Not surprisingly, I didn’t see anything in the two largest Utah papers about Marshall Thompson’s first day on the road in his 500 mile walk across Utah which began yesterday.
There were some news items about it in other news sources, however:
Marshall has a journal on his website that I anticipate will be updated soon.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, iraq, military industrial complex, politics, Utah
Today is the day that Marshall Thompson of A Soldiers Peace begins his 500 mile walk across Utah. Thompson is the former Army Journalist who spent a year in Iraq. His message:
The goal is to walk from the Utah/Idaho border to the Utah/Arizona border in 26 days, that’s one day for every 100 soldiers who have died in Iraq. The trip will cover almost 500 miles and I’ll have to average about 20 miles a day.
Walking, in and of itself, is worthless. In the end, it’s just a stunt to raise awareness of a problem and encourage rational people to make a change. I might also shed a few unwanted pounds, but you won’t hear me complaining about that.
I chose to walk Utah in particular for two main reasons. One, it’s my home state and it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. If, for some crazy reason, you’ve got to walk 500 miles, it would be nice to do it in the natural wonder of Utah. And two, Utah is often called “the reddest state in the nation.” It seems to be a stronghold for those who advocate simply staying the course. I hope the walk will soften hearts and open minds to the idea of a responsible and timely withdrawal of troops. Plus I’d like the politicians to realize that even in good old Utah, people are demanding change.
I don’t know if the walk will get the troops home. If nothing else, however, I’ll know that I did everything I could to save the lives of my brothers and sisters in Iraq.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, counter recruiting, iraq, military industrial complex
The Assoicated Press has reported that a Recruiting Officer forged signatures for Utah minor
Army recruiting: Cases of wrongdoing have jumped since 2004 as the war has made enlisting more difficult
Here is the article:
By Russ Bynum
The Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Ga. – When Pfc. Steven Price of Utah volunteered to join the Army in January, he couldn’t do it alone. Because he’s 17, recruiters needed his parents to give their written permission.
Now, an Army spokesman says a Utah-based recruiter has admitted forging the signatures of Price’s parents to enlist him.
Price reported for duty at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia in June after he completed basic training. He credits the Army with restoring his pride after a troubled adolescence but said that doesn’t justify his recruiters’ actions.
”There was harm and foul play on their part,” the Ogden teen said. ”It was very deceiving what they did.”
After he called the Army, recruiters visited Price last winter at a juvenile prison in Ogden, where he was serving a one-year sentence for stealing a gun from his father.
Officials at the Mill Creek Youth Center allowed recruiters to take Price from the prison in January for a physical examination, written test and, finally, to be sworn into service after the recruiters showed a parental-consent form.
The form, dated Jan. 10, had signatures in the names of Price’s divorced parents, Dean Price and Lisa Jensen, as well as that of a witnessing recruiter, Sgt. 1st Class Jason Stape.
The parents, who live 89 miles apart, have denied signing the form.
Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, counter recruiting, iraq, military industrial complex
Marshall Thompson of A Soldier’s Peace who also table at the Imagine Peace Festival last weekend, was interviewed by Amy Goodman on Monday. The interview appeared on today’sDemocracy Now!.
Army reservist Sergeant Marshall Thompson spent a year in Iraq working as a military journalist. He reported from across Iraq, interviewing thousands of US soldiers. Now back home in his native Utah, he is planning a 500-mile walk across the state to protest the war and call for a withdrawal of US troops. [includes rush transcript]
His goal is to walk from the Utah/Idaho border to the Utah/Arizona border in 26 days, that’s one day for every 100 soldiers who have died in Iraq. He’ll have to average about 20 miles a day.
I spoke with Sergeant Marshall Thompson on Monday in Salt Lake City in his first national broadcast interview. He began by talking about why he was planning the walk.
WASHINGTON – Sen. Bob Bennett said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made mistakes in prosecuting the war in Iraq, but the Utah Republican would not answer directly whether he has confidence in the secretary.
