I was slightly stressed out last Monday. I didn’t have a story yet (for my weekly MTV submissions) and was under the methaphorical gun. Then I remembered the public housing two blocks down. I had always been curious, so I decided there was no time like the present. I watered down my outfit, threw an audio recorder and pen in my bag, and headed to the streets.

I came across a few videos from MTV News and Gideon Yago tonight. All of the ones I found were from 2006 and reminded me of the old school news breaks MTV News used to run. Except they weren’t 10 to the Hour — they were in depth and serious. And it seems like Yago got some traction within MTV News with a project called Iraq Uploaded.

The angle of how technology, pop culture and soldier stories merge — is a way I haven’t seen the war covered. With the video I considered how unprecedented and unknown territory it is for soldiers to bring digital cameras for their Iraq tours. Apparently some guys even strapped handheld digitals to their helmets.  Don’t be surprised to see graphic stuff. This wasn’t made for Nightly News.

I heard a few months ago from the Department of Defense that the military evaluates videos recorded and uploaded in real time as a possible threat to OpSec, or, Operational Security. Same goes for blogs. This Lieutenant just had to take down his blog, while others, some active duty and some Veterans, continue to share their stories. It’s an all together an unprecedented issue for the Military. 

MTV News: Iraq Uploaded - Iraq Uploaded

For more videos like this, check out SpikeTV, Military.com and YouTube.

To friends and family when my video launched.

“This doesn’t just close out a month when I (determinedly) worked through each weekend, it signifies a milestone in my Street Team tenure. I am half way through this journey. My production skills have greatly improved, but more than that, I think I found what a friend and mentor advised I do back in January.

“Erica, Humanize this War.”

With that advice, I thought – and continue to think, about the way to do it. For this video, and over time, I talked to dozens of Veterans. Read every article I could. And through conversation, absorbed anecdotes — about a confusing and unorganized war – from intelligence officers, artillery soldiers, explosive specialists and more.

Here is my video, Mission Possible.”

I think around 3:30 of this video I discover in the most fundamental way why I question and care about the implications of the Iraq war on our generation. Here’s a rare look at the unraveling mind of a starving citizen journalist. :) Ok, you can cut the starving part.

4:13 A young deserter becomes a lobbyist
4:40 A civil affairs officer returns with his truth
5:26 What do the people on the ground, our front lines, really want and need?

Hey Everyone. Let me catch you all up. It’s been a busy three weeks and because of it I have a very cool development to share with you.

Though I”ll do a specific post for Erica-America a little later, here is what I did for MTV this week. It was origianlly posted on THINK, along with a short video — and serves as a brief introduction to the time I’ve been spending with a young group of DC based Veterans.

Young Surge in Anti-War Movement

Three Sundays in a row, at 4:00PM, I would pack all my gear, strap the tripod to the pack’s side and summon my inner EricaAmerica to come out and play. Thank karma she did, which made those afternoons of metro rides and shooting the shit with young Iraq Vets not just educational, but also a lot of fun.

This group house, by some measure, is the Real Real World. A place stocked with fruit snacks and beer , testosterone and girls. But in an UnReal World sense, these co-existors were more than just age-similar. They had all served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11 and upon return, joined a fast-expanding group called the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). The house, on the Northeast side of DC, is not only their bunker, but the central headquarter for the business of IVAW’s grassroots operations.

I had my first dose of IVAW in action back in March, when I attended the Winter Soldier event. [see my video here] I was taken back by the candid, powerful, testimonies about the U.S.’s occupation in Iraq. I realized as I walked around the confernece exactly what IVAW was doing — reporting the war from the eyes and ears of a very young, elite graduation class. A class that received educations at the University of US Occupies Iraq and are now taking their diplomas to bring attention to what they call a criminal occupation and use of force.

There is a 22-year-old freckled Embassay Guard. A 19-year old college junior. A southern farmer with flow hair and a jewish political theory student. They are unlikely messengers. But they keep coming back with a message.

Over the three Sundays I went to the IVAW Group House, I listened for those messages. I captured three tapes, about five interviews and a whole lot of b-roll. While I kick off the process of importing, editing and producing it, I thought I’d share with you all this little sound bite from former Marine, Adam Kokesh. Kokesh has his own blog and attends Graduate School at George Washington University. In Iraq, Adam served on a Military Affairs team, which, he told me, “means we’re the guys shaking hands and kissing babies.” During the tour he also set up a store front to pay Iraq famliy grievance checks.

“Historically unprecedented,” he said. “We are actually paying people for losses.”

