Lance Cpl. Steven Schulz is one of the many soliders returning from Iraq with severe brain injuries. He is just cognitively rehabilitated enough to experience anguish. “He has told me that he needed to apologize to me for ever joining the Marines,” his mother said. “I say, ‘Son, we can’t look back.’ ”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/us/12trauma.html?pagewanted=1&hp

The NYT today reports:

Leaders of several conservative Christian groups have sent a letter urging the National Association of Evangelicals to force its policy director in Washington to stop speaking out on global warming.

The conservative leaders say they are not convinced that global warming is human-induced or that human intervention can prevent it. And they accuse the director, the Rev. Richard Cizik, the association’s vice president for government affairs, of diverting the evangelical movement from what they deem more important issues, like abortion and homosexuality....

“We have observed,” the letter says, “that Cizik and others are using the global warming controversy to shift the emphasis away from the great moral issues of our time.”

On June 22, 2006, U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Ehren K. Watada stepped forward as the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to the Iraq War and occupation. He faces court martial and up to 4 years for refusing to deploy and for speaking out against a war that he believes is illegal. Lt. Watada's court martial came to an abrupt halt last week when the judge granted the prosecution's motion for a mistrial. It is unclear exactly what the consequences of this will be, but the army has announced March 19, 2007 as the new trial date.

If you are interested in turning around US policy in the Middle East, supporting Lt. Watada’s courageous stand is a great place to start. At the “Thank You Lt. Ehren Watada” web site you can sign a petition supporting him and make a donation to his defense. http://www.thankyoult.org/

For more information on resistance to the Iraq war from within the US military, check out http://www.tomjoad.org/WarHeroes.htm. You will hear next to nothing about in the corporate media. For example, over 1,000 active duty, reserve, and guard service members have signed the following Appeal for Redress:

As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.

Members of the group presented the petition to Congress on the steps of the U.S. Capitol's Cannon House Office Building last month. Only Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio would appear to receive it. A search of the New York Times finds no reference to this petition.

For an interesting collection of interviews with those who have signed the appeal, see http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070101/cooperweb.

Take a second and imagine the press extravaganza that would ensue if 1,000 members of the Iranian military presented a petition demanding an end to Iran’s nuclear program to their government.

Though not commonly known, the US war in Vietnam was finally brought to an end due to the refusal of American soldiers to continue fighting it. I recount this history in the chapter on the Vietnam war in my book People’s Movements, People’s Press: The Journalism of Social Justice Movements.