Responding to a push by Democrats for a vote of no confidence in Rumsfeld, Bennett said, ”I can criticize some of the decisions that have been made, but the question arises, ‘Who would replace him?’ ”
I have a suggestion: My dog, Star.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, government corruption, iraq, military industrial complex, peace, politics
In today’s article, An Army Minus One on Common Dreams, it’s been announced that Army Specialist Mark Wilkerson has turned himself in to Fort Hood in Texas, after being AWOL (Absent Without Leave) for more than 18 months.
Initially supportive of the Iraq War, Wilkerson realized over time that the war was wrong and that he could not bring himself to kill and developed an inner urging to not go back with his company’s second deployment.
Wilkerson is one of hundreds of U.S. Soldiers who have refused to fight in Iraq and have claimed Conscientous Objector Status.
Cindy Sheehan has asked for more people to follow in Wilkerson’s footsteps. “Mark served one tour in Iraq and what he saw there changed him to such a degree that he couldn’t in good conscience return again. It shouldn’t be his duty to enter combat once again. He has already done what has been asked of him, and fulfilled his oath,” Sheehan said.
“There is a belief on the part of the soldier that they will be used carefully, and as a last resort only when all other means to resolve a conflict have been exhausted. Instead, soldiers are put into harm’s way without proper training and equipment, and for reasons we have come to find were fraudulent. The social contract between the U.S. government and our society and the solider who serves has been broken,” she said.
The Utah news has been filled with a variety of stories the past few days on how American citizens who are speaking out against the Iraq War are hurting the morale of our soldiers and making them more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
This is unbelievable to me. Here is what hurts morale:
I heard a story from an Iraq vet last weekend who shared that in slow times there he and his buddies would do target shooting of small animals and objects. One day they were sitting around talking about their target shooting practice. One buddy of his became quite serious and said: You know what’s even more fun? Killing kids. A short time later, that person was witnessed purposefully turning his weapon on a group of children and killing them all.
I cried when I heard that story. Outside the tent where I heard that story is a garden of children’s shoes to symbolize the lives of children lost to war.
I HAVE to speak out on this. We are teaching our children to kill children and delight in this. This is not acceptable. By speaking out and demanding that we get out of Iraq, I feel I am helping our country to get out of a horrible, horrible situation – NOT hurting the morale of our troops.
Here are links to those stories:
Deseret News:
Rocky, vet exchange views: Mayor and Legion chief find little in common
‘America isn’t bad guy’: Legion chief fears Salt Lake protest will hurt morale
Salt Lake Tribune:
Family urges war support
Mother’s e-mail to The Trib
The terrible three’s.
I heard yesterday that Condi Rice will be joined by Donald Rumsfeld on August 29th in SLC – they both will be addressed the American Legion that day. Bush is scheduled to arrive on August 30th, and according to a recent SL Tribune article, will be speaking on the 31st.
http://www.kcpw.org/article/1460
No Nutcakes Allowed
Aug 14, 2006 by Julie Rose
Organizer Hopes for Bush Protest With Different Feel
(KCPW News) When Utahns gathered last year to protest President Bush’s visit,
a prominent U.S. Senator referred to many of the demonstrators as “nutcakes.”
The comment fueled outrage from protesters – and inspired one local
businessman to envision a new kind of rally. Greg Felice hopes to give the
traditional anti-Bush protest a makeover when the President comes to Utah
later this month. He tells KCPW’s Julie Rose that he’s shooting for a
“no-nutcake” rally:
(Go to the link above to listen)
Greg Felice is helping to stage a protest during Bush’s visit on August 30th.
Details are online at http://www.utahvoices.org — remember to wear your tie.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-war, immigration issues, iraq, peace, politics, Utah
Common Dreams has posted this piece by Juliana Lara Resende about the death toll of Iraqi Civilians and how the Pentagon is now coming out with figures, even though they have been saying they “don’t do body counts”.
Last year, Bush asserted that, “30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis.”
In terms of population size, this would be equivalent to 570,000 U.S. citizens killed in the same period of time, noted the Jun. 25 LA Times article.
Iraq Body Count estimates an average of 36 violent deaths per day – about twice the amount of the first year of the invasion.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 