Editorials from MFSO members:
Tracy Eiswert, Ocala, Florida

On December 23, 2020 a delegation of MFSO and Veterans for Peace members met with Joe Biden’s transitional team. Below is a loose transcription of Tracy’s remarks to the Biden staff.

Our tragedy begins in 2004 when my husband and father of Unity and Breanna was sent to Tuz, Iraq on Operational Base Bernstein from 2004-2005. After being honorably discharged, he returned home on November 25, 2005 with no obvious scars. I remember counting all fingers and toes as he stepped off the bus! Just when we felt that our nightmare had ended, we immediately noticed a change in his behavior after his return.

My name is Tracy Eiswert. I live in Ocala, Florida. I am the widow of Scott Eiswert who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was a combat engineer specialist with Troop E, 2^nd squad 27^th regimental combat team with the Army National Guard. The VA’s failure to properly diagnose and treat Scott’s PTSD contributed to his suicide. Today, I want to talk to you about bringing our troops home. I am not going to talk about the politics of ending our 17 year-long presence in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. I want to appeal to your compassion. The American people are currently suffering as a result of having their loved ones overseas and from the mental health strain we put on the soldiers themselves. 17 years is a long time! It is time now to end the suffering of all Americans who continue to sit by the phone waiting for the word that it’s their son, husband, mother or father that has been killed! This is our stress and anxiety from not knowing from day to day. Think of the loneliness of husbands, wives, sons and daughters that depend on the emotional support in our day-to-day lives; the children that do not have a father or mother present to help meet all those milestones in life that determines character and personality. What is the mental health cost of keeping our soldiers overseas? Seriously, what is the cost on the American people, the mental health system, insurance premiums, and LOSS of LIVES  due to SUICIDE??? Let’s talk cost benefit. Unless you are putting a price tag on America lives, does the benefit of keeping our soldiers overseas outweigh the cost of LIFE?  I am not ignorant to the benefit of having Iraq and Afghanistan as allies, but we should have secured that by now.  Seventeen years is a very long time and we have to ask ourselves is a trillion plus dollars and thousands of lives worth the effort?

In the News:

The Pentagon continues Afghanistan troop drawdown despite law barring it and plans to reduce troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500 by Jan 15 despite the new defense law that prohibits personnel levels in the country from dipping below 4,000 Link to article

Biden should finish the job-“A conditions based withdrawal means no withdrawal at all”.. Trump got that part right, but will Biden do better and finally conclude our country’s longest war?  Link to article

Support for full withdrawal from Afghanistan grows: 73% of veterans support a full withdrawal of American military forces and 69% of family members agree. Link to article

Will Biden Turn Syria into another Afghanistan?  US forces are building up in eastern Syria. Will Biden take the middle road or choose endless war? Link to article

Will We Really Leave Iraq for Good?  Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kazemi said this week that most American troops will leave Iraq “within days”. American advisers say once American forces withdraw they won’t return, “even if ISIS manages to conquer whole cities.” Link to article

Meet your New and Growing MFSO’s Advisory Board
Ann Wright-US Army colonel, Ret and U.S. State Department official, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War and recipient of the State Department Award for Heroism, after helping to evacuate several thousand people during the civil war in Sierra Leone.
David Swanson-is a peace activist, journalist, radio host and author of several books including War Is a Lie.  Long time MFSO ally, David currently resides in Virginia and is the Executive Director of World Beyond War.
Andrew Bacevich– US Army colonel, Ret., an American historian specializing in international relations, history and diplomacy, Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at the Boston University and co-founder and president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
Jane Bright- is the mother of Sgt. Evan Ashcraft who died on July 24, 2003 along with two other U.S. soldiers in an ambush near Mosul when Evan was 24 years old. Jane and her husband founded the Evan Ashcraft Memorial Foundation in his memory which  provided grants and scholarships for many years to returning soldiers, thereby fulfilling Evan’s wish to help others.
Laurie Loving- Longtime advisors and MFSO leaders, she and her husband established the N.CA MFSO chapter when Laurie’s son deployed to Iraq.  Organizers of many actions at the state Capitol and DC, where Laurie spoke at the Washington monument surrounded by combat boots and shoes, they continue advise the national organization, most recently as part of the MFSO-VFP coalition which successfully established an ongoing relationship with key members of President Biden’s transition team.
Daniel Sjursen- Graduate and American History teacher at West Point and US Army officer, he served combat tours with reconnaissance units in both the Iraq and Afghanistan surges. Medically retiring as a major due to post-traumatic stress, he transitioned to full time writing, speaking, and peace/social justice work.  He is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy (CIP), contributing editor at Antiwar.com, and member of Veterans for Peace

