Amadee Braxton believes that the anti-war movement in the U.S. is going to become much more visible in the coming months. Braxton is the Administrative Co-ordinator with Iraq Veterans Against War, a new organization, but one with huge potential to impact the movement. The organization is making connections with military families and Vietnam Veterans for Peace and plans a March 19 demonstration at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina.

Derrick O’Keefe: At least from the perception of those of us outside the United States, it sort of looked as though the presidential race swallowed the anti-war movement — with the exception of the big rallies in August against the Republican National Convention. Is it your estimation that the anti-war movement will return to greater visibility this year?

Amadee Braxton: I think that the anti-war movement in the U.S. is going to become more visible. It seemed to be at a high point maybe last spring, 2004, and then of course the election sucked up everybody’s energy and focus. And I think in particular the increasing involvement of military families and Iraq war veterans is going to give a big boost to the anti-war movement in the United States.

O’Keefe: When did your organization come together, and what are some of the main kinds of work that you do?

Braxton: Iraq Veterans Against the War was founded in August of 2004 at a national annual meeting of Veterans for Peace, which is a large and long-standing peace organization made up of veterans. It was founded by several Iraq war veterans who came to see that the war was a mistake. The organization has been growing by leaps and bounds. Anytime one of our members speaks publicly we get a lot of emails and phone calls from veterans as well as active duty servicemen and women who are interested in joining.

We’re finding that many people who aren’t actively serving in Iraq right now see that the war was a mistake and feel like there’s really no purpose in them being there, they feel like there’s no mission really for them to achieve over there, and they feel very resentful that the government has put them in harm’s way basically for nothing, for the wealth of a few corporations here in the U.S.

What we’ve been doing is reaching out, trying to get more veterans involved, letting the country know where some veterans are standing when it comes to the war. I think our organization is unique, because we’re calling for immediate withdrawal of troops. We don’t think any slow, prolonged withdrawal is going to solve the problems in Iraq. We think that the U.S. military is an occupying force in Iraq, and the longer we stay there, the more resentment and destruction and death will occur there. And we feel that if you really want to support the troops, you need to demand that they come home now.

O’Keefe: There are a number of politicians in your country beginning to call for a phased-out U.S. withdrawal, or a partial withdrawal of troops. Do you think, throughout the larger population, that the percentage that want the U.S. out immediately is increasing?

Braxton: Since we’ve started it has increased a little bit. We see a couple of Congress people who are calling for immediate withdrawal and, although they are a small minority, that’s more than were taking such a position before the re-election of Bush. And so we feel that the more military families and veterans themselves speak out against the war, the more people can be brought over to see that any additional time that we spend over there is just causing more death and destruction.

A lot of people take the view that, “oh, we can’t pull out every troop right away because, you know, Iraq will fall into chaos.” And our position is that Iraq is already in chaos, and the reason is because we are there.

O’Keefe: During the Vietnam era, that sentiment for immediate withdrawal came to be articulated through the slogan “Out Now!” I note that a rally planned for New York City for March 19 is being called under that same slogan, “Out Now!” And I’m wondering if Iraq Veterans Against the War is also consciously looking at the example of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and the big impact that they had?

Braxton: As I said, our organization was founded at a meeting of Veterans for Peace, which has a lot of Vietnam veterans in it. And Vietnam veterans have played a big role in helping nurture our organization and sharing their parallel experiences of Vietnam with us.

And we’re seeing a lot of parallels and similar tactics that were used by the Johnson administration, in terms of having an election in Vietnam and thinking that that was going to change everything. This is similar to the situation we just had with the elections in Iraq. And the Bush administration was hailing that that was going to signal a change in Iraq, a kind of turning a corner in Iraq. We know that in 1967 they had elections in Vietnam, and U.S. troops continued to occupy Vietnam and fight there and die there for another eight years. And we don’t want the same thing to happen in Iraq.

O’Keefe: Also during the time of Vietnam, there were tens of thousands of war resisters that came from the United States to Canada. Today, we have several resisters who refused to fight in Iraq awaiting a ruling expected later this month on their claim to refugee status in Canada. How closely is your organization looking to the results of the cases of the war resisters in Canada?

Braxton: Well, we are eagerly awaiting the results of that decision, and we are really hoping that the Canadian government understands the need for refugee status to be granted to those seeking asylum. Many soldiers feel like this war is an illegal war. There’s killing of civilians that they’ve been involved in witnessing there in Iraq, and really are hoping that our neighbour can help provide solace and a place for those who feel the need to flee.

O’Keefe: I understand that you have a major action planned for the March 19-20 weekend of global action, with a rally at a military base in North Carolina?

Braxton: We’re going to be joining with members of Military Families Speak Out, a lot of students, a lot of other veterans, to go to Fayetteville, North Carolina, which is the home of Fort Bragg, one of the largest military bases in the country, to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq, and to call for bringing the troops home now. And we’re hoping to have tens of thousands of people in Fayetteville on the 19th.

And then on the 20th, Iraq Veterans Against the War will be having our first national meeting of our members. And we’re trying to get members from all over the country to come and meet each other, and network and learn some skills, including how to organize a local chapter. And there are going to be workshops on counter recruitment, conscientious objector status, and things like that, and we’re really excited to get as many people there as possible. And we also need money to support our members that don’t have the means to get there.

O’Keefe: Finally, and you touched on it by mentioning that your organization needs financial contributions, what can people outside of the United States do âe” aside from those of us in Canada obviously supporting the war resisters âe” to support the important work that your organization does?

Braxton: Well, we’re hoping that people in other countries can put pressure on their governments to not follow the path of the Bush administration in its Empire-building approach to the world. There are many people in the United States who do not support George Bush, even some of us who feel like a second rigged election occurred in the United States. So continuing to put pressure on governments that are going along with his plans is a really positive thing that people can do.

Also, you know, we can always use financial support and if people want to host one of our members to speak about the work we’re doing, we’re happy to send our members out anywhere to let the world know that there are many U.S. soldiers who think that what’s happening over there in Iraq is wrong.

Derrick O'Keefe

Derrick O'Keefe

Derrick O'Keefe is a writer in Vancouver, B.C. He served as rabble.ca's editor from 2012 to 2013 and from 2008 to 2009.