Anti-War Soldier Jonathan Hutto: People, Not = Politicians, Will End the War in Iraq | War on Iraq

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Active-duty sailor Jonathan Hutto signed up to join the Navy in = December=20 2003, at the age of 26. Previously a college activist fighting police = brutality=20 in Washington, D.C., and later an organizer with the ACLU, he was not = the sort=20 of recruit one usually imagines enlisting in the U.S. military. But his=20 experience as an activist would serve him well as he began to protest = unjust=20 practices within the armed forces, where almost from the start, he = battled=20 institutional racism and the unwillingness of the chain of command to = punish it,=20 while also fighting oppressive and arbitrary disciplinary practices by = his=20 commanding officers. In 2006, he co-founded Appeal for Redress, one of = the only=20 active-duty anti-war groups since Vietnam, devoted to ending the war in = Iraq.

The appeal itself is three sentences long:

As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in = uniform, I=20 respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the = prompt=20 withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. = Staying in=20 Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. = troops to=20 come home.

According to Hutto, more than 2,000 military personnel, 60 percent of = whom=20 have served in Iraq, have signed the appeal.

This month, Nation Books = published=20 Hutto's book, = Antiwar=20 Soldier: How to Dissent Within the Ranks of the Military. Part = military=20 memoir, part training manual, it lays out crucial things a = soldier needs=20 to know before resisting. The preface was written by David = Cortright, whose=20 1975 book, Sol= diers in=20 Revolt, is considered the definitive chronicle of the Vietnam GI = movement. With the Iraq occupation in its sixth year and no real end in = sight,=20 Antiwar Soldier comes at a critical time, and a moment where,=20 increasingly, veterans and soldiers are revitalizing the anti-war = movement.

AlterNet staff writer Liliana Segura recently exchanged e-mails with = Hutto,=20 who discussed, among other topics, why he joined the military; why he = does not=20 support a candidate for president; and what comes next for the anti-war=20 movement.

Liliana Segura: You were raised in a left-leaning, politically = conscious household and were an activist in college. Plus, in the book = you=20 describe how your mother used to chase away military recruiters from the = house.=20 Did you ever think you'd join the military?

Jonathan Hutto: No not at all. Nothing in my background or = history=20 would have supported me making such a move. The military was not = represented as=20 a proud tradition in my community, given the military was segregated = until the=20 early 1950s, with blacks still experiencing severe racism and repression = throughout the Vietnam conflict. Both of my parents were born in a=20 segregated/apartheid South, which shaped and informed my world view.

LS: Why did you choose the Navy?

JH: My mom was the primary reason for my decision. I was = looking at=20 the military at the age of 26, purely for economic and social adjustment = reasons. One of the primary motivators was paying off a substantial = portion of=20 my student loan debt, which was $48,000, in the fall of 2003. Today, my = loans=20 stand at $24,000. I've always envisioned myself working toward advanced = higher=20 education, so the GI Bill was also seen as an incentive. My mom lobbied = for me=20 to look at the Navy, given the risk associated with service in the Army = and=20 Marines -- plus I had two uncles that were veterans of the Air Force, = one during=20 the Korean conflict. The Iraq War was barely a year old when I decided = to=20 enlist.

LS: What surprised you the most about the Navy?

JH: I guess the word is "shocking" and not so much = "surprising."=20 Nothing really surprised me; however, it was shock treatment to be = exposed to=20 the depths of internalized racism and imperialism. I vividly remember an = instructor at boot camp speaking on the virtues of Barry Goldwater, the=20 Republican nominee in 1964 that ran on an anti-Civil Rights platform. I = remember=20 seeing the Confederate flag as one of the many flags we marched under. = Although=20 I have seen that flag many times in my life, this is the first time I = had to=20 endure it from an institutionalized setting. Then I remember battle = stations,=20 the last phase of boot camp. This is when you stay up 24 hours = completing=20 different battle scenarios on a ship, in combat, in water, etc. I can = remember=20 the instructors giving these heroic war stories, many of these stories = coming=20 directly from the Vietnam conflict. Much of this ran counter to my core = belief=20 system. You can imagine how deep the shock treatment was, given that one = of my=20 first experiences leaving home in 1995 was standing in front of = Frederick=20 Douglass Memorial Hall, named in honor of the late great abolitionist on = Howard=20 University's campus, for a student rally.

