New campaign supports conscientious objectors

Peace groups in the United States are testing new ways to stop the US war machinery in Iraq, Afghanistan and places that might become new targets in the new future. Peace advocates in New York and Washington, DC, have held a series of meetings with their counterparts from other countries to discuss how they could strengthen an international movement to support those who refuse to join the military or choose to stay away from taking part in combat operations. To mark International Conscientious Objectors Day, which is held in many countries on May 15, they held workshops with peace activists from Israel, Paraguay, Turkey, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Canada, Bosnia and Macedonia. "We learned a lot not only about how the struggles in Latin America are critical to opposing militarism in those countries, but also about how US militarism affects the lives of the youth in those countries," said Oskar Castro, of the Nobel Prize-winning American Friends Services Committee (AFSC). Established in 1917 by members of the Quaker faith, AFSC promotes peace and social justice throughout the world and provides conscientious objectors with an opportunity to help civilian victims of war. In collaboration with other antiwar organizations, the group held a two-day conference in Washington, DC, last week, where it launched "Operation Refuse War," a campaign that has been joined by conscientious objectors, peace activists, US military families and others. "The focus of this campaign is on supporting American conscientious objectors as well as examining the strategy for building the antiwar movement," explained Castro, who thinks that the movement to refuse US military service is already on the rise as a growing number of soldiers are becoming vocal in their opposition to the war in Iraq, which they consider immoral and illegal. More than 2,400 US soldiers have been killed and over 25,000 wounded since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, according to official figures. The Pentagon has never kept official figures on the deaths of Iraqi civilians, but rights groups and health researchers say that the ongoing military operations have led to more than 100,000 casualties in Iraq. Several hundred US soldiers have applied for conscientious objector status since the invasion of Iraq, according to the Center on Conscience and War, which advises the US military on discharges based on ethical concerns. But the administration has largely kept silent on this issue. Recently, some US soldiers who served in Iraq have gone public in their criticism of the administration's policies. While some of them have fled to Canada, where they are applying for asylum, others are seeking protection from the courts as conscientious objectors. In October 2003, Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia became the first soldier from Iraq who refused to return to his post after a leave. "I cannot find a single good reason for having been there and having shot at people and having been shot at," Mejia said in interviews. "[We're] not helping the people and the people don't want [us] there." Mejia, who served nine months in prison, is now one of many veterans and soldiers speaking out against the war as did those who opposed the US invasion of Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s. "No one should ever be forced to participate in war or military operations for war against the dictates of conscience," says David Krieger, director of the Santa Barbara, CA-based Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Like Mejia, Krieger had refused to serve with the army in Vietnam because he considered it an unjust war, and thus chose to be a conscientious objector. The movement to support conscientious objectors is, however, not the first step to challenge the US military at home. Last year in March, a group called Troops Out Now Coalition organized a series of actions of civil disobedience. As it tried to shut down the army's recruiting stations, many of its activists found themselves behind bars. Observers note that the growing frustration with the war in Iraq among soldiers and their families is causing the US military to miss its recruiting targets by large margins. "Today's conditions represent the most challenging conditions we have seen in recruiting in my 33 years in this uniform," the US Army's head of recruitment Major General Michael Rochelle told a press conference last year. This despite the Pentagon's hefty spending on the recruiting effort, which is costing taxpayers at least $2 billion a year, according to Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, an independent group that helps soldiers trying to get out of the military. "They [the Pentagon] entice youth into the military with promises of college and job training: sounds like a great way out," the group says on its website. "Eventually, the young people learn the truth–instead of being caught in drive-bys, they're doing fly-bys." The groups supporting the movement for conscientious objectors are due to conclude their week-long actions in connection with Operation Refuse War with some of them planning to stage a sit-in in front of the US Capitol on May 16. Meanwhile, last weekend, women activists led by the peace group CODEPINK held antiwar demonstrations in front of the White House and elsewhere in observance of Mother's Day. Mothers who spoke at the event included Susan Sarandon and antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan.