Fanning weaves powerful tale of leaving war behind

Chicagoan Rory Fanning presented Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger’s Journey from Eager Soldier to Peace Activist at West Suburban Peace Coalition’s April Education Forum, Tuesday.

Fanning served two deployments in Afghanistan with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion. But he became one of the first U.S. Army Rangers to resist the Iraq war and the Global War on Terror after realizing upwards of 80% of the Afghans scooped up for imprisonment or worse, killed, were innocents.

Most were labeled followers of Osama bin-Laden by Afghans settling personal disputes or simply to gain the bounty offered by Uncle Sam for anyone who could serve to goose the al-Qaeda body count.

Fanning’s conscience led him to tell the Army he could no longer serve in a cruel, unjust war. The military isolated Fanning while mulling his future, quite possibly the Brig. One of the few who didn’t was former NFL star turned Ranger, Pat Tillman who befriended Fanning as he too harbored thoughts of peace instead of war.

After Tillman was killed, his death circumstances and war beliefs were falsified by the Army to exploit his death for pro war propaganda purposes. Once the truth came out, Fanning was quickly mustered out of the military with no punishment to avoid more unfavorable publicity.

After some time and much thought, Fanning dedicated his life to the cause of peace. He received a grant from the Chicago Teachers Union to speak to impressionable, disadvantaged kids routinely propagandized by Army recruiters to sign up for the glories of military service in a country that offers them virtually no other avenue of success. While many still sign up, after hearing from Fanning, they have a full understanding of the dark side of America’s endless wars.

In 2008-9 Fanning walked across America on behalf of the Pat Tillman Foundation. A member of Veterans for Peace, Fanning has traveled as far as Japan to speak in solidarity with those seeking to abolish nuclear weapons and close U.S. military bases around the world.

The West Suburban Peace Coalition holds its monthly Educational Forums third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM via Zoom. On May 18, DuPage County attorney Azam Nizamuddin will present ‘The Rise of Right Wing Nationalism”. For the link contact me at zlotow@hotmail.com.