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<font size=3><br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=5><b>OpEdNews<br><br>
</b></font><font face="Verdana" size=2>Original Content at
<a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/Iraq-War-Veterans-Arrested-by-Kevin-Gosztola-081016-85.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Iraq-War-Veterans-Arrested-by-Kevin-Gosztola-081016-85.html<br>
</a><hr>
<b>October 16, 2008<br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=4>Iraq War Veterans Arrested at Final
Debate<br><br>
</b></font><font face="Verdana" size=2><i>By Kevin Gosztola<br><br>
</i>I already did a
<a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/Joe-the-Plumber-Is-Focus-o-by-Kevin-Gosztola-081015-710.html">
summary of the final debate</a>. But, I cannot ignore the courage of
people who thought it their moral obligation to risk arrest by attempting
to get inside and ask Senator Obama and Senator McCain questions about
the Iraq War. <br><br>
Through this article, I will highlight 1) the courageous action of a few
which most Americans are unaware of and 2) how the media does a
disservice to the men and women who have returned from Iraq and who are
fighting for immediate withdrawal, reparations for Iraqis, and benefits
for veterans returning home. <br><br>
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) has consistently acted independently
from the two major parties. Unlike veterans in a coalition like United
for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), IVAW’s strength is that it can always find
a good amount of veterans to oppose both Democrats and Republicans.
<br><br>
Ever since March 2008, when they held their “Winter Soldier
Investigation” and were ignored, IVAW has been moving right along
challenging the current policy in the Middle East despite the fact that
media entirely blacked out the event (search OpEdNews.com for stories;
OpEdNews.com was one of the few media sources that covered the event
regularly). <br><br>
The veterans eventually were able to testify on the hill in front of the
<a href="http://cpc.lee.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=166&ParentID=0&SectionID=4&SectionTree=4&lnk=b&ItemID=164">
click
here</a>
<a href="http://cpc.lee.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=166&ParentID=0&SectionID=4&SectionTree=4&lnk=b&ItemID=164">
Progressive Caucus (CPC) and that can be attributed to the fact that
Dennis Kucinich, Robert Wexler, and John Conyers were holding private
meetings with members of IVAW.</a><br><br>
IVAW marched on the DNC with nearly 10,000 Americans. The veterans were
ready to engage in civil disobedience, but Obama cleverly diffused the
situation. <br><br>
On the night of the final debate, which was held at Hofstra University,
Iraq Veterans Against the War along with other antiwar groups came to the
debate with the intention of rallying, marching, and risking arrest.
<br><br>
<a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iG2ExNqp-DcJEXrWNGo8tU8tYPnAD93RC7900">
The Associated Press reports</a>: <br><br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd>Police: 15 protesters arrested outside of LI debate<br><br>
<dd>HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) Police say 15 people have been arrested during
anti-war protests outside the Long Island university campus where the
presidential debate was held.<br><br>
<dd>Nassau County Police Lt. Kevin Smith says the 15 protesters were
arrested on disorderly conduct charges Wednesday night outside the gates
of Hofstra University in Hempstead. He says they identified themselves as
Iraq war veterans.<br><br>
<dd>Police say they were arrested trying to get onto the campus after
they had been turned away from a university gate. They say one person may
have received a minor injury and has been taken to a nearby
hospital.<br><br>
<dd>
<a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iG2ExNqp-DcJEXrWNGo8tU8tYPnAD93RC7900">
About 350 people had gathered outside the campus in the afternoon and
were met by mounted police and officers in riot gear.</a><br><br>
</dl>In order to maintain “objectivity” (or more importantly
“credibility”), the Associated Press asked the police to explain what
happened. No statement in the article represents what was happening from
the perspective of an antiwar protester. <br><br>
“He says they identified themselves as Iraq war veterans.” Either this is
lazy journalism or this is appalling denigration of a group of courageous
young men and women who are fighting to salvage the future of this
country. <br><br>
The veterans should be referred to as members of an official
organization---Iraq Veterans Against the War. AP may be unaware of the
group because it works hard to ignore such groups but that does not
excuse how they note who was present.<br><br>
At 11:23 am ET, there are only a handful of articles on IVAW's attempts
to get into the debate and ask a question. Media blackout is the coup de
grâce that will continually be levelled against these courageous men and
women until they shut the hell up. <br><br>
The police violence is all too similar to the Republican National
Convention. And so, since I have pointed out how the corporate media
fails, let’s turn to an alternative news media
report<a href="http://www.indypendent.org/2008/10/16/at-least-nine-demonstrators-arrested-as-iraq-vets-try-to-enter-final-presidential-debate/">
from
the</a>
<a href="http://www.indypendent.org/2008/10/16/at-least-nine-demonstrators-arrested-as-iraq-vets-try-to-enter-final-presidential-debate/">
Indypendent</a></i> that is worth reading: <br><br>
<dl>
<dd>As millions of Americans were readying their television sets to tune
into the final presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama,
a much different scene was unfolding outside of Hofstra University in
Hempstead, NY where the debate took place.<br><br>
<dd><a href="http:///">At least five members of Iraq Veterans Against the
War</a> (IVAW), a group of military veterans who are calling for
immediate withdrawal from Iraq, were arrested, as well as at least four
civilians, according to National Lawyers Guild observers. Nassau County
police on horses trampled one member of IVAW, Nick Morgan, a veteran who
served in Iraq for about a year. Morgan was knocked to the ground, and
according to witnesses, the horse hooves slammed down on his face. A gash
was visible on the side of his head as blood dripped down onto the
pavement.<br><br>
<dd>Protesters in the crowd said that Morgan was taken to a local
hospital.<br><br>
