Posted on 01/13/2008 3:19:46 PM PST by Interesting Times
Howard Zinn invites you to: A House Party Fundraiser for Iraq Veterans Against The War Winter Soldier Hearings
Home of Sev and Louise Bruyn 48 Glenwood Ave. Newton Center 6173321764 Sunday, January 27 at 3 PM
These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country Thomas Paine
This quote inspired the name for the Winter Soldier Investigation (WSI) in 1971 of war crimes in Vietnam, for it is the Winter Soldier who is the true patriot. Vietnam Veterans Against The War (VVAW) brought together over 100 veterans to testify as to the true nature of the atrocities and war crimes happening in Vietnam.
Now Iraq Veterans Against The War (IVAW) again will make public the testimony of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the Winter Soldiers, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors in a public investigation called Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan on March 13-16 in Washington D.C.
This will be explosive testimony about events that are rarely if ever covered in mainstream U.S. media. Americans will be aghast when they hear first hand descriptions of what actually has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The budget for this undertaking is large, and Veterans For Peace is organizing house parties around the country to help fund this important event. Excerpts from the film of the original Winter Soldier Investigation will be shown, and WSI participant Joe Bangert, Liam Madden, and Howard Zinn will speak. Please join us for refreshments and conversation, and bring your checkbook and give generously.
If you cannot come but want to donate, send a check made out to IVAW to:
Nate Goldshlag 37 Ottawa Rd. Arlington, MA 02476
See the IVAW website: http://www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier
Winter Soldier II ping...
I’m sure there will be a lot of nasty and disgusting talk, but I doubt if this will catch fire the way it did the first time.
They wish.
But thanks for the heads up.
That depends on whether enough people are willing to do the hard digging necessary to expose their lies.
Speaking of ‘digging’, some of these Vampires Against War have been around so long I’d be surprised if they even see themselves in the mirror any more!If you go be sure to take some garlic...
A lot of the Winter Soldier testimony is made up, you know. I think a lot of vets were sick of the war. They received no acclaim for serving, but suddenly got stature from both being "disturbed and traumatized" by the war. Suddenly they got their 15 minutes of fame by laying bare their souls about war crimes.
I have frequently heard people claiming to be Marine Vets talk about the awful times they had in "the Nam". They usually claim to be Marines, and go at length about the atrocities they were engaged in. I usually ask them what unit they served in, and they will make up some number that is not in the Marine Corps. They won't know what bases they operated out of. So only believe about 1% of what you hear.
A typical example of an individual who is slinging BS big time is this guy Bangert from the Winter Soldier Investigation. Here's a summary of what he told the Winter Soldier "Investigation":
Joe Bangert enlists in 1968, and serves in VMO-6, an aviation unit that flies very small observation planes. Banger does not state his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), but almost all the enlisted men in these units were maintenance types - fix airplanes, attach bombs, fix radios, etc. They usually did not fly, and they saw very little combat.
Bangert says he sees a truck load of Marines murder a bunch of children on his first day with two officers present. Then he sees bodies "crucified" on perimeter wire, apparently cut up with knives and hung on the wire. Then he has a friend who is CIA who takes him somewhere, murders a woman with twenty shots, then cuts open her vagina, takes out her organs and skins her. The perpetrator was a former military officer, and two other field grade officers knew about it.
Then Bangert works with the pacification program in Vietnam, and travels extensively through Quang Tri Province. He sees approximately twenty deformed infants under the age of one.
Bangert sees journalists, specifically women journalists who were readily welcomed into the unit. There was always this whitewashing thing. Well, sometimes these people would go right past the bodies and come into our base to get a story. They were kept away from the enlisted men, away from the people who were involved. The typical thing was to take them down to the Officers Club, get them soused.
Elsewhere in his testimony, Bangert claims to be a door gunner with two helo units.
Anybody who believes these tall tales is awfully gullible. Bangert worked for a light observation squadron - very little combat. The men worked like coolies, often 16 hours a day 7 days a week, servicing planes, refueling, rearming, preparing, cleaning, maintaining. Usually they did not fly. They did not get to wander off on secret CIA missions. They did not participate in the CAP program - these were separate small units who lived permanently in villages, protecting the villages from the VC. They did not get to wander around Quang Tri looking at deformed kids. He states on his first day he sees a bunch of kids murdered on Route 1 -- this the main thoroughfare through the area, not some remote area. Can you imagine the press coverage? He says the press saw the crucified bodies, but were wooed with booze and did not report on this. Come on, get real.
So how much is the rest fabricated? Some no doubt is true. When a story is limited, it is more credible. But a lot of it is people telling tales, pathological liars and just plain liars. Bangert leads a rich fantasy life suitable for Stephen King.
As the song says, "lie lie lie, lie lie lie lie, lie lie lie, lie lie lie..."
Info on Bangert's cozy relations with the North Vietnamese communists can be found here.
yep, I’m about 3/4 the way thru Scott Swett’s “To Set the Record Straight” as I write.
No doubt, the Democrap party serves the most crap! (the best crap money can buy if you’re jorge sorrya$$)...the mass of cultist believers has always amazed me!
ie, you’re preaching to the choir........
When I’m done, your book will be sitting next to
John’s and Col. Moore’s as ‘the reference dept.’ for
the Vietnam Vet who cares!
Despicable. But so far I haven’t seen the old media supporting this travesty.
Joe Bangert’s “testimony” at the WSI does seem like pure fabrication, once a veteran spells the incredible unlikelihood of the events Bangert claims to have witnessed.
That veteran had a chance to get a national platform because of your work in creating and maintaining wintersoldier.com:
Thanks for the ping!
Oh God - not again!
BTTT
Exactly. I'm working with several veterans and bloggers who plan to verify the claims of the IVAW's "witnesses." I plan to keep FR in the loop, if the moderators let me, as this proceeds.
I occasionally encounter people who still believe Hanoi John’s testimony.
It’s an article of faith for many on the Left. No amount of evidence will ever change their minds.
Sort of like what the meaning of “is” is.
http://www.eaglesnest-2.net/eagles
we hope to organize some items that will 1st: make any one who testify’s do so under oath and if claimed served ( been there/done that ) they be required to sign an SF180.
We need as many calls to Congress and Senate to make sure it is required. Also, if you can, make the trip and help support Eagles Up who will be there in March to counter their BS.
Other goal: To show VVAW statements, then IVAW statements then a graphical account ( video ) of what the terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan do ( be headings, cutting off hands & feet ) Killing civilians, children and women.
More...
best
http://www.soft-vision.com/warriors
http://www.soft-vision.com/why
http://www.soft-vision.com/pgr
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