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05/27/13 05/27/13 >> from pacifica, this is democracy now!a memorial day special. honor the dead, here looted, stop the wars. that was a cry of wooded veterans year in the streets of chicago. thinking -- national defense metal, an --

>> we rebroadcast our memorial day special of 2012. all that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.today we bring you an memorial day special. honor the dead, you'll the wounded, stop the wars. that was the demand of veteran to gathered in chicago in may of 2012, just a year ago at the site of the largest 80 summit in the organization's six decade history. veterans of the wars as well as

women for afghans for peace p smart for thousands to the summit gates. iraqi veterans then held a ceremony where more than 40 veterans hurled their war veterans toward the gates of the nato summit. no nato, no war. we don't work for you know more. n-a-t-o we don't kill for you know more. of theby one, veterans wars of nato will walk up on stage. they will tell us why they chose to return their medals to nato. i urge you to honor them by listening to their stories. nowhere else will you hear from so many who fought these wars. about their journeys from fighting a war to demanding peace. us killed innocents, some of us helped continue these wars from home.

who are notatched here because we took our own lives. we did not get the proper care from our government. all of us watched failed policies turned into bloodshed. was into us. , andsten to us, hear us think. was any of this worth it? >> no. >> do these metals thank us for a job well done? >> no. >> the corruption and abuse of men and women who swore to defend their country. we tear off this mask. here us. >> my name is iris feliciano, and i do put in support of operation enduring freedom in 2002. i wanted tell the folks behind us, in these enclosed walls, that we no longer stand for

them, we no longer stand for their lives, their failed policies, and these unjust wars. bring our troops home and end the wars now. let us have peace now. pete sullivan, i served in the army national guard for 12 years, and all i have to say is this is not something i am proud of. , fromname is erica sloan ohio. i served in the air force from 2002 2 2008. i am an iraqi veterans. in the military i learned what integrity meant, and i believe i served with integrity. at this point in my life, if i want to continue to live with integrity, i must get rid of these. [cheers and applause] >> my name is greg miller, i am a veteran of the united states army infantry service to iraqi in 2009. the military hands out tokens like this to soldiers in an attempt to fill the void where

their conscience used to be once they indoctrinate it out of you. but that did not work on me, so i am here to return my global war on terrorism medal and my national defense metal because they are lies. >> i am from new york city full stop i served from 2000 522 thousand nine in the army, fought in iraq in support of operation iraqi freedom. i am giving back my global war on terrorism service medal because i realized after a while it was nothing but an idea made by a bunch of politicians. money-hungry politicians who will do nothing and have a complete disregard for human life and will do anything in their power to make more money in the end. idea, andt an therefore it is is an idea that two wars i had to fight him. i don't want any part in it.

i choose life over war, militarism, and imperialism. my name is scott kimball, i am an iraqi war vet, and i turned in these medals today for the people in afghanistan, palestine,on, -- and occupied nations across the world. and for all the servicemembers and veterans veterans against these wars, you are not alone! >> my name is christopher may. i left the army as a conscientious objector. told that these medals represented democracy and justice and hope and change for the world. failuredals represent natohalf of the leaders of to accurately represent the

will of the people. of disenfranchised people this world. instead of helping them, they take advantage of them, and they are making things worse. i will not be a part of that anymore. these medals do not mean anything to me and they can have them back. applause]d >> my name is ty. thank you for coming out. i am releasing these medals because love is the most powerful force we can employ on this planet, and we cannot love, holding weapons. >> my name is ash fulton. i was a sergeant, and what i saw in a rack in 2003, trust me, -- in iraq in 2003, trust me, i don't want us to suffer this again or our children, so i am giving these back. >> i was a sergeant in the army,

in iraq.ours no amount of medals, ribbons, or flags can cause -- can cover the amount of human suffering caused by these wars. we don't want this garbage. we won our human rights, our right to heal. , and iame is jason graduated from high school in 2002, taking that we had to protect our borders. four years in active duty. and at the time my friends were , and i felth iraq by menbecause i was led older than me doing things that the secret service risen recently guilty of. i spent time partying in the caribbean and had to see humans, and haitians, dominicans, floating in the water and wondering why they are there. why are they leaving?

