On Jan. 4, 2007, several members of Iraq Veterans Against the War launched a new tactic in an effort to support and
 |
On private land, with the support of the property owner, an IVAW yellow school bus sits just across I-5 from the gates to the massive military base, Fort Lewis. In spite of difficult winter conditions, over half a dozen Iraq, Afghanistan and other recent veterans and resisters are vowing to stay until the conclusion of Lt. Ehren Watada’s court martial Feb. 5.
Lt. Watada is the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq. His pre-trial hearing took place Jan. 4 and sparked the establishment of Camp Resistance. Watada is demanding to argue at his court martial the illegality of the war and his duty to resist illegal orders. He is facing six years in prison.
The Camp Resistance bus also displayed posters in support of Suzanne Swift and Ricky Clousing. Swift was released on Jan. 3 after serving 30 days in detention for refusing to redeploy to Iraq. She is legally obligated to remain in the army for two more years, although she is fighting for a medical discharge. Swift was sexually harassed and assaulted by military superiors while in Iraq.
Ricky Clousing went AWOL for 14 months after his deployment to Iraq. He came forward last August at the national Veterans for Peace convention in Seattle. He turned himself in to authorities, served three months in a military prison and was released on Dec. 23, 2006.
Both Clousing and Sara Rich, Swift’s mother, are involved with and committed to Camp Resistance.
