Bacon resigns as IVAW ED

We got word today that Alex Bacon, the Executive Director of the IVAW, resigned his position today due to health reasons.

Dear members of IVAW,

We regret to inform you that our Executive Director, Alex Bacon, resigned early yesterday due to personal health issues. We wish him a full recovery and look forward to him once again becoming active with IVAW.

The Board of Directors had a call last night where we discussed this issue (among other issues facing the organization) and the following decisions were made:

1- Aaron Hughes (the Organizing Team Leader) will act as the point of contact between the Board and the staff while there is no ED in the office.

2- Wes Davey (the Board Treasurer) will be going to Philadelphia, on Monday 20 July 09, to act as the interim ED until a new ED is hired.

3- The Board will hire a full time ED to replace Alex. At this point we are inclined to hire the “runner up” for the job as we had an exhaustive process a mere 3 months ago. That being said, we will be negotiating with this person over the next week or so and will update you accordingly.

4- This new ED will work with Wes (on site) and Alex (via phone and email) to transition into the position full time.

The Board, staff, and members are working very hard on the convention and we are still planing on a successful convention that once again brings together members of IVAW to collectively move forward as an organization and a movement.

We will update you as soon as we are ready to take our next step. Please feel free to send questions to Board@ivaw.org.

In Solidarity

Board of Directors
Iraq Veterans Against the war

Here at TAH, we hope that Alex has a speedy and complete recovery.

For those of you who don’t know Alex Bacon, he went AWOL from the Coast Guard while he was stationed in Honolulu, HI. In his own words from his IVAW profile;

I grew up in the Unitarian Church and had some illusion that I was going to make the military more humane by joining. What I didn’t realize was that you don’t change the military, the military changes you. I was disappointed in our mission, which was really focused on protecting American fisheries and seemed to have very little to do with lifesaving. I was also surprised by the dehumanization of other people, including fellow shipmates that I saw. I realized fairly quickly that I had made a mistake, and as impulsively as I joined the Coast Guard I went AWOL.

No, really, that’s what it says. I don’t think I could make the story any funnier.

So who is going to be the next person to take over IVAW? Well, I’m waiting on the answer to that one from one of my countless moles, but one person told me that the only two others who applied for the position were Matthis Chiroux and Adrienne Kinne. Kinne’s profile says she “served stateside in direct support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as a voice interceptor.”

Kinne is touted as a “whistleblower” because she told the press (Amy Goodman from Democracy Now) that the Palestine Hotel, which housed journalists, was on the target list for the initial bombing of Baghdad in 2003. We didn’t strike the Palestine Hotel, it was merely on a target list but somehow it’s important. it’s another of those stories that go no where.

According to my source in IVAW, Kinne is a hardcore member of the International Socialist Organization. My source also tells me that Chiroux and Kinne both withdrew their applications to be ED so we’ll have to wait to find out whether the Board decides to perpetuate it’s image as an anti-war organization or a veterans’ organization.

Oh yeah, Carl Webb wrote yesterday that he’s to blame for the slim pickin’s for a new ED who might actually be a veteran of the Iraq War;

Category: Antiwar crowd, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Phony soldiers, Usual Suspects