This past September 24, the streets of Washington D.C. surged with human traffic. Citizens of all ages, races, and backgrounds marched on the capital to espouse one common message: end the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The event, which was covered by all major media outlets, was estimated by some, like C-Span, to have drawn 500,000 protestors, while other more conservative sources like the D.C. police claim that 150,000 people were in attendance. Whatever the actual numbers were, the rally represented an extremely vocal and increasingly visible portion of the American populace that opposes the War in Iraq.
What can often be lost in the jumble of the media circus that surrounds the anti-war movement are the opinions of the men and women who have actually been to Iraq—the men and women of our armed services. Soldiers across the nation have been returning from Iraq to be greeted by a loud culture of people who don’t support the war they’ve been fighting. Almost every day, veterans can turn on a TV and see people like Cindy Sheehan speaking out against their mission—a mission that has cost, in many cases, their friends’ lives. Some soldiers feel insulted by these protesters, while other soldiers have actively joined the ranks of the anti-war movement. Still, others simply do not care one way or another what others think about the war, they just support the right to free speech. But whatever their stance, most soldiers feel they have earned the right to speak about the anti-war movement in America.
“When I come across people who are protesting or are against the War in Iraq, I usually stop to find out the reasons behind these protests,” said First Lieutenant John Randleman of the United States Marine Corps. Randleman is a veteran of the second War in Iraq who recently came home to find that a lot of people were protesting the very way he had lived the past year of his life.
By the time that this article is published, Randleman will have already been redeployed to Iraq. During his first tour of duty, Randleman served as the executive officer of his rifle company and will continue with this job upon his return.
Randleman wouldn’t say whether or not he agrees with the War in Iraq—he believes that it his job to go fight where his military command sends him, not to state his opinions about foreign policy.
“I’m not sure about every soldier, but when I came home from Iraq, the anti-war protests I saw on TV made me kind of angry,” he said. Randlman may not voice an opinion about the war, but he does feel that the work of some protesters may be lowering the morale of some U.S. soldiers: “I mean, you work so hard and make so many sacrifices to serve, and then you come home and find people are saying what you have done is illegal.”
The one misconception Randleman wants war protesters to know about Iraq is that not everyone there hates Americans. In fact, he said that quite a few Iraqi citizens are grateful for U.S. involvement. “While I was there,” Randleman said, “more than a couple [Iraqi citizens] came up to me and thanked me.”
Geoffrey Millard was an African-American studies major at the University at Buffalo when he was called to active duty in his National Guard unit. His unit, previously attached to New York State, was nationalized—or put under the Commander in Chief’s chain of command, given some training, and then deployed to Iraq. Sergeant Millard spent 13 months in Tikrit, Iraq as an Infantryman. His main duties consisted of gathering information and intelligence for a Brigadier General.
Now, back in the United States, Millard is a peace activist. He is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace, both national organizations that advocate for the safe withdrawal of troops from Iraq. He now travels around the nation speaking at events and to groups about his experiences.
“Protesting the war is supporting the troops,” said Millard. “When you protest the war, you are coming out and saying, ‘I don’t want you to die as a soldier.’”
Not only does Millard support anti-war protesting, but he believes there should be more people standing up to support the movement. When it comes to war protesters, especially among the student population, he said, “I don’t think they do it enough.”
What Millard calls for is more than just the passive act of protesting the war. “When soldiers come back and lay their weapons down and say, ‘I will fight no more,’” he said, “that is when resistance sets in.”
He believes that we as citizens can do more to actively obstruct our government’s foreign policy. “If you are going to tax me to fund an illegal war, I’m not going to pay taxes,” he said, in advocacy of civil disobedience that recalls Henry David Thoreau’s famous treatise on the subject. “When people say, ‘If a soldier leaves and goes to Canada instead of going to an illegal war, I’m going to send him money,’ that’s resistance.”
While Millard’s proposed tactics may be considered extreme, his sentiment echoes that of a growing number of U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. In a Zogby International poll released on February 28, it was reported, “an overwhelming majority of 72 percent of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and more than one in four say the troops should leave immediately.”
Private First Class Brian Caine of the Army National Guard was working in the Buffalo area and planning to attend classes at Erie Community College when his Guard unit was called up to active duty and deployed to Iraq. Caine spent 12 months in Tikrit, Iraq, mostly serving as a driver for his humvee crew. He supports the U.S. occupation of Iraq and believes that we have aided the people of Iraq in being liberated from a harsh dictator.
“I was over there to protect things like the right to freedom of speech,” said Caine, “and I’m glad to come home and see that right in action.” While he may disagree with the message of most American protesters, he has no problem with the actual act of their protesting.
Caine doesn’t speak for other soldiers, but he feels that war protesting doesn’t really have an effect on his morale. He says, “I don’t think that a lot of people really know what is actually going on in Iraq. Many of the war protesters just don’t know enough to have an opinion that would matter to me.”
For many of the men and women who have served in Iraq, watching fellow Americans protest their way of life can be a bitter pill to swallow. For other soldiers, opposition to the war is more akin to a sign of love. But whatever they may personally feel about the war and its detractors, many find it important to keep one thing in mind: the protestors represent the democracy that they are charged with protecting. Caine said that all American soldiers take an oath to defend the constitution, and the constitution guarantees people the right to freedom of speech. “I guess instead of holding a sign and marching in front of building, people could have spent more time doing things to help soldiers,” he said. “But hey, it’s a free country.”