MFSO Meets with President elect Biden transition team December 23, 2020 Getting a meeting with the Biden transitional team seemed like a pipe dream, but thanks to the So. Cal local chapter, the national MFSO board MFSO convinced us to “go for it”. On the advance planning team were Paul Cox, Gerry Condon (VFP) and Pat, Jeff, Laurie Loving and Diane Bremer (MFSO) and MFSO supporter Jan Meslin. We requested an on-going dialogue with the administration and that all troops be brought home now from Iraq and Afghanistan. On Dec 23 were met with representatives from the Biden transition team, which included staff from Dr. Jill Biden’s office on vet care, and a foreign policy representative. Representing MFSO were Michael McPhearson (Army dad and former Exec. Dir. VFP), Tracy Eiswert (Gold Star spouse) and Pat Alviso (active duty Marine mom) representing VFP were Garett Reppenhagen (VFP Exec. Dir) and Danny Sjursen (ret. Army Major, historian, former grad and teacher at West Point, author). We aimed for the heart when we told our stories and felt the Biden team was moved.  They promised to submit our written testimony to the appropriate people in the White House and identified us as future stakeholders for meetings they will recommend. In the meantime, the planning team continues to meet to identify how we can make the greatest impact on this administration while continuing to organize to bring all of troops home NOW. We welcome and listen to all comments… mfsooc@earthlink.net

From Jeff’s desk
Remembering our military families members who died in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan in 2020: Army Spc. Antonio I. Moore, 22, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, 34, Marine Capt. Moises A. Navas, 34, Air Force Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts, 28, Army Spc. Juan Miquel Mendez Covarrubias, 27, Army Sgt. 1st Class John David Hilty, 44, Army Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin, 29, Army Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon, 21, Air Force Lt. Col. Paul K. Voss, 46, Air Force Capt. Ryan S. Phaneuf, 30, Army Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez, 28, Army Sgt. 1st Class Antonio R. Rodriguez, 28, Army Spc. Branden T. Kimball, 21, Army 1st Lt. Trevarius R. Bowman, 25, Army Spc. Vincent S. Ibarria, 21 and Army 1st Lt. Joseph T. Allbaugh, 24.  You will always be remembered.

Note: The opinions above and in future editorials do not reflect any official stance approved by the MFSO board, which meets monthly and posts official positions decided by the board on our website. Your responses and opinions are welcome. If you would like to send your own editorial on any MFSO related issue, please send to mfsooc@earthlink.net

Contributions & editing by: Tracy Eiswert, Jeff Merrick & Pat Alviso
4,586 American Troops killed in Iraq; 2,452 American Troops killed in Afghanistan

Editorials from MFSO members:
Jeff Merrick
Long Beach, CA

So Are We Getting Out of Afghanistan or Not?

President Trump has ordered the Defense Department to cut the number of troops in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 and Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500 by Jan. 15, 2021- just days before he is set to leave office.  Both political parties are livid over Trump’s plan to reduce troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, even though most Americans and active duty military are for getting out now. Staying one more day in Afghanistan is not worth any more deaths, injuries, Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) or cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and that includes all the military family members, many of whom have secondary PTSD.

We need to accept the facts about Afghanistan; no one has ever controlled the whole country, even when we had over 100k U.S. troops in country. We controlled the large cities but not the countryside.  We have been training the Afghan military/police for over 17 years, and yet some people still say we can’t leave before Afghans can protect themselves.  I guess we must be poor teachers because I was very good at my job in the military after just one year of training and another year on the job. So it really doesn’t make a difference whether we leave tomorrow or 2030; Afghanistan will end up in a civil war. Plainly, endless war means we have no real exit plan.

Pushing through a complete U.S. military departure from Afghanistan in the next two months is not precipitous. After nearly 20 years of war, most of them stalemated, inhumane and corrupt, it is long overdue.  American politicians and some people in the military still believe we can win and control Afghanistan; as the Russia and British governments discovered, this is foolish and not even feasible.