Here is the video…

As one soldier told me, “Erica, it’s a fast and furious world.” That it is.

This week’s video draws from footage from the Winter Soldier event last March and brings into the story the shortcomings of the GI Bill, in particular what it offers soldiers for education. As I reported for MTV, three former Presidents, a dozen U.S. Senators and fourteen Nobel Prize winners went to college on the GI Bill. The last time it was updated was back in the 80s, when we were at peace, not war, and soldier were less likely to serve multiple deployments and then choose to move on.

From my work on Veteran issues I’ve heard a lot of talk about why they joined. Some did out of patriotism, and felt, after 9/11 it was their undisputed duty. Others, and perhaps the most common thread I’ve heard, is the cost of education. A shot at a four year university that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay for.

I can trace my fascination with GI’s, the cost of education and war, back to Indiana University. For three years, my next door neighbor was ROTC. From our manicured front lawn, I would watch my peers walk in and out of the former Fraternity house. In uniform and up with the sun, they would practice marching orders and do endless push-ups. A part of me felt sorry for them, perhaps not rightfully so, but still — because I wondered if a commitment to our armed forces was their best option to pay for a four-year university.

Not long after those careless afternoons, the war broke out. I remember having profound realizations that several of those students — soldiers — would now be sent to fight a war. And I questioned. Were they recruited – in a bigger picture by the Pentagon – with the knowledge a war was on the brink? And Is college tuition the new draft?

Today, 57 Senators are supporting a large increase to the GI Bill for public university tuition. In a letter I obtained from the Senate, Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Senator John McCain, who is on the fence, to consider how the bill might hurt retention.

“The Department estimates that serious retention issues could arise if the benefit were expanded beyond the level sufficient to offset average monthly costs for a public four-year institution.”

Here’s my video. Hope you’ll check it out and let me know how Congress should approach GI Rights while we fight two wars and send soldiers on multiple deployments.

Quick Disclaimer: No one is perfect, especially EricaAmerica. I misspelled “Sergeant” at 1:26. Take total responsibility, but am so tired from I am calling it a day and putting the effort into research. I totally need an editor. One man band life is hard. 

So just what is a civil liberty and why should we care?

For my 23rd birthday, my Dad sent me a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In it, he wrote, “To Erica, Wash. D.C. From Dad 5/8/07.” Today, I carry it around in my Street Team backpack. I don’t know, it just feels right. If I’m ever in a bind and need to remind the force that I’m just doing my job, I’ll have backup. That’s right, I have rights. And I’m not about to let them be chipped away.

As much as my friends joke with me, we do. We all have rights. And though at times it sounds a little silly (dependent on when you yell out the statement, just ask my colleagues) there is never anything outlandish about the term, “I have my rights.” But today, more than ever, it’s important to realize what those are because they are being chipped away and justified.

So what are our rights? Well, when it comes to the First Amendment, we have the right to freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. We are also protected under the Bill of Rights to equal protection under the law (regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin), the right to due process, and the right to privacy.

When I went out and interviewed people last Monday about civil liberties and what they thought, I was up against the wall. Some of the responses were reiterations of the administration. “Well, in terms of national security, if it’s necessary, I’m OK with it.” Really? “Ok, I thought.” But once this war on terror is over, you’ll still have lost those rights. Are you OK with it then? More importantly, are they being taken away for the right reasons?

While 21-year old Iraq Veteran, Paul, aims to add normalcy back to his life, the war transcended on Washington, DC. At the start of the sixth year of war on Iraq, March 19, a mix of people gathered within an ear shot of the White House to demonstrate dissatisfaction.  Join me as I explore how courage and activism bridge unlikley partners in the fight against US Occupation of Iraq.

Decision to Desert: Part I
My MTV Profile

Tonight I’m going to Landmark E St. Cinema to check out an early viewing of Body of War. The 87 minute documentary is about 26-year old Veteran and Kansas native, Tomas Young. The film, (hit the circuit at the Toronto Film Fest)  came together through a collaboration of unique names like Ralph Nader, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, and Co-directors Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro.

I got an early copy of the Body of War soundtrack at the Iraq Veterans Against the War Winter Soldier event. The album is honestly the best collection of political music I’ve heard since, well, spinning old records of my parents. My favorite songs on the album are Pearl Jam cover of Masters of War, Bruce Sprinsteen’s Devils & Dust and Lupe Fiasco’s American Terrorist.

The movie is on a nationwide — grassroots — if you will, tour, with Tomas, wheelchair, pills, complications and all - and Donahue and Spiro. Though the movie is about the life of Tomas as a paraplegic, it’s also about the build up to the passage of HR 411, the Iraq War Resolution of 2002.