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See more stories tagged with: barack obama, = john mccain, = national=20 assembly to end , ron=20 kovic, vietnam, civil = rights=20 movement, navy, = us military, anti-war = soldier, appeal for = redress, gi=20 resistance

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Square peg....... [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: carbon-based = on Jun 25,=20 2008 5:02 AM Current rating:=20 2 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] So lets see..an ACLU = supporter?? -=20 that just about sums up the entire article. Racism? If he was = forced to=20 join and whites aren;'t, then maybe..but he isnt. Not much = else to=20 say on this except certain people belong in the military and some = dont.=20 [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 desidid =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Cybershaman =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 carbon-based =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Cybershaman =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 EncinoM =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by: A Mom = in=20 America =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 EncinoM =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Lauren =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 EncinoM =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 carbon-based =C2=BB=20 EncinoM you need some music education: Posted by:=20 tbone =C2=BB=20 RE: ncinoM you need some music education: Posted=20 by: EncinoM =C2=BB=20 RE: ncinoM you need some music education: Posted=20 by: emmas =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Lauren =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 EncinoM =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 carbon-based =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 emmas =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 terrymo =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 carbon-based =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Cybershaman =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 carbon-based =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Cybershaman =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Lauren =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 carbon-based =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 desidid =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 carbon-based =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Lauren =C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 carbon-based =C2=BB=20 A bridge for sale!!!!! Posted by:=20 carbon-based FDR dead [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: 8 nontheist = on Jun 25,=20 2008 5:30 AM Current rating:=20 3 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] Mr Hutto's experiences = while typical=20 of what a sailor who chooses to think face also are tinged with = unique=20 insights which are related to how he was raised. I noted that he = briefly=20 mentioned FDR. FDR continuses to be hated by both ultra radicals = of the=20 right & left for FDR's actions in fighting the depression = probably=20 prevented a bloody revolution in the 1930's. That revolution would = have=20 been a class war. God knows how a class war would have changed the = USA.=20 Since a great deal of FDR's New Deal instutions have been = eviscerated by=20 Reagan, Clinton, GHW Bush & W, I wonder if & how a = President Obama=20 would restore New Deal policy. It's almost certain that Obama will = try to=20 put an Obama factor in any restoration of New Deal policies. The = man's=20 campaign mantra is change. What changes will a President Obama = make to=20 change how the USA is run? Ending the ocupation of Iraq = interests me. I=20 wonder if Obama's party will support him as he tries to wind down = this=20 failed imperialist adventure. [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 =C2=BB=20 RE: FDR dead Posted by:=20 desidid =C2=BB=20 RE: FDR dead Posted by: Southern=20 Gal =C2=BB=20 RE: FDR dead Posted by:=20 IntelliGent =C2=BB=20 RE: I Think He Has No Expectation For McCain To Do The = Posted by: desidid =C2=BB=20 RE: FDR dead Posted by:=20 Lauren he i s right [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: GreyFoxThree = on Jun 25,=20 2008 5:49 AM Current rating:=20 5 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] Couldnt agree more. Makes = perfect=20 sense to me. JT Is=20 your ISP watching you? [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 You go boy!!! [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: Spiritgirl on = Jun 25,=20 2008 5:59 AM Current rating:=20 5 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] As an ex-service member = and a person=20 of color I applaud the honesty and integrity of this man. While = there are=20 rules on the books, like everywhere else they are enforced = depending on=20 who you are and whether you have been ruled "the whipping boy" by = your=20 chain of command. As a person that never bought the lies that took = us into=20 Iraq I am disgusted and angry by this fiasco that we've allowed = ourselves=20 to become mired in. And yet these people are trying to start = something=20 with Iran! Don't they get it, and when will all of the American = people get=20 it? It is exactly actions like this that led to the Iranian = Hostages being=20 taken in'79, support for the wrong people no matter what they do. = At what=20 point can we IMPEACH the bastards for the HIGH CRIMES & = MISDEMEANORS=20 that they have perpetrated against humanity!!!! [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 Good interview [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: hoodoowah on = Jun 25,=20 2008 7:58 AM Current rating:=20 4 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] A very interesting and = informative=20 interview. Hutto is far more articulate and analytical than the = scores of=20 GIs I interviewed during the Vietnam war (for reports in The Great = Speckled Bird in Atlanta). btw, does AlterNet need a copy = editor?=20 Kwame Toure, Stokely Carmichael, and "barach" are all misspelled. = [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 Hutto is a good guy [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: warriornation = on Jun=20 25, 2008 8:27 AM Current rating:=20 4 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] Them Republicans like to = tell us that=20 racism doesn't exist anymore. McCain says racism doesn't exist = anymore.