then i go into the national guard, sign up for a one-year contract, and they sent me to new mexico, to the desert for one month, then to vermont for two weeks, and after that i was an infantryman, sent over to iraq, driving a truck, six months playing god. we fortunately were redeployed home early, and since then i have used my g.i. bill to study political science. one of the first friends i made is palestinian, and i spent the summer in west bank. for the first time i learned a little bit what it feels like to be on the receiving end. i was tear gassed in a little village south of ramallah. i apologize, one of my favorite new poets says, a firm life, a firm life, a former life -- a firm life. that is what we have to do. it is the only thing we should

be doing as humans. >> i am david van damme. i am a g.i. resister. i was in the u.s. navy. i got an other than honorable discharge, and their policies are other than honorable. all the resistors that refuse to fight our honorable. g.i.is the solidarity resisters of unjust wars. >> my name is mark from chesterton, indiana. thank you for being understanding, inviting, and wonderful. even these guys in black and blue. good conduct medal -- hah. >> i am jason crawford. i went to iraq and afghanistan. i knew these medals were meaningless. i only regret not speaking up about how silly the war is sooner. i am giving these back. free bradley manning. hurd.name is jason

i spent 10 years in the united states army as a combat medic, deployed to baghdad in 2004. i am here to report -- to return my global war on terrorism service medal. i am deeply sorry for the destruction we have caused in those countries and around the globe. i am proud to stand on the stage with my fellow veterans and my afghan sisters. these were lies. i am giving them back. chris.ame is i was part of the invasion of iraq in 2003. out of love and respect for the iraqi people and the people in afghanistan, i want to return these representations of hate and instruction back where they came from. -- hate and distraction back where they confront. >> i was in the air force from 2003 to 2007. i joined the military to joy --

to go to college. for not fighting imperialism anymore, i am fighting against imperialism, and this is dedicated to all the courageous people under attack by the fbi. my name is raymond. i am here to return my medals, and the usa and israel government need to be held accountable for their torture and drone attacks. i am returning my medals. they can have them. , amy name is stephen lund .wo-time iraq combat veteran i return these medals and dedicate them to the children in iraq who no longer have model mother. i deserted.

i am one of 40,000 people that left the united states armed forces because this is a lie! my name is steve, i am from wisconsin. observer in the army for just under five years. i deployed to iraq in 2005, and i am giving back my medals for the children of iraq and afghanistan. livee begin to heal and in peace from here until eternity. [cheers and applause] from atlanta.phil the reason why i threw my metal back is because we are the global 99% and we refuse to be silenced. back here to chicago.

>> i was a conscientious objector for the united states air force. i am returning my global war on terrorism medal on behalf of private first class radley manning. who sacrificed -- bradley manning, who sacrificed everything to show us the truth about these wars. i am from columbus, ohio, i now reside in chicago, illinois. today is not quite as beautiful because nato is here. medalsre to return my because i cannot stand in solidarity and peace with my brothers and sisters in iraq and afghanistan as long as i wear them. applause]d >> my name is sabrina waller, and i deployed under nato orders to cozumel in 1999.

i am also the mother of a -- two kosovo inh -- to 1999. i want to make sure that my son and his generation never have to fight another war. >> i served in the u.s. army in 2004, air rack. -- iraq. of the the humanity iraqi people and lost mine. we are on the right side of history. in the united states marine corps from 2001 to 2006, and in iraq twice. i am turning in my campaign medal and service and expeditionary medals. for all my brothers and sisters with brain injuries, noah terry said -- military sexual trauma. am from kentucky, a former

sergeant of the u.s. army, former sergeant of the u.s. army. route member of iraq veterans against the war. i am taking these things off, all of them, and i encourage you to refuse to. >> i am mark. i have never been too convinced of anything the past seven years except i have been hurting. i have three daughters, and i am convinced looking out across this crowd of people, that my daughters will have peace. [cheers] >> my name is zach, and i am an iraqi veteran from milwaukee, wisconsin. i am giving back my medals because i feel like i was duped into an illegal war that was sold to me on the guys that i was going to be liberating the

iraqi people, when instead of liberating the people i was liberating their oil fields. my name is rachel mcneill. i served in the military for almost eight years as a sergeant and i am returning this at all today because it is time to restore america possibl's honord renounce this war on terror. >> my name is jacob george, from the watcher tall mountains in arkansas. i am a veteran of the afghan war, and i have one word for this global war on terrorism decoration, and that is "shame." >> my name is scott olson. with me is my global war on terror medal, my national defense medal, and my marine corps good conduct medal.