After DC, the third stop on the tour, Tomas will go to New York, Philly and Boston.. Los Angeles, San Francisco & Seattle and then a finale in Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Louis.

To watch the trailer, click here.

In January, I discovered I have an unlikely connection to the War in Iraq. His name is Paul, and not forty miles away from me, he was serving time in the Quantico Brig (military prison) for deserting the Marine Corp after a tour in Iraq.

Though we had only met once before, I decided there was only one thing to do. Go visit my second cousin and get the story. Here is Part I of a two Part series, which can be seen below or, here on MTV. 

“Under the gun! Can’t talk. Call next week.”

That’s the voice of Helen Thomas. No, it’s not 1973, and no, Helen’s not in a bustling newsroom. Still, there’s something so retro and iconic about the way she tells me she is under the gun. It reminds me of a time when newsrooms were filled with smoke, not women, and fingers typed as fast as possible to break the next big story. 

Something I’ve learned about Helen, and is evident in this quote, is every article she works on is breaking. She writes only about what she thinks you should know. And for a person who absorbs as much intelligence — and harnesses decades of unprecedented access to power– that’s an impossibly complicated task. Yet somehow she sifts through it all — the gaggles, the memos, the talking points and the distractions.

I’m going to start something new and post her weekly columns. Though Hearst distributes it, and they own over a dozen papers (San Francisco Chornicle, San Antonio Express, Albany Times Union) it’s rare that anything but the Falls Church News Press, a small paper south of DC, runs it. And now, because what Helen knows, I think we all should, Erica-America does.

Helen Thomas: War Is Not The People’s Business

WASHINGTON — Back in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s worst days when he was grappling with the Vietnam quagmire and raucous anti-war protests at home, he said that in the big decisions about war and peace: “The people should be in on the take offs as well as the landings.”

Tell that to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, who apparently could care less what Americans think — except every four years at election time.

Cheney made that clear in an intriguing interview with ABC News on his recent Middle East trip. Despite the difficulties surrounding the unprovoked U.S. invasion of Iraq five years ago, Cheney insisted, “It was the right thing to do.”

When the interviewer told him that two-thirds of Americans say the war in Iraq is not worth fighting, Cheney scoffed.

The administration would not be “blown off course by the fluctuations in public opinion polls,” he vowed.

Cheney went on to claim that Abraham Lincoln would never have succeeded in the Civil War if he had paid attention to polls.

White House press secretary Dana Perino later indicated that Bush was on the same page.

Asked about Cheney’s remarks to ABC, Perino said the Bush administration realizes its popularity polls are very low (30 percent) “but largely that’s because of people being unhappy about the war, about the fact that it has gone on five years. . .and we’re aware of that.”

She added that both Bush and Cheney have long believed the reason they are leaders is because they do “not chase popularity polls but. . . hold themselves to a standard that requires people not to like them.”

She went on to explain that the administration would like people to support the president’s decisions but that such a hope is “unrealistic” in time of war.

“And while we’re not able to change public opinion, we have to follow a principle,” she said, “and stand on principle.”

Reminded that she was saying, in effect, that the people had no say about the war, Perino replied that they have “input” every four years, adding: “And that’s the way our system is set up.”

As long as Congress cowers sheep-like and does not retrieve its constitutional power to declare war, an imperial Bush-style presidency will prevail.

The war against Iraq was built on falsehoods — weapons of mass destruction that did not exist and ties to al-Qaida that were a fantasy. The administration used these phony rationales to scare the American people into fearing a threat from a third-world country.

Since the administration’s original propaganda has now been revealed to be bogus, Bush has resumed his claim that it was necessary to rid the world of a tyrant, Saddam Hussein — a friend of the U.S., incidentally, in earlier times.

His aides remain loyal to their chant that Iraq is “the central front in the war on terrorism.”

Any port in a storm seems to be the strategy of White House spin-masters.

Determined to ignore the reality that the war is a debacle and the killing will go on, Bush last year came up with the “surge” theory of dispatching 30,000 more troops to Iraq in hopes of bringing Iraqi submission.

There has been a lessening of violence in Iraq. Could it be that there are fewer attacks on American troops because we are paying huge sums of money to Sunni Iraqis to persuade them to stop attacking Americans and instead go after al-Qaida?

Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will leave Baghdad in May to report to Bush and Congress on the status of the war and talk about a timetable for a drawdown of more troops — or even propose a pause in withdrawals.

