war by promoting a culture of denial, limiting access to care, and sending troops who have untreated trauma back into combat.
Let's hold General Campbell accountable to the troops he sends into harm's way.
Every 36 hours, an active duty service member takes their own life. Despite studies that show Post Traumatic Stress and depression increases with each deployment, service members are being denied mental healthcare and are sent back to war again and again without proper treatment.
At Fort Hood, Texas the situation is dire. Fort Hood Commander General Campbell is responsible for the culture of denial that is at the root of the problem there.
Suicide continues to be one of the largest causes of death at Fort Hood, but General Campbell has stated publicly that he views service members’ post-deployment mental health problems as a discipline issue instead of a health issue. Thus, those who need mental health care at Fort Hood are severely stigmatized and are discouraged from seeking treatment.
The average wait for a service member to see a counselor at Fort Hood is six to eight weeks, a delay which can mean life or death for a soldier desperate for care. Service members have few if any childcare options while attending treatment appointments. Violence and sexual harassment of women soldiers is also rampant at Fort Hood and needs to be addressed.
Service members who do get mental health treatment are overwhelmingly prescribed psychological medications as the only treatment option -- often without receiving actual medical diagnoses. Many soldiers are on multiple medications.
General Campbell is denying his service members’ right to heal from war by promoting a culture of denial, limiting access to care, and sending troops who have untreated trauma back into combat.
Let's hold General Campbell accountable to the troops he sends into harm's way.
On the evening of October 25, Oakland police brutually cracked down on protesters at Occupy Oakland.
One of the police victims is Iraq war veteran, Scott Olsen, an IVAW member who sustained a skull fracture when he was hit in the head with a police projectile. Scott is in stable but critical condition at a local Oakland hospital.
Scott is one of many veterans who have returned home and gotten involved in the Occupy protests taking place in hundreds of cities around the nation. Veterans like Scott recognize that they are part of the 99% who face uncertain economic futures, including few job prospects and rising tuition costs.
Scott was exercising his right to freedom of speech and assembly, values he served as a Marine to defend, when he and others were attacked in a shameful brutal crackdown by police.
Demand that Oakland Mayor Jean Quan investigate the conduct of the police at Occupy Oakland resulting in the critical injury of Iraq vet Scott Olsen.
Gen. Don Campbell just took command of the Army's Third Corps and Fort Hood, the U.S. military's largest and most deployed base. On General Campbell's first week of command, IVAW's Operation Recovery Campaign brought the epidemic of military trauma to his attention and asked him to meet with representatives from our Campaign. To this day, his office has not responded.Help us put un-treated military trauma on the General's agenda his first month at work.
Wisonsin Governor Scott Walker says he is prepared to activate the Wisconsin National Guard in his budget battle. Iraq Veterans Against the War calls on members of the Wisconsin National Guard to refuse any activation against workers organizing to protect their rights. Military service members are also public workers, and IVAW stands with the multitude that has gathered in Madison and other cities to defend their unions.
Email Brigadier General Donald S. Dunbar of the Wisconsin National Guard and tell him to stand WITH not AGAINST the working people of Wisconsin. Respectfully urge him to publicly refuse to activate Wisconsin National Guard members against those peacefully demonstrating for their rights. Thank you!
Jeff Hanks' unit commander blocked Jeff from getting the medical treatment he so desperately needs. And now he is redeploying Jeff, un-treated, back to Afghanistan.
Email Captain Ambrosino to let him know that he will be held accountable for denying soldiers' right to heal. Please be as respectful as you can in your email. Use the language we've provided, or edit it to make your own. Thanks!
Jeff Hanks' unit commander blocked Jeff from getting the medical treatment he so desperately needs. And now he is redeploying Jeff, un-treated, back to Afghanistan.
Email Cpt. Ambrosino to let him know that he will be held accountable for denying soldiers' right to heal. Please be as respectful as you can in your email. Use the language we've provided, or edit it to make your own. Thanks!
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are continuing through the use of exhausted troops who have been on multiple tours of duty and suffer deeply from the trauma of war. Thousands of soldiers are being denied their right to heal by the U.S. military so it can continue its ongoing occupations.
Specialist Jeff Hanks is one such soldier. Jeff has served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was due to receive medical evaluation and treatment during a leave from his tour in Afghanistan. But his military command effectively canceled his medical appointments to send him back to combat. Jeff made the difficult decision to go AWOL to get the care he so desperately needed.
Join IVAW in our effort to stop the deployment of troops, who are suffering from PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Military Sexual Trauma. By signing our pledge, you agree to do what you can to help defend the rights of soldiers like Jeff to heal, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for deploying traumatized troops. As the Operation Recovery campaign unfolds, we will be calling on you to help in a variety of ways, including:
Spreading the word about this campaign to your friends, co-workers, and family;
Writing letters-to-the-editor of your local paper about the issues affecting troops who suffer from military trauma;
Helping identify those responsible for deploying traumatized troops in your local area;
Contacting your representatives about the plight of traumatized troops.
These wars can only continue through the re-use of previously deployed and traumatized troops. Help us put this practice to an end.
A newly released Wikileaks “Collateral Murder” video has made international headlines showing a July 2007 shooting incident outside of Baghdad in which U.S. forces wounded two children and killed over a dozen people, including the father of those children and two Reuters employees. Two soldiers from Bravo Company 2-16, the company depicted in the video, have written an open letter of apology to the Iraqis who were injured or lost loved ones during the attack that, these former soldiers say, is a regular occurrence in this war. You can view the Wikileaks video here: http://wikileaks.org/ and you can view the Press Release here
