IVAW Congressional Testimony

OK, so Montalvan we know. This is where we met him, and this was me discussing his exasperatingly ridiculous schematic diagram.

Washburn made an appearance here. Kinda lame. He likes to talk in specific about certain things, but fails completely to use any names, dates, places etc, so verifying him is impossible.

But who is this new guy? Kristofer Goldsmith. I didn't remember him, so I looked him up. Now mind you, this is the bio on the IVAW page for him:

He was assigned to take pictures of Iraqis found in a shallow grave, ostensibly for intelligence purposes, but they were only used as trophies by those who received them. After repeated commendations, he was expecting to return to civilian life and college when President Bush announced the “surge,” and the military adopted its stop-loss policy, essentially making Goldsmith a prisoner of war. He tried to kill himself rather than return to Iraq, but survived. He was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, but then was discharged for misconduct as a malingerer. He now delivers pizzas and struggles to overcome his persisting symptoms with treatment through the VA.

Yes, Stop-Loss is almost EXACTLY like being a prisoner of war. Because on Stop-Loss you also are not given sufficient food to eat, and Stop-Loss soldiers often come down with beri-beri and similiar ailments. Discharged for misconduct as a malingerer. That's in his own bio. Holy wow. That's like me putting "unable to get a date with female bloggers, despite putting more effort into such than was expended by all Egyptian Slaves combined in the building of the pyramids."

OK, and now we have video(s), so pull up a chair kiddies and enjoy.

Once again braving the retarded lion's den

Looks like the IVAW peeps got themselves an invite to testify before the incredibly powerful Congressional Progressive Caucus, and I will be there, ready to rhetorically slay them with the jawbone of an [Kucinich].

WHAT: Winter Soldier on the Hill
WHO: Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) & The Congressional Progressive Caucus
WHEN: May 15, 2008, 9:30am-12:30pm
WHERE: 2261 Rayburn House Office Building
WHY: To present eyewitness accounts of the Iraq occupation to Congress.

OK, first off, this is ridiculous. Just so you realize, they aren't testifying before the House Armed Services Commitee. They aren't testifying before the Foreign Relations or Veterans' Affairs Committees. They are testifying before the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which means they will literally be preaching to the choir.

What will they be testifying on?

Washington, DC On May 15, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will testify under oath before Congress about their eyewitness accounts of the military occupation of Iraq. Testifiers will include veterans who served during the surge.

This testimony represents a shift from reports to Congress from high-level commanders and political appointees to direct accounts from boots-on-the-ground soldiers and Marines about the situation in Iraq. Testifiers will detail the ineffectiveness of the "troop surge," the dehumanization, abuse and killing of innocent Iraqi civilians, and the breakdown of the military as a result of the ongoing occupation of Iraq.

Yeah, I've heard all that before. But who will be testifying?

Testifiers will include Luis Montalvan, who served two tours in Iraq as an Army Captain; Jason Washburn, a US Marine Corps Infantry Rifleman who served three tours in Iraq; and Kristofer Goldsmith, who served in the Army as an Artillery Forward Observer in Sadr City, Iraq.

Awesome. The Wrath of (Ghenghis) Khan returns! Can't wait to see them react to his smarmy jackassery. That ought to be good.

Anyway, as it just so happens, I have that day off of work to go see my beloved Red Sox beat the hell out of Baltimore, so I will attend this hearing, assuming it is open to the public. Should be good times! So, stay tuned for more fun.