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The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan
Dahr Jamail, author of Beyond the Green Zone , brings us inside the movement of military resistance to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since 2006, a majority in the United States have opposed the continued occupation of Iraq, and increasing skepticism surrounds the escalation in Afghanistan. But how do the soldiers who carry out the American occupations see their missions?
Fragmented reports of battalions refusing orders, of individual soldiers refusing redeployment and taking a public stand against the occupations have trickled into the mainstream reportage over the last five years. But how deep does the current of resistance run? What makes soldiers decide to go AWOL, file for conscientious objector status, and even serve sentences in military prison for their acts of refusal?
Dahr Jamail's comprehensive study of the today's military resisters sheds new light on the contours of dissent within the ranks of the world's most powerful military.
Since 2006, a majority in the United States have opposed the continued occupation of Iraq, and increasing skepticism surrounds the escalation in Afghanistan. But how do the soldiers who carry out the American occupations see their missions?
Fragmented reports of battalions refusing orders, of individual soldiers refusing redeployment and taking a public stand against the occupations have trickled into the mainstream reportage over the last five years. But how deep does the current of resistance run? What makes soldiers decide to go AWOL, file for conscientious objector status, and even serve sentences in military prison for their acts of refusal?
Dahr Jamail's comprehensive study of the today's military resisters sheds new light on the contours of dissent within the ranks of the world's most powerful military.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2009
3 people are currently reading
788 people want to read
About the author
Dahr Jamail
16 books99 followersDahr Jamail is an American journalist who is best known as one of the few unembedded journalists to report extensively from Iraq during the 2003 Iraq War. He spent eight months in Iraq, between 2003 to 2005, and presented his stories on his website, entitled Dahr Jamail's MidEast Dispatches. Jamail writes for the Inter Press Service news agency, among other outlets. He has been a frequent guest on Democracy Now!. Jamail is the recipient of the 2008 The Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 3, 2021
War is hell. And we shouldn't be waging forever wars to enrich the powerful.
January 31, 2016
Jamail's patriotic service to the men and women in military uniforms appears when he gives them platform to speak conscientiously in objecting to the Occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan in his book. He has collected their anecdotal stories and honored them by quoting at length their words.
Essential reading for anyone not satisfied by corporate media or political ideologues, the book provides narratives of those who have resisted the military from within.
Bravery marches alone only until another steps alongside to share the path.
The veterans inside this book are my heroes.
Essential reading for anyone not satisfied by corporate media or political ideologues, the book provides narratives of those who have resisted the military from within.
Bravery marches alone only until another steps alongside to share the path.
The veterans inside this book are my heroes.
March 9, 2020
4.5 rating.
Despite the fact that I've been critical of the wars in the Middle East since high school, not once had I ever thought about what I would do if a foreign force occupied my country, indiscriminately killed women and children and blind fires into our cities, and committed atrocity after atrocity against my countrymen. I've always known that this sort of thing happened, but I never thought of it in those terms before and now I don't know why I never did. Of course the people in Iraq in Afghanistan fought back, terrorist or no; I would too if it was me.
I always knew that women were treated badly in the military and that rapes and sexual assaults were common, but I never really read about exactly the kinds of things that were happening, or that some of these female soldiers were being murdered after. There's a part of me that wishes I could read a version of this book published after DADT was repealed, but none of that really surprised me.
I may have always been critical about these wars, but this book still managed to make me open my eyes further and to view them through a whole new perspective than I ever have before. It really is a great book. Its powerful. I nearly cried during the final chapter where they talked in detail about some of the atrocities committed (specifically the woman with the groceries).
But, I feel like this book was missing something. I don't know what. It talked about the issues, physically and mentally, that soldiers face when they come home. It talked about how soldiers and civilians can help resist the war. It talked about different ways soldiers have and can cope with their trauma. It talked about how people join because, economically, they feel like they have no choice, the systemic problems of the military. I can't think of a single thing it could have added or done better. But I just feel like there was something that was missing.
PS, that foreword by Chris Hedges really didn't sit well with me for some reason.
Despite the fact that I've been critical of the wars in the Middle East since high school, not once had I ever thought about what I would do if a foreign force occupied my country, indiscriminately killed women and children and blind fires into our cities, and committed atrocity after atrocity against my countrymen. I've always known that this sort of thing happened, but I never thought of it in those terms before and now I don't know why I never did. Of course the people in Iraq in Afghanistan fought back, terrorist or no; I would too if it was me.
I always knew that women were treated badly in the military and that rapes and sexual assaults were common, but I never really read about exactly the kinds of things that were happening, or that some of these female soldiers were being murdered after. There's a part of me that wishes I could read a version of this book published after DADT was repealed, but none of that really surprised me.
