Courage To Resist - Freedomain Radio Interview with Jeff Paterson

[pretorious700]

post traumatic stress disorder-gotta love how language evolves. In world war one, it was called "shell shock", in world war two, "combat fatigue". not pc enough of a description now I guess.

[captaindrywall]

all people who go to war suffer from ptsd. If you dont think you do it just means your copeing system is working. Even if you signed up for it. Think about it. Who signs up for a job to go kill people?

[Aliothemage]

Wow, what baloney. 30-40% of the people who worked in Iraq suffer from PTSD? That is completely absurd. I've worked in Iraq for 19 months and I know for a fact that that isn't true at all. Humans are pretty darn resilient and the military is actually pretty good at preparing their troops for the conditions over there.

Don't like the wars? Fine. Argue against that directly. Don't try to make us feel sorry for troops who have all volunteered for the work they are doing.

[RonnieInOC]

It took almost a week for this video and some of your others to show up in my subscriptions.

[andrewh817]

Just look at any of the media footage available on Afghanistan and Iraq. Are they interviewing citizens or soldiers (or both) ? I have never once heard an interview with a citizen of an occupied country on cable television and for good reason.....

[Sporkmater]

I have talked to many different people in Iraq from a Major to a average person on the street.

I can say that from that We are doing the right thing.

[lnd3005]

Who is "We?"

[Sporkmater]

The US military and those that are trying to help the population of Iraq.

[newperve]

Then why did they hire the Badr Brigade? Why did they allow (and encourage) torture? Why didn't they make sure the murderers in Blackwater got tried for their brutality?

[Sporkmater]

Because on the first two we did not have have control of them at the beginning. Also the people in the blackwater case where tired and the case was thrown out out court.

That is one of the reasons why a increase in troops would help so we would not have to reply on the warlords.

[throwntomato]

more and more, the U.S. military seems to look at soldiers, as machines......

[MigDanskeren]

Or slaves

[throwntomato]

yes, they "own" them.

[newperve]

If you owned them wouldn't you look after them better?

[throwntomato]

not necessarily. they can always get more in a shitty economy.

[newperve]

Ahh... but that's the difference between slaves owned individually and those in a common pool. If you're owned by a particular person or group of people they will look after you to the extent that it's economic to do so to preserve your productivity. The slave owned in common can be used up with no consequences for the user.

[deadman12078]

In 1998 when I was 18 I tried to enlist... The recruiter accused me of cheating on the test.

As if I'm going to find a cheat sheet for a test I had no idea I was going to take.

To this day I still wonder where I would be.

About four years later I met a girl and have since had a son with her. That recruiter turned out to be her father who to this day does not like me.

I was rejected because of criminal history. At the time I was serving 5 years probation.

[throwntomato]

interesting story.

[Sporkmater]

Yep becuase you cannot join untail all of that stuff gets cleared.

[deadman12078]

I had already served two years of the sentence. I tried to work with probation and the recruiter to work on a compromise but with no luck.

Because it was the only time I had ever gotten in trouble the record was sealed.

My line of thought and arguement was what better way to serve the remander of my sentance than in the service of my country and it would have been a fresh start.

There is some regret but also some relief. Path not taken...you know.

[Sporkmater]

It does not ork like that I had to jump through huge hoops to be able to join.

I get the fresh start but you want all distractions gone before you even think of trying basic. Also it limits you as far as your options.

Plus you do not want tohave to go through basic and foind out that you cannot serve for some reason related to your punishment.

[timthednov5]

Hey Stefan, the army just approved my conscientious objector application. I will be out in the next month or so. I am pretty lucky

[Sporkmater]

As long as you do not go AWOL or desert I do not have a problem with people who are the real deal as a CO.

[Iseeyoursoul]

THanks for covering this Stefan - very interesting and important.

Jeff Patterson deserves the peace prize more then that flake Obama.

[Sporkmater]

Except that that by going AWOL deserting or missing movement it will affect others besides yourself.

[leafwatch]

Using all military recruits as slaves with no rights affects all military and our entire society. The number or homeless vets is huge, the number of military suicides is scandalous.

Our perpetual war government is immoral, and the people cannot continue to tolerate and support it.

[chitchcott]

Is that a bad thing?

It affects others in a much more positive way that shooting at iraqi civilians.

[Sporkmater]

Have you even been to Iraq?

If not then why are you making assumtions of our actions there.