these medals once upon a time made me feel good about what i was doing, that i was doing the right thing. then i came back to reality and i am glad to be without these anymore. >> i am joshua and i am from chicago. i honestly, friends, and here to tell you that i blame myself first. i should have done my homework, realized the lies before i anticipated them. this symbolic act, this throwing of the metal is for all those -- dal is for all those people out there will who wonder why we are doing it. do your homework. >> i am here to say that war is a racket! >> my name is todd dennis. i served in the united states navy. i'm returning my medal because it was given to me according to my letter because of hard work

and dedication and setting the example. i was a hard worker because i buried my ptsd and buried myself in the military. i invoke my right to heal. >> i was in the military from 1990 822 thousand six, and i am returning my metal today because i want to live by my conscience rather than be a prisoner of it. my name is james, i served in the navy from 1999 to 2003, or in the invasions of air rack and afghanistan. -- of iraq and afghanistan. i apologized to the iraqi and afghan a people for destroying their countries. >> my name is joshua shepherd. united six years in the states navy. these are not mine, they never were. they are instruments of control from this government. i will not continue to trade my heroism.for bald

>> my name is barack mcintosh. -- my name is brock macintosh. i was in the army national guard from 2008 2 2009. two months ago i visited ground zero for the first time with two afghans. it is a tragic monument. dalm going to toss this meta today for the civilians in afghanistan that will not have a monument built for them. this is for the peace volunteers. >> my name is john andersen. i did two deployments to air , and all this to structure was not necessary, and now we will bring it to an end because we know the world is possible. we are unstoppable! we are unstoppable! i am an army veteran, i

spent a good amount of time in afghanistan and i want everybody to look around, take a second and look around. now.next to you right talking about everybody out here. there are thousands of people for something important. we are having a conversation for the first time in a long time. for many of us, for the first time. i want to say that all of us in some way or another are trying to serve this great land we live in, but it is only great because of what we do with it. sometimes we make mistakes, and the way we change that is we admit our mistakes and take responsibility for our mistakes. we change and we become better, and we do it together. so i am returning my global war on terrorism medals he cause i not fight war on adjectives -- because i do not fight wars on adjectives.

first and foremost, this is for the people in iraq and afghanistan. this is for our real forefathers. i'm talking about the student nonviolent coordinating committee, the black panthers, the civil rights movement, unions. i am talking about our socialist brothers and sisters, our communist brothers and sisters, our anarchist brothers and sisters, and are a college you brothers and sisters. that is who our real forefathers are. ,astly, and most importantly our enemies are not 7000 miles from home. they sit in board rooms. they are ceo's, bankers, hedge fund managers. they do not live 7000 miles from home. our enemies are right here, and we look at them every day. they are not the men and women standing at this police line. they are the millionaires and billionaires who control this

planet, and we have had enough of it. so they can take their medals back. >> my name is chuck, i am here on behalf of of americans who really wanted to be here who could not be a cousin when they came to the u.s. border they would be immediately arrested. the crime they would be arrested for was refusing to continue to participate in the crimes against the people of iraq and afghanistan. these americans, who were exiled from this country, who deserve private christian car of the u.s. ring core, refusing redeployment to iraq. a corporal from u.s. marine corps, refusing redeployment to iraq. specialist jules duncan. paratrooper, refused redeployment to afghanistan. sergeant corey glass, army, refused redeployment to iraq.

and sergeant chris vessey, power trooper, civ, refused redeployment to afghanistan. i have their awards in my pocket and i am throwing them back, mad as hell. 2002 2 thousand six. this metal right here is anthony wagner, who died last year. medal right here is for the one third of women in the military who were sexually assaulted last year. we talk about standing up for our sisters. we talk about standing up for our sisters in afghanistan and we cannot even take care of our sisters here. applause]d right here, because

i am sorry. i am sorry to all of you. i am sorry. hundred --s à la is alejandro. i took part in the invasion of iraq and in 2003 and afghanistan in 2011. i really believed in this mission and i learned the army values -- loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, a person of courage. after my experience i realize there is no integrity. integrity -- do what is legally and morally right. and we failed, so there is no honor in these wars. there is just shame. in iraq,ns of the wars afghanistan, vietnam, hurling

their war medals for the gates of the nato summit in chicago. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report.as we bring you this memorial day special. honor the dead, heal the wounded. back in a few minutes. ♪ [music break]