Next November, the American voters will decide on a new president. Before then, reporters will be remiss if they fail to nail the candidates on whether the views of the people on questions of war and peace will count with them.

On January 23, 1973, President Nixon made a public statement to the American people. After five years of peace talks, the United States had reached a peace accord with Vietnam. United States Prisoners of War (POW) would be released and, as Nixon announced over a live television broadcast, an internationally supervised ceasefire would soon commence.

By March, U.S. troops had pulled out completely, and men aged 18-26 had one less thing to worry about: the draft.  Not long after, the draft officially ended and the U.S. converted to an All-Volunteer Force (AVF).

vol•un•teer n. (v l  n-tîr ): A person who performs or offers to perform a service voluntarily.

The scenario for enlistment is now much different than when we were at war with Vietnam. Today, millions of men and women voluntarily enlist in the Navy, Marine Corp, Army and Air Force. Many hope to make the military into a career, and thousands see the world with assignments to Air Force bases in Japan and Korea, Naval fleets in the Pacific and Army barracks in Saudi Arabia. But when I mentioned the phrase ‘voluntary military’ to an Army Intelligence Officer and Army Infantryman, my sincerity was met with laughter.
 
“When I was deployed to Iraq, I had about three months left in my eight year military service,” Army Infantryman Camilo Mejia told me.

“Three months. And before being deployed to Iraq, my company commander got everyone together and he said, ‘If you’re about to get out of the military, you’ve been extended until the year 2031.’ 2031…After eight years of service. So I’m not sure you can call that voluntary.”

I paused to consider what he had said. And I wondered, what exactly does it mean when your military contract is extended without your consent?

It means you’ve been stop-lossed.

According to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) online dictionary, stop-loss is described as this:

“to suspend laws relating to promotion, retirement, or separation of any member of the Armed Forces determined essential to the national security of the United States… This authority may be exercised by the President only if Reservists are serving on active duty under Title 10 authorities for Presidential Reserve Call-up, partial mobilization, or full mobilization.”

So in a basic sense, if the President determines that the loss of a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine would compromise the security of the U.S., the contract is extended. Simple as that. According to the Army Times, the Army has been hardest hit, with more than 10,000 members being stop-lossed in recent years.

As the war in Iraq enters its sixth year of occupation, 4,000 American deaths and multiple deployments – experts suggest that stop-loss is a major factor in producing the the highest rate of desertion in the military since 2001, leaving the military strained. But just who is deserting, and how can a volunteer decide to do something so drastic?

Stay tuned for more on GI Resistance and a first hand account of a Marine who joined at age seventeen with incentives of college tuition. Barely two years later, he found himself on a journey of self-discovery and resistance — and, as he told me from a Federal prison, there was no choice but to desert after learning of a second deploment to Iraq.

This is Erica Anderson. Washington, DC. Street Team ’08.

Tonight was Ivan Scott’s memorial service. I only got four hours of sleep the night before but there wasn’t any question I was going, so I bucked up and walked down to the Catholic Church on 24th and Pennsylvania. Ivan, who went to Princeton, served in Korea and then went on to cover wars as a CBS radio correspondent. I was fascinated by his nine lives and asked him what it was like reporting from a war zone.

“There is nothing more thrilling than having bullets buzz by your head and shells flying in the air. It’s the only place a reporter should be if they want to cover the news.”

For many reasons I believed and admired him.

But let me back up for just a second.  I met Ivan, Helen (Thomas), (Rahubir) Goyal and Connie (Lawn) at a dinner last May 17th. I’ll always remember the date, the moment, the evening. In many ways it changed the course of my life. It also confirmed my direction towards journalism in a profound way.

The dinner, which I won’t get into now, had me sitting right across Helen. Thankfully, my Aunt Debi was there, who served as the perfect generational liaison. I asked Helen if we could have lunch sometime and she said “Sure. Give me a call and we’ll have a Coke.” And that’s how it all started.

My First Memorable Conversation with Ivan

At one point, Helen and Debi danced off to the bathroom together and I was left at the table with Ivan. In his seersucker suite, brown rimmed circle glasses and warm smile, he turned to me and got serious.

“You know, young lady, she’s a legend. She’s a legend in this town.”

I looked at him a bit shocked. He was looking out for Helen like a sister, a member of his family and for a second my enchantment faded. I understood. And although I barely knew the extend of her history, I agreed.

“Yes, I know.”

Ivan went on to take me under his wing, taking me to drinks and dinners, allowing me a rich conversation where I could ask anything about his life, history, war, and relationships. He was, by all means, a mentor who went beyond the call of duty.  Last week, after a brief illness, he passed away. 

