Grassroots Action

IRAQ VETERAN KRISTOFER GOLDSMITH FROM LI TESTIFIES AT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON MAY 15, 2008

Congress has heard from politicians, pundits, and generals, but not, up to this point, from the average boots-on-the-ground soldier.

On May 15, 2008 Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) began the process of righting this imbalance with Winter Soldier on the Hill. Nine members of IVAW testified under oath before the CPC about rules of engagement, the killing and abuse of civilians, the use of drop weapons, and the true consequences of the “surge.” Winter Soldier on the Hill allowed the US Congress to be more fully informed about the situation in Iraq through soldiers' eyewitness accounts of the on-going military occupation.

One of the soldiers who testified was Kristofer Goldsmith, a native of Bellmore, Long Island. Kris enlisted in the army at 18, six months after graduating from high school. He wanted to be a soldier all his life and was motivated to enlist by the attacks of September 11th. Eager to serve his country, he deployed to Iraq in 2005 as a Forward Observer with the Third Infantry Division. He served in Sadr City and Baghdad.
“I quickly learned it wasn’t at all how I thought it would be,” said Kris. “It was brutal and dehumanizing.”

Like many returning veterans, he suffers from PTSD. At the Winter Soldier on the Hill hearings Kris testified about low morale and the psychological consequences of the troop surge, as well as the breakdown of Iraqi infrastructure.

Kris is trying to get his life together, to go to school, and to share his story of personal transformation from warrior to active member of the growing numbers of Iraq Veterans Against the War. The Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives has been working with Kris to bring his powerful and sobering story to other Long Islanders, particularly his peers. He has spoken to students at Hofstra University, Adelphi University, Nassau Community College, SUNY Stony Brook, Suffolk Community College, Brooklyn College, and the School of Visual Arts and has addressed local peace groups. Kris has also accompanied Alliance members at meetings with Congressman Tim Bishop and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy. The Alliance will schedule meetings with the other three members of LI’s congressional delegation so that they can hear Kris’s story firsthand.

For more information about the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives visit www.longislandpeace.org

Email: lipeace@verizon.net

To read a Newsday story about Kristofer Goldsmith:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-ligold5691213may18,0,6199583...