Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2007 08:37:05 -0800
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www.SoldierSayNo.blogspot.com
Kyle Snyder speaks outside gates of Fort
Benning, Georgia, along with fellow Iraq veteran
and war resister, Darrell Anderson, and Iraq
Veterans Against the War, at November protest
against the School of the Americas.
Kyle Snyder, AWOL from the U.S. occupation of
Iraq, continues his impromptu speaking tour of
the United States. He was last sighted in
California, where, on Dec. 8, Alameda police
attempted to arrest him at the Armys request
(see below). Kyle continues to seek a discharge
from the Army. And he continues to call for his
fellow soldiers to come home from Iraq.
BACKGROUND
After spending a year and a half as a political
refugee in Canada, Kyle Snyder returned to the
U.S. in late October in order to be discharged
from the Army. Kyle hoped to get the Army off
his back and to be able to return to Canada and
begin a normal life. But the understanding his
lawyer, Jim Fennerty, had reached with Army
Major Brian Patterson evaporated shortly after
Kyle presented himself at Fort Knox, Kentucky on October 31.
Kyle, who understood he would be discharged in
three days, was instead ordered to report to his
old unit, the 94th Engineering Battalion, at
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Commanders there
would decide his fate. There would be no
guarantees. He might be court-martialed and
imprisoned. He might be ordered back to Iraq.
The 94th Engineers are slated to return to Iraq
for a third time in August. Now, with President
Bushs escalation of the war, their deployment
date will likely be moved up. Would the Army
would want to make an example of Kyle? Might he
face additional serious charges?
Kyle Snyder is not a fool. This was not why he
took the chance of returning to the U.S. When
Fort Knox authorities dropped him off unescorted
at the Greyhound bus station in Louisville, Kyle resumed his AWOL status.
OUT THERE AWOL
But instead of slipping into the shadows with
8,000+ other young men and women currently on
unauthorized absence from the military, Kyle
is speaking out loud against the U.S. war on the
people of Iraq. He tells people it is illegal
and immoral. He tells people it is crazy.
But Kyle is not one to be rhetorical. Very
compellingly, he tells his own story. How he
was recruited from Job Corps with promises of
money, education and pride. How he trained as a
construction equipment operator, and believed he
would be rebuilding in Iraq. How, once in Iraq
he was given a 50-caliber machine gun and told
to point his personal weapon of mass destruction at young children.
Kyle also tells how he witnessed an innocent
civilian being shot by a fellow soldier, and
how, despite his report on the incident, the
Army refused to even investigate. That is when
Kyle was given a two-week leave to visit British
Columbia, Canada. But Kyle decided not to
return to the war. Instead, he applied for
political refugee status in Canada. He lived in
Canada for a year and a half before returning to
the U.S. in October to seek a discharge from the Army.
KYLE SUPPORTS ANTIWAR REFERENDUM IN CHICAGO
Kyle has made many appearances around these
United States since October 31. On November 6,
the day before the midterm election, Kyle Snyder
spoke at a well-attended press conference in
Chicago, where he encouraged Chicagoans to vote
yes on a referendum calling for the withdrawal
of U.S. troops from Iraq. On the following day,
80% of them did just that, along with millions of Illinois voters.
Kyle spoke to Spanish language media in Chicago
along with Juan Torres, whose son served in the
Army as a Certified Public Accountant in charge
of all cargo in and out of Bagram Air Force Base
in Afghanistan. After telling his father that
had learned of things that made him fear for his
life, Spc. Juan Torres, Jr. was murdered while
taking a shower. Juan Torres is conducting an
independent investigation of his sons death,
which the Army claims was a suicide.
On Veterans Day, Kyle spoke at the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial in Chicago, and then
celebrated with Vietnam Veterans Against the War
and Veterans For Peace. The celebration took
place at the Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, where
Kyle was moved by the art exhibit of a fellow Iraq veteran, Aaron Hughes.
