Harass the Brass

We'd like to welcome all military personnel, veterans, and their families who frequently visit this website, or have just found it via this webpage. This is the place where you can find out more about military people resisting war, both historically and today.

A shout out and welcome to US troops in the Gulf. You are all being forced to fight an illegal war for the rich and powerful, a war that is opposed by the entire world. The moral thing for you to do is to disobey orders and do everything possible to keep yourself and your buddies safe so you can return home to America. The Chickenhawks in Washington think of you as cannon fodder, but we'd like to see all of you return home safely. Stay safe and Harass the Brass!

"After a war, a hero is just a man with one leg." —Anonymous

NEWS

Female GIs report rapes in Iraq war
At least 37 female service members have sought sexual-trauma counseling and other assistance from civilian rape crisis organizations after returning from war duty in Iraq, Kuwait and other overseas stations, The Denver Post has learned. The women, ranging from enlisted soldiers to officers, have reported poor medical treatment, lack of counseling and incomplete criminal investigations by military officials. Some say they were threatened with punishment after reporting assaults.

To Sir, With Grenade
The history of mutiny is a history of conscious rebellion against military hierarchy. The study of mutiny is far more instructive than the study of the tired, imperial victories of states and their murderous armies. Since the first documented mutiny against Julius Caesar by Gallic conscripts over two thousand years ago, mutineers have played an important role in checking the absolutist and militaristic dreams of would-be emperors. Mutinies have occurred in every major war on every continent. There is an undeniable thread connecting mutineers throughout history to our modern day struggles—a rejection of totalitarian authority and a fierce demand for freedom.

Guard survey hints at exodus
WASHINGTON — Just as the Pentagon is increasingly relying on the National Guard and other part-time troops for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, an internal Guard survey suggests that the demanding deployments could prompt a significant number of its soldiers to quit the military.

Stress epidemic strikes American forces in Iraq
Up to one in five of the American military personnel in Iraq will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, say senior forces' medical staff dealing with the psychiatric fallout of the war.

Discontent in the military: “Stop-loss” orders prevent soldiers from leaving US Army
The new and broader “stop-loss” order just invoked by the US Army on active, National Guard and reserve troops currently deployed in the Middle East reflects growing Pentagon worries over manpower shortages as the occupation of Iraq drags on and new military adventures are considered in other parts of the world.

Chinook Down: Sounds Like Vietnam
The loss of 16 US troops and wounding of 20 others Sunday, when a US helicopter was downed by a missile in Iraq, brings to mind the fateful attack by Viet Cong guerrillas on US forces in Pleiku, Vietnam on February 7, 1965.

The Pentagon's Love Affair with Anti-Personnel Mines
The United States is 1 of 45 countries that refuses to sign the 1997 Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines (APM's) and on their Destruction. 137 countries have bound themselves to the rigorous provisions of that treaty.

More News

More U.S. call-ups likely as Turks indicate no troops for Iraq
Pentagon keeps dead out of sight
Will U.S. Bring Back the Draft?
Appeal for draft board volunteers revives memories of Vietnam era
War Profiteers Flourish; Soldiers and Their Families Pay the Price
Soldier chooses family over Army
Bush's betrayal of our troops
Err War: The Army buries its mistakes
Sick soldiers wait for treatment
233 Attacks on US in Last Week Alone
Just a Coincidence? Four of Jessica Lynch's Rescuers Have Died Mysteriously
Stateside families vent
An overstretched army
British military families: Blair ‘not welcome'at remembrance service for Britain's war dead
4,000 U.S. non-combat evacuations in Iraq
In Iraq, a scramble for troops
Unknown illness sweeps US troops
Slash Military Spending
Army reserves fear troop exodus
Reservists walk out of services in UK
Beyond fatalities, an average of eight American soldiers a day are wounded
US military covertly recruiting kids
Veterans plan to exact action at polls
US troops shocked by decision to keep them in Iraq
Abrupt About-Face on U.S. Iraq Troops as Casualties Mount
'Stuck Here Forever'
'Mr Blair, I hold you personally responsible for my son's death. You should stand down'
Sitting ducks for snipers' bullets, far from home and unable to contact their families, US troops in Iraq are finding their morale slipping away.
Occupation Of Iraq Is Taking A Costly Toll In Lives And Money
U.S. Troops to Get Longer Stay in Iraq
All We Are Here Is Sitting Ducks by Tom Chittum
Support for Bush declines sharply as casualties mount
US troops groan as Tommy Franks predicts long occupation
Troops brace for more attacks
Mounting casualties, Iraqi resistance take toll on US troops
US occupation troops losing morale in Iraq
Overuse of Army soldiers may cause them to leave ranks
American soldiers face new deadly enemy
British soldiers think they're acting illegally and could face war crimes charges
When Can We Go Home?
American military morale shaken by Iraq quagmire
Ten appalling lies we were told about Iraq
How British troops became a soft target
US soldiers in Iraq had enough, want to go home
We're Looking for a Few Poor Men
Working Class Women as War Heroes
"Support" or Treason?
The Dolphin Who Refused to Fight
Marine who said no to killing on his conscience
We Never Spit on Any Babykillers
Ominous Signs
Even Future Warriors Harbor Doubts About War
GIs more likely to die from friendly fire & chopper accidents than enemy combat
I Was a Soldier Once
"Shock and Awe" Followed by "Block to Block"
A Vietnam Vet Replies to Charlie Daniels
A Vietnam Vet Replies to Charlie Daniels
Statement to the Troops: A Call to Conscience from Veterans
Israel refusal to serve could be contagious
Signs of resistance to gulf war 2
Soldiers Refuse Anthrax Vaccine
Courage To Refuse (Letter From Israeli Refuseniks)
Active Duty 'Conscientious Objectors' On The Rise