Also not to mention the people that we are trying to stop have not problems with attacing civlian targets intentionally.

Also your not the person that has to spend time in jail or the person that has to go there to replace the person that deserted for a year or more.

[chitchcott]

I've never been to Iraq, but that doesn't invalidate my argument.

Have you been to Iraq? I'm assuming that you have, as a soldier, by saying "our actions". It just happens that your actions have killed well over a million civillians, which is less than what 'the people we are trying to stop' are doing.

Who has to spend time in jail, and do you think they should?

And I agree that being a replacement for an AWOL soldier isn't fun, but what's stopping the new soldier from going AWOL as well?

[Sporkmater]

Yes I have from May 08 to June 09. Our unit never had to use our weapons in combat. The biggest threat was from IEDs.

Also we are not the one that are doing these random IED/sucide attacks on the population.

Yes becuase now the people their have to work hard and take on larger risks. Also the way that they do leave is based on the number of people. So by going AWOL you are taking leave time awayfrom some else.

[chitchcott]

But what about those soldiers that *did* use their weapons to kill innocent civilians?

'Random suicide attacks' are by no means that largest threat to Iraqi civillian life. Aren't the IEDs mainly against the invading troops, rather than the general population? Iraqi deaths are mostly an unintentional side effect.

Our soldiers may think that 'have' to do harder work and take larger risks, but why don't the other soldiers just go AWOL as well? That way they don't have to risk anything at all.

[Sporkmater]

Those that kill people with out reason are punished under UCMJ and sent to military prision.

Becuase it is the fact that there are things worth fighing for. The things I hav e seen/heard support this.

You don't get it, people will still go to war and you must be able to trust that the guy is going to be there for yu, if not that is when people get killed. Remember the police that abandon thier post during katrina? That is why people cannot just simply 'quit' the Army.

[Sporkmater]

Becuase I would never do that to the people that I serve with. One of the reasons that I joined was to give the people who have been deployed severl times a break with their famlies.

If I caused someone else this then it would cause unneed pain and hardship on someone else. That is something I cannot even think of much less do.

Being in the Army is not a normal job and simply leaving has it effects on those that you seem to not care about. That is why telling people to go AWOL is wrong.

[chitchcott]

I think that all troops should be able to see their families whenever they want. It shouldn't matter who goes AWOL. It's not the AWOL soldier that causes that unneeded pain, it's their government.

Going AWOL sounds bad to you, but to me it sounds like a good thing to do. Leaving a fight is more respectable than adding to it, and in the process, you might actually help Iraqi families by not killing their relatives.

I'm not telling people to go AWOL, I'm saying it will cause less people to die.

[Sporkmater]

It matters becuase only 10 percent of a unit can go on leave to allow a unit to function. Reduced numbers affect how long the remaning people can go.

Becasue it is bad any way you look at it. Your not in the service so that is why it would look good. It will afact you for the rest of your life.

The people that are doing the killing there are going to do it regardless of if we are there or not, so why not try to save a few lives then just say that it is their problem.

[lnd3005]

"The people that are doing the killing there are going to do it regardless of if we are there or not..."

How about the killing done by US military employees? Would that still have happened, too?

"... so why not try to save a few lives then just say that it is their problem."

You do that. And you pay for it, too.

Bet you wouldn't be so macho if you didn't have your hand in my pocket, huh?

[Sporkmater]

Yes if any US or allied forces are caught committing murder or other crimes they will be punished. We were given several classes warning us about this before we even got into the country.

If you are upset about how your tax dollars are used then you may want to talk to you elected officials then on Youtube. Because I have about as much control over the tax money as you do.

[newperve]

Actually there have been many people killed in US interrogations and I don't know of anyone who's been charged over that. A group of "international" soldiers just tied up several children and shot them in the head, no charges. As for the idea that we should "talk to our elected representatives", why? We elected the most anti-war people available and it's still going on.

[Sporkmater]

And what links you have that proves this? (send it in a message)

Except that that has only been claimed and not even verified yet. Also given the rules of warfare that US and NATO troops have to follow this is very unlikely.

No you got conned because people wanted heath care was more important then what was happening overseas. They just see the money and could care less about the people in ether Iraq or Afghanistan.

[robzrob]

this is awful - well highlighted, stef.

[MaikUniversum]

stefbot was made it private and only today made public, I guess.

[1schwererziehbar1]

why was this uploaded dec 22 but didn't pop up until today, dec 27 ?