KYLE SPEAKS AT FORT BENNING, GEORGIA
Next Kyle traveled to Fort Benning, Georgia for
the annual November protest against the School
of the Americas. Twenty thousand activists,
including many religious and youth,
participated. Kyle was invited to speak on the
stage just outside the gates of Fort
Benning. He was introduced by Col. Ann Wright,
a leader in the antiwar movement after almost 50
years of military and government service. Kyle
called for the closing of the School of Americas
and the end of the U.S. occupation of
Iraq. Accompanying him as he spoke was fellow
Iraq veteran and war resister, Darrell Anderson,
and a group of Iraq Veterans Against the War
(IVAW). Kyle was so happy to find his fellow soldier/resisters.
KYLE AND IRAQ VETS WORK IN NEW ORLEANS
Kyle hopped on the IVAW bus to New Orleans,
where he and other Iraq veterans women and men
talked about how they were affected by Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder, in a therapeutic
setting organized by Vets 4 Vets. Kyle then
joined in reconstruction efforts that Iraq
Veterans Against the War have been carrying out
in New Orleans since early last summer, helping
to rebuild the flood damaged homes of musicians
and veterans. This meant a lot to him.
But Kyle was also upset by what he saw in New
Orleans: huge neighborhoods that were still
disaster areas a year and half after Hurricane
Katrina. Why isnt the 94th Engineering
Brigade helping here, where they are really
needed, he asked. Why are they being told to
return to Iraq, where they will do no reconstruction at all?
SPEAKING TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Kyles Canadian girlfriend, Maleah, and I have
accompanied him ever since we crossed the border
from British Columbia into Washington State on
October 28. After working in New Orleans, the
three of us returned to Chicago. The American
Friends Service Committee had arranged for Kyle
to speak in Chicago high schools, especially the
most highly recruited, in segregated African American and Latino neighborhoods.
Everyday for a week, Kyle spoke in multiple high
school classrooms and assemblies. African
American and Latino students had no trouble
relating to Kyles story. Several young men and
women told him they were reconsidering their
plans to join the military. Some students
signed the opt out form in order to keep
military recruiters from having access to their
school records and contact information.
SANCTUARY, HERE WE COME
A few days after the winter had abruptly
asserted itself back into the lives of
Chicagoans, Kyle, Maleah and I headed for San
Diego, California, where it was warm and
beautiful. The Iraq Veterans Against the War
had arrived from New Orleans with their
bus. Kyle and fellow Iraq veteran/resister
Darrell Anderson spoke at a meeting of the San
Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice. On the
following evening, Kyle was the honored guest of
at a fundraising party organized by the San Diego Military Counseling Project.
We found many good friends in San Diego, as we
had in Louisville and Chicago. We found
committed communities that gladly supported
us. We found people who understood the
importance of GIs sitting down and saying no more killing.
We were offered sanctuary in several places. In
fact, before Kyle spoke at the Church of the
Brethren in San Diego, the church board decided
to reassert its status as a Sanctuary
Church. During the Vietnam War, they had provided sanctuary to 9 sailors.
ATTEMPTED ARREST
On Friday evening, December 8, the Alameda
police came looking for Kyle at an event in
support of GI resisters. The speaker at the
event was Bob Watada, father of Army Lieutenant
Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to
publicly refuse deployment to the Iraq
War. Army authorities at Fort Lewis, Washington
are planning to court martial Lt. Watada on
February 5, 2007. (see www.thankyoult.org)
Three Alameda policemen entered the event and
asked for Kyle Snyder. But Kyle was not
there. He was speaking at another event in San
Jose, California, organized by the Quakers and
Veterans for Peace. The San Francisco Chronicle
on Sunday, Dec. 10 quoted an Alameda police
sergeant saying they were tipped off by someone in the Army in Kentucky.
