VICTOR AGOSTO
Available for a limited number of interviews, Agosto, a soldier based at Fort Hood in Texas, is publicly refusing orders to deploy to Afghanistan. He recently wrote on military forms: “There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan. The occupation is immoral and unjust. It does not make the American people any safer. It has the opposite effect.” Agosto also stated: “I will not obey any orders I deem to be immoral or illegal.” Portions of these statements are here .

Having served in the Army since 2005, including a tour in Iraq, Agosto can no longer bear to serve and says that he is “ready for the consequences, whatever they are.” On April 30 he told his commanding officer that he would not deploy with his unit to Afghanistan, and since May 11 he has been refusing all orders directly connected to his unit’s deployment. Agosto is waiting to see what the military will do to him. A possible outcome is military court martial and years in prison.

“I came to realize that the wars really don’t do what the stated reasons are, which is to make us safer,” said Agosto. “Both occupations fuel the insurgencies in those countries. We are creating ‘terrorists’ and we are killing so many innocent people.” See article by Dahr Jamail.

SARAH LAZARE
Lazare is with the group Courage to Resist, an organization that supports troops who refuse to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

CAMILO MEJIA
Board chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Mejia said today: “In refusing deployment to Afghanistan, Victor Agosto is following his conscience and deserves the support of all service men and women and the American people.” Mejia wrote the book Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia.

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167