MP3: Mindenki Joga Radio Interview with US War Resister

Balazs Nagy: Can you tell a few words about yourself and how you got to the situation that you are in?

Victor Agosto: Ok, I am Victor Agosto, I joined the Army of the United States in August of 2005. I was sent to Iraq in October of 2006. And I stayed there until November of 2007. And while I was in Iraq I turned against both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And now my unit is sending me to Afghanistan - or wants to send me to Afghanistan - but I have already told them that I am not going to go and that I am not going to obey any orders supporting my unit's deployment to Afghanistan.

Balazs Nagy: What does it mean that you will not obey any orders? What are the consequences?

Victor Agosto: I am not sure exactly what the consequences are going to be. But, the worst case scenario is that I will get Court's Marshaled and I will be sentenced to a couple years of prison and that I will get a bad discharge from the military which would make it somewhat difficult to find employment or a job in the United States.

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Victor M Agosto interview
Full interview interview (in English)

Victor M Agosto interview
Translated into Hungarian, live on Civil Radio:

Mindenki Joga, Civil Radio
The full show (in Hungarian)

  More audio from the Mindenki Joga radio show on Budapest's Civil Radio here: LMV.hu/mindenkijoga

Balazs Nagy: Why did you join the Army? You knew a war was going on so there was a good chance that you be sent to a war zone.

Victor Agosto: Yes, I knew I would be sent to a war zone. I really believed that we were actually going over there to fight terrorism, to make America a safer place. And I also was just tired of being in school, I wanted to go do something, I was tired of sitting in a classroom, I wanted to see the world. That's why I joined.

Then I came to realize that we weren't doing anything good in Iraq and we are definitely not doing anything good in Afghanistan either.

[....]

I came to this conclusion while I was there [in Iraq], I read some books - I thought about it. And none of it made any sense. And then I started feeling very guilty about my involvement because even though I didn't shoot anybody I knew that what I did contributed to human suffering and the death of innocent people.

Balazs Nagy: Have you had the chance to talk to friends and others in the military that did take part in military actions? What have you heard from them?

Victor Agosto: Many feel the same way that I do, except that they actually have post traumatic stress disorder from their experiences. They come back and they're just not normal anymore. They have a lot of problems when they get back [because] of the things they had to do. And I definitely wouldn't want that for myself.

Balazs Nagy: What would you do instead of what the United States is doing currently in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Victor Agosto: I think we should pull out. Maybe replace it with an international force or something, but I really do not think that we are really helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Over a million Iraqis are dead, several tens of thousands of Afghans are dead - this is not better than Saddam Hussein or the Taliban. We are the new dictators of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Balazs Nagy: If former comrades or military friends or those who were with you in Iraq - how do they feel about what you are saying? Because it could be said that you are telling them that they are engaged in an unjust war?

Victor Agosto: A lot of them agree with me, a lot of them can understand my perspective even if they don't necessarily agree with me. [...] I think a lot of them really do believe in what they are doing - like I used to believe in what I was doing. I do not think it really helps to tell people 'Oh, you are horrible for doing this!' It doesn't really win them over to your side.

My unit is going to go over there and I hope that they all come back safely. But I don't support what they are doing - I don't think it is right.

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Everybody in my unit knows what I am doing [....] most of the American military is against the war in Iraq and some are against the war in Afghanistan and almost none are really enthusiastic about either war.

Balazs Nagy: Your name sounds Latin American?

Victor Agosto: Yes, I was born in Miami [Florida] and my father is Puerto Rican and my mother is Honduran and they met in the United States.

Balazs Nagy: I was asking this because I read there were many stories of immigrants could join the US military even without having legal papers?

Victor Agosto: Yes, it is very strange. People who are not citizens of the United States can fight in its wars - that is just a matter of being useful to Power. Once you are willing to do that for them they will give you citizenship. [....] It is a huge double-standard.

Balazs Nagy: Are there any organisations or people who help and support you?

Victor Agosto: Yes, I all those, I get them from various organisations in Central Texas and through out the United States. Peace groups of different kinds, there is a local coffee house here in the city of Killeen which is just outside of Fort Hood which is where I am stationed that provides for soldiers who don't necessarily agree the war or have a lot of problems from coming back from the war.

And that place is called 'Under The Hood Cafe' - Courage To Resist is an other organisation that's helping me, they have set up a legal defence fund at CourageToResist.org/victor and I have a lawyer and they are raising funds for my defence.

Balazs Nagy: How many other soldiers are there like you?

Victor Agosto: It is difficult to say - a lot of people don't do it publicly the way I am doing it. A lot of times people will just leave - they will stop going to work - they will go to some other country - they will hide.

And people don't know what the reasons for them leaving are. Maybe they have personal problems, maybe they are against the war. People have different motivations, so it is difficult to know how many of those people left because they are opposed to the war.

There are a couple people that have gone AWOL [Military term for 'Absent WithOut Leave'] and have been public about their reasons for going AWOL. There are some that have said that the war is unjust and have decided to not go.

The way I am going about it is different - I still go to work everyday, I just don't do things that I see are supporting the war.

I tell them, 'Look, I am not going to do any of this.' So, they say, 'OK, go sweep the motor pool' (which is where all the trucks are) and I sweep the floor there and I keep sweeping or I pull weeds. All the things that soldiers don't like to do - those are the things that I enjoy doing because I know they don't support the war as much as what I was doing before.

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I have not been helping them prepare the equipment to go over there - I haven't gone through certain procedures that I need to go through before I go. There's medical checks and legal things that you have to take care of before you leave. And, I refuse to do all those things. So I am basically useless!

Balazs Nagy: Useless from another perspective, yes! What was the first reactions from your superiors, when you said 'I wont do this'?

Victor Agosto: They were confused at first. They didn't really understand. I had always done what I had been told. I had been what they would call a 'Good Soldier.' So, they were just completely shocked by the way I was going about things.

They don't really understand why I am staying around. They don't understand why I don't just leave. because it would make things a lot easier for them. Because with me being there other people see what I am doing. That creates a real problem for them.

Balazs Nagy: And after, did you get any threats from them?

Victor Agosto: As soon as I told them that I was not going to Afghanistan I thought I was going to get sent to jail. I thought, 'This is it! It's over!' But no, they couldn't send me to jail - I guess that is not how it works. I either had to start refusing all orders or just run away, or, just actually not be there when the unit goes to Afghanistan.

I guess that for whatever reason the law doesn't let them punish me at this point.

Balazs Nagy: But, are planning to be a public voice of those soldiers who decided for similar reasons not to take part in unjust wars?

Victor Agosto: Yes. Yes, this is the consuming passion of my life. This is what I am dedicated to right now - ending these wars. And I think I am in a unique position to help bring that about.

Balazs Nagy: I wish you lots of luck from a small radio show in Hungary, but also dedicated to defend those standing up for rights and just things. And I hope we can be in touch with you and others - if you know of other people who are also speaking out.

Victor Agosto: Yes, as a matter of fact there is another person in my unit who a few days ago announced that he was not going to go to Afghanistan also.

Balazs Nagy: So, I think you will get more threats because finally no one from your unit will be deployed!

Victor Agosto: I hope that is what it comes down to! That is the idea.