Iraq War Veteran Speaks At St Marys

"And in my heart, the chains falling apart he wildness in my soul
And for once in life, for once in life I know 

I'm not alone, for the mountains make our bones
With the oceans in our blood
Our feet planted, planted firmly in the mud"

From 'A Drop Of Water', Dana Lyons, 1991

These words echoed throughout St Marys,West End this afternoon [11/8/07], as 
a young woman sang to the large gathering who had amassed to hear Iraq war 
veteran Mr Matt Howard speak.

Mr Howard, who served as a Corporal in the US Marine Corps, and is now an 
activist with Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), was involved in the 
initial invasion of Iraq in March 2003. He made it clear at the outset that 
it is a mistake to say that if we had done it right, it would have been ok.

"That is not the case," he said.

"The tone was set at the outset."

Mr Howard drove a supply truck which carried food, water and equipment for 
tanks and palettes of humanitarian rations. When he crossed the border from 
Kuwait into Iraq, he saw hungry children lining the streets. He opened the 
rations and handed them out. His Sergeant confronted him with his M-16 and 
said, "What the hell do you think you are doing?" He was ordered not to 
throw one more box of food out to one more starving child. He took the 
remaining rations all the way to Baghdad, and back again to Kuwait, without 
delivering one more ration to starving people. When he asked his Commanding 
Officer, in Kuwait, what he should do with the food, he was ordered to 
"F*cking bury it." He buried it.

Howard's Commander explained that he didn't want Iraqis to get the "wrong 
impression about why we were there".

"It was like that the whole way to Baghdad," said Mr Howard.

"We just destroyed the place for the hell of it."

A year after the invasion, Mr Howard said the situation in Iraq was 
"infinitely worse", with no electricity (the whole country running on 
generators for only a few hours a day), no sewerage, and hospitals becoming 
morgues.

"We were told Iraq was a third world country, but we turned it into a third 
world country."

Mr Howard said that the war in Iraq is not going to end through a political 
process and that the only way it will end is if the soldiers "put down their 
weapons and say no".

"The Democrats are not going to end the war. Since they've taken power, they 
continue to give Bush all the funding he asks for," he said.

Mr Howard pointed out the inconsistencies of contractors being paid $300,000 
a year as opposed to US soldiers, who are receiving $20,000. (He later said 
that there are as many contractors in Iraq as US troops, and that 
contractors are "acting like cowboys", shooting people in broad daylight in 
the middle of the street).

And, when the only mission for US troops is to drive around in a Humvee all 
day waiting to be blown up by an IED.

"Without that, we don't have a mission to be there," he said. "We are told 
that our mission is 'Troop Protection' but that is no mission at all."

Mr Howard was joined by Mr Hamish Chitts, a former Australian infantry 
soldier who served in East Timor (1999-2000), and in the intelligence 
services.

Mr Chitts said that at the time of Former Secretary of State Colin Powell's 
presentation to the UN about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, "We 
knew it was a farce."

Mr Chitts said that he and his colleagues exchanged joke e-mails parodying 
the WMD presentation, until their superiors clamped down.

"It was obvious. Everyone knew there were no WMDs," he said.

Having decided he didn't want to participate or risk his life for big 
buisness, Mr Chitts put in his discharge.

He went on to say that in his experience, no-one who sees active service 
comes back the same, and that soldiers are suffering three times as much 
post traumatic stress disorder as those who served in the Vietnam war.

"We are told we fight for freedom and democracy, but this couldn't be 
further from the truth," he said.

During the question and answer session, a gentleman in the audience who said 
he worked in the oil and gas industry asked, "What is the true reason for 
the American nation making this huge investment in occupying Iraq?"

"To truly understand this war you have to understand energy," he said.

Mr Howard said, "Everyone is dreaming if they think the US will ever get out 
of Iraq."

He explained that 'Operation Crown Jewel' (to secure the Ramadi oil field) 
was very explicitly his battalion's first objective when they invaded Iraq 
in 2003, which they accomplished.

And as for the troubles between the Shias and the Sunnis?

"Sectarian violence is being fuelled by our presence," said Mr Howard. He 
was quite clear that CIA "Black-Ops" were at work, and pointed out that 
these two groups had happily co-existed, side by side, for 1,400 years 
before the invasion.

He expressed empathy for the Iraqis resisting the occupation.

"What the hell would you do if people invaded your country? There's no way 
Americans would stand for an occupying presence," he said.

Mr Howard said that he understands what the Iraqi resistance are fighting 
for, and explained that his own progression from warrior to peace activist 
had been difficult.

"Violence begets violence," he said.

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