Iraq Soldier Discusses His "Kills" (VIDEO)

In the spring of 2007, a conference was held on the outskirts of Washington, DC. Entitled Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan, it hearkened back to the Winter Soldier testimonies held three decades ago during the Vietnam War. Of the testimonies we filmed, this one, by Iraq War vet Jon Michael Turner, was the most compelling and intense.

Watch the video below:

Find more stories and video from the American News Project here.

Comments

[Raymondf]

If he did what he says he did he should be tried with murder.

[lainey]

I do not judge the actions of Jon Turner but rather the courage he has since displayed. I pray that God's grace walks hand-in-hand with him and all our soldiers, each and every day. I pray that God's mercy is demonstrated to the innocent civilians of Iraq. We are all joined in sorrow and in that, we should find our reflection. Blessings and peace I send to all of our soldiers. Wisdom and courage I pray for their commanders and our leaders. Restoration I pray for those living in Iraq who have been subjected to cruelty of any kind, by anyone. God knows that we, the people of America, no longer want to subject the people of Iraq, to a war that should never have been waged. May this experience teach us that we are all responsible for the world and every citizen in it.

[sa]

i'm reading john dos passos' "usa trilogy" right now -
a masterpiece. it is set during the second world war.
even that "admirable" war is/was viewed at the time as
a corrupt war of the rich, fought by the poor -
nothing ever changes.

but there is a quote in that book,
i forget if it's george orwell or who,
but it goes like this:

patriotism is a crime against humanity.

and it is really true.
it takes me back to hearing john lennon's "imagine" -
imagine there's no country, no religion too;
a brotherhood of man....

it's only governments who get in the way
of perfect people enjoying perfect lives.
only governments would wage nuclear war.

i propose this:
P.O.E. people of earth.
collectively, we wage war against governments.
we are all the same.
we all want love and family and good lives.
only governments steal all that away from us.
governments and corporations.
PEOPLE OF EARTH - unite!

these assholes want to kill us all -
or serve us into servitude.

let's rise up and take hold.
these bastards are taking our lives for them and their friends.
let's all wise up.

p.s. the poe society.

[GrainOSand]

Your comments reflect a growing consensus. We are at the dawn of something cataclysmic or earth moving in its power to unite the world against greed, tyranny, and all other vestiges of selfishness. The fearful would never challenge that which feeds them and that is what the corrupt count on.

I appreciate your drum whose compelling beat and tone has reached me on this wind of ether and cable.

[vinimor]

he's admitted to some heinous acts - he's a self-confessed war criminal, he's done some terrible, terrible things.

he should be punished for this accordingly (even though i personally admire his brass balls for putting it out there.)

unfortunately, i sense that Jon Michael Turner is not long for this world.

that's not some psychic rabbit bullshit, that's based on extraordinarily high suicide rates for combat vets that goes WAY back. Americans don't clock the Falklands war - the brits do. more falklands vets have committed suicide since the end of the falklands war than died in actual combat itself. there were brutal, ferocious close combat battles in that conflict . it wasn't uglier than vietnam or any other war, but it was the first time that 'hardened' paras and marines took on the full psychological damage of killing wetwipe poorly trained kiddies at close range with pretty much no resistance.

all of this, the screams, the guilt, the smell of death - this is what turns vets over in their beds at night sweating and crying.

he was so wrong. he deserves to be prosecuted and convicted - but i personally applaud this man's courage for standing up and saying his piece.

i'd like to see him visit the fat man's family too. it won't ever happen but it might help him and them.

[Fernando]

Really? That war lasted less than two months, most of it as an air war. Argentina lost 649 soldiers and the UK 258. I'm not saying that it wasn't "too long" for those fighting but the actual combat among forces wasn't prolonged. Enough for horrible memories I'm sure, but what you are saying seems exaggerated. Do you have any sources?

[pinkerman2]

Thank you sa, and many more thanks. IMAGINE, in my humble opinion,is the most meaningful, beautiful, song ever written. I am a definite Senior citizen, and I want peace and freedom as much as any hot-blooded youth.

