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In Maryland on March 13-16 the “Winter Soldier 2008: Iraq and Afghanistan, Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupants” took place, where over 100 veterans of the war gave accounts of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was inspired by the 1971 Winter Soldier investigation, where Vietnam veterans spoke out about what they had seen and done.

The veteran’s accounts were both disturbing and emotional. Soldiers and marines described incidents where innocent civilians were killed and where an apartment building known to be filled with Iraqi families was fired at multiple times.

One man, John Turner, ripped off his service medals and threw them into the crowd. He showed pictures of victims he had killed, and footage of a mosque being fired at, which is illegal unless there is someone firing from it. In this instance, they were acting out of revenge for one of their soldiers being killed. “I am sorry for the hate and destruction that I have inflicted on innocent people” he said, bordering on tears.

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Another veteran Bryan Casher, admitted that his fellow marines urinated and defecated into food before giving it to Iraqi children

The rules of engagement determine when and how force shall be used in the military. They state that positive identification must be obtained before shooting a suspect. This was altered so that any suspicious observer could be taken down, meaning anyone seen with binoculars, or a mobile phone. After dark, soldiers could shoot anyone who was outside. They said that their commanding officers made it clear that if they killed a civilian they would make sure a weapon was found at the scene.

The subject of veterans’ health care was discussed. The parents of Jeffery Lucey spoke of how their son committed suicide after a lack of treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. One soldier told how he was provided with fifteen minutes therapy a month to help with his trauma after serving. 2,100 soldiers attempted suicide in 2007.

Another soldier showed an image of a part of an Iraqi mans face mounted on a helmet. After a bomb blast this was all that was left of him. His fellow soldiers had placed it on one of their helmets, laughing and taking pictures of it

This important event received very little coverage in America. The event was packed with media, although mainly with foreign press. It was almost ignored by the American corporate media. No major tv network or cable news mentioned it. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal failed to cover the event. This is a frightening result, as these soldiers stories are of the utmost importance. The main message of the conference was to remove the occupation in Iraq.