Vietnam vs. Iraq
I recently stumbled across information about a movie coming to U.S. theatres in June called "Sir! No Sir!". It's a documentary about the anti-war movement during Vietnam - not about the protests of average citizens, but of enlisted soldiers.
We've all heard of the Vietnam "draft dodgers". Some say they're cowards, some say they're heroes for standing up (or standing down, as it were), to protest what they believed to be an unjust war. This documentary tries to show draft dodgers in a way most of us haven't seen them before; as citizens who believed that the only way to end the war was not to participate in it. It also tells the stories of soldiers who did not desert the army, but protested from within.
The film makes obvious parallels to Iraq, and the Not Your Soldier campaign calls upon Americans not join the army, as 'the war machine' cannot run its war in Iraq without soldiers.
Link (in case the player doesn't work for you). Official site.
Now, I know statistics can be skewed, and in some cases, even made up, but I had never heard these numbers before, so I'll post them, and let people debate what they will.
In the first 3 years in Iraq, 2,314 soldiers were killed.
In the first 3 years in Vietnam, 1,864 soldiers were killed.
502,926 soldiers deserted the army and refused to fight in Vietnam.
For the cost of the Iraq war, 6 million Americans could have been sent to college for free.
In addition to those killed, 20,000 soldiers have lost limbs so far in the Iraq war.
To watch the Flash presentation Not Your Soldier, click here.
First read about on MoxieGrrrl's blog
Technorati tags: Vietnam, war, Iraq, politics, Iran, Bush, USA, draft dodgers, Sir No Sir, Not Your Soldier, Bush