COURAGE TO RESIST
On Saturday morning, December 9, Courage To
Resist hosted a forum on GI resistance at the
Veterans War Memorial Building in San
Francisco. Courage To Resist, based in the San
Francisco Bay Area, had coordinated a weekend of
actions in support of GI resisters (see
www.couragetoresit.org). The event was
co-sponsored by the Bay Areas Chapter 69 of
Veterans For Peace. Bob Watada spoke. Vietnam
war resister Mike Wong. Iraq war resister
Darrell Anderson. Anita Dennis, antiwar
activist and mother of Darrell Anderson. Maxine
Hong Kingston, editor of Veterans of War,
Veterans of Peace, a compilation of writings of
veterans. Jeff Paterson, first GI resister of
the Gulf War. Due to the attempt to arrest him
the night before, Kyle Snyder addressed the
gathering by speakerphone. Kyle later appeared in person at an outdoors rally.
MEDIA ATTENTION
All throughout Kyle Snyders journey, he has
been followed by interested media from the U.S.,
Canada and around the world. Associated Press
wrote three different stories that reached
hundreds of media outlets throughout the
globe. Canadian media continues to follow
Kyle. CBC Radio called up Kyle for his comments
on the firing of Donald Rumsfeld. Kyle was
live on Fox Radio with the Alan Colmes show,
which airs on sixty radio stations. He was
interviewed for 30 minutes, followed by an
hour-and-a-half of lively discussion about war crimes and recruiter fraud.
SPEAKING OUT IN THE NEW YEAR
Kyle Snyder has been meeting with peace and
justice activists wherever he goes. Due to
recent attempts to have him arrested, Kyle is
keeping a slightly lower profile over the
holidays. But he continues to speak out. He is
calling for his 94th Engineering Battalion to be
sent to New Orleans instead of Iraq. He is
requesting a discharge from the Army.
On Friday, Dec. 15, he spoke, again by
speakerphone, to the 40th Anniversary
Celebration of the Whatcom County Peace and
Justice Coalition in Bellingham,
Washington. Also present were many good friends
in the Bellingham chapter of Veterans For Peace,
whom Kyle had met last August at a solidarity picnic in Peace Arch Park.
Kyle is looking forward to the New Year as a
time when he can join with war resisters in
Canada and the U.S, with veterans and with
active duty GIs to bring a grinding halt to
George Bushs disastrous war on the people of Iraq.
CALL THE ARMY AND DEMAND A DISCHARGE FOR KYLE SNYDER
Thanks to all of you who have made calls to the
Commanding Generals at Fort Knox, Kentucky and
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Please continue to
call General William McCoy, Jr., the new
Commanding General of Fort Leonard Wood,
573-596-0131, or call the Public Affairs Office
at 573-563-4013 or 4015, fax: 573-563-4012,
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] We want to deliver
one clear message: Discharge Kyle Snyder with No Punishment.
KYLE REQUESTS YOUR CONTINUING SUPPORT
Kyle Snyders remarkable journey home to the
U.S. has been almost magical. He has found
tremendous support wherever he has
gone. Several communities offered various forms
of sanctuary. Generous donations at each
meeting have enabled him to keep traveling, keep
speaking out, and to pay modest legal fees as he
continues to seek a discharge from the
Army. Thanks much to Lori Hurlebaus and Courage
To Resist for coordinating action alerts and collecting online donations.
But Kyle has no surplus funds, and he will have
significant travel and legal expenses in the
coming weeks. Please consider donating to his
expenses online at Courage To Resist
(www.CouargeToResist.org). Or you can make a
check out to Courage To Resist, write Kyle
Snyder in the memo line, and mail the check to
Courage To Resist, 484 Lakepark Ave. #41, Oakland, CA 94610.
Kyle and I thank you each for your very kind
support and we wish you a Happy New Year. We
look forward to working together with you in the coming year.
____________________________________________
Soldier Say No / Project Safe Haven
[EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.SoldierSayNo.blogspot.com
---------------------------
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/project-x
Project-X list:
initiated for the (re)building of the Left.
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6
Currently based in Venezuela.
NOTE NEW PHONE NUMBERS
Can be reached at
Residencias Anauco Suites
Departamento 601
Parque Central, Zona Postal 1010, Oficina 1
Caracas, Venezuela
(58-212) 573-6333, 571-1520, 571-3820 (or hotel cell: 0412-200-7540)
fax: (58-212) 573-7724
