Iraq Vets Speak Out on Veterans' Day in Rutland Herald

Iraq war is a betrayal of American democracy

By MATT HOWARD

Editor's note: Matt Howard gave this statement at a recent protest at the Statehouse.

In 2003 I illegally invaded the sovereign nation of Iraq with 1st Tank battalion 1st Marine Division. My commander in chief unleashed the world's fiercest fighting force upon the country and people of Iraq, and now those of us used and betrayed by him are demanding justice.

Four and a half years after our opening "shock and awe" Bush's lies are known throughout the world, and yet he continues to act with impunity. Four and a half years later the Bush regime has unleashed a hell upon the country of Iraq that only those who have been there can truly understand. More...

Sergeant: False war isn't worth the sacrifice

By DREW CAMERON

I served with the U.S. Army as an active duty field artillery soldier for four years and then a subsequent two years in the Vermont Army National Guard in the State Medical Detachment. I originally enlisted in August of 2000 and worked hard to become a professional soldier.

I was sent to Iraq in April of 2003 under the suspicion that Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons that were an imminent threat to the United States. I served until December of that year traveling around the country finding and destroying weapons caches. Since my return I have been working to answer all of the questions that I was left with upon the end of my time there. What I experienced and took part in was nothing short of disgraceful and blatant betrayal of the military service member. More...

Officer's job was targeting Americans

By ADRIENNE KINNE

Thank you for giving veterans a forum to share their perspective on what Veterans Day means to us.

I served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves from 1994 to 2004 as an Arabic linguist in military intelligence. After the events of Sept. 11, I was mobilized in the Reserves and stationed stateside where I served in direct support of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq as a voice interceptor.

Over the next two years, I witnessed firsthand the behind-the-scenes dismantling of the Constitutional rights of Americans, as higher ranking officials in military intelligence had us target journalists, humanitarian aid workers, the United Nations and other non-governmental organizations, to include Americans and their phone calls to family members in the United States. More...