worldwide a rebel song. we returned to the makeshift stage outside the nato summit in chicago, where scores of veterans gathered to protest nato's wars. >> we begin our ceremony with the folding of the flag. plays] flew overcan flag nato military operations in afghanistan, libya. this flag represents 50% of nato funding. it represents intimidation

beginning with the escalation of the cold war. untoldag represents the suffering and pain caused by nato wars, and occupation carried out by u.s. and nato forces against the oppressed people of the world. this flag flew over afghanistan as a constant reminder to the afghan people that they were occupied by a foreign imperial power. this flag flew over libya and came by the way of drones, bombs, bullets. this flag is draped over the coffins of thousands of americans killed in combat. and thousands more who have committed suicide after they returned from service. currently 18 veterans commit suicide each day. we retire this flag and give it to those who suffer silently in wars, at home and abroad. , and mary,milies

who lost her military son to suicide, to those who lose something that can never be given back. and to thousands of parents in this country. >> after the ceremony, where she was presented with the american flag, i spoke with mary kirkland, mother of derek kirkland. he joined the army because he was not earning enough money to support his wife and child. he attempted suicide after his first tour in iraq. it was on his second deployment to iraq, mobley at the six-month mark. i don't know exactly what caused it, but he ended up putting a shotgun in his mouth over there in iraq, and one of his buddies stopped him.

they got him help while he was there, then transferred him to the hospital in germany, where he stayed about a week and a half. then they sent him back to his home base of fort lewis, which is now a joint base, lewis hord.d he came back on a monday after two failed suicide attempts. they kept him in the hospital overnight. >> where? >> there at fort madigan. he was deemed a moderate to low risk for suicide, his only restriction being that he was not to be around any weapons. cleared him to go basically in a barracks room by himself, which i found after talking to veterans was it illegal.

he tried to kill himself again on thursday night. andot back on the 15th killed himself on the 19th. hethe thursday, on the 18th, um, so was some ro drinking rum with his medications that they just gave him, his antidepressants and ,leep medicine, and cut himself had blood stains all over his room. was not successful, so he got up friday morning and bandaged himself. that he wrotengs

before he went and hung himself was, "i feel invisible. i feel like i am transparent" ." nobody walked into the room on friday to see the blood stains. derrick didn't hang himself until -- the last time they saw him was friday night at 10:00, and they found him saturday 1:30.g at if anybody would have walked in that room on that friday, but they did not even -- the leadership was not even checking on him. so this mother got woke up sunday morning at 6:30 to tell me that my son was dead, that i had let my guard down because he got back on monday, back in the united states.

and thefe, he is -- army called it a miscommunication, is why my son is dead. when did he enlist? >> he enlisted in january of 2007. >> why did he enlist? >> he had a wife and child, a -- at ihop,op, not enough money, went to an army recruiter that promised the benefits, and he wanted to support his family. what were the two tours like in iraq that he served? >> the first one lasted 15

months. that is when they had changed it, and they had to stay over there 15 months. before he went, always laughing, always a jokester. then when he got back in june, a sparkle wasn't in his i know more. he liked skateboarding, playing guitar. >> did you want him to go into the military? >> at that point in time i agreed with it, and it was because of him that my daughter and my younger son joined. their father was in the army. their grandfather was in the army and navy. my father was in the navy with two brothers being in the navy. a it was kind of a -- it is good thing, an honorable thing,

to go into the military. >> what happened when he went for the second tour of duty? between getting home, he came home on leave, and -- i didn't know what i know now about posttraumatic stress syndrome and the symptoms and, -- know -- but looking back and, you know, like conversations like, "mom, i'm the murderer." and i would tell him, no, you are in a war. there is a difference between being in a war and killing somebody and just going up on the street and killing somebody. that's a murderer. and he had trouble sleeping, was drinking. >> was he drinking a lot before he enlisted? youe drank, but not -- know, not overly drinking.

party type drinking, hanging out with his friends. and of course you have to realize i only got to spend probably about three days with in betweene was home the time a of the leave. like i said, i missed it. you know, i should have asked more questions or -- i don't know. you know, that's the question i am asking the veterans, you know, that i encounter. it is like what can i do to help? what can i do to help you? when did you start asking the died?ons after derrick what brought you to this nato

summit? march 27, 2010 is when we buried him. he is buried at marion national cemetery which is 50 miles from indianapolis. as we were leaving i stopped at a gas station and i got a newspaper to see if they had anything wrote. they had a picture with the patriot guard, and underneath it said that the department of derrick wases that killed in action and that the family declines to comment. two lies off right there. no, he was not killed in action, he was killed because of the failed mental health care at army base at fort lewis. .nd i would have commented from day one i would have commented.

