Dear Reader, After serving four years in the United States Army, I have returned to the civilian world with an experience that drastically changed my life. I joined the Army in August of 2000 and shortly thereafter became a parachute infantryman with the 82nd Airborne. I spent the next three and a half years with the 82nd Airborne, serving seven-month terms in both Afghanistan and Iraq. My four years in the Army weren't the least bit pleasant: I entered the Army a naïve 18 year-old with complete trust in the motive and policies of our government. Little did I know that my decision to join the Army would result in the wool being removed from my eyes. My time in the Army gave me a front row view of the spoils of our country's foreign occupancy.  When I joined the Army, I raised my right hand and vowed to defend my country from all enemies, foreign and domestic. As a veteran, I don't feel noble for the involvement I had in these wars, instead I feel that my service was exploited and misused. I risked my life and participated in a war that was built on lies. It has been proven that the Bush administration lied about their reasons for this preemptive war, and every day more and more men and women are dying. Many soldiers believe they are fighting for freedom and democracy, against terrorists who hate our liberty. I think that "freedom and democracy" are just figures of speech contrived by our government to lead young and underprivileged kids to fight a war where no one but the Administration, private contractors and various corporations benefit. I am fortunate to have returned from these war zones alive and with all my limbs intact. I am very lucky, but so many aren't.  My reading list: Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo; Oil, Power & Empire: Iraq & the U.S. Global Agenda, Larry Everest; and anything by Christian Parenti. Sincerely, Joseph Wood January 31, 2006

A SOLDIER'S STORY: CHRIS "The military didn't contribute a damn thing to my life, except I can do this counter-recruitment work now." 

A SOLDIER'S STORY: ANITA "I didn't think I was a killer, but what the hell was I out there doing if that's not what I was?" 

A SOLDIER'S STORY: EMILY "That's when it got to the point that I thought ‘I have to get out of here, because I'm being destroyed.'"

Spc. Victor A. Martinez, 21. 364th Supply Company, 264th Corps Support Battalion, 1st Corps Support Command. Died of a gunshot wound south of Baghdad, Iraq, on December 14, 2004 ... Copyleft 2006 Friends of William Blake | Press | Usage & Disclaimer | xhtml, css, 508, xml