What makes the grass grow green? Blood, blood, and more blood, according to American drill sergeants responsible for training enlistees in Iraq.
Described by Iraq veteran Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith, this snapshot of life as a soldier in Iraq was just one of the many that were presented to the Congressional Progressive Caucus -- co-chaired by California Representatives Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee-- earlier this morning. Nine members of the group Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) convened to testify and provide eyewitness accounts of the U.S. army's occupation of Iraq. Today's Winter Soldier hearing, a continuation of the hearings that took place in March in Silver Spring, mark the first time since the war started that veterans have testified under oath before Congress, which has until now let itself be captivated instead by the opinions and so-called facts offered by politicians, generals, pundits, and celebrities. The testimonies were all verified by a review process, and they convey the true human cost of the war.
The hearing comes at a particularly crucial moment, as the House is debating today whether to pour another $170 billion into policing a civil war that seems to drag on indefinitely. The term "Winter Soldier" has its origins in the writings of Thomas Paine: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves love and thanks of man and woman." The very first Winter Soldier hearings took place in 1971 when Vietnam veterans spoke out in Detroit about the war crimes and atrocities perpetrated by the U.S. Armed Forces and its allies.
Collectively, the veterans (two of whom have attempted suicide as a consequence of their combat experiences) painted a picture suggesting that American soldiers in Iraq have been placed in an environment so unbelievably dire, chaotic, and anarchic that they, as Sgt. Jason Lemieux put it, are no longer fighting for democracy, for the flag, or for America, but rather for "each others' safety at the expense of everything else." The situation was exacerbated by ambiguous and ever-changing rules of engagement.
