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Epilogue
Letter from Abdul
Henderson
Decorated Marine
Lance Co1poral Abdul Henderson j principled decision to refuse any future
orders to return to Iraq under threat of jail time is born of his
conviction that the war being waged there is an unjust one. Lance
Corporal Henderson embodies a unique and instructive courage. His story is
featured in Fahrenheit 9/11.
It is an honor to be
asked by Mr. Moore to share my thoughts and feelings. I would first like
to say that I am not anti-war or anti-military service. It's also been an
even bigger honor to be able to contribute the last five years of my life
to defending the United States of America. That is what I felt I was doing
by appearing in Fahrenheit 9111, defending the United States. It is my
civic duty as a Marine and a citizen to protect the Constitution and the
sanctity of democracy.
No soldier ever dies
in vain in war, if it is justified or not. A soldier's willingness to
sacrifice his life for a larger cause is a selfless act and a very
humble one indeed. A soldier dies in vain only when the citizens of
America don't partake in the political process by not voting. The very
essence of democracy is the vote! The ability to pick and choose the
leaders of the United States is what we die and fight for. Most countries
in the world don't have that ability and would love to be able to simply
cast a vote and truly pick their leaders.
People who don't
vote for one reason or another do a disservice to the men and women in
uniform who protect that right and other rights that are provided to
citizens under the Constitution. Every now and then the process seems to
have broken, and corruption is very evident, but it is the vote that is to
provide the checks and balances. If the vast majority of Americans don't
take the time to vote or take the time to understand the political
process, we will find that more situations like the war in Iraq will
occur.
The war in Iraq is
unwarranted and the costs are too high for the American people. We are
spending a billion dollars a week to rebuild and secure a country that was
no "imminent threat" to America. It is sad to say that there are some
places in Iraq that are more secure than some places in America. We are
spending a billion dollars a week to rebuild Iraq's educational
infrastructure when there are students across America who can't take home
books to do homework. We are spending a billion dollars a week to rebuild
Iraq's health-care infrastructure when America's elderly and children
don't have any health-care coverage. Just imagine if we spent a billion
dollars a week to rebuild America's schools and neighborhoods.
The war rhetoric
before Operation Iraqi Freedom began was that Saddam Hussein was an
imminent threat to America and that he has weapons of mass destruction.
From my experience in Iraq and my understanding of imminent threats like
the Germans and the Japanese during World War II, the Chinese during the
Korean War, and communist Russia during the cold war, Iraq was no
imminent threat. Threats of this magnitude fight until there is no one
else standing. They don't leave entire tank divisions abandoned in the
desert like the Iraqis did. Soldiers don't bring hand- bags with civilian
clothes in them and then change from army fatigues to civilian clothes and
then desert their post to return home to their neighborhoods and villages.
Imminent threats have a military infrastructure that is
sustainable. They don't have buildings that are in ruins like every
military installation we occupied in Iraq. And where are the weapons of
mass destruction?
War should not be
waged unless it is absolutely necessary! It is unfair to the men and women
of the armed services to have their sense of duty and obligation taken
advantage of in an unjust war. Most military personnel will fight and die
for this country and not ask a question as to why war is being waged. It
is the pride of serving that prevents most soldiers from questioning
authority. That's why I joined the Marine Corps, the pride. I didn't join
be- cause of necessity. I joined because I wanted to.
As the war in Iraq
continues to be waged with no end in sight, I have only one request of the
reader, and that is to get involved in the democratic process, understand
how our country works, understand who is running our country, and, most
important, voice your opinions, even if it's contrary to the nation's
leadership. That's what democracy is all about. And don't forget to vote,
because the politicians work for you, you don't work for the politicians;
hold them accountable for their actions. As Abraham Lincoln once said, "If
you give the people the facts, the Republic will be safe."
Abdul R. Henderson
Appendix
WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT
OUR TROOPS
Homes for Our Troops
homesforourtroops.org/
Their mission is to build specially adapted homes for our severely
disabled soldiers and their families.
The Wounded Warrior
Project
unitedspinal.org/pages.php?catid=211&catorder=100
The Wounded Warrior Project seeks to assist those men and women of our
armed forces who have been severely injured during the conflicts in
Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere around the world.
Fisher House
fisherhouse.org/
The Fisher House program is a private-public partnership that supports
America's military in their time of need. The program recognizes the
special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally
provided by the Department of Defense. These homes enable family members
to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time-during the
hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.
