Several speakers appearing in a Humanities building lecture hall Wednesday night denounced the continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan by U.S. troops and expressed an urgent need for student participation to influence public policy and bring soldiers home from overseas.

The speakers appeared as part of a nationwide tour sponsored by the Campus Antiwar Network, an antiwar student group, and locally by Stop the War, a University of Wisconsin student organization.

“The time has come to stand up and say, ‘Change the policy that sent this country to war,’ and you are the ones that can [make that change in] America,” said Will Williams, a Vietnam War veteran and antiwar speaker. “We can’t let the people we elect become pawns for corporations and self-interest groups.”

Lou Plummer, an army veteran and father of a current Navy sailor, expressed his concern for U.S. soldiers abroad. Plummer is a member of Military Families Speak Out, an organization formed as a reaction to the Iraqi war to bring the war closer to home for Americans.

Rather than supporting troops abroad by simply tying yellow ribbons around trees, Plummer suggested citizens should support troops by bringing soldiers home to safety. Plummer replied to President Bush’s challenge to terrorists to “bring them on,” a controversial comment made to incite support for the Iraq campaign in a July 2003 speech.

Reacting to the argument that the U.S. troops should stay in Iraq and “finish the job,” Plummer said, “That’s the same bullshit reason that kept us in Vietnam until 1973.” Plummer also said Iraqi citizens resent Americans’ presence in Iraq and that successfully rebuilding Iraq cannot be done at gunpoint.

“They hate us because we send our children there with guns to kill their children,” Plummer said. “You can’t rebuild something from behind a machine gun.”

Plummer also voiced his concern for the soldiers themselves.

“[Our troops in Iraq] are people that a few years ago were worrying about algebra tests and prom,” Plummer said. “Now they are worrying about whether or not they should shoot at the car coming toward them.”

John Farrell, an activist from Voices in the Wilderness, a pro-Iraqi peace organization, also voiced concern about soldiers abroad.

“The soldiers are put into a situation they do not understand,” Farrell said.

Farrell explained his statement by reciting a story about a misunderstanding between an Iraqi citizen and a U.S. soldier that resulted in nine Iraqi deaths.

Plummer also said soldiers in Iraq were trained to drive tanks and handle environmental disasters, not to police the streets of Baghdad.

Plummer added that the current administration, mainly President Bush, has sent U.S. troops overseas to serve under inadequate conditions. Plummer said the operational tempo for soldiers has increased from a decade ago, and soldiers are forced to serve more frequently and for longer periods.

Plummer also said the administration tried to cut pay for troops while they were serving in Iraq, and that soldiers are simply fulfilling the dreams of an empire in seek of monetary interests and control.

Williams added that the media in the United States is no longer a free press, but rather an advocate of the current administration. He said the situation is similar to that of Germany under Hitler’s power. Hitler gave out a million radios, Williams said, but Germans could only listen to one station.

Plummer added that citizens should be made aware of the lives lost in Iraq, and the fact that Americans are not familiar with the names of the lost soldiers is a crime to humanity.

“Those are human beings; those are people’s children,” Plummer said.

However, others disagree. Bob Thelen III, Associated Students of Madison freshman class representative, said he supports the Iraqi war and the president’s actions.

“As an American I feel it is our duty to stand behind the president,” Thelen said. “If we were to pull troops out now … a lot of people would die. The freedom we brought to Iraq would be taken away.”

Thelen also said recent events in Iraq are similar to those of postwar Germany, where a group of pro-Nazi supporters made several attacks on American troops after fighting had ceased.

“We must stay vigilant in this effort. We need to focus on the objective to give the country back to the Iraqis and establish a democracy,” Thelen added.

Chris Doles, a UW junior and member of the Campus Antiwar Network, said the campaign to get students involved in the anti-war movement has been successful at campuses across the country.

“I’ve heard nothing but excitement from the people involved,” Doles said.

The Campus Antiwar Network will host a national convention in Chicago early next month, and several other antiwar events are planned for the near future.