Iraq Vet Mad as Hell

It's been an eventful two weeks for Sergeant Liam Madden. Late last month, the Long Island-born Madden found out that the Marines would not proceed with efforts to kick him out of the Corps.

Then, just last week, he and two other members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) were arrested in Georgia for trespassing on Fort Benning.

Madden, whose grandparents came to New York from Cork as well as Drumshambo, Co. Leitrim, is part of a group which recently toured military bases around the country trying to spread their belief that the war in Iraq in unjust, illegal and immoral.

So, in case you thought Cindy Sheehan (who this week said she might run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unless an effort is made to impeach President Bush) was the only Irish American out there opposing the war, think again.

"I don't think I'll be done with this until the war is over," the 22-year-old Irish American told the Irish Voice on Tuesday.

In Madden's case, his anti-war journey will not be a replay of the 1960s, when generational differences (particularly acute among Irish Catholics) over the Vietnam War tore many families apart.

Madden has the support of his parents, Oona and Will, who have been quoted as saying they are proud of the stance he has taken.

It also appears quite a few elected officials are starting to come around to Madden's position, if not quite his controversial tactics.

Numerous Republican senators who once backed President Bush and the war have either come out for a troop withdrawal, or say they now have grave doubts about the mission in Iraq.

According to The New York Times, the White House itself is having second thoughts. "White House officials fear that the last pillars of political support among Senate Republicans for President Bush's Iraq strategy are collapsing around them, according to several administration officials and outsiders they are consulting," the Times reported on its front page this past Sunday.

"They say that inside the administration, debate is intensifying over whether Mr. Bush should try to prevent more defections by announcing his intention to begin a gradual withdrawal of American troops from the high-casualty neighborhoods of Baghdad and other cities."

Broad troop withdrawal is what Madden has been supporting since he came back after a seven month tour of duty in Iraq. Madden, a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, has said he never supported the Iraq war. It was not until recently that he decided to go public and organize opposition.

The result is Madden's involvement in numerous coalitions, including IVAW as well as Appeal for Redress, the latter of which brings together service men and women opposed to the war.

"I was just blown away," he says, when asked what it felt like to hear from so many military members who feel the same as he does.

These days, however, it may seem to Madden that the decision to go public was, in fact, the easy part. Madden first found himself in possible legal trouble when he appeared at an anti-war rally in New York City.

Madden made "disloyal statements" during a speech, according to military officials. He also accused President Bush of forcing service members to commit a "war crime" in Iraq.

Madden was also told he was not allowed to wear what appeared to be his military uniform at such rallies. But he responded with an acid tongue.

"I will orally agree to not wear my military uniforms while engaged in any political protest, hell, I'll have it carved into stone if you'd like, upon receiving a signed, written statement on official USMC letterhead acknowledging that my statements in question were neither disloyal nor inaccurate."

Madden then added, "I hope we can come to agreement on the matter. I understand men in your position have their careers to think about, as I'm positive many German Colonels did in 1939."

Last week, the Marines decided not to pursue efforts to boot Madden from the Corps.

Either way, given his arrest this past week, it appears Madden will not stop waging his own battle until troops are withdrawn from Iraq. And by now, he believes most Americans agree with him.

"We're not saying anything that radical," he says.

(Contact Tom at tomdeignan@verizon.net.)