<dd>“The horses were pushing, like really pushing, against [members of
IVAW], and physically touching their bodies,” says Erika Ward, an NYU
student and intern at Democracy Now! “To see people laying on the
ground…was crazy. For me, it was really emotional, [and] I saw people
crying,” she continued.<br><br>
</dl>World Can’t Wait, a group also present at the protest, sent me this
description of the face-off between the police and the veterans:
<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>“… Iraq Veterans Against the War had announced last week that they
had questions for Obama and McCain, and wanted their representatives
allowed in. At 7pm, the deadline of when they expected an answer from the
debate moderator and the candidates, about 15 members of IVAW led a march
across the street. 100 of us followed at that point, into the street,
backing them up at the entrance of the campus, shouting "Let them
in!" They were met by a solid line of police on horses, with nearly
100 riot police. The activists were non-violent, and announced a peaceful
protest.<br><br>
<dd>Matthis Chiroux and Kris Goldsmith read their questions for the
candidates, and when they stepped forward to go in, were arrested. A
total of 10 IVAW members were arrested, some after standing together,
pushed across the turnpike by cops on horses. The horses were used
repeatedly to charge into the crowd, and especially at the IVAW members,
in uniform, who were able to stay upright for nearly 10 minutes. As we
were pushed to the opposite sidewalk, horses pushed several veterans to
the ground, including Geoff Millard, and at least one, Nick Morgan was
stepped on by a horse, and hospitalized with a broken
cheekbone.”<br><br>
</dl>Why were they pushing? Exactly, why was IVAW trying to force their
way into the debate? Why were horses trampling veterans? <br><br>
IVAW’s report, posted on their website,
<a href="http://ivaw.org/node/4405">IVAW.org</a>, states:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>One hour before the final presidential debate of the 2008 campaign,
fourteen members of IVAW marched in formation to Hofstra University to
present questions for the candidates. IVAW had requested permission from
debate moderator Bob Schieffer to ask their questions during the debate
but got no response. <br><br>
<dd>The contingent of veterans in dress uniforms and combat uniforms
attempted to enter the building where the debate was to be held in order
to ask their questions but were turned back by police. The IVAW members
at the front of the formation were immediately arrested, and others were
pushed back into the crowd by police on horseback. Several members were
injured, including former Army Sergeant Nick Morgan who suffered a broken
cheekbone when he was trampled by police horses before being
arrested.<br><br>
<dd>"Neither of the candidates have shown real support for soldiers
and veterans. We came here to try and get serious questions answered,
questions that we as veterans of the Iraq war, have a right to ask, but
instead we were arrested. We will continue to ask these questions no
matter who is elected. We believe that the time has come to end this war
and bring our troops home, and we will be pushing for that no matter what
happens in this election." said Jason Lemieux, a former Sergeant in
the US Marine Corps and member of IVAW who served three tours in Iraq.
<br><br>
<dd>A total of 10 veterans were arrested during the action, including
Matthis Chiroux, Kristopher Goldsmith, Adam Kokesh, Mike Spinato, Geoff
Millard, Marlisa Grogan, Nathan Peld, Nick Morgan, James Gilligan and
Jose Vasquez. <br><br>
</dl>According to the Indypendent
</i>
<a href="http://www.indypendent.org/2008/10/16/at-least-nine-demonstrators-arrested-as-iraq-vets-try-to-enter-final-presidential-debate/">
article, Matthis Chiroux, who in May “publicly declared his intent to
refuse to redeploy to Iraq”, and Kristopher Goldsmith had prepared
questions for Obama and McCain: </a><br><br>
<dl>
<dd>Chiroux planned on asking Obama a pointed question: “My question is,
as President of the United States of America, are you prepared to back up
your own words [about the illegality of the Iraq War] and the U.S.
Constitution by supporting service members refusing to participate in
what you describe as an illegal occupation?”<br><br>
<dd>Goldsmith wanted to ask McCain a question about his lack of support
for veterans. “What promises are you willing to make, as a veteran, as a
senator, as a presidential candidate, to the veterans of the United
States, to prove that you will ensure the V.A. is fully funded, staffed
and capable of preventing troops from suffering as they are now?” he
says.<br><br>
</dl>Earlier in the day, James Gilligan, a member of IVAW, said, “We have
a blind media [and] deaf candidates, but [IVAW] has a voice that will be
heard.”<br><br>
Last night, a so-called maverick and a supposed candidate for change
refused IVAW’s pleas to be able to shift the debate to focus on the Iraq
War and veterans returning home. <br><br>
Bob Schieffer, a veteran in the world of news media, continued the media
blackout of IVAW by refusing to respond to IVAW’s letter and by choosing
to not ask any question directly addressing IVAW’s demands. <br><br>
Are we a country at peace with being at war? When news media and
presidential candidates ignore veterans with righteous demands and when
Americans do not know or do research to find out that a group of veterans
are being utterly disrespected, it definitely seems like that is the
case.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
Authors Bio: Kevin Gosztola goes to Columbia College in Chicago where he
is studying film. He hopes to become a documentary filmmaker. He is
currently working as a production assistant on a documentary called
"Seriously Green" which traces the development of the Green
Party throughout the 2008 election. He has a passion for journalism and
writes articles or press releases in his spare time. Kevin Gosztola is
also a student activist who believes in questioning the way America's
systems work(its electoral system, its military-industrial complex, its
foreign policy of American exceptionalism, its media which has become the
Fourth Branch of government,etc.) <br>
His ambitions have him currently organizing and raising money for a
Chicago Conference for Media Reform in April or May of 2009. It will be
organized by college students to promote youth involvement in media
reform and justice. Those interested in attending or helping with the
organization of the program should contact him. <br><br>
<br><br>
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