SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Mar 15 (IPS) - The panel on the "Rules of Engagement" (ROE) during the first
full day of the gathering, named "
Winter Soldier" to honour a similar
gathering 30 years ago of veterans of the Vietnam War, was held in
front of a visibly moved audience of several hundred, including
veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. Winter soldiers, according
to U.S. founding father Thomas Paine, are the people who stand up for
the soul of their country, even in its darkest hours
Reppenhagen
served in Iraq from February 2004-2005 in the city of Baquba, 40 kms
northeast of Baghdad. He said his first experience in Iraq was being on
a patrol that killed two Iraqi farmers as they worked in their field at
night.
"I was told they were out in the fields farming because
their pumps only operated with electricity, which meant they had to go
out in the dark when there was electricity," he explained, "I asked the
sergeant, if he knew this, why did he fire on the men. He told me
because the men were out after curfew. I was never given another ROE
during my time in Iraq."
Another veteran of the occupation of
Iraq on the panel was Vincent Emmanuel. He served in the Marines near
the northern Iraqi city of Al-Qaim during 2004-2005. Emmanuel explained
that "taking potshots at cars that drove by" happened all the time and
"these were not isolated incidents".
Emmanuel continued: "We
took fire while trying to blow up a bridge. Many of the attackers were
part of the general population. This led to our squad shooting at
everything and anything in order to push through the town. I remember
myself emptying magazines into the town, never identifying a target."
As
other panelists nodded in agreement, Emmanuel spoke of abusing
prisoners who he knew were innocent, adding, "We took it upon ourselves
to harass them, and took them to the desert to throw them out of our
Humvees, while kicking and punching them when we threw them out."
Two
other soldiers testified about planting weapons or shovels on civilians
they had accidentally shot, to justify the killings by implying the
dead were fighters or people attempting to plant roadside bombs.
Jason Washburn was a corporal in the marines, and served three tours in Iraq, his last in Haditha from 2005-2006.
"We
were encouraged to bring 'drop weapons' or shovels, in case we
accidentally shot a civilian, we could drop the weapon on the body and
pretend they were an insurgent," he said, "By the third tour, if they
were carrying a shovel or bag, we could shoot them. So we carried these
tools and weapons in our vehicles, so we could toss them on civilians
when we shot them. This was commonly encouraged."
Washburn explained that his ROE changed "a lot".
"The
higher the threat level, the more viciously we were told to respond. We
had towns that were deemed 'free fire zones'. One time there was a
mayor of a town near Haditha that got shot up. We were shown this as an
example because there was a nice tight shot group on the windshield,
and told that was a good job, that was what Marines were supposed to
do. And that was the mayor of the town."
Jason Wayne Lemue is a Marine who served three tours in Iraq.
"My
commander told me, 'Kill those who need to be killed, and save those
who need to be saved', that was our mission on our first tour," he said
of his first deployment during the invasion nearly five years ago.
Lemue
continued, "After that the ROE changed, and carrying a shovel, or
standing on a rooftop talking on a cell phone, or being out after
curfew [meant the people] were to be killed. I can't tell you how many
people died because of this. By my third tour, we were told to just
shoot people, and the officers would take care of us."
John
Michael Turner served two tours in the Marines as a machine gunner in
Iraq. Visibly upset, he told the audience, "I was taught as a Marine to
eat the apple to the core." Turner then pulled his military metals off
his shirt and threw them on the ground.
"Apr. 18, 2006 was the
date of my first confirmed kill," he said sombrely. "He was innocent, I
called him the fat man. He was walking back to his house and I killed
him in front of his father and friend. My first shot made him scream
and look into my eyes, so I looked at my friend and said, 'Well, I
can't let that happen', and shot him again. After my first kill I was
congratulated."
Turner explained one reason why establishment
media reporting about the occupation in the U.S. has been largely
sanitised. "Anytime we had embedded reporters, our actions changed
drastically," he explained. "We did everything by the books, and were
very low key."
To conclude, an emotional Turner said, "I want to
say I'm sorry for the hate and destruction that I and others have
inflicted on innocent people. It is not okay, and this is happening,
and until people hear what is going on this is going to continue. I am
no longer the monster that I once was."
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