Campus Antiwar Network History

Tariq Khan’s Statement of support for Dave Airhart

I just found out about what happened to Iraq War veteran Dave Airhart at Kent State University.

First I would like to express my admiration for Dave and for his courageous opposition to the unjust war the U.S. government is waging against people in Iraq. I am very happy to know that there are students at Kent State who are challenging militarism and exposing recruiting for what it is; nothing but a deceitful sales pitch for a life of servitude to a merciless human-rights violator.

I am inspired by his action. I am disgusted to find out that Dave is the one who is being punished for what happened, rather than the people who violated his rights. It seems that Kent State officials have no problem with letting recruiters come on campus to trick students into risking their lives as cannon fodder for the military death machine. They give recruiters full permission to talk all they want about how the U.S. military is fighting this war for “freedom”, but when one of those soldiers comes home and tries to exercise that so-called freedom, his rights are denied and he is punished. If this is how the U.S. treats it’s own war veterans, imagine how they’re treating the people of Iraq!

This war is unacceptable and this repression of activists here at home is also unacceptable. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the fight for freedom is not in Iraq, it’s right here in our own country! Liberate Iraq?! How about liberating our own college campuses?! When there is not even something as fundamental and simple as freedom of speech on our own college campuses, then we have no business trying to give freedom to others. We cannot give something that we don’t have.

Dave Airhart does not deserve to be punished for what he did. He deserves to be commended. Shame on the bullies who stomped all over his individual liberties. Shame on military recruiters and their slick pack of lies. I fully support David Airhart’s action and hope to see more counter-recruitment activity at Kent State and on high schools and college campuses across the country. These recent episodes of campus repression seem to be turning into a new pastime for police and administrators.

This semester alone we’ve seen thugs assault anti-war activists at UW-Madison, HCC, GMU (where I go to school), and now at Kent State. Authoritarians are starting to get rough with us because our activism is beginning to be effective. The more effective we become, the more rabid they become. Now is the time to show that we will not be intimidated! We will not be bullied into submission! We will not be coerced into silence! We will continue to stand against war and deceitful recruiters! We will stand together and support our fellow students when thugs and goons and bullies in uniforms trample their rights! We will not shut up! And we will stand with Dave Airhart and others who are throwing wrenches into the gears of the insidious military death machine.

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Tariq Khan is a student at George Mason University who was brutalized by police when he made a nonviolent protest near a military recruiting table on campus.
See his letter at http://www.traprockpeace.org/campus_antiwar_voices/