GIVE THE GIFT OF
GROCERIES!
www.commissaries.com/certificheck/index.htm
A new partnership between CertifiChecks, America's hometown gift
certificate resource center, the United Service Organizations (USO), the
Air Force Aid Society (AFAS), Fisher House Foundation, Inc., and the
Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) lets every American make a significant
material contribution to the morale and well-being of military personnel
at home and across the globe.
SEND BOOKS
If you are a soldier
currently serving in Iraq and would like a free copy of either Dude,
Where's My Country? or a Bowling for Columbine DVD, please send us an
email including your full name, your address in Iraq, and all other
information we need in order to get it to you.
If you would like to
send books to soldiers yourself, check out BooksForSoldiers.com where
soldiers will post requests for books they'd like to get their hands on,
and all you have to do is pick a soldier to send a book to.
Operation Uplink
operationuplink.org/
You can donate calling cards so military families can stay in touch during
their extended separations.
Operation Hero Miles
heromiles.org/
Through Operation Hero Miles you can donate your airline miles to American
soldiers so they can get home to visit with their families.
United Services
Organization: Care Packages (703-69(i-2628)
usometrodc.org/care.html #support
You can donate money to the USO to help sponsor care packages sent to the
troops through their site.
Armed Forces
Emergency Relief Funds
afrtrust.org/
Each branch of the armed services has an emergency relief fund. Their
money goes to help the soldiers and families with paying for food and
rent, medical and dental expenses, personal needs when pay is delayed, and
funeral expenses.
Red Cross: Helping
Military Families
redcross.org
Contact your local Red Cross chapter and find out how you can help the
military families in your area who are struggling in this time of war.
CONTACT YOUR ELECTED
REPRESENTATIVE
congress.org/
congressorg/home/
Let your elected representatives, including members of Congress and George
w. Bush, know what you think about the war.
SEND A MESSAGE TO
OUR TROOPS
anyservicemember.navy.mil/
Operation Dear Abby allows for ordinary citizens to send messages of
support and comfort to servicemen and -women stationed allover the
world.
HOW TO HELP IRAQIS
AFFECTED BY THIS WAR
The American Friends
Service Committee
afsc.org
The American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers) funds small, specific
projects with groups that are underserved by larger organizations in Iraq.
They focus on groups that contribute to building civil society and are a
stabilizing influence in their communities.
Oxfam International
Children on the Streets of Baghdad
oxfam.org
Oxfam is helping to provide children on the streets of Baghdad with food,
medical care, relief supplies, and the means to be reunited with their
families. Read more.
All Our Children
allourchildren.org/
All Our Children is a campaign to provide critical health care to
vulnerable children in Iraq.
MercyCorps
mercycorps.org
Mercy Corps works with conflict-affected communities to meet their urgent
needs, while providing a foundation for the development of economic
opportunities and civil society.
Medical Aid for
Iraqi Children
www.maic.org.uk
Medical Aid for Iraqi Children (MArC) is committed to providing pediatric
hospitals with the equipment they need to treat the youngest, most
vulnerable victims of this war.
CARE
care.org
CARE focuses on improving the quality of water and sanitation, health care
and education for ordinary Iraqis.
Human Relief
Foundation
www.hrf.co.uk
Human Relief Foundation, through its Rebuilding Humanity in Iraq program,
has been working to provide immediate relief to those suffering the
horrors of war while at the same time investing in the infrastructure of
Iraq. In this effort, HRF is currently delivering food and medical
equipment to thousands in Iraq, as well as continuing to sponsor two
hospitals and eight schools in the country.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO
HELP END THE WAR IN IRAQ
1. Vote. In a
country where not even 50 percent of eligible voters voted in the last
election, the single most important thing that you can do as an American
citizen is take part in our democracy.
2. Read and get
informed. We're lucky to live in a time where the world's newspapers,
magazines, and opinion journals are just a mouse click away: you just need
to take advantage.
3. Contact your
congressman or congresswoman and your senators expressing your desire
for an end to this unjust war. Tell them that the lies of this
administration have been exposed and we want our sons and daughters and
brothers and sisters back home.
4. Find a peace
group in your area and get involved. United for Peace & Justice's website
(http://www.unitedforpeace.org/) has a complete guide to finding Peace and
Justice groups in your area.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Moore has
won an Oscar (Bowling for Columbine), an Emmy (TVNation), a Palme d'Or at
Cannes (Fahrenheit 9/11), and a British Book of the Year award (Stupid
White Men). He was an Eagle Scout, a seminarian, and the first
eighteen-year-old elected to public office. He has never bowled over 200.
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