[dlbdpb]

Just another reason to vote for Obama and hope he can "right" us in the eyes of the world, maybe he
can be the leader that this country has been crying out for.

[syrupcore]

I'm crying.

[verisimilitudeness]

War sucks, it's a fact. Can we please stop characterizing our misadventure in Iraq as a war and start calling it what it truly is? Iraq is an occupation. We're not liberating anyone, while we target nearly every one.

[cindy4america]

I wonder if there is anything more dangerous than hate. HATE for any reason is unacceptable. Pretty much George Bush told everyone to hate Muslims. He labelled the Iraqis terrorists and any other Arabs. Oh course, since 9/11 we have the authority to attack any Arab. Of course we should hold a whole culture of people responsible for the actions of a very, very few. Of course, in the name of hate and fear, we can attack these people, take their elected officials and remove them. And of course, in the name of defeating terrorists, it is okay to become terrorists ourselves. So with this in mind, please consider:

1. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Martin Luther King, Jr.
2. "We must be the change we wish to see in the world" Ghandi
3. We waged this illegal and immoral war to get the oil. With regards to that, the scripture says:
"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? Mark 8:36.

[GrainOSand]

An itemized list for the sane and decent to refer to and a comment that sounds an eloquent and soaring note of alarm and insightful truth.

Thanks.

[GrainOSand]

When the Rodney King story broke I worked as a salaried professional in a large corporation. I was one of the few African Americans in the division where I worked. Due to the story, colleagues, who had never spoken to me before, found nerve to make comment. They mostly said things like, I had no idea that police behave like that in America. I smiled, and offered little response, yet when I arrived home, I reflected long and hard on how some living in this country can be unaware of its brutal nature. That kind of ignorance ultimately found me voluntarily leaving a very “well paying” position in favor of a not so comfortable existence, but an existence I would rather have, than living a life of hypocrisy and willful ignorance. I oppose you Bill Cosby for your insular position. There are those who achieved the American Dream and still found it to be wanting. Wealth is valueless in the absence of dignity and respect! I am what Malcolm X referred to as a field Negro; sadly, I make these comments in 2008 where people are still being duped to think that things have changed such that I should not make such comments. I have not a racist tendency in my body, but I offer up a truth that is hard to swallow in America for America hates to think about itself in anything other than glowing terms.

[cindy4america]

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[GrainOSand]

Ain't that the sad and pathetic, yet hopeful and promising, and ultimately, sobering and inescapable truth.

[GrainOSand]

The most powerful lesson in life has been that of acceptance for it frees from frustration and stress. Combined with love and a desire for truth, acceptance makes for a powerful shield for anything that may befall a person, including death.

I stick to the fields of reality where blinders are considered liabilities, blinders are only required if you covet living in the house of delusion for consumption sake. This is not to indict anyone just trying to make it, it is just to remind people of the cost of willful ignorance and fear of losing cable TV, PlayStation and DSL access -- you know the creature comforts.

I had a similar experience concerning a delusional America when I was a small boy. It was the week that the mini-series Roots aired back in the 70s. Some well-meaning European-descendant teachers felt the need to express their dismay to the little black schoolchildren, of the horrible imagery of slavery in that series. They wanted to assure us that the America we were growing up in had changed and that the TV images, while important, were indeed the past. I must give credit to some of my teachers who actually spoke the truth that America still had a long way to go to distance herself from the images reflected in the TV series. America requires teachers with courage to open up the mind of children to think, versus closing their mind to later have it regurgitate tired and flawed propaganda.

