April 2005

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Neither Complicity Nor Complacency: Iraq Veterans Against the War

Frances Jarvis is a former AFSC-NERO staffperson who serves on the Peacework Program Committee. To learn more about IVAW, to ask for a speaker, or to donate, please see www.ivaw.net, PO Box 8296, Philadelphia, PA, 19101.

The Iraq War Veterans Tour: Report From the Front Lines traveled to several high schools, universities, and other public places in the Boston, MA metropolitan area in February, 2005. Members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) spoke poignantly about their experiences. Each speaker challenged the audience to press for an end to the war in Iraq and to help bring the troops home.

Kelly Dougherty, co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War, demonstrating against the war with several thousand people in Fayetteville, NC, March 19, 2005. Photo: Diane Greene Lent, www.dianegreenelent.com

Even though the Bush Administration and the mainstream media continues to support the ongoing bloody occupation, two years after its launch, men and women in uniform are challenging these voices. Supported by groups such as MFSO and other veterans groups, young veterans on this New England tour publicly stated their opposition to this war and served as witnesses to the brutality of US foreign misadventures.

Kelly Dougherty is a co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and hails from Colorado. She spoke to me about her own personal transformation from soldier to activist and the ripple effect that this decision has had on her life. Since her return she has participated in many antiwar events.

"I wanted to become more politically active before I went to Iraq, but like so many people, I never did," she said. Though opposed to the war from the very beginning, she went. In July of 2004, she attended the Veterans for Peace Conference held in Boston, and helped launch IVAW as an outgrowth of the proceedings. She describes that decision as life changing. "I know that veterans who speak against government/military policy aren't looked fondly upon by many people. I think that feeling is especially strong among the military community, and for that reason many service members can't speak publicly about their objections to this war."

Her decision to confront the lies told to the American public about this war has cost her on a personal level. "It is difficult for me to feel so strongly that this war is wrong and also to be so opposed to pretty much everything else this administration supports, and to have friends and family members who don't feel the same way I do. I'm not talking about indifference, but actually voting for Bush and blindly putting a yellow ribbon on their car." She says she feels betrayed by those she cares about who support the President and the war.

The presence of returning Iraq Veterans has been felt at antiwar demonstrations all across the country. At last summers' demonstration in New York City prior to the Republican National Convention, veterans were at the forefront of the march. IVAW helped lead the organizing for the region-wide demonstration on March 19, 2005, the second anniversary of the invasion, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of Fort Bragg. Even when she despairs, she finds hope in longtime activists and they keep her going. "For hope, I look to people who have been involved in activism for much longer than I have. I also like to hear about instances where ordinary citizens have fought against large, oppressive institutions and won." She's also inspired by the email that IVAW receives from soldiers who want to join them.

Kelly Dougherty remains uncertain as to how or when this war will end, but she remains committed to the struggle. "I feel that I am obligated, because of my experience in Iraq, to speak out. Otherwise I would be complicit in the illegal, immoral acts of our administration."

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