Iraq Veterans Against the War Bring Hope to Active Troops

Posted by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet at 5:00 PM on August 1, 2008.

Editor's Note: The following is a press release from Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW).

PHILADELPHIA - Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will be hosting events near eight major military installations in the U.S. from Aug. 1 through Sept. 5 as part of the State of the Union Base Tour.

"Our message to the troops is simple," said IVAW member Jason Washburn, a tour organizer and three-time veteran of Iraq. "The state of the union is dire, but you are not alone."

The tour will take six Iraq Veterans roughly 6,800 miles across the country, from Fort Drum, N.Y. to Camp Pendleton, C.A. At each stop, concerts, fundraisers and V.A./GI rights workshops will be hosted by the veterans.

Washburn and others on the tour are delivering a message of hope to a group of people they refuse to leave behind.

"We're into the sixth year of this occupation," said Kris Goldsmith, another tour organizer and Iraq combat veteran. "It is no less difficult on the Soldier today than it was on day one. We know, we've been there, but we're not finished serving; not until our bravest get the care they need and every troop comes home."

Iraq Veterans Against the War 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 occupation. Today, IVAW has more than 1,250 members in 48 states, Washington, D.C. and Canada and on military bases overseas. To learn more about IVAW, please visit www.ivaw.org/basetour.