, like, fight derrick was still legally married and they put me off with you are not the next of kin. you have to get permission from his wife or hire an attorney. so be honest, there was a few drunken nights that i made phone calls and i started getting some paperwork. it just started with lies, you know, and how i feel is -- and i asked them, you know, when i called to get some paperwork, a asked of them, "well, the department of defense said that

derrick was killed in action," it was probably a mistake from the newspaper or they did not want to embarrass the family. to me, i am not ashamed that i had to tell people that my son committed suicide. i am ashamed of the military for failing to give him proper mental health treatment. they have not even treated our vietnam veterans, you know, and now we are in the next generation. i am here today because i don't want my grandchildren, you know, after i am dead and gone, to be having to march through the streets of chicago. >> do you have a message for president obama and for the nato generals here at the summit? actually, i have seen it on a t-shirt. it was, "honor the dead, heal the wounded, stop the wars."

>> mary kirkland, the mother of derrick kirkland. he committed suicide at fort lewis mccord in washington on march 19, 2010, after two tours of duty in iraq. act on the protests jj outside the nato summit. let's corporal scott olson declared -- >> i am scott olson. today i have with me my mobile war on terror medal, operation , and theseom medal metals once upon a time made me feel good about what i was doing. they made me feel like i was doing the right thing. then i came back to reality and i don't want these anymore. >> like the riot police flanking alsotage, scott olson wore a helmet, recovering from a fractured skull after being shot in the head at close range

by a beam back -- by a beanbag projectile. he was shot where he risk protesting. is scott olson, and i came here to chicago to return my metals to nato and to be there for my mother, brothers and sisters who did the same thing i did. , i thinkn those medals that was a big step for all of us to take. it is a step that we all have to take together. >> what medals did you return? >> the global war on terror medal, the operation iraqi good conduct, the medals. two tours of duty. when did you enlist and when did you serve? >> i and listed shortly after i

graduated from high school in 2005. >> in wisconsin? >> yes, and in 2006 i went to iraq for my first time, and we resent in to save for the surge, and then i went again in 2008. >> what was your experience like? >> my experience in iraq really wasn't right. i thought we were over there doing good things and helping these people have democracy and a functional country, and at the same time protecting our country. but every day i i spent over there i found out that was not necessarily the case. i did not see us doing any good work. we were not doing anything we said we were going to do. you know, instead, we killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and we tore their nation apart.

when you came back after the second time, what did you decide to do? >> i decided there was no way i was going to reenlist. i was not going to participate in the system anymore, and -- >> and so let's talk about the second part of this journey, where you ended up at occupy in oakland. >> yeah, after i got out, i found iraq veterans against the war, and i started participating in actions with them and, you know, making friends with other veterans who thought the same way as i did. so i went up there to the wisconsin protests last year, and that really radicalized me and made me see that the true power of being part of a community that is trying to change things for the better. step occupy as the next

after that, as a continuance of that. and it is something i was waiting for and i think it is something a lot of people were waiting for. so what happened to you at occupy? >> october 205i went to a protest in oakland at night. justnow, these people had been removed from their encampment. i thought that we had a right to be there. i thought that we had the right to have our voices heard there. so i went there and a police officer shot me in the head with a beanbag round, and it fractured my skull. >> did you see the officer? >> i did not. it came out of nowhere, from my side, and, you know -- >> how do you know it was a beanbag? >> we had a test done, and the

test results revealed that the pattern was consistent with what it would be if it were a beanbag round. that confirmed it. >> so you ended up in the hospital, and how long were you in the hospital, and how long were you able -- so you had a fractured skull. >> i was in the hospital for two and half weeks. i cannot talk in the hospital hospital until the last few days when i regained that starting to be able to talk again. i had neurosurgery and skill reconstruction surgery, so it in they hard to be hospital, and it was a lot to go through. but i am really glad that i really committed myself to getting better. >> so how did you go from occupy oakland, the hospital rehab, to this nato summit and

