Download a PDF of this Mission Rejected press release.
For Immediate Release
April 5, 2006
Contact: Jon-Mikel Gates, 802-295-6300 x111
jgates@chelseagreen.com
Mission Rejected
U.S. Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq
by Peter Laufer
New Book Gives Voice to Soldiers Who Reject Iraq War
“Behind these bars I sit a free man because I listened to…my conscience.”
—Sergeant Camilo Mejía, U.S. Army
“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.”
—Specialist Jeremy Hinzman, U.S. Army
Sergeant Mejía and Specialist Hinzman are two of a growing number of U.S. servicemen and women who are courageously following their conscience and refusing to fight in Iraq. Soon after the U.S. invasion, the popular Vietnam War chant of “Hell no! We won’t go!” reverberated around the country. This time it wasn’t draftees who were refusing to fight but soldiers from the so-called “all volunteer” military. Peter Laufer’s new book, Mission Rejected: US Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq (May 2006, Chelsea Green Publishing Company), gives a voice to U.S. servicemen and women who refuse to participate in what they believe to be an illegal and immoral war.
The men and women in Mission Rejected enlisted in the military for a variety of reasons—patriotic duty, money for college, a promising career. They dedicated their lives to the service of their country and trusted their commander-in-chief to use them responsibly. When they were sent to Iraq to fight a war based on lies, their contract was nullified.
Deluded and angry these soldiers risk jail sentences and exile as they speak out against the injustice of this war. These are people of strong character with endless courage in the face of ridicule, hatred, and even prison time.
The drama of these human stories is intense, the pain deep and palpable. Rejected by society and isolated from their families they struggle to hold their lives together. Some, like Joshua Key suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and are haunted by what they saw and did in Iraq. “I’m not your perfect killing machine,” he admits. “I broke the rules by having a conscience.”
Promotion surrounding Mission Rejected includes:
- Co-marketing with Iraq Veterans Against War, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, CodePink, and other antiwar, student and progressive groups
- National media interviews
- National college and high school tour
- Off-the-book-page features
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.
Available May 2006 | Paperback | $14 | 1-933392-04-5 | 5 3/8 x 8 3/8 | 224 pages
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