war resisters

During the early years of the Vietnam War Bruce Dancis refused to be conscripted into the army. For this principled stand he was incarcerated for 19 months — one of 3,000 resisters who were imprisoned at the time.

Dancis was a young socialist from the Bronx, a working class district of New York. He was active in the civil rights movement, campaigned against bad housing, and was a founder member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) while at Cornell University.

The shell that killed seven year old Shabia was fired by British troops. As the mortar landed, fragments of molten shrapnel sliced into her fragile body while phosphorus burned through her thick hair. The patrol called an ambulance. But Shabia was transferred to a squalid Afghan hospital. Within hours she succumbed to her wounds and died.

That was famously the war to end all wars - although it was followed in just over 20 years by an even greater conflagration. Modern warfare has certainly seen comparable death tolls and suffering.

Why did you set up the Under the Hood Outreach Center and Cafe?

The concept of the coffee houses has been around since the 1960s during the Vietnam War. There was actually one here in Killeen during that time called the Oleo Strut. When the wars started with Afghanistan and Iraq, people were talking about setting up a coffee house again.

He wrote to Gordon Brown to explain: "The war in Afghanistan is not reducing the terrorist risk. Far from improving Afghan lives it is bringing death and devastation to their country. Britain has no business there."

I am proud to legally represent Joe. He is following his conscience. It is a sign of the mood inside the army that his stand is popular with fellow soldiers, who treat him like their shop steward.

Today the US finds itself in two seemingly unending occupations. With veterans not being given the healthcare they need upon their return, redeployment becoming increasingly common, and a stop-loss policy that continues to lower morale among troops, GI resistance is once again on the rise. This is what my book is about.

Examples of various forms of GI resistance are once again becoming commonplace.

Glass, 25, joined the National Guard in Indiana in 2002 on the understanding that he would be involved in responding to national emergencies. His recruiter assured him that the only way he would be involved in combat was if the US was invaded by foreign troops.

Instead in 2005 he was shipped to Camp Anaconda where as a military intelligence specialist he provided support to "Operation Iraqi Freedom". What he witnessed led him to conclude the war was based on lies and was illegal.

Ray is an army reservist. He fought in the first Gulf War, but has told the army he will not serve in Iraq this time:

'As long as it is an illegal war and occupation I don't want anything to do with it. The army said to me, "Deal with it. You're a reservist." I wrote to Geoff Hoon and he said, "Deal with it." But I don't want anything to do with it.

I'm in touch with a few serving soldiers. A friend is on his second tour in Iraq. He didn't want to go, but if he did what I've done he would lose his career and his pension.

'Shame on you.' These three words addressed to Tony Blair and George Bush at the funeral of Rose Gentle's 19 year old son Gordon announced the beginning of the Military Families campaign. Reverend Mann pointed the finger at those ultimately responsible for Gordon Gentle's death in Basra. Rose Gentle had encouraged Mann to tell the truth about her son's death.

Socialist Review: Why are you accusing the US army of drafting you?

Carl Webb: I'm refusing to go to war because I do not believe the US is on the right track. I think this war is not about liberating people, it's about oppressing them. It's a war that's being fought for profit.

So what's your history with the army?