willing to face whatever you would face here? >> i am really not going to let their actions stop me. letknow i am not going to that stop me and keep me home. i am going to make every effort i can to show them we are doing the right thing, we are in the right, and no matter what they do to any of us, we have got each other's backs and we are going forward. >> and to see the police and the riot police with their helmets, the police officers on horseback? , that's still always gets to me. i mean, they are always trying to intimidate us and keep our numbers down, keep families home. you know, people don't want to bring out kids when there is a threat of violence, so that is what that represents to me, and that is why i was wearing my

helmet today. safe.t be too anything could happen. >> you were wearing a black, shiny helmet. >> right, i was wearing a helmet for my safety. and i have to do that every time i go out to a protest where there is a threat of violence from the police. >> because? >> because they have been using violence across the country and they still do and people are still getting hurt. >> and if you get hit again in the head? >> since i had a recent brain injury, another hit would probably be deadly or cause much more damage, so i really can't take that risk. corporal scott olsen. after two tours of duty in iraq, he came back to this country and served his country in a different way. he protested at occupy oakland.

it was there that he was shot in the head of a -- by a police projectile, almost ending his life. he is recovering from a fractured skull and was one of more than 40 veterans who hurled their war medals at the nato gates in chicago. if you would like a copy of today's show, you can go to our website at democracynow.org. back in a minute. ♪ [music break] singing woodyn guthrie's "this train."

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.today we bring you a memorial day special. "honor the dead, heal the wounded, stop the wars." womeny before members of for afghans for peace led a protest march at the nato summit, i had a chance to conduct a joint interview with a member of each group. speaking out against the al qaeda -- the occupation of the war in afghanistan and we forhere to protest to call the end of this illegal, barbaric war against our home country and our people. >> and you're standing next to? >> i spent years in the military and in afghanistan. standing nextfeel

to a soldier? where is your family from? >> my family is from four different provinces. i was born in kabul, and i left in 1998 thomas a from the soviet war. >> and you are standing next to a soldier? >> absolutely. i feel honored to stand next to graham, because they are now in my opinion doing the right thing in speaking out against the occupation of the war alongside us today. we will speak -- we will be marching with them at the rally and be with them during the reconciliation event toward the end as well. the natospeak near summit, amnesty international is holding what they are calling an alternative summit, but madeleine is addressing them. they have these ads up now that basically congratulate nato and talk about the continuing of

the progress with women in afghanistan. what is your response to that? that is an absolute ridiculous joke. they are not there to liberate afghanistan's women. you can't liberate women through occupation and war, violence, through bombs, through tanks, through weapons. >> how do you do it? >> they need to be empowered. we need to refocus priorities on their basic human needs -- education, health care. wese would be the top, and also need to focus on reconciliation fist -- on reconciliation efforts and reparations as well. >> when did you sign up for the military? nine/11 in the summer of 2003. >> when did your view start changing about what you are doing and i can stand? >> it was during deployment.

we saw what we were seeing on television and we would sit in the chow hall about the war was much different from the reality on the ground. he could see that when we entered a home, even if there was not a terrorist there before, there was when we left. we were radicalizing the population just by our presence. >> you are wearing a medal. what is it for? >> this is the global war on terrorism medal. anybody who serves post-9/11 in the united states military service and the global war on an adjective. what it means and any affiliation with this war. >> why? , it has changed so many lives. it has changed my own and hers and so many hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. it is not accomplishing the original goals. i joined because i wanted to help women. i wanted to be the patriarchal

savior who came in and fix the problems, and i did not understand that i was actually the one making the problems worse. reconciliation that will happen today between the u.s. military and afghans for peace? >> part of this whole process is starting the process of reconciliation, which means that we are listening to each other, and we practice active listening, hearing where the other people are coming from. we have a long way to go to come together for us to overcome a lot of the guilt and a lot of the shame that we as soldiers and veterans feel for what we participated in. we want to start creating instead of destroying. >> it is the first time an afghan led peace movement is now working side-by-side with the veteran led peace movement. this is the beginning of something new, something better, reconciliation and peace. sahar and graham clumpner. grandma went on to throw his war

medals at the nato summit gay, although with more than 40 other veterans. we and today's show with a song timhicago's musician mcelrath. he produced it as a video that has been viewed more than 13 million times online. ♪ [music break]

mcilratho musician tim of rise against. >> democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. email your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to: democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, ny 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the obama administration has confirmed the u.s. illegally -- al-a man in yemen yemen.in they also confirmed the death of son. -- his but the administration said those strikes were accidental, saying all three were not specifically targeted. today, we are going to look at the new book "dirty