Transcript:

MATTHEW PALEVSKY, JOURNALIST: I'm at a press conference held by Iraq Veterans Against the War, where a number of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans have talked briefly about the mismanagement that they witnessed in the war and the violence against Iraqi civilians.

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KELLY DOUGHERTY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IVAW: We're united by three missions: one, the immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq; veterans' benefits and health care; and reparations for the Iraqi people. Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan is our largest event to date, and we're bringing together veterans and service members and civilians to show their eyewitness accounts of the occupations.

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CAPTAIN LUIS MONTALVAN: The leaders who have perpetrated the failed strategies and the occupation of Iraq have been consistently incompetent, negligent. They have mismanaged to the degree that it is clearly in keeping with what we in the military describe as dereliction of duty.

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JASON HURD: The Iraqi civilians bear the brunt of the violence in Iraq, and as a result of the US occupation, they suffer greatly. During my tour in Iraq, my unit opened fire regularly on unarmed civilians while we conducted convoy operations. My unit opened fire indiscriminately on a building where we knew civilians to be inhabiting.

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SELENA COPPA: I have come to believe that the best way for me to protect my country is as a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. The current occupation of Iraq is hurting America, it is hurting our military, and it is hurting our service members and our families. I would stand up again and again to defend my country whenever and wherever and however it was required. The occupation in Iraq is not defending my country; it is not supporting the oath that I swore.

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PALEVSKY: Winter Soldier is a three-day testimonial of over 100 soldiers who were on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We will be covering all three days, so please stay with us.

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that TRNN transcripts are typed from a recording of the program; The Real News Network cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.