We Can Join
'Winter Soldiers'

Winter Soldiers, according to founding father Thomas Paine, are those who "stand up for the soul of their country, even in its darkest hours."

Once again, I believe, this country needs Winter Soldiers. From March 13-16, 2008 Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will gather in our nation's capital to break the silence and hold our leaders accountable for the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. In what is expected to be history's largest gathering of US veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors, eyewitnesses will share their experiences in a public investigation called Winter Soldiers: Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is estimated that Vermont has spent $1.6 billion on the Iraq War. Tradeoffs based upon data from the National Priorities Project and upon the work of Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and his colleague Linda Bilmes, include health care, elementary music and art, school teachers, public safety officers and a variety of other needs.

The Winter Soldiers story is one that every American who is concerned about the direction of US foreign policy and the rising human costs—human and monetary—should hear before it is too late. WILPF (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom) member Valerie Mullen suggests that people in the peace movement might also refuse to pay part of their income tax, for instance, one could refuse a small symbolic token amount such as $20. This gets the attention of the IRS with less chance of consequences, she writes, adding "think if a million people did this!"

Peggy Poffenberger

Brookfield