President Obama: End, Don't Escalate, the War in Afghanistan

Reflections on freedom, patriotism, and war by Mélida Arredondo, an MFSO and GSFSO member whose son was killed in Iraq and whose nephew is serving in Afghanistan.

A moving reflection on the trauma of Iraqi refugees and U.S. veterans by Beth Lerman, an MFSO chapter leader from Dayton, Ohio.

Military Families Speak Out Nevada April Medlin handed a letter directly to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Las Vegas on May 24, that read in part: "We are more than five years into a war that you yourself have said should never have begun . . .Senator Reid you have chosen to 'wheel and deal' with the lives of our loved ones for political gain. Will you be able to look us in the face as our loved ones die between now and next spring? Will you be able to hold your head high and tell us it was for a just cause? Please do not step over the flag draped caskets of our loved ones to 'win' a political game."

For me, supporting the troops means utilizing the very rights that they swore to uphold when they took their oath to join the military. It means using my voice to question my government, its methods, and its actions. Thomas Jefferson said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism;" the responsibility to maintain the checks and balances in your elected government are not only a guaranteed rights, it is our patriotic duty. What kind of support are you really giving them if you stand silently by and watch policies enacted that only bring them death and injury?

I suppose I could write to you about what it is like to spend daily life with the proud star of our small-town high school football team who can no longer walk without aid; I could write to you about what it is like to get the phone call that confirms one of your nightmares has come true and the panic that ensues; or maybe I could tell you about the frustration of knowing that a person you love dearly is fighting for his life on the battlefield of a war justified by dishonesty and irresponsibility.

I was sitting across from my son the Saturday night before Father’s Day. We drank a few beers together and talked about the last 4 years. Our last Father’s Day together was in 2002. Since then my 23 year old son Ryan had been in either Iraq or Germany. During that time he had spent over 24 months in combat.

My son did one 11-month tour in Iraq with the 18th Airborne Corps and is scheduled for a 15-month tour starting this September with the 4th Brigade, 3rd Inf. Division. I understand it's not easy bringing this pointless war to an end, but these compromises I see being discussed are truly insane.

My son is in the 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, at Ft. Stewart, GA, in training for his second deployment to Iraq no later than July. He did his first tour of 11 months with the 18th Airborne Corps out of Ft. Bragg. My son joined the Army to serve his country, not to be part of a moronic effort to save the ruined legacy of this blind fool in the White House.

Today a woman called me. She saw our chapter's web site, and reached me as the contact person. She left a simple message on my answering machine, telling me that her son was headed to his third deployment. I spoke to her a little while ago, and it was hard to hold the tears back until I was done. She could not hold hers back. She told me about her son.

My husband has been in the military for four years. He joined for reasons probably very similar to the rest of the people he serves with. We were young, newly married, with a baby on the way. Every time he thought he was going to get a decent job, it ended up being a dead end.

This past weekend I, along with a few veterans and others who support the soldiers but not the quagmire their commander in chief has gotten them into, stood with signs and banners not far from the gates of MacDill Air Force Base. My banner displayed a peace sign with a yellow ribbon on it, and said, "Bring our troops home now" and "Military Families Speak Out," which is an organization of more than 3,000 families nationwide who totally support their loved ones, but don't support the war/occupation.

Yesterday, Saturday morning, we heard the news that a chopper went down northeast of Baghdad and all 14 on board were killed. Our lives came to a stand still while fear took over. Our son flies to outposts in NE Iraq, and we feared for his life.

My son called tonight from Georgia, where he has been stationed since returning from Iraq in February. He was in Iraq for a year and will have been in the Army four years this summer.

It is New Year's Day, 2007. I have been out of the Army for four years, and my husband has been in for fourteen. This year, our daughter will turn four, I will be twenty-six, and he will be thirty-two. My, how time flies. I sat here in our little flat in an old part of Army Housing at our post, and as the ball dropped in Times Square on our TV screen, my heart dropped with it, even though I was undeniably grateful that my husband was sitting right beside me and not deployed like he was this time last year, and will be this time next year. The reason my heart dropped with the ball is because this year will bring yet another deployment to this unjust and illegal war

As a Gold Star family (our son, Sgt. David W. Johnson, Oregon National Guard, was killed in action on Sept. 25, 2004, near Baghdad), we find it more than just interesting that Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., has chosen now, a month after the Republican Party lost control of the Senate, to "loosen" his ties with the Bush administration.

