Iraq Veterans Against the War

Winter Soldier Europe, March 2009

Schedule

Saturday, March 14, 2009, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Café Velo, Wentzinger Str. 15 in Freiburg (Stadtbahnbrücke / HBF Freiburg)

9:45 a.m.

Media Check-In at Registration

10:00 – 10:15 a.m.

Introduction by Virginia Edwards-Menz and Rose Kazma

10:15 – 11:30 a.m.

Andre Shepherd will discuss his asylum case in Germany and why he deserted from the US Army and refused to deploy to Iraq. He will detail how, after his deployment to Iraq, he came to realize that he couldn’t support the occupation there.

 

Martin Webster will talk about the video he filmed of British soldiers beating Iraqi civilians. He will also discuss how he has coped with post traumatic stress disorder.
 

Christian Neumann will explain how NATO is more dangerous than helpful as an ally for Germany. An active-duty member of the German armed forces, Neumann will talk about why NATO shouldn’t impose its values on other cultures, including in Afghanistan, where he served in 2007 and 2008.

11:30 – 12:00 a.m.

Discussion

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Music by Lee Kamara and Martin Webster

1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Lunch

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Chris Arendt will speak about the homeless veterans, about the treatment for their psychological disturbances and about “combat paper“, a method of turning uniforms into paper, which the homeless veterans use to support themselves.

 

Lee Kamara will talk about the initial invasion of Iraq from a British soldier’s perspective and how he has suffered and dealt with his post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He’ll also talk about a project entitled Voices of War that is linking veterans through art.

 

Eddie Falcon will talk about his work of transporting detainees from Baghdad to Basra Prison. He describes it as a “dehumanizing process” that included blindfolding and strapping Iraqi civilians to the floor of the cargo compartment. He claims racism is helping keep up support for the war in the minds of soldiers and the public alike.
 

Chris Capps-Schubert will talk about fraud, waste, and abuse in Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as a secret prison on the Victory Base Complex known as “Lost Lake.”
 

Zack Baddorf will discuss his role in the US military’s propaganda machine and the mainstream media’s complicity. He will also talk about his experiences in the Persian Gulf, protecting Iraq’s oil terminals.

5:00 – 5:15 p.m.

Break

5:15 – 7:00 p.m.

Group Discussion and Interviews
   

Additional interviews can be arranged in advance on request. Please contact:

Connection e.V., Rudi Friedrich, 069-82375534, office(at)Connection-eV(Punkt)de

IVAW Euroep, Zack Baddorf, +40-749-617478 (Rumänien) oder +42-366-3129121 (Lichtenstein), zack(at)baddorf(Punkt)com

Iraq Veterans Against the War invites you to a hearing in Freiburg, Germany on March 14, 2009

Soldiers and veterans will share the truth about wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
9 March 2009

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) invites you to hear the hard truth about what is really on happening on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, day in and day out, from American, British and German veterans.

Winter Soldier Europe will feature veterans’ testimony in Freiburg, Germany, on March 14, just weeks before NATO has its annual summit in southern Germany.

Coordinated by the European chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), the event is supported by Connection e.V., RüstungsInformationsBüro (RIB), Freiburger Friedensforum, Freiburger Friedenswoche, Tübingen Progressive Americans, Munich American Peace Committee, American Voices Abroad Berlin, Carl-Schurz-Haus Freiburg/Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut e.V. as well as the Freiburg-based groups of DFG-VK, attac, VVN/BdA and IPPNW.

The event has been named Winter Soldier to honor a similar gathering 30 years ago of veterans of the Vietnam War. Winter soldiers, according to American founding father Thomas Paine, are the people who stand up for the soul of their country, even in its darkest hours. IVAW held its first Winter Soldier hearings about Iraq and Afghanistan last year in Washington, D.C.

While offical reports are saying that the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan is improving, these veterans will stand up to reveal the unpleasant and unpublicized realities of the ongoing U.S. military occupation.

Expected testifiers include:

  • U.S. AWOL soldier and Iraq veteran André Shepherd who seeks asylum in Germany
  • Christian Neumann, soldier of the German army and veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
  • US Navy journalist Zack Baddorf.
  • US-veteran Chris Capps who deserted before deployment to Afghanistan.

“We’ve heard from the politicians, we’ve heard from the generals, we’ve heard from the media – now it’s our turn,” said Kelly Dougherty, executive director of IVAW and a former sergeant who served in Iraq.

The hearing will convene on March 14, 2009, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Café Velo, Wentzinger Str. 15 in Freiburg (Stadtbahnbrücke/HBF Freiburg). We will be pleased to welcome you.

Broadcast Media: Please confirm your attendance by March 10 so we can reserve you an audio input on our sound system.

To run the hearing, we need your support. Please donate to the following account: "KDV im Krieg", BIC GENODEM1GLS, IBAN DE42 4306 0967 8022 4097 00, purpose: IVAW Europe/Winter Soldier

Media Contacts

For more information, visit:
 Freiburger Friedensforum
Connection e.V.
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Iraq Veterans Against the War Europe

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