[HCCN] Fwd: Civil Resistance to the Wars Continues

[Judith Robbins]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Doug Rawlings" <rawlings at vfpmaine.org>
>
> "We should not think that the destruction and suffering unleashed  
> by war is limited to Iraq and Afghanistan. Individuals and whole  
> cities here at home become have become 'collateral damage.'   
> Millions of people are thrown out of their jobs and then out of  
> their homes. Pressures cascade onto state and local governments as  
> the stagnant economy and frustrated voters further decrease funds  
> for essential services. Our infrastructure isn't bombed, it just  
> slowly rots."
>
> http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/8167-civil-resistance-to-the- 
> wars-continues.html
>
> Civil Resistance to the Wars Continues
>
> by Tarak Kauff and Mike Ferner
>
> The imperial wars rage on. U.S. drones rain missiles down on  
> innocents in Pakistan; hundreds of children die daily in  
> Afghanistan because of the war; contrary to what the President  
> says, the occupation in Iraq continues.
>
> The devastation and misery caused by these wars has not even begun  
> to be addressed.  Rather than bringing democracy and freedom to the  
> people of Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. is destroying their  
> countries — perhaps beyond repair.
>
> We should not think that the destruction and suffering unleashed by  
> war is limited to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Individuals and whole  
> cities here at home have become "collateral damage."  Millions of  
> people are thrown out of their jobs and then out of their homes.   
> Pressures cascade onto state and local governments as the stagnant  
> economy and frustrated voters further decrease funds for essential  
> services.  Our infrastructure isn't bombed, it just slowly rots.
>
> On March 19, 2011, a broad coalition of U.S. military veterans  
> consisting of members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, March  
> Forward!, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Veterans For Peace  
> will gather at the White House in solidarity to demand peace. The  
> veteran-led action will be supported by a large array of activist  
> groups including ANSWER, Fellowship of Reconciliation, CODEPINK,  
> United for Peace and Justice, World Can’t Wait, Peace Action, and  
> the War Resisters League.
> Veterans will also gather to support Bradley Manning, who should be  
> venerated as a hero instead of being incarcerated under conditions  
> amounting, literally (and legally) to torture. We call for an  
> immediate end to the cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of PFC  
> Bradley Manning during his military confinement.  Records and  
> videos allegedly downloaded by Manning revealed horrendous war  
> crimes committed by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and the  
> massive Iraqi civilian death toll caused by the U.S. invasions.
>
> As veterans, we well understand and cherish the obligation of  
> military personnel to refuse illegal orders and beyond that to  
> prevent and expose war crimes. We know there is no excuse for  
> following illegal orders.  We understand the need for justice. Our  
> demand is clear, straightforward, and undeniable. Bring to justice  
> those who committed war crimes, not those who report them—who  
> heroically refuse to be a part of state-inspired mayhem and murder.
>
> Veterans and others will gather en masse at the White House as we  
> did on December 16, 2010, and again refuse to move. We have three  
> clear demands for the President. End these wars and occupations.  
> Expose the Lies. Free Bradley Manning.
>
> “The speeches were over. There was a mournful harmonica rendition  
> of taps. The 500 protesters fell silent. One hundred and thirty-one  
> men and women, many of them military veterans wearing old fatigues,  
> formed a single, silent line. Under a heavy snowfall and to the  
> slow beat of a drum, they walked to the White House fence. They  
> stood there until they were arrested.”—Chris Hedges
>
> “We have become a killer nation and our economy is addicted to  
> endless war spending. The Congress and the White House have been  
> taken over by the corporate oligarchy and they have drowned  
> democracy.”—Bruce Gagnon
>
> America’s corporate rulers understand that their power depends upon  
> a subdued, sedated and manipulated public—a public fed lies and  
> fantasies that can, when needed, be manipulated by fear or  
> coercion. But as the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt show us, the  
> people can triumph over entrenched power, lies, fear, and coercion.
>
> Forty-four years ago at Riverside Church in New York City Martin  
> Luther King said, “Our only hope today lies in our ability to  
> recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes  
> hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and  
> militarism.”
>
> On March 19—the anniversary of the brutal invasion of Iraq, where  
> over a million Iraqis and almost 5,000 U.S. soldiers died with  
> thousands more grievously injured—as the occupation of Iraq and the  
> wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan continue unabated, Iraq Veterans  
> Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, March Forward!  
> and Veterans For Peace will bring the largest ever veteran-led  
> nonviolent public civil resistance to the White House.
>
> stopthesewars.org
>
>
> Kauff and Ferner are members of Veterans For Peace
>
>
> ____________________
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> of coming events and actions, and relevant articles directed to  
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> content is monitored and updated by a single administrator -- Doug  
> Rawlings, Chapter Secretary. If you have an article or event that  
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