How did we end up in this quagmire of endless war? The U.S. military has been at war or engaged in other combat operations in all but about 11 years of our history. Having almost 800 U.S. military bases abroad provides a key to understanding why we have been fighting almost without pause since 1776. These bases have expanded our boundaries, while keeping the country locked in a perpetual state of nearly continuous war that has largely served our country’s economic and political interests and left millions of innocent civilians dead, wounded and displaced.  While other nations have spent the bulk of their treasury on their people, Americans have invested in a state dedicated above all to preparing and waging war. You only only to look at the size of our military and consider the growing homeless population in the US, to know we must change our priorities and start working to not only save ourselves but the entire planet.

The only thing President-elect Biden needs to know about Afghanistan is that the only way to honor all those killed in endless war is to stop the bleeding and bring all of our troops home now. This does not mean that the 2,451 died for nothing- just talk to anyone who deployed- they died protecting their buddies so they could come home. Too many didn’t come home, but we will never forget them. We know we have to stop the wars sometime; there’s no point in any more needless deaths, so let’s show respect for the lives of our troops and their families and make it now.

Read more about the history of Afghanistan from World History Website: Link

In the News: 

The threat to our security isn’t reducing troop levels, it’s failing to withdraw them entirely.. While it may sound good on paper to keep 2,500 troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq, doing so will perpetuate the decades long military failure.  Link to article

A ‘Sacred Obligation:’ Jill Biden Pledges Support for Military Families   Will Dr. Jill Biden’s family ties to the military really help our military families or will her focus only be on helping military kids face endless war? Link to article

Accelerated  troop pullout fuels concern about an accelerated U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. And so the debate and the second guessing continues- If  Biden keeps a residual force, that would require a renegotiated deal with the Taliban, which they and the Afghan government have already rejected. Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center reports that the US can’t rein in rising insurgent violence, and has contributed to the violence through its own actions that maim and kill civilians, not to mention its complicity in Kabul’s corruption. Link to article

The Case for Getting Out of Afghanistan Now  Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller wrote in his introductory memo to the Defense Department, “All wars must end.. and requires compromise and partnership. We met the challenge; we gave it our all. Now, it’s time to come home”. Withdrawal to a smaller force is…“strategic and feasible, but the Washington foreign policy establishment is the obstacle for total withdrawal of our troops which “inflates threats, exaggerates benefits, and conceals costs”. Link to article

Will US troops actually leave Syria in exchange for hostages?  The US seeks the release of two American citizens believed to be held hostage in Syria. President Trump would like to have the victory of bringing hostages home and withdrawing from complicated wars. Could these factors lead to a complete exit in Syria before Trump’s exit? Link to article

MFSO ACTION UPDATES

• Have you met the MFSO board yet? Check out our website at mfso.org and meet the powerful group of MFSO leaders who steer the organization in the right direction to keep us relevant and on the right path.
• A committee made up of MFSO & VFP members has sent a letter requesting a meeting with President-elect Joe Biden and staff to discuss bringing all of the troop’s home now. To that end we have signed a joint letter and agreed on points of unity.
• Our board is very concerned about the large influence of the think tank Center for New American Strategy (CNAS) and the potential appointment of Michele Flournoy. CNAS opposes total withdrawal and supports first strike to protect American interests. Flournoy is the founder of CNAS. Have you called your Senator yet? link to Call to Action
• Hope you’ve taken a moment to support veteran and whistleblower Reality Winner- sign and send a letter to Pres. Trump/ and send her a note. Be sure to follow strict prison letter writing guidelines on how to write to Reality and  send letter to president.

From Jeff’s desk
This week I watched an honest, realistic account of returning combat troops from Afghanistan. “Once a Marine” I would recommend this excellent film to anyone who wants to understand what happens to our troops during combat and after coming home.  Available free if you have Amazon Prime Video! Link

Note: The opinions reflected above and in future editorials are not a reflection of any official stance approved by the MFSO board, which meets monthly and posts official positions decided by the board on our website. Your responses and opinions are welcome. If you would like to send your own editorial on any MFSO related issue, please send to mfsooc@earthlink.net

Contributions & editing by: Jeff Merrick & Pat Alviso

4,586 American Troops killed in Iraq; 2,451 American Troops killed in Afghanistan