The Costs of Needless War: Deceased, Injured Veterans, Families; Moral Injury
Phil Donahue moderator: Kevin Lucey, Matthew Hoh, Ray McGovern, Cathy Smith
Sponsored by Military Families Speak Out
Left Panel Forum, John Jay University, New York, NY, May 30, 2015
How wonderful to have Phil Donahue back leading the discussion, 13 years after he was unceremoniously fired by MSNBC just three weeks before the U.S./U.K. attack on Iraq. Phil had the temerity to give airtime to guests opposed to the looming war. Owned largely by war profiteer General Electric, MSNBC explained in an internal memo leaked to the press that Phil would be a “difficult public face for NBC in a time of war.”
Ray led off the panel discussion, but contributed little that might be new to readers of this website. In contrast, the sharing by Matthew Hoh, Kevin Lucey, and Cathy Smith is not to be missed. Matthew speaks of the moral injury so prevalent among combat veterans (minute 23:40 to 33:10); Kevin then describes what led his son, Marine Cpl. Jeffrey M. Lucey to take his own life and the toll that such loss exacts on families and friends (minute 33:50 to 48:15); and Cathy Smith, mother of Army Pvt. Tomas Young, wounded in Baghdad and paralyzed from the waist down, speaks briefly of the ordeal Tomas and those around him endured for the ten years before he died (minute 1:00:00 to 1:05:00).
Tomas’s spirit was indomitable; while he was still able, he no doubt saved many young lives and limbs by warning others not to let themselves be betrayed by politicians. Included after the link below is a short excerpt from a letter Tomas wrote to Bush and Cheney before he died.
Body of War, a documentary directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, follows Tomas as he adjusts to his paralysis and reflects on the lies responsible for so much death and injury. Short clips of the film are shown as part of the discussion. A lively Q&A follows, punctuated – thank goodness – by a few hilarious moments courtesy of Phil.
After clicking on the link below, scroll either right or down to “Left Forum 2015 Military Families Speak Out.” The entire event runs 1 hour, 48 minutes. You may find the above breakdown into segments by minutes helpful.
Excerpt from Tomas Young’s “Last Letter” – A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran
”I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.“
http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/the_last_letter_20130318