As the chorus of voices condemning the war in Iraq grows, perhaps the most important are those who’ve been asked to the fight the war — but now realize it was wrong and are willing to say so. For the first time since Vietnam, the number of soldiers-turned-protestors is growing and getting organized.
The two most visible organizations – Operation Truth, of which Corporal Huze is a member, and Iraq Veterans Against the War – were founded only last summer but are growing in membership and sophistication. The Internet has helped them spread their word and galvanize like-minded people in ways unimaginable to activist veterans of previous generations, who are also lending help.
“There’s strength in numbers,” Corporal Huze said. “By ourselves, we’re lone voices, a whisper in a swarm of propaganda out there. Combined, we can become a roar and have an impact on the issues that we care about.”
Those who turn to the groups are generally united in their disillusionment, though their responses to the war vary: Iraq Veterans seeks a quick withdrawal from Iraq; Operation Truth focuses on the day-to-day issues affecting troops and veterans.
Iraq Veterans Against the War, which started in July with 8 people, now has more than 150 members, including some still serving in Iraq, said Michael Hoffman, a former lance corporal in the Marines and a co-founder of the group.
Operation Truth, based in New York, began with 5 members and now has 300, with an e-mail list of more than 25,000 people. Its Web site is a compendium of soldiers and veterans’ stories, a media digest on the war, and a rallying point on issues affecting troops.
Good for them. There’s a great range of opinion out there, but these voices need to be heard more than most. We get glimpses now and then about the troops’ unheard complaints, but by getting organized — and being featured in the New York Times — these Iraq veterans will be an increasingly important part of the public debate.
But what about the political implications?
I was struck, for example, by the story of Sean Huze.
Sean Huze enlisted in the Marine Corps right after the Sept. 11 attacks and was, in his own words, “red, white and blue all the way” when he deployed to Iraq 16 months later. Unquestioning in his support of the invasion, he grew irritated when his father, a former National Guardsman, expressed doubts about the war.
Today, all that has changed. Haunted by the civilian casualties he witnessed, Corporal Huze has become one of a small but increasing number of Iraq veterans who have formed or joined groups to oppose the war or to criticize the way it is being fought.
[…]
For Corporal Huze, the transformation began when he returned home in fall 2003. Unable to forget the carnage he had seen in Iraq, he began to grapple with the justification for the war, he said.
“By sometime in December 2003, I came to the conclusion that W.M.D.’s weren’t there and that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, and now I’m left with all that I’d experienced in Iraq and nothing to balance it,” Corporal Huze said, emphasizing that he was speaking as a citizen, not as a marine. “When I came to that conclusion, I felt this sense of betrayal. I was full of rage and depression.”
That rage has since fueled Corporal Huze, a native of Baton Rouge, La., who is awaiting a medical discharge for a head injury.
Alas, it’s not too hard to imagine the speed with which courageous troops like Huze will be labeled as unpatriotic by the right. Indeed, I hope Huze and troops like him don’t plan to run for public office down the road, because we’ve already seen that rival candidates who never wore a uniform can and will smear veterans who question the wisdom of their war as “anti-military” (see Cleland, Kerry, et al).
Whether the GOP attack dogs go after these troops or not, one has to admire the soldiers’ tremendous courage. First they volunteer to serve in the military in a time of war, then they have the strength to speak out against what they’ve seen first hand.
It’s a safe bet groups like Operation Truth and Iraq Veterans Against the War will be growing considerably in the coming months, which will do nothing but help the public discourse.