I may have always been critical about these wars, but this book still managed to make me open my eyes further and to view them through a whole new perspective than I ever have before. It really is a great book. Its powerful. I nearly cried during the final chapter where they talked in detail about some of the atrocities committed (specifically the woman with the groceries).
But, I feel like this book was missing something. I don't know what. It talked about the issues, physically and mentally, that soldiers face when they come home. It talked about how soldiers and civilians can help resist the war. It talked about different ways soldiers have and can cope with their trauma. It talked about how people join because, economically, they feel like they have no choice, the systemic problems of the military. I can't think of a single thing it could have added or done better. But I just feel like there was something that was missing.
PS, that foreword by Chris Hedges really didn't sit well with me for some reason.
March 29, 2019
Not a fan
This book is not an easy read. A lot of the info is outdated and the author doesnt come off as a very approachable person in the preface. While several chapters were interesting, this is the slowest i have ever read a book because it just wasnt for me. I think the biggest issue i have is this whole book calls for an end to the wars but now we have a president trying to do just that and everyone is now saying we shouldnt. So where are these people now? I dont know this book just wasnt for me.
This book is not an easy read. A lot of the info is outdated and the author doesnt come off as a very approachable person in the preface. While several chapters were interesting, this is the slowest i have ever read a book because it just wasnt for me. I think the biggest issue i have is this whole book calls for an end to the wars but now we have a president trying to do just that and everyone is now saying we shouldnt. So where are these people now? I dont know this book just wasnt for me.
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June 30, 2024The first nonfiction book (ex-memoirs) I’ve been able to finish since September!!! Weird to read this book 15 years later. The reading experience reminded me of Demon Copperhead. On an individual level, it’s terrifying as a parent of a future young adult. And on a grander level, our systems are broken and failing. In a different vein, this book is a good antidote to propaganda, which was prevalent in the aughts and is just as prevalent today.
April 28, 2021
This book is absolute garbage. It takes all of its perspectives from people who have none.
November 20, 2013
The Will to Resist by Dahr Jamail is a book about soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who chose to stop fighting due to various ethical and personal concerns. Jamail, who was a reporter in the Iraq war, suffers from PTSD due to the harsh conditions prevalent in Iraq. Even though the book was written in 2009, it still highlights many issues that are often ignored, such as the many soldiers who are mentally unfit to fight but are deployed anyway, the low morale of those who serve and the reasons for this, and the injustice facing those who decide to refuse to fight due to their own acquired beliefs.
I was interested in this book mainly because I did not know that there was any form of resistance to fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan by American soldiers. This book does a good job in citing many specific examples of organizations and people who have chosen not to fight and their various reasons. It is eye opening to learn about so many policies that are overlooked but are so detrimental, such as the stop-loss policy, and to hear about the many soldiers who had no other option but to go AWOL instead of deploying because their Conscientious Objector applications were ignored. It also quotes soldiers wherever possible, instead of only the author’s opinion.
Unfortunately, the book was too cut- and- dry for me. It didn’t hold my attention like I wanted it to. The writing seemed to rehash the same argument over again instead of presenting it in a new way. Also, more could have been said about the reasons behind the wars and the problems with them. I was expecting more from it because the author was a reporter, and because I think so much more can be said about the issues presented in the book.
Personally, I would not recommend this book, especially as someone's introduction to this issue, because although I think the issue itself should not be ignored, I think there are better books about it that are more persuasive as well as informative.
I was interested in this book mainly because I did not know that there was any form of resistance to fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan by American soldiers. This book does a good job in citing many specific examples of organizations and people who have chosen not to fight and their various reasons. It is eye opening to learn about so many policies that are overlooked but are so detrimental, such as the stop-loss policy, and to hear about the many soldiers who had no other option but to go AWOL instead of deploying because their Conscientious Objector applications were ignored. It also quotes soldiers wherever possible, instead of only the author’s opinion.
Unfortunately, the book was too cut- and- dry for me. It didn’t hold my attention like I wanted it to. The writing seemed to rehash the same argument over again instead of presenting it in a new way. Also, more could have been said about the reasons behind the wars and the problems with them. I was expecting more from it because the author was a reporter, and because I think so much more can be said about the issues presented in the book.
Personally, I would not recommend this book, especially as someone's introduction to this issue, because although I think the issue itself should not be ignored, I think there are better books about it that are more persuasive as well as informative.
November 27, 2012
From the standpoint of US soldiers, this book reinforces war's bottom line: profit for corporations. For everyone who is thinking of joining any branch of US "protective" service, this is a MUST read book. I had to stop every couple pages to digest the information. As much as I already know what the military does, the extremities of what is allowed to happen is astonishing and heart breaking.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews