Revolutionary Worker #1001, April 11, 1999
The following message to the troops is being circulated by Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Anti-Imperialist (VVAW-AI); it was written by one of their members living in Germany.
Hey Joe!
Where ya going with that gun in your hand?
You are being called upon to attack the sovereign country of Yugoslavia.
For American troops it's the fourth attack against an independent country in the past nine months. "Surgical strikes" in Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and now Yugoslavia, which were ordered by the so-called "peace candidate" President Clinton. He now has a record of ordering more military actions than any other Commander-in-Chief since Richard Nixon-- the "peace with honor" candidate of 1972.
NATO troops, supposedly here to defend Europe, are now on the offensive. You are attacking another European country; unleashing the first war on the continent since WW2. It's "Blitzkreig" all over again under the doctrine of "First Strike, First Kill."
German troops are going into combat for the first time since the NAZI armies were crushed in 1945. You are being called upon to attack a people who heroically stood up to Hitler's elite Waffen-SS and the Wehrmacht 60 years ago.
Your officers, your commanders-in-chiefs, your politicians, your "free" press and even maybe your friends and relatives are all telling you that your mission is in the service of humanity. You are ordered to take lives in order to save lives. As one general in Vietnam termed it, "We must destroy the village in order to save it."
What can be so humanitarian about massive air strikes. Cruise missiles, A-6's, B-2's, B-52's, Tornadoes, F-16's, F-15's, and 2,000 pound bombs raining down on a country no larger than the State of Tennessee? Your leaders tell you that there will be "collateral damage"--a nice military term for civilian (that is, men, women and children) casualties. They also say that some of you will just have to die. For what?
For the people of Kosovo? Not!! Read between the lines of all their propaganda and you will see that the Kosovars are being used as pawns in a large chess game of power politics - just as the Slovenians, Bosnians and Croatians were a few years ago. There is no intention to set up an independent "Republic of Kosovo." The plan calls for continued Serbian domination of the region with foreign monitoring of Albanian rights. If NATO is so concerned about humanitarian rights why have they done nothing to stop the "ethnic cleansing" of the Kurdish people in Turkey for the past 15 years? What about the "ethnic cleansing" of Native Americans in U.S. history? What about the present "ethnic cleansing" of Black people, who are being murdered or imprisoned on a grand scale by the authorities in Amerikkka today?
Germany set out to break up Yugoslavia in 1989, much to the disdain of Britain, France and the U.S. who needed a strong Serbian state for their "New World Order." Today the U.S. is calling the shots and has united its allies around a program to keep Serbia as the strongest Balkan country, where they can best focus their interests. Their key interest in the area is to prevent a spread of instability--particularly to prevent the heightening tensions between Greece and Turkey, two NATO allies in the region. The U.S. and its Allies act as "global police" in order to strengthen their control to serve their overall interest--to be able to exploit and plunder the peoples and countries of the world for their almighty god Profit$. The stakes are high! They are even risking nuclear confrontation with Russia--World War 3--in their power drive to control the Balkans.
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! We, veterans of past wars and reservists and soldiers of today's wars, call on the troops of all NATO countries not to go along with the program. To kill, die or watch your buddies die for "your country" has nothing to do with "honor" but has a lot to do with profit. "Your countries" are owned and controlled by a handful of parasites who live off the blood, sweat and tears of millions the world over. Our military experience has taught us that soldiers are nothing more than cannon fodder in the power play for world domination.
RESIST! We also learned that we can resist their plans even while in the military. Soldiers have an active role to play to put an end to war. Link up with us and other anti-war groups in your area to oppose this unjust war.
Stop the War in Europe! Refuse to Support This New Wave of
Aggression!
Just Say NO!
The People of the Balkans Are Not Our Enemies--
They Are Our Brothers and Sisters!
Support Resistance in the Military!
| March 25, 1999 |
Darnell S. Summers, Vietnam Veteran, U.S. Army, 1966-70
David Blalock, Vietnam Veteran, U.S. Army, 1968-1971
Peter Gunn, Editor of "FighT-bAck - The Revolutionary Voice of GIs in Europe."
For more information, contact Stop the War Brigade, Gaustrasse 36, 67547 Worms,
Germany.
Email: STOPTHEWARBGDE@HOTMAIL.COM
Tel: 0177-4816128. FAX: STWB O6221-184817.
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
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