Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"These heartbreaking, powerful stories tell more about the war in Iraq than any analysis by pundits or journalists. I hope this book will be widely read, especially by young people who may be enticed, by false promises or deceptive patriotic exhortations, to go to war."—Howard Zinn
Review
"This is a book about American heroes. They experienced the futility, the inhumanity and the brutality of the war in Iraq and then, at great personal sacrifice, made the decision to resist and obey their consciences. When this country gives them medals of honor I will know we live in a just society."—Michael Ratner, author of Guantanamo: What the World Should Know
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.