Fallujah Veteran: 'I Served The 1%'

[Charronxyz]

Thoughts on the role of veterans in the Occupy movement

By Ross Caputi

November 08, 2011 - I did not serve my country in Iraq; I served the 1%. It was on their behalf that I helped lay siege to Fallujah, helped kill thousands of civilians, helped displace hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and helped destroy an entire city. My "service" served Exxon-Mobil, Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater, and other multinational corporations in Iraq.

My family in Massachusetts is not safer because of my service, and Iraqis are not freer. I helped oppress Iraqis in a manner far more brutal than what has been experienced by the Occupy movement at the hands of the New York and Oakland police departments.

I was an occupier and am now an #occupier. I once served the 1%, but now try to serve the 99%. That is why I must speak up when I see the Occupy movement being led astray by the same nationalism and “Ameri-centrism,” the same thoughtless praises for U.S. troops and veterans, and the same hypocrisy that led us into the so-called “War On Terror” and the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many of us have joined the Occupy movement, because we identify as members of the 99%, but the media only began to highlight our participation after Cpl. Scott Olsen was shot in the head by the Oakland police with a projectile on Oct. 25. Olsen was immediately rushed to the emergency room, and his name soon became a rallying cry. A nationwide call was put out for vigils in solidarity with Olsen.

Going to war is not "serving our country"

more... http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29663.htm

[tabatha]

1. Thank you for your service.

I am sorry you had to go through that.

And you are correct - it was for the 1%.

[JDPriestly]

2. I hope that young men thinking of joining up will read your statement.

These wars are about protecting the oil for the profit of the 1%. That is all. We should have been investing in alternative energy 45 years ago.

What really finally ended the Viet Nam War was all the disillusioned young men who returned and told what they had seen. Thanks for bearing witness.

[Citizen Worker]

3. Anyone considering joining the military should read War Is A Racket by USMC General Smedley D.

Butler and then decide how best to fulfill your desire for public service.

[PoliticAverse]

4. You can read the whole book here...

http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

Or see a recreated version of Butler's speech here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3_EXqJ8f-0

[Charronxyz]

6. Thanks for the link...

While I heard about the book I never had the chance to read it.

[slay]

5. +1000

we have been warned about the MIC repeatedly. when will we learn.. sigh.. War Is A Racket should be required reading in high school right along-side Catcher in the Rye or Slaughterhouse-Five.