Soldiers want withdrawal is not recent news....

The fact that the soldiers want to withdraw from Iraq is not a recent phenomenon. There's been a poll out for awhile where 72% of the troops (stationed in Iraq) thought the US should withdraw from Iraq. Grassroots "peace" activists in Hampton Roads are regularly approached by local service members voicing concerns about the Iraq occupation.

The "news" was that the topic got some coverage by the Nation. (I noticed a few other VA bloggers were posting this Nation scoop a few hours "after" it first appeared on the lefty blog roll...Kudo's go to this blog for breaking the story in the VA Blog network. Credit where credit is due folks.)

There are two Virginian Pilot articles featuring Jonathen Hutto and his appeal for redress. October article November article (So the VA Pilot "finally" deserves some credit for not ignoring this story. Hopefully, the Virginian Pilot will become "curious" about what local activists in Hampton Roads are up to and more pertinent local news coverage will be done. Folks are tired of the media obsession with crime, crime, and more crime. We want in-depth coverage on "pending legislation" so that folks have time to research and then contact their elected officials BEFORE the bill is passed.)

It is amazing that the Appeal for Redress project has managed to obtain over a thousand signatures in spite of systemic obstacles. We know that military personnel are "hesitant" to speak their minds when their opinion differs from the commander in chief. The military structure discourages speaking out an opinion or concern. The service members working on the Appeal to Redress project are not allowed to discuss the issue on base with their colleagues. All Appeal for Redress activities have to be done off base and in civilian life (including the clothing). [Note to Service Members: Jonathen Hutto (the founder of this Appeal for Redress) is currently up for "Sailor of the Year."]

I "predict" that if the Corporate Media adequately covers this story and the service members discover they can legitimately voice their concerns to Congress...there will be more "thousands" of signatures headed to Congress. I believe just the reservists who would like to "Appeal for Redress" number in the thousands....IF this gets adequate coverage the service members themselves may be the factor that ends the occupation of Iraq.

Heck....even Colin Powell has "finally" decided to speak out and call for the troops to withdraw within the next six months.

UPDATE: Star is correct on one point....This blog was first up on Lefty Blogs at 12:02 pm. However, as I surfed this a.m. I believe that the west of shockoe blog is the one who got the scoop on all. Their post on this reads 11:01 a.m. We stand self-corrected on this point....Buzz...Buzz...Mosquito