FEATURES

1_shoot_officers_thumb (36K)

Harass the Brass
Some notes toward the subversion of the US armed forces

A friend who was in the US military during the Persian Gulf War told me that when George Bush visited the troops in Saudi Arabia before the war, many enlisted men and women in Bush's immediate vicinity had their rifle and pistol ammunition taken away. The bolts were also removed from their rifles. If this was so, it makes it clear that Bush and his corporate handlers may have been afraid of the US enlisted people who Bush would soon be killing in his unsuccessful re-election campaign.

Blood Money: The Human-Capital Equation of the U.S. Occupation of Iraq

When a state is determined to pursue war, and all forms of indirect symbolic protest actions have failed to sway politicians to halt their imperialist aggression, the only remaining option is direct action by the working class. One option is a general strike by workers that can effect the production and transportation of military capital, that is the materials essential for the war machine. The other is to deprive the military of the labor it needs to fight the war. The slogan from the Vietnam War protests deliberately speaks to this, "What if they had a war, and no one came?" The U.S. military is overwhelmingly recruited from the working class, and convincing our class as a whole to refuse to work for this blood money may be our best chance for both ending the war in Iraq and limiting the imperialist ambitions of the U.S. for future decades.

War Crimes in the Name of Freedom: 227 Years….
John Stanton, Alternative Press Review
As Americans prepare to celebrate their Independence Day this July 4, 2003, with a grandiose glorification of ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—and wars from days past—it's worth remembering those millions of civilians and/or non-combatants who have died at the hands of unconstrained and psychopathic American power.

Distant Voices Calling Me by Steve Hesske
The Death Star managers of Operation Iraqi Freedom and their compliant shills, America's mainstream media, are doing their damndest to suppress the dark history of Vietnam while American tanks roll toward Baghdad, but two more reminders from the macabre lexicon of Nam are now part of America's current sad and sick endeavor. Combat refusal and Friendly fire.

They Dare Not Speak Its Name by Steve Hesske
U.S. Army officials have been quick to spin the puzzling, horrifying attack on his own superiors allegedly perpetrated by "Muslim soldier" Sgt. Asam Akbar, described as a disgruntled platoon leader with an "attitude."

Lessons From The Struggle Against The Gulf War
A new cycle of working class struggle is tentatively emerging in continental Europe over austerity measures required by the Maastricht Treaty. But here in Britain any optimistic anticipation of the prospect of struggles is tempered by the shadow of a recent defeat.

"WAR, n. A time-tested political tactic guaranteed to raise a president's popularity rating by at least 30 points. It is especially useful during election years and economic downturns."
—Chaz Bufe, The Devil's Dictionaries ("American Heretic's Dictionary" section)

Military Mutiny and Resistance in History

The Christmas Truce
At Christmas, 1914, there occurred several informal truces at various points along the trench-lines of Northern France and Belgium. It may well be that there were other places where truces took place, but our precise knowledge of events is limited by the amount of direct, eyewitness testimony which has so far been discovered. Nevertheless, there are enough trustworthy reports (and even a few photographs) to convince us that something extraordinary happened that first Christmas of the war, and that it was not entirely an isolated happening.
GI refusenix to Gulf War 1- the ANTI WARrior
Why are we not impressed with the "victory" of the U.S. war machine? Having been among the first voices to unequivocally oppose this war, this is now a time of vindication for the G.I. resisters. While many who stood up to this war are now reassessing what these events mean, we must all realize that now is both a time for analysis and action.
Kronstadt
History of working class resistance to war
"Make Your Own History"
Documents from the GI Resistance, 1969-1975, Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg NC - An Exhibit from the Bruce Pulliam Collection in the Quaker House Archives at Guilford College
USS Somers Mutiny Anniversary Reminds Us of History of Subversion in US Armed Forces
Vietnam: The Soldier's Revolt

Featured Website

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

Organizations

Citizen Soldier
GI Rights Hotline: (800) 394-9544
Veterans for Peace
Vietnam Veterans Against War
Vietnam Veterans Against War-Anti-Imperialist

Refuseniks/Concientious Objectors

Central Committee for Concientous Objectors
Jeff Patterson, Gulf War Refusenik

Veterans Links

Gulf War Veteran Resource Pages

Health

Agent Orange
Anthrax Vaccine Links and Information
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Against Conscription

Committee Opposed To Militarism And The Draft
Stop Conscription In Europe Now!

General Anti-War

Anti-war @ Infoshop.org