Josh Stieber to Join Teach-In on War

Josh Stieber served in the company shown in the video from Iraq
recently released by Wikileaks. He and Ethan McCord have published an
apology to the Iraqi people:
http://bit.ly/dkWP4o
And the widow of an Iraqi killed in the video has accepted the apology:
http://bit.ly/cBVtZc
Steiber will participate in Thursday's Teach-In on Capitol Hill, where
he will speak briefly and be available to answer questions.

From Current and Former Members of the U.S. Military

Peace be with you.

To all of those who were injured or lost loved ones during the July
2007 Baghdad shootings depicted in the “Collateral Murder” Wikileaks.

We write to you, your family, and your community with awareness that
our words and actions can never restore your losses.

We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months.
Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing
so, saw the faces of his own children back home. Josh Stieber was in the
same company but was not there that day, though he contributed to the
your pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions.

There is no bringing back all that was lost. What we seek is to
learn from our mistakes and do everything we can to tell others of our
experiences and how the people of the United States need to realize we
have done and are doing to you and the people of your country. We humbly
ask you what we can do to begin to repair the damage we caused.

We have been speaking to whoever will listen, telling them that what
was shown in the Wikileaks video only begins to depict the suffering we
have created. From our own experiences, and the experiences of other
veterans we have talked to, we know that the acts depicted in this video
are everyday occurrences of this war: this is the nature of how
U.S.-led wars are carried out in this region.

We acknowledge our part in the deaths and injuries of your loved
ones as we tell Americans what we were trained to do and what we carried
out in the name of "god and country". The soldier in the video said
that your husband shouldn't have brought your children to battle, but we
are acknowledging our responsibility for bringing the battle to your
neighborhood, and to your family. We did unto you what we would not want
done to us.

More and more Americans are taking responsibility for what was done
in our name. Though we have acted with cold hearts far too many times,
we have not forgotten our actions towards you. Our heavy hearts still
hold hope that we can restore inside our country the acknowledgment of
your humanity, that we were taught to deny.

Our government may ignore you, concerned more with its public image.
It has also ignored many veterans who have returned physically injured
or mentally troubled by what they saw and did in your country. But the
time is long overdue that we say that the value of our nation's leaders
no longer represent us. Our secretary of defense may say the U.S. won't
lose its reputation over this, but we stand and say that our
reputation's importance pales in comparison to our common humanity.

We have asked our fellow veterans and service-members, as well as
civilians both in the United States and abroad, to sign in support of
this letter, and to offer their names as a testimony to our common
humanity, to distance ourselves from the destructive policies of our
nation's leaders, and to extend our hands to you.

With such pain, friendship might be too much to ask. Please accept
our apology, our sorrow, our care, and our dedication to change from the
inside out. We are doing what we can to speak out against the wars and
military policies responsible for what happened to you and your loved
ones. Our hearts are open to hearing how we can take any steps to
support you through the pain that we have caused.

Solemnly and Sincerely,
Josh Stieber, former specialist, U.S. Army
Ethan McCord, former specialist, U.S. Army