Visitors speak out against U.S. presence in Iraq

Jennifer Drogus / contributing writer

In observance of the two years since war was declared in Iraq, a discussion regarding the removal of troops was held in the Integrated Science and Technology building Tuesday evening.

"We have been largely isolated from hearing about many of the events going on right now in Iraq," said Erik Leaver, a foreign policy analyst with the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C who spoke during "Two Years of War, Where Are We Now? The Case for a U.S. Military Withdrawl and an End to Occupation."

Larry Syverson, a father with children in the military, and Leaver traveled to JMU in order to educate students about both the personal toll the war in Iraq has taken on their lives as well as talk about possible strategies for removal of troops.

Syverson has two sons who have served in Iraq and is an active member of the Military Families Speak Out organization.

Syverson’s son, Brice, battled Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression, became sensitive to noise and anxious in large crowds. However, Syverson said, his son cannot get out of the Army and must go back over to Iraq.

"He is in no shape to be given a gun and sent back over there," Syverson said. "I understand that hardship is part of the job [of a soldier]. there just has to be compelling and honest reasons to impose such hardships."

Leaver spoke about how difficult it is to get an informed debate because of the lack of accurate information that has actually been divulged about the war. He proposed several peaceful solutions for the removal of American troops in Iraq, including decreasing the population of troops in the Middle East and making a definite declaration that the U.S. has no intention to maintain long-term incumbency in Iraq., do more to restore services to the people of Iraq and put restrictions on how much money Congress is spending on the war.

"We need to represent an ambitious new direction for the Iraqi people … we need to have more chances for educational forums such as this one," Leaver said.

The event was put together by the student-run group Progress, a multi-issue social justice organization involved in the resistance to the Iraq war.

"The purpose of having these two gentlemen speak here tonight is to inform students that the aims of the war [in Iraq] are not effective, and that there are cultural aspects of the war that are not being revealed," junior Progress member Katie Clark said.

Approximately fifty students attended the two speeches and participated in the following discussion session.

"I left this discussion with a new respect for the families of soldiers in Iraq," senior Kiley McEvoy said. "It is difficult to see a reason for subjecting their children to unnecessary peril."