It was a beautiful day for a parade: unseasonably warm weather, blue skies, some trees on the Boston Common still vivid with autumn leaves. We had just concluded the best week for peace in many years, so the antiwar contingent of the Boston Veterans Day parade was in a good mood even before the march started.

On Saturday November 11th, Veterans Day, we were in Washington, DC. It was a beautiful day, which made the set up of the memorial tribute to our Fallen Soldiers easily paced but also solemn.

I want to thank you for meeting with Military Families Speak Out last Thursday. My son is with the 1st Armor Division at Camp Hit, Iraq (little know that it is one of the worst places in Iraq). This is his second deployment with a total of approximately 24 months and counting. Please read about my son:

During this past weekend, we have heard time and time again so many quotes from this administration or about the administration. Despite not holding any important positions of influence or wealth, we - just being ordinary citizens and parents of one who answered his country's call to arms and then subsequently became a veteran - would like to take a moment to respond to some of these quotes.

Facing homelessness, loss of job, sleepless nights, crying, isolation and inability to concentrate. Sounds like the symptoms of a combat soldier. These are my symptoms as the Mother of an Iraq combat vet, a peace activist.

I recently met with Congressman Boswell (D-IA) on a bill being introduced to the house for suicide prevention for combat veterans. As I discussed Jason's story I realized that the general public does not understand the mental war a soldier fights once returning home, so I have decided to post some things here that Jason had discussed with me and other soldiers I have spoke to.

My son, Chris (age 21) was with the 1-13 Armor (3rd Brigade) of the 1st Armored Division out of Ft Riley and was deployed to Iraq twice over a two year period. He has YET to see the one year home between deployments. Two days ago we were informed that he would be attending training exercises in October as final preparations for deployment shortly thereafter.

We were excited to see the new movie, because we believe that most Americans have no idea what really goes on in Iraq and most of them believe that we are there because of 9/11. The movie was truly touching. Luigi and I were poking each other and shaking our heads a lot, because of the truths that the movie brings to light. We wish that every American had to watch it.

Kevin and Joyce Lucey of Belchertown, MA, whose son, Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey, served in the Marine Reserves during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He began showing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder within six months of his return from Iraq. On June 22, 2004 his father found him hanging by a garden hose from the rafters in their basement.

62 of our soldiers were killed in June,...no end in sight. 2,537 of our own have been killed, 18,490 wounded, unreported thousands continue to be evacuated due to illness or injury, and thousands more of our and Iraqi people are sentenced to die by the civil war of Administration occupation. Many soldiers are now in their 4th deployments to the endless war in Iraq,...no end in sight. Though election year politics are fostering token or temporary troop returns, the hidden harms and stopgap policies continue to destroy soldiers, families, and nation.

I sit on the grass next to Alex Carbonaro’s flags. There are two of them, one an American flag, the other a Texas flag. Much of his family still lives in Houston. It’s late in the afternoon, but I sit, and cry a little as I speak to him. His mom is my friend. I stop and get up to fetch water from the car. The little pot of live white daisies is wilting and dry.

So, It's Mother's Day. I'm here with my mom and even if you can't be with your daughters, I need you to listen to this story about this immorally wrong war. OK?

Our military families, Iraq veterans against the war who served nobly, and the awakened public conscience, will continue to remind the Congress of the Administration's contrived war and of the Congress' complicity in the unending occupation, killing, and destruction. The betrayal of our soldiers, families, and Constitution must not be continued by the Congress.

On Memorial Day, we raise our flags; we want to show our patriotism. We have a holiday from work and we have BBQ's with our friends and families. For some, it is a day to save some money at the mall- 15% off- Memorial Day sale! When we celebrate those events, we ignore the origins of Memorial Day.

There aren’t any representatives standing up for us right now. I think they’re all f**king criminal. I don’t know what to do; I don’t have the answer, but I know that what they’re doing now is feeding their own political agendas.