Ivan’s Memorial Service

When I walked into the church, I noticed Helen was in the back sitting alone. I decided I’d sit next to her, but first went over and lit a candle. Somehow through my tenuous spirituality, I asked my Mom to sit with me for strength. Funerals, as I know, bring unpredictable, and sometimes, unwelcome emotion.

I went over and slide down the pew with my street team backpack. Helen smiled and welcomed me. After a minute, she broke the silence.

“I didn’t even know. I was away,” she said.

Her make-up was done and her hair curled. There was a sadness about her so I didn’t really say much.

After the ceremony I watched Tony Snowe walk up to her, who had just consoled Ivan’s wife, to give her a friendly stroke. It was a moment of grief for all those around us, but in particular, I thought, to Helen, who had lost a friend who took with him so much heart and knowledge about her life.

She kept an eye on me as we walked out the Church and said in a low voice, “Let’s go get a coffee or a drink.” She extended her hand for me to hold, and told me, “I’m still wobbly from the long flight (from Dubai).”

So I escorted her, through fans of people (I know this because of the nervous compliments people came to give her) and to the curb where, a man who had sat behind us, offered us a ride. During the ceremony she had turned to him, a Navy officer at the Pentagon, and said, “You have a wonderful voice.”

We went to the Tabbard Inn, the last place I had met Ivan, and had our usual gin and vodka. I told her all about the Winter Soldier event.  She was on my every word, especially when I told her about Conscientious Objector, Camilo Mejia.

“He said,” I told her, “that it is difficult being a CO in the military. But that ‘war, is the best argument against war.”

She smiled and looked very pleased. “That’s an incredible quote.”

On our way out, she had barely made it to the steps when she went into a rant about White House Press Secretary, Dana Perino.

“Torture…torture…’we don’t torture’ she says….’we don’t torture?!’ Please!”

Helen didn’t know it but a couple was standing behind us. They couldn’t get through as Helen had paused to finish her rant. I made eye contact to let the woman know to go the other way around.

I figured she had no idea who Helen – or I – for that matter was, and would be on her way. Instead, she walked down the steps and positioned herself in front of Helen.

“Ms. Thomas, I have never been in your presence before. My husband and I were so pleased when you walked in… and…I…I just wanted to say Thank you, for everything you’ve done.”

Helen, as if almost granted these moments by sheer reparation of her age and societal contributions, lit up, like every other time a person thanked her.

“Thank you so much. Thank you so much,” she gently and sincerely said.

Before the woman could walk two steps away, Helen got back to what she was saying to me.

“ ‘Torture…’ We don’t torture! What do you mean, ‘we don’t torture?!’ ”

“Helen,” I said with a big smile, “you sure don’t miss a beat!”

She paused and let out a big laugh.

“I guess I don’t!”

And in that moment, Ivan, a person who knew how to laugh despite the realization that everything in the world is not always right, was in some way there.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?

Last Friday night, I charged my batteries, packed my gear and went to bed early. I knew it would be a draining next day. I was right.

Since January, I have been learning about individual stories of men and women in the military who are resisting the war. First, I met a cousin I had only know through distance, in the most unlikely of places: the Quantico Brig where he was serving time for deserting the Marines. “Jesus,” I remember thinking when a family member told me his story, ”I have to hear his story first hand.”

So the journey of discovering an underground movement, which started with Paul (you can expect to hear his story soon) — and now, with the weekend Summit “Winter Soldier” — a public movement of GI Resistance has begun. The story of Paul, which has inspired me to tell stories like his, led me to the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and a four-day program bringing hundreds of young Vets together to testify about the criminal nature, and what they call immoral disposition of this war.

The video  you are about to see sets up what I hope will be a full eight months of reporting the untold, under-reported story of GI Resisters. These men and women are hardened by war but driven by a duty. Although this duty is not one condoned by the hand of the largest, most powerful military in the world, it is a duty nonethless that same hand nurtured.

At age 87, Dean of the White House Press Corp, Helen Thomas, is still kicking ass and taking names. Throughout her tenure as a wire reporter for UPI, Thomas helped to break the Kennedy assasination, traveled to China with Nixon, and covered the “Washington side” of Vietnam, Korea, the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts and now Iraq. Today, she writes a column for Hearst News Corporation which comes out every Thursday in the Falls Church News Press. When I asked Helen about her New Years Resolution, she paused and then with a burst of energy said, “Send Bush to the Hague!”