=20 Hutto exposes the truth. I hope the people listen. [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 =C2=BB=20 RE: Hutto is a good guy Posted by:=20 desidid LoL this guy is soo full of crap = [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: Barakis on = Jun 25, 2008=20 9:35 AM Current rating:=20 3 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] I too served in the = military and this=20 jacka** is full of lies. Marching under the confederat = flag? LMAO=20 at that crap. It's obvious he joined the military with an = agenda so=20 he viewed things the way he wanted to view them. Don't = believe a=20 word this idiot has said, its all bullsht. [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 =C2=BB=20 RE: LoL this guy is soo full of crap* Posted by:=20 Axiom69 =C2=BB=20 RE: LoL this guy is soo full of crap Posted by:=20 sureshot45 =C2=BB=20 RE: LoL this guy is soo full of crap Posted by:=20 desidid =C2=BB=20 RE: LoL this guy is soo full of crap Posted by:=20 emmas Thankyou [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: anambrose on = Jun 25,=20 2008 4:33 PM Current rating:=20 5 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] Just a note to say anyone = with an=20 eyeball attached to a brain can see the type of tectonic divisions = our All=20 Volunteer Military institution uses to maintain power within the = ranks. It=20 has metastized over the years largely due to the lack of a larger = more=20 equal sampling of americans serving that a draft would produce. = Remember=20 that it took 9/11 to create the increase in enlistments after the = turn of=20 the century by many who might not have otherwise entered the = services. I=20 think many of the underlying bad habits of an isolated culture are = coming=20 out now because of that. Its enough to make it visible but not = enough to=20 change it from within. I also note that lifers then and now would = prefer=20 to not have it so as it upsets what they perceive to be an = adequate system=20 as far as they're concerned. So they use the false flag of = recently=20 invented tradition to undermine and slow very necessary change. = This lack=20 of leavening has produced a rigid caste system within the ranks = and a=20 Warrior Caste that no longer uses and understands the culture and = language=20 used by their civilian leaders under our Constitution. I've been = out of=20 the Army since Vietnam yet I saw the same type race and class = conflicts of=20 officer vs noncom and enlisted in a recent PBS documentary = Carrier. This=20 man's story along with reporting going back into the 90's about = the abuse=20 of women, people of differing faiths, and political ideologies = warn us of=20 a very dangerous trend that could very well in the end complete = the work=20 started by Nixon which is the abolition of our Republic. Ex = military=20 mercenaries now operating as for profit businesses with ties to = the=20 religious right like Blackwater could very well be employed after = the next=20 natural disaster or attack to do just that under the guise of = protecting=20 some corporation's property. Oops! They already tried that out in = New=20 Orleans after Katrina. [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 My Father Resigned His Commission = [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: desidid on = Jun 26, 2008=20 7:01 PM Current rating:=20 5 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] from the Army. He was a = Major and=20 after his second tour of Viet Nam he told the Army to stick it for = 2=20 reasons. Viet Nam and racism. I don't want anyone telling me his=20 experiences or my uncle's who also resigned his commission weren't = real.=20 [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 What?? [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: = beautifulady2003 on Jun=20 28, 2008 9:39 AM Current rating: Not yet=20 rated [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] " The Iraq War is based on = the Carter=20 doctrine, named for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. In his = 1980 State=20 of the Union address, Carter stated that any attempt by any = outside force=20 to gain control of the Persian Gulf region would be regarded as an = assault=20 on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such = an=20 assault would be repelled by any means necessary, including = military=20 force." Sorry, Mr. Hutto, but the Carter Doctrine is not = the basis=20 for BushCo's preemptive war on Iraq. In fact, the US is the = "outside=20 force" that invaded the middle east via Iraq and Afghanistan. In = 2003 no=20 one invaded the Persian Gulf or the Arab Gulf. Carter was merely = stating=20 the same rhetoric that past and future presidents have espoused, = namely,=20 that if anyone shuts off the oil, we'll smash them like = cockroaches. [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 Good Article...I MOSTLY agree with = him.=20 [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: blue70rose on = Jun 28,=20 2008 3:23 PM Current rating:=20 5 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] I applaud Jonathan Hutto = for all the=20 work he has done. We need more people like him in this country. He = does=20 seem very intelligent--so I was quite surprised that he actually = fell for=20 the "Ron Paul Letters" smear tactic. The whole "He's a=20 racist!/Anti-Semetic!" is the oldest trick in the book. Reading = through=20 the comments above mine revealed a few more reasons to take Mr. = Hutto with=20 a grain of salt, but the main point is we are all against the = occupation=20 here, so good work! [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 =

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=C2=BB=20 EncinoM you need some music education: Posted by:=20 tbone

=C2=BB=20 RE: ncinoM you need some music education: Posted=20 by: EncinoM

=C2=BB=20 RE: ncinoM you need some music education: Posted=20 by: emmas

=C2=BB=20 RE: Square peg....... Posted by:=20 Lauren

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=C2=BB=20 A bridge for sale!!!!! Posted by:=20 carbon-based

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=C2=BB=20 RE: I Think He Has No Expectation For McCain To Do The = Posted by: desidid

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