My clock radio alarm kicks in with the day’s news, and usually, I pull the sheet up over my head and just listen for a few minutes to the latest horrors our troops are visiting on the rest of the world. Today, however, after listeneing to Sara Rich talk about the case of her dauther, Army Specialist Suzanne Swift, I rolled out of bed a little more quickly to get on with the day. I’m always amazed by the parents who get involved in opposing the use of our military for U.S. pillaging abroad on behalf of their kids. Their words are devoid of political rhetoric and their pleas are always vital. It’s the moms who are going to eventually stop this thing.

Please save the date: Saturday, July 15

As we gather at the gates of Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, WA to mark Suzanne Swift’s 22nd birthday.

Suzanne Swift was arrested at her mother’s home in Eugene on June 11 for being AWOL from the U.S. Army. Though she’d already served tours of duty in Kuwait and Iraq, Specialist Swift could not return to Iraq for a second tour of duty because she was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to the sexual harassment and assault she faced at the hands of her commanding officers.

Swift, who has gone public with her charges against the perpetrators, has been forced back into active duty and back into her fatigues. She is confined to the Ft. Lewis base while her case is under investigation, and she may face court martial and prison time.

Please come Saturday, July 15 prepared to show your support for Suzanne!

Here’s one interesting part of the this morning’s interview that Sara Rich had with Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman:

SARA RICH: ….On Sunday night, June the 11th, she — I guess she came over to the house — I was sleeping, and she and her sister were watching a movie — because she wasn’t staying with me. She had just come over to visit. And there was a knock on the door. And I was in my pajamas, and I came out. And it was the Eugene Police Department. And they told me — they asked me if Suzanne was here? And I said, “No.” And he told me that he had a warrant. I said, “Can I see your warrant?” And he said, “No, I don’t have to show you a copy of the warrant.”

AMY GOODMAN: This is Eugene police?

SARA RICH: Eugene police. And I said, “Well, you need to show me something.” And at that point, Suzanne and Sonia come into the room, and he looks at Sonia. He says, “Are you Suzanne?” She said, “No.” He said to Suzanne, “Are you Suzanne?” She said, “No.” And then he said, “Show me your left hand.” And she has a little tattoo on her left hand.

And he walked in the house, and I put my hand up. I said, “I didn’t invite you into my home.” And he took my hand and twisted it and pushed me out of the way and put the handcuffs on Suzanne. Well, she turned around and put — you know, he put the handcuffs on her. She knows the drill. She was a military police officer.

So I looked at her, and I said, “Here we go.” And she says, “Yep.” And I say, “Are you ready?” She says, “Yep.” And I said, “Okay, let’s do it, …”

There are a many larger issues at play in the whole thing, and is illustrates that even those in the U.S. military can often find themselves a victim of it as well. The whole horrible saga Suzanne suffered through is detailed in the interview. Read it and get ready to hate something. But this notion of city police aping the jackbooted thuggery of our miltary when it comes to dealing with anyone who seems to counter the U.S. occupation is increasing. For some reason, if cops are going after war activists or people who go AWOL for reasons sanity or morality, they think they have carte blanche to ignore relevent laws, much the way our military does with its war crimes.

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