Tracey Harmon will be heading to Iraq in April- in hopes of awakening the hearts and minds of others to the non aggression principle.  Here is a more detailed description of her mission and how you can support her:

It has been my personal obligation to travel to Iraq ever since enlisting in the U.S Army at 18 years old.   As a soldier, I swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States from all foreign and domestic enemies.  When it occurred to me that more enemies of the U.S constitution are being created and the surge of violence and terrorism is increasing by our presence in Iraq, I decided to apply for Conscientious Objector status.  I refused to participate in the unnecessary bloodshed and violence our country is waging against innocent civilians, and vowed to go to Iraq without a weapon.  Now, I have the unique opportunity to travel unarmed to Iraq on a peacemaking delegation this spring.

I depart for Istanbul on April 15.   I will be traveling with an international team through an anonymous organization that follows the principal of "devoting the same discipline and self-sacrifice to non-violent peacemaking that armies devote to war."  Their ground teams are based in the conflicted border regions of the Kurdish North and accompany displaced persons by documenting human rights violations against civilian populations. I came into contact with their work through my travels in the Middle East.  After hearing my story of getting out of the Army as a Conscientious Objector to war, the Executive Director of this organization gave me a special invitation to visit all of the ground teams in Iraq.

Although the main purpose of the team’s delegation is to access the security for future participants, my overall mission is multifaceted:  I will be meeting with various NGOs, relief groups, and local Iraqi civilians to document an insider's perspective on the cost of war, and the structural damage we have caused.  I hope to conduct live radio interviews in country to illustrate this reality. I will be taking letters from veterans in Iraq Veterans Against the War - letters of remorse, grief, and apology for losses. I will accept personal responsibility for the damage due to my participation, as a former soldier, and work towards alleviating human suffering in any capacity I can.  I hope to return home with footage, interviews, stories, pictures, articles, as well as contacts for a future delegation I am planning on behalf of Iraq Veterans Against the War and LOLA.  This is a risky trip I am taking – but I already swore to give my life to defend this nation once.  I believe that the greatest thing I can do to protect my country is to protect those whom our “Military-Industrial Complex” has harmed.  As a Conscientious Objector to war, I believe that making peace requires extreme non-violent action.

I am requesting that you join me on this peacemaking delegation.  To cover transportation and basic ground costs, I need to raise $3000.  I am not only asking for your financial assistance, but also your support.  I am creating an email chain for those who wish to receive immediate updates while I am in Iraq, as well as access to my blog with live footage.

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.”

Thank you so much,

Tracey Harmon

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