IVAW and GI Special - Two Peas in a Pod

This is a Re-post of a blog post I did back in April 2007. With everyone gearing up for Winter Soldier II, I thought it appropriate to remind everyone about GI Special....
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Back in July, I wrote about Thomas Barton and his nasty little newsletter that he inappropriately calls "GI Special" (or Traveling Soldier or the Military Project - depending on which "I hate America" website you are looking at). The GI Special is part of the Al Basrah website. If you want to know what the "Iraqi Resistance" is up to, just log in to Al Basrah and you can get the daily "Resistance Reports". As if that's not enough "resistance" for ya, just check out GI Special. Barton has a section in each of his newsletters devoted to the latest reports from those "freedom fighters" in Iraq.

Here is a blurb from the lastest edition of GI Special...

"Don’t lie to yourselves. Don’t tell yourself that they’re “f(#*$ up” and “dirty” in order to feel better about yourself and what you have to do. That will only cost you in the end. If you need to blame someone for the trash, sewage and horrible condition in Iraq, look at the flag on your right shoulder."

What makes GI Special even more special is the relationship to Iraq Veterans Against the War. Yes, the same IVAW that proclaims to support the troops while accusing the soldiers of war crimes and murder. Most editions of GI Special include at least one contribution from a member of IVAW - whether it be a press release for the latest "I hate America" protest or simply another "we deserved 9/11" screed.

Barton has this little box o'info in his hateletter...

Telling the truth - about the occupation or the criminals running the government in Washington - is the first reason for Traveling Soldier. But we want to do more than tell the truth; we want to report on the resistance - whether it’s in the streets of Baghdad, New York, or inside the armed forces. Our goal is for Traveling Soldier to become the thread that ties working-class people inside the armed services together. We want this newsletter to be a weapon to help you organize resistance within the armed forces. If you like what you’ve read, we hope that you’ll join with us in building a network of active duty organizers. http://www.traveling-soldier.org/ And join with Iraq War vets in the call to end the occupation and bring our troops home now! (ww.ivaw.org/)

Oh but I saved the best for last... One of the Veteran Advisors for The Traveling Soldier is Mike Hoffman. Hoffman is one of the founders of IVAW and a former Marine. He is featured in many of the IVAW protests and makes statements such as...

“I hate to keep using catchphrases, but one man’s terrorist is another man’s revolutionary.”

“Seeing the civilian casualties and the horrible things that were done and the destruction we laid on that country, it seemed pretty clear to me that we never had the Iraqis’ best interests in mind.”

So the next time you see or hear a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, take their statements with a grain of salt. Better yet, just remember this catchphrase from GI Special...

IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE RESISTANCE -END THE OCCUPATION

But don't forget - they support the troops - (insert exteme sarcasm tag here)