(ivaw.org) Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan featured testimony from US veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground.
This four-day event brought together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence.
In addition, panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists gave context to the testimony. These panels covered everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.
(BBN Editor’s Note: We are committed to posting the stories that tell us the truth about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no better source of this truth than the men and women who are fighting on the ground.)
(ivaw.org) Mike Prysner describes a mission he took part in which his unit forced Iraqis out of half a dozen homes, with no compensation, so the US military could use them. “One family in particular, a woman with two small girls, very elderly man, and two middle-aged men—we dragged them from their houses and threw them onto the street, and arrested the men because they refused to leave.” Since he left, he has been plagued by guilt “anytime I see a mother with her children, like the one who cried hysterically and screamed that we were worse than Saddam as we forced her from her home, …anytime I see a young girl like the one I grabbed by the arm and dragged into the street.” Prysner also describes the physical abuse of a wounded prisoner, with a sandbag over his head and his hands tied behind his back. “We were told we were fighting terrorists; the real terrorist was me, and the real terrorism is this occupation.”
For more information and video testimony please visit IVAW.org