[huntunseasun]

Grain of sAND: Check out my essay, "A White Man's Response To The Race Issue'.
http://holistic-writer.journalspace.com/

[GrainOSand]

What’s the point of this diatribe? Watch the video and see the real America, not the flag lapel pin America, not the FOX news America, not the CNN America, but see the real America through the eyes of an American killer. As for the young man in the video, I say to you son, hope springs eternal, but there will be suffering, for all acts of evil have a price. Yet the price diminishes if one cops to their role in conducting evil. You were never more courageous then when you took the steps to expose evil and to admit your role in it. I salute you son for your transformation from killer to true patriot. May you be allowed to continue on your journey of realization and movement towards that which is truly worthy in life. Soldiers are to be respected for their service to country. A killer of innocents has a rough road to travel and the road is in their own mind; young man you have taken the necessary step to get off that rough road of guilt, regret, and shame. Denial will kill you like cancer -- it feeds from the inside out.

God will damn America in the face of American hypocrisy born of misguided nationalistic hubris, denial, deception, delusion, and outright lies! We the people had better take the blinders off for we have a tiger by the tail and that tiger is starting to pivot to address its tail.

[reelcobra]

The HuffPo soldier hatefest is in full bloom for all to see.

I haven't seen this level of "rightous" indignation since that Casey guy renounced his evil acts performed while stationed in Iraq (okay - he turned out to be a fake, but we were excited for a while).

What I meant was the New Republics "expose" of dog killing, grave robbing marauders (whoops, the writer Scott Beauchamp turned out to be making it up)

But, anyway, this will be great ammunition at the next Code Pink mock the injured soldiers rally at Walter Reid. Let's just hope this bozo was telling the truth so we can sacrifice him for the cause!

I love our side!

[wolfgangmo]

I can't tell if you support BHO or if you are a right wing troll.

Can you tell the difference?

[walk0nwalls]

Watch yourself citizen, you'd best not be associating Obama with the far right.

But he most certainly is a Republican troll

[jimmyjones22]

Please point out where someone says "I hate the troops," because I've searched the whole forum and have seen nothing. Could it be that your tin foil hat is a little too tight?

[Gumby123]

Sorry to beat a dead horse but I really get tired reading the posts where killers like Che Gueverra are praised yet American soldiers are summarily condemned because of idiots like this who don't hesistate to kill innocents.

[McLaren]

Amen brother.

[jimmyjones22]

wow, talk about a red herring...

I think the subject is somewhere along the lines of "how people are forced into morally questionable terms during war," now where you got the impression that the Che is popular, I have no clue. Take your meds and go read some more Michelle Malkin.

[Raymondf]

He, and everyone who testified should be tried for war crimes.

[Tommygun264]

And what of the officers who ordered that these war crimes be committed, but who kept their mouths shut? Are they heros? By all means, punish the men who come forward and reward those who cover up their crimes.

[Raymondf]

There are bad soldiers in all Armies, these are the worst of the worst.

[Tommygun264]

Not the "bad apples" cop-out. These atrocities have been policy, not isolated incidents. Pull your heads out of the sand,

[MrCoffeeCup]

It looks to me, as this is an exact duplicate of the Kerry's Adventure into the lucrative world of politics. Same forum, same set-up, same stories yet this time with photos and stories with a sense of vindictive hate.

The only error which will cost him his political future was: He was not a College graduate, Not and Officer and a Gentlemen, and this whole sham presentation was not before a Congressional hearing. Therefore, poor boy without the elitist liberal backing will NOT go anywhere in politics.

See ya chump, you've been used up and you are no longer needed! You are not well spoken, you have no personal political agenda, and you are not electable.
Here's your CHANGE...CHUMP! Now do us a favor and don't try to collect your Veterans Benefits!

[Nooneyouknow]

The only "vindictive hate" I hear is toward himself and the people who sent him into this illegal war for oil.
The difference between the libs and the wingnuts is telling. Kerry served honorably and came back to criticize a war that was illegal and chock full of war crimes. Bush served in a TANG "Champagne unit", could barely fly, and went AWOL for his last year. McCain crashed a bunch of planes and then was shot down by an antiquated SAM because he wouldn't let go of his bombing target. But you're right about Bushco's military policy toward the troops: "Use 'em and lose 'em."