For Immediate Release
February 1, 2024
Contact: Gerry Condon, 206-499-1220
gerrycondon@veteransforpeace.org
Veterans Alarmed as GIs Are Killed and Wounded in Middle East
Call for Permanent Ceasefire In Gaza and Withdrawal of US Troops
Alarmed by the growing number of GIs being killed and wounded in the Middle East, the organization Veterans For Peace has issued a statement calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza: “Israel’s continuing slaughter of men, women and children in Gaza is the source of the recent flurry of attacks on US troops. The US should insist that Israel implement a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. This is the desire of people all over the world, including a majority of people in the U.S.”
The veterans expressed their condolences to families of the GIs recently killed in the Middle East: “Veterans For Peace wishes to communicate our sincere condolences to the families of the three US soldiers recently killed in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan, near the borders of Syria and Iraq. All three were African American members of the Army Reserve in Georgia, and two were young women, 23 and 24 years of age. We applaud their family members for saying they do not want these tragic deaths to lead to escalation of hostilities.”
The veterans also called for the withdrawal of US troops from the Middle East: “We further call on President Biden to withdraw US troops from Middle Eastern countries where they are not wanted, and where they are now under constant attack. The US government could show that it really cares about the young men and women whom it deploys to faraway lands for goals that are not worthy of the many sacrifices they make, including the ultimate sacrifice of their very lives.”
Joshua Shurley, Vice President of Veterans For Peace, invoked the memory of World War II: “In 1945, GI’s liberated Nazi death camps in Europe and exposed the heinous crimes that had occurred within their walls. For the US to have come full circle and enabled the current genocide in Gaza -- while recklessly risking a wider war -- is a stain on that legacy.”
Finally, the veterans said the politicians calling for war with Iran can deploy themselves to war: “We are alarmed by the irresponsible calls by reckless politicians for the US to launch a war against Iran. This would be the worst possible development and could lead to the deaths of millions. If Nikki Haley and Lindsay Graham are hungry for war, they can deploy themselves to US bases in Iraq and Syria or on board US Navy ships that are sitting ducks in the Red Sea.”