For some of us this Mother’s Day means something different. In my case, I now have the memory of the last time I held my eldest child. We were standing in line at the Airport. I can still feel his arms around me and his chin resting on my head. My eyes were full of tears and he tried to comfort me by saying he would call every chance he got. I tried desperately not to cry, I didn’t want him to feel sad. David already had enough on his plate. He was headed for Iraq.

I recently came into possession of my son’s Military foot locker. It contained all his gear from Iraq from camouflage to nerve gas antidote shots. In the very bottom in a plastic bag were his medals. Inside it I found several undeveloped instant cameras. I have enclosed a few photos..The first photo is of my son , I have never ever seen that look before in my son's eyes.

According to the calendar, March 20 is the first day of spring. The season evokes images of flowers, trees budding, and the songs of birds adding a pleasing melody to drift along in the warm air. But to the several people standing in a circle at the Dimond Court Plaza, the cold gray Juneau weather joined a flag-draped coffin at the foot of the stairs to reveal the solemn reason for their gathering.

As the partner of an Iraq War veteran, I pay attention to the news quite a bit. I watched the State of the Union last night hoping to hear some good news. Instead, most of what I heard made me frustrated and angry.

For three years our soldiers and nation have been betrayed, by the Administration and Congress, to the killing, maiming, and deceitful myth of the Iraq War. The State of the Union speech repeated the failed policies of unnecessary war, perpetual violence, and insane arrogance.

I am the mother of a soldier recently returned from Iraq and a member of MFSO. Here is a copy of the letter I sent to the editor of my local paper, The Idaho Statesman, in response to Bush's State of the Union address.

I am a mother of a American soldier, my only son and only child, who currently has orders to go to Iraq in January.

George Bush will be speaking about the war at the World Affairs Council in Philadelphia on Monday. Tickets for the event are sold out, however, the luncheon tickets that are closest to Mr Bush were sold for $10,000. I would like to be at a table close enough to Mr Bush so that he could meet with me.

As Veterans day is approaches, it gets very tiring hearing people talk about how we should stay the course in Iraq, how we need to route out the terrorists. It pisses me off, because this is simple common sense and not rocket science. I can't believe I feel like I have to explain the basics over again from square one after 2 ½ years, but here goes anyway.

The following story, is about the experience of watching my son leave for war. It forever changed me. I work everyday to change this country back to a land of hope and compassion and away from the hate and destruction. George W. Bush will be held accountable for his actions, to this society and to the world.

I joined MFSO in 2004, around the time in April that my son deployed with his Ar National Guard regiment. WHen he enlisted no mention was made of Iraq and I did not realize that is where he would go quickly after boot camp and several weeks additional training only. His Sarge was also the HIgh School Principal, many of my son's classmates joined the military as well.

Tonight, when you look in on your sleeping son or daughter, ask yourself this: What cause would be noble enough for you to sacrifice your child? How much noble evidence would you need for your child to be an "acceptable loss?"

When I was a little girl and again as a young woman dreaming about having children I never, ever, even for a heartbeat imagined that I would ever be the mother of someone who had killed somebody. But I am. There in Iraq in the dusty, sun-baked rubble that was once the City of Mosques, Ar Ramadi, Iraq, my son repeatedly engaged an enemy, sighted down the barrel of his weapon, opened fire and ended lives.

No, I am not using my son to further my quest for peace. I really DON'T want him to have to go back to Iraq. I really DON'T want any more soldiers to be wounded or killed in a war based on lies. I really would have rather stayed home or gone hiking last weekend instead of taking that very tiring and emotionally exhausting trip to march in Washington DC against the war. I don't have any other motives in doing this, like for my ego or whatever you think might be in it for me.

You remarked yesterday that “the president strongly believes that withdrawing [from Iraq]...would make us less safe and make the world more dangerous.” Please provide me, the soldiers and their families, and the American taxpayers who are funding the occupation with the evidence that supports the president’s most current belief. I hate to have to ask, but it’s just that all of the president’s previous ideas about why the war in Iraq was necessary, and the mission being accomplished, have, in fact, been based on faulty intelligence, misinformation, fixing the facts, and pure speculation. And well, yes...lies.