Mission Rejected

U.S. Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq

On Tuesday, September 26, Laufer testified before Congress on the mounting cost of the US military occupation of Iraq. See the video or read the transcript.

"Here's a book that talks turkey about the BushCheneyRummy mess in Iraq. Every congress critter should read Mission Rejected–and then apologize for their role in creating the mess."

—Jim Hightower

"My son died in Iraq for lies and greed. The sons and daughters in this book are living for peace. I hope that all American soldiers will read Mission Rejected and realize that they don't have to follow bad orders."

—Cindy Sheehan

Disillusioned, outraged, and betrayed, American soldiers are taking a stand against the war in Iraq.

A shattering journey of revelation, pain, and betrayal, Mission Rejected takes the reader deep into the turmoil of U.S. troops confronting the Iraq War. Some of these soldiers have decided not to fight in Iraq. Others, who have served in the “Sand Box” only to return so appalled by their experience and by what that experience has done to them, choose to declare, in the words of the old Phil Ochs song, “I’m not marchin’ anymore!”

Consider Specialist Jeremy Hinzman, who chose Canada over his military career. When queried about his obligation to follow orders, his answer came fast: “I was told in basic training that, if I’m given an illegal or immoral order, it is my duty to disobey it. I feel that invading and occupying Iraq is an illegal and immoral thing to do.” Meet Sergeant Camilo Mejía, who said from prison, “Behind these bars I sit a free man because I listened to a higher power: the voice of my conscience.”

Increasing numbers of U.S. soldiers are returning from Iraq horrified by what they witnessed and what they did. Journalist Peter Laufer tells how these soldiers are transformed from trained warriors to activists in the struggle to end the Iraq War. He puts their experiences into context by drawing on the lessons of the Vietnam War and citing the historical precedents for troops who refuse unconscionable orders.

Mission Rejected probes the universal issue of resistance to war by the very men who chose to defend the nation.

Meet the Soldiers

Clara Gomez was 17 when she was contacted by military recruiters who were under pressure to sign up people for an endless “war on terror.” The recruiters used heavy-handed tactics that she found unnerving. She signed up while still in high school, then fought the military and successfully rescinded her decision.

Aidan Delgado signed up for the Army Reserves on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. A year later, he was in Iraq, ending up at Abu Ghraib prison. Convinced by what he experienced in Iraq that U.S. policy is wrong, he returned to the U.S. where he filed for conscientious objector status and received an honorable discharge.

Portraits by Kate Gridley. Drawn from photographs taken during interviews conducted by Peter Laufer.

About the Author

Peter Laufer, a Vietnam War resister, is the author of several books about conflict and migration, including Wetback Nation: The Case for Opening the Mexican-American Border. A former NBC News correspondent, Laufer has won numerous journalism awards, among them a George Polk for his reporting on Americans in prison overseas and an Edward R. Murrow for his study of Vietnam War veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. He lives in Sonoma County, in northern California.