"Chicago Occupied"
Our friends at Labor Beat in Chicago sent us this piece, about a street theater-style action where members of Iraq Vets Against the War, dressed in battle gear, did a mock patrol, sweeping up and mistreating Chicago civilians in the same style they did in Iraq. This action was modeled after a similar action by Vietnam Vets Against the War, done in the early 1970s, during the US invasion and occupation of Viet Nam, (the "RAW March," which we have archival footage of, and hope to put on a future "Indymedia Presents" episode, for its historical interest). Much like VVAW of yesteryear, IVAW has played an important role in opposing the US presence in Iraq, as well they should. Nobody knows the horror of the American presence better than its victims, the Iraqi people, but their voice is not at all present in the American discourse on the war. Next to the Iraqis, the American soldiers who have served in Iraq have the most to say and IVAW has been a strong voice, trying to alert the American pu...
