By Aonya McCruiston '10
Staff Writer
Scott Ewing, a Brown University junior and Iraq War veteran, came to speak about his experience in Tal Afar, Iraq this Monday. His lecture came just days before the fifth anniversary of the occupation in Iraq and was sponsored by the Wellelsey Students for a Democratic Society as a part of the national SDS's National Days of Student Action to Protest the Iraq War.
In his lecture, Ewing explained that, after spending ten months in Tal Afar as a Cavalry Scout, he was convinced that the United States should not remain in Iraq. The point of American occupation was to fix Iraq, he said, but "based on my experiences and the experiences [I've heard from others], we are not rebuilding Iraq, or if we are, it is happening very slowly."
Ewing suggested that there was too much emphasis on the immediate interests of the United States and not enough on what was best for Iraqis. He stated that "far more civilian casualties were caused by American troops than by insurgents" and noted an increase in sectarian violence since the American occupation. "It many not be in the best interest for the United States in the short term," said Ewing of withdrawal from Iraq, "but I think we need to stop thinking that way, because it's the best for the U.S. in the long term." While living in Tal Afar, Ewing did not find much support for the war among other people living in Iraq. "The Iraqi people that I worked with were not happy that we were there," said Ewing. Most of the Army soldiers Ewing talked to were also against the war by the end of the term because of personal reason and the sense that the American forces weren't doing Iraqis any good.
The reason more soldiers don't vocalize their opposition, he added, is because they "oppose opposing the war" and are worried that dissent "undermines the current troops in Iraq."
Ewing also drew attention to the fact that insurgents are often dehumanized in Iraq as, what he called, "a defense mechanism for killing people." He didn't think operation in Iraq could qualify as a war because "a war is something you can win." According to Ewing, American forces are occupying Iraq and "an occupation can only end."
In April 2005, Ewing's troop was stationed in Tal Afar, Iraq. Their first operation was Operation: Restoring Rights in September of that year. Using 8,000 troops entering from different areas of Tal Afar, the Operation aimed to gather intelligence and root out insurgency. Time magazine positioned the Operation as "the Battle of Tal Afar" but this so-called battle turned out to be a disappointment. Troops encountered no resistance. If there had been insurgents, they did not stay in Tal Afar after the troops had evacuated people from their homes.
The troops were "told to search [Iraqi homes] aggressively," said Ewing, and were instructed to "dump drawers and overturn furniture." Despite the "trashed homes," he added, "we didn't find anything significant." Finding only a few weapons and no combat in Tal Afar, military personnel suggested that insurgents had evacuated to the north. As a result, 500 military-aged Iraqi males were rounded up. On Sept 12, Ewing witnessed men being declared guilty by a masked man and sent to interrogation with their crimes written on their zip tied arms in Sharpie ink.
On September 13, everyone still expected a big fight, but there wasn't one. Soon, Iraqis, carrying white flags to signify that they weren't combatants, were alloyed to return to their disheveled homes.
Ewing was struck by the inappropriate nature of military conduct during his stay in Iraq. For Ewing, the troops weren't doing enough to win the support of the poeople. "The fact that we trashed all those people's homes was disturbing because my general said that we'd lose these people if we tore their homes apart." Yet that was exactly what they were instructed to do.
Civilians had around two days to clear their homes so the military could bomb their neighborhoods and stay in their houses. Sometimes, bombs would accidentally hit civilian homes or civilians themselves. After Apache rounds entered a yard injuring seven women, Ewing was shocked to see their children remain calm. "I can only assume that they are so used to the violence," he said, "it doesn't even phase them."
When his troop first arrived in Iraq, they stayed in a very safe base five miles from the violence of the city they were supposed to be helping.
Later, Ewing explained, "we were supposed to spend more time in the city . . . and win support." However, at the new location inside Tal Amar, the troops soon isolated themselves by building 15-foot barriers and cement walls around their base.
In Tal Afar, there were many times when Ewing struggled with his conscience as he followed orders. When his troop defied the Geneva convention by occupying a local hospital during combat, he had to follow orders and commit acts he considered illegal and/or immoral. After returning home, he questioned the validity of the military paradigm that denied soldiers room to question their superiors.
"I think we should have soldiers who refuse when [told to do something] unethical or unlawful," he said.
Ewing was also troubled by the way some Iraqis were detained "often on very little evidence."
Once apprehended, detainees' heads were covered with sandbags and their hands were cuffed behind them with zip ties. Though he saw no evidence of detainee abuse, Ewing argued that these arrests were "not free from trauma for the families" of Iraqi detainees.
Because American mainstream media coverage of the war is largely framed by the military, said Ewing, people in the United States receive an inaccurate perception of the Iraq occupation. Suicide bombings, for example, are regularly reported, but the latest Iraqi civilian casualities are not. "In order to maintain support for the war," he stated, military personnel are instructed to "suppress information that detracts from the war." After comparing media reports of Tal Afar with his own experiences there, Ewing realized there was a "distinct difference in what was happening in real life and what the people in leadership were telling the public." Because information is so tightly controlled in the military, it is difficult to get information from other sources. "What you guys see is not what's going on," he added.
Since his troop left Tal Afar, Ewing reported that violence in the region has gotten worse. There are still suicide bombings and many civilian deaths, despite the prescence of around 1,000 troops per square kilometer.
Ewing enlisted in the Army because he could not afford Brown tuition. He has since used government funding from his service in Iraq to support his education. His experiences in Iraq, he said, gave him "a very personal and detailed understanding of what's going on over there." As a result of his experiences, Ewing is now a member of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. He recently traveled to Baltimore for an IVAW convention where over 200 Iraq veterans recorded their individual experiences abroad and spoke out against the war. According to SDS member, Elizabeth McConnel, the SDS sponsored Ewing's talk because "it's a small form of direct action that will hopefully change the way people think about the community we live in." McDonnell added, "I first heard his presentation last semester and was very impressed with it... I asked him to come because I knew he addressed issues that were hard for him, but important for people to hear, and he did so in a very non-agressive, honest way... I'm thrilled that so many people came out to hear him."