Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations

“The only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name.”—Kelly Dougherty, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War

In spring 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered veterans to expose war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic gathering, which show the reality of life in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Iraq Veterans Against the War argues that well-publicized incidents of American brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the massacre of an entire family of Iraqis in the town of Haditha are not the isolated incidents perpetrated by “a few bad apples,” as many politicians and military leaders have claimed. They are part of a pattern, the group says, of “an increasingly bloody occupation.”

“Here is the war as it should be reported, seeing the pain, refusing to sanitize an unprovoked attack that has killed over one million people. All over America are victims who have returned from this conflict with hideous wounds — wounds that turn the lives of the entire family upside down. And the American people are not seeing this. Until now.

“Winter Soldier, an enormously important project of Iraq Veterans Against the War, cuts this debacle to the bone, exposing details hard to come by and even harder to believe. This is must reading for patriots who have already begun the effort to insure that this never happens again.”

–Phil Donahue

“Winter Soldier makes us feel the pain and despair endured by those who serve in a military stretched to the breaking point by stop-loss policies, multiple combat tours, and a war where the goals and the enemies keep shifting … [and] also make[s] us admire the unbreakable idealism and hope of those men and women who still believe that by speaking out they can make things better both for themselves and for those who come after them.”–San Francisco Chronicle

Formed in the aftermath of the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was founded in 2004 to give those who have served in the military since September 11, 2001, a way to come together and speak out against an unjust, illegal, and unwinnable war. Today, IVAW has over seven hundred members in forty-nine states, Washington, DC, Canada, and on military bases overseas.

Aaron Glantz is an independent journalist who has covered the Iraq War from the front lines. He is the author of How America Lost Iraq (Tarcher) and a forthcoming book on the Iraq War from the University of California Press.

Anthony Swofford is the author of Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Absolutely Ridiculous!
If I could put NO stars as a rating I would. My husband was in the 3rd ACR and knew one of the men in this book. He WAS THERE and said it was completely untrue what was written. Also, I cannot support reading this book since its followers are those who have went AWOL from active duty! What cowards when people like my husband served 2 tours and did his patriotic duty…. after all, this wasn’t the draft, they signed up for this! IT’S NOT ABOUT THE WAR…IT’S ABOUT THE WARRIOR!!!!!

5 Stars Painful Honesty and Courage
This is essential reading for every American. Whether you support the activity in Iraq and Afghanistan or not, you should know what the network news never tells you.

If you go to the IAVW website, you can watch the video testimonies of what is in this book.

If you say you want to show your support for the men and women serving our country, buying, reading and sharing this book is one way to do it.

5 Stars An essential, worthy book
In their own words, plainly and without anger or exaggeration, veterans decribe what they lived through, and how it changed them. The positive message I derive from this book is that everyday people can reaffirm their ethical orientation and human decency despite being subjected to an appalling process of dehumanization by the armed forces.

This book is essential reading.

5 Stars The Truth is Out There!
Any one interested in what is really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan should read this book. It contains authentic testimony of boots on the ground, that is, US Forces and their continuing occupation. SHOCKING EVIDENCE that torture and inconsideration for human life is now government policy, and not just an isolated incident. A must read. *****

5 Stars Well written, important historical book
Aaron Glantz, and Iraq Veterans Against the War, have written an extremely important historical document of the Winter Soldier hearings. Here are a few of my comments from a review I did of the book for Inter Press Service (IPS):

Aside from the Iraqi people, nobody knows what the U.S. military is doing in Iraq better than the soldiers themselves. A new book gives readers vivid and detailed accounts of the devastation the U.S. occupation has brought to Iraq, in the soldiers’ own words.

“Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupation,” published by Haymarket Books Tuesday, is a gut-wrenching, historic chronicle of what the U.S. military has done to Iraq, as well as its own soldiers.

Four days of searing testimony, witnessed by this writer, is consolidated into the book, which makes for a difficult read. One page after another is filled with devastating stories from the soldiers about what is being done in Iraq.

Everything from the taking of “trophy” photos of the dead, to torture and slaughtering of civilians is included.

“We’re trying to build a historical record of what continues to happen in this war and what the war is really about,” Glantz told IPS.

Glantz admits that it would be difficult for the average U.S. citizen to read the book, and believes it is important to keep in mind while doing so what it took for the veterans to give this historic testimony.

“They could have been heroes, but what they are doing here is even more heroic — which is telling the truth,” Glantz told IPS. “They didn’t have to come forward. They chose to come forward.”

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