[Marxism] Left Hook Interview: Iraq War Vet Pat Resta Speaks Out about the War and Occupation

["M. Junaid Alam" <alam1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Once I got there, what I saw was a lot worse than what I could have ever
imagined. All of the things we had been told that we were going there to
do were shown unequivocally to be lies. We were told we weren't supposed
to treat Iraqi civilians unless they were about to die and only if that
injury was a result of an attack directed at us or inflicted by us. Our
supervisor told my platoon that "the Geneva Conventions
<http://www.genevaconventions.org/> don't exist in Iraq and that's in
writing if any of you want to see it."

*He really said that? What did he mean? How did this make you feel?*

Those were his exact words in front of about eight soldiers. I think it
caught us all initially by surprise, that someone in command would say
such a thing. Obviously, he wasn't coming up with that on his own. He'd
been instructed that it was the policy in place and to make sure that it
was followed.


full: http://lefthook.org/Interviews/SeidmanResta111105.html


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