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<a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2724">
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2724</a>
<br><br>
</font><h1><b>AN OPEN LETTER OF RECONCILIATION & RESPONSIBILITY TO
THE IRAQI PEOPLE</b></h1><font size=3>A newly released Wikileaks
“Collateral Murder” video has made international headlines showing a July
2007 shooting incident outside of Baghdad in which U.S. forces wounded
two children and killed over a dozen people, including the father of
those children and two Reuters employees. Two soldiers from Bravo Company
2-16, the company depicted in the video, have written an open letter of
apology to the Iraqis who were injured or lost loved ones during the
attack that, these former soldiers say, is a regular occurrence in this
war. You can view the Wikileaks video here:
<a href="http://wikileaks.org/">http://wikileaks.org/</a> and you can
view the <b>Press Release
<a href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5966/t/9615/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=2491">
here<br><br>
<br>
</a></b>AN OPEN LETTER OF RECONCILIATION & RESPONSIBILITY TO THE
IRAQI PEOPLE <br>
From Current and Former Members of the U.S. Military <br><br>
Peace be with you. <br><br>
To all of those who were injured or lost loved ones during the July 2007
Baghdad shootings depicted in the “Collateral Murder” Wikileaks video:
<br><br>
We write to you, your family, and your community with awareness that our
words and actions can never restore your losses. <br><br>
We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. Ethan
McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw
the faces of his own children back home. Josh Stieber was in the same
company but was not there that day, though he contributed to the your
pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions. <br><br>
There is no bringing back all that was lost. What we seek is to learn
from our mistakes and do everything we can to tell others of our
experiences and how the people of the United States need to realize we
have done and are doing to you and the people of your country. We humbly
ask you what we can do to begin to repair the damage we caused. <br><br>
We have been speaking to whoever will listen, telling them that what was
shown in the Wikileaks video only begins to depict the suffering we have
created. From our own experiences, and the experiences of other veterans
we have talked to, we know that the acts depicted in this video are
everyday occurrences of this war: this is the nature of how U.S.-led wars
are carried out in this region. <br><br>
We acknowledge our part in the deaths and injuries of your loved ones as
we tell Americans what we were trained to do and what we carried out in
the name of "god and country". The soldier in the video said
that your husband shouldn't have brought your children to battle, but we
are acknowledging our responsibility for bringing the battle to your
neighborhood, and to your family. We did unto you what we would not want
done to us. <br><br>
More and more Americans are taking responsibility for what was done in
our name. Though we have acted with cold hearts far too many times, we
have not forgotten our actions towards you. Our heavy hearts still hold
hope that we can restore inside our country the acknowledgment of your
humanity, that we were taught to deny. <br><br>
Our government may ignore you, concerned more with its public image. It
has also ignored many veterans who have returned physically injured or
mentally troubled by what they saw and did in your country. But the time
is long overdue that we say that the value of our nation's leaders no
longer represent us. Our secretary of defense may say the U.S. won't lose
its reputation over this, but we stand and say that our reputation's
importance pales in comparison to our common humanity. <br><br>
We have asked our fellow veterans and service-members, as well as
civilians both in the United States and abroad, to sign in support of
this letter, and to offer their names as a testimony to our common
humanity, to distance ourselves from the destructive policies of our
nation's leaders, and to extend our hands to you. <br><br>
With such pain, friendship might be too much to ask. Please accept our
apology, our sorrow, our care, and our dedication to change from the
inside out. We are doing what we can to speak out against the wars and
military policies responsible for what happened to you and your loved
ones. Our hearts are open to hearing how we can take any steps to support
you through the pain that we have caused. <br><br>
Solemnly and Sincerely, <br>
Josh Stieber, former specialist, U.S. Army <br>
Ethan McCord, former specialist, U.S. Army <br><br>
<br>
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