American soldier resigns, says he was ‘misled’
A U.S. soldier who participated in the Iraq war has written a resignation letter lashing out at the U.S. war policy.
Brandon M. Toy wrote in a letter published by Common Dreams on Tuesday that he was “misled” by the U.S. military when he joined it a decade ago.
“At the time of my enlistment, I believed in the cause. I was ignorant, naïve, and misled,” he wrote.
“The narrative, professed by the state, and echoed by the mainstream press, has proven false and criminal. We have become what I thought we were fighting against.”
Toy served the post-911 Military Industrial complex for 10 years, first as a soldier in Baghdad, Iraq, and later as a defense contractor, according to the letter.
He wrote that recent revelations of war crimes by the U.S. military “including counterinsurgency ‘dirty’ wars, drone terrorism, the suspension of due process, torture, mass surveillance, and widespread regulatory capture have shed light on the true nature of the current U.S. government.”
He called on fellow American soldiers not to sit watching “injustices” in the globe if they really want change to happen.
“As long as we sit in comfort, turning a blind eye to the injustices of the world, nothing will change,” he said.
“I was only a foot soldier, and am now a low level clerk. However, I have always believed that if every foot soldier threw down his rifle war would end. I hereby throw mine down.”