Former 10th corporal speaks out against war

WASHINGTON — Philip Aliff isn't afraid to admit he was in the Army for the money. But even that — his salary, a $7,000 signing bonus and money for college — wasn't worth what he learned in Iraq.

The war, he discovered, was not for him. Neither was the Army.

Mr. Aliff, who finished his tour as a corporal with the 10th Mountain Division last week, was among the current and former soldiers speaking out against the mission in Iraq at Winter Solider, a four-day conference in Silver Spring, Md., sponsored by Iraq Veterans Against the War.

"My experiences in Iraq were what radicalized me," Mr. Aliff, 21, said in an interview Friday. "I really didn't understand the dynamic of what was happening in Iraq."

Mr. Aliff, who was with the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team from Fort Drum, said the situation was far more violent than the rebuilding effort commanders advertised or were prepared to handle.

The result, he said, were contradictory messages for Iraqi civilians as U.S. forces arrested scores of fighting-age men on flimsy suspicion of wrongdoing, only to let them go a few days later.

"We'd hand kids soccer balls," said Mr. Aliff, whose duties included daily combat patrols in Abu Ghraib City and, later, the more violent area near Fallujah in 2005. "They'd see us on the one hand giving them things, and on the other hand arresting their families."

The anti-war conference attracted dozens of soldiers and former soldiers, and possibly a comparable number of reporters and television crews.

In a twist, it also attracted pro-war protesters on the road outside the campus of the National Labor College, where the event was staged. Dozens of armed police officers and hired security guards, including a handful of Vietnam War veterans recruited by IVAW, kept pro-war demonstrators out.

The war supporters held banners proclaiming support for troops and accusing IVAW of undermining the U.S. mission to lay the groundwork for democracy and fight terrorists.

Journalists and other visitors admitted to the event were asked to sign a pledge not to disrupt the proceedings, and organizers warned that any outbursts could lead to expulsion, escorted by security.

On a table outside a conference room was a stack of yellow fliers advertising the New York State Marches for Peace walk May 8 to 17 that starts in Western New York and ends in Watertown.

Former and current soldiers spoke at a series of panel discussions about the killing of innocent civilians; waste, fraud and abuse by defense contractors; poor care for wounded veterans, and other issues. Many of the panelists were longtime soldiers who had re-enlisted more than once and said they did not regret their military service.

"I gained a huge experience," Mr. Aliff said, although he decided not to re-enlist. He said he was drawn to the Army by the signing bonus, college money and what seemed like a solid way to start out his adult life.

Other IVAW members spoke of longer commitments to the Army and said they would not dissuade potential recruits from joining as long as they "seek the truth" about the Army and its missions.

"My service in the military has been the greatest honor in my life," said Luis Montalvan, who left the Army as a captain with 17 years of experience and said he suffers post-traumatic stress syndrome. He wore his Army medals at a press conference Thursday, ahead of the event.

Mr. Aliff said his own unit's exposure to violence was probably a lingering result of the tough tactics used by the previous unit in the same area — the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

"From the moment we took over, it was like this," Mr. Aliff said. "People saw the same patches."

Although some IVAW members spoke of punishment for their anti-war views, Mr. Aliff said he received only a talking-to from his squad leader when he joined IVAW as an active-duty soldier.

When he spoke out, he said, "it was reinvigorating. I felt like I finally had a voice."

Mr. Aliff, who is single and from Atlanta, said he hopes to start art school next fall, but he is not sure where.