NEWSROOM
MAY 18, 2009
NORTHWEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE INSPIRES DELEGATES
Each March, VFP members in the Northwest convene to network,
inspire each other, generate ideas and make plans for the coming year. We gather in a regional conference, with a
different city hosting the event each year.
This year Seattle hosted the 5th Annual NW Regional VFP
Conference. The NW region encompasses
the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah and
is represented by 22 VFP Chapters.
MAY 15, 2009
VFP LETTER TO OBAMA - "WE ARE ANGRY ABOUT AFGHANISTAN"
Veterans For Peace recently sent a letter to President Obama
regarding the increase of death and destruction in Afghanistan. >
read full letter here
In the letter, VFP Board President Mike Ferner wrote, "We are outraged by these actions, this practice of 'death from above' you are ordering, causing the killing and wounding of hundreds of innocent people, as exemplified by the recent horrific attacks in Afghanistan.
"We've been through this before, Mr. President, and I don't mean that in a rhetorical way. We have indeed been through this all before - unlike most of the people in our country or in your administration. We have seen and heard and smelled and felt what 'death from above' actually means, not in a briefing report but right there in our hands and before our eyes. We've seen the look in the eyes of the people we occupied. We felt their anger and their humiliation. We remember these things well, Mr. President, because they will not go away no matter how many years pass."
MAY 6, 2009
VFP/IVAW MEMBER BENJI LEWIS LAUNCHES "WE CAN SAY NO" SPEAKING TOUR IN OREGON
Benjamin (Benji) Lewis was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps in spring 2007 after serving four years of active duty, including two tours of duty in Iraq and the first siege of Fallujah. After he was discharged he moved to Corvallis, OR,enrolled at Linn-Benton Community College and got a part-time job at a local restaurant.
In October 2008, Benji received notification that he was being involuntarily recalled to active duty. Shortly thereafter, he announced his decision to refuse activation at the Winter Soldier Northwest Hearings held in Portland, OR.
"I am a direct witness to the horrors of this war, having experienced its atrocities at their source, and I have decided that I can no longer carry out these illegal and immoral policies," said Lewis on Veterans' Day 2008.
Since making his decision, Benji has become a dedicated peace activist and has recently begun a 15-city speaking tour across Oregon, entitled "We Can Say No." He has also done numerous radio interviews and has written several articles.
Benji's orders to report to Camp Pendleton on May 18th 2009 were recently cancelled. Now he's working to help other members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) understand their options if they are involuntarily recalled to active duty.
Benji is a member of VFP Chapter 132 in Corvallis Oregon, and has been instrumental in forming the Oregon chapter of IVAW. A calendar of his scheduled appearances can be found at www.vfpcorvallis.org.
MAY 5, 2009
ARMY EXPERIENCE CENTER BOWS TO PROTEST
The $12 million
marketing experiment in brand-selling the US Army to Philadelphia youth and
adults at the Franklin Mills Mall was forced to shut down for the afternoon on
Saturday, May 2nd. Over two hundred protesters -- many from Washington DC, New
York and other out of town locations -- expressed their outrage at tax dollars
being spent to seduce teenagers to join the Army with violent video games and
human-target shooting simulators.
Members of Philadelphia VFP Chapter 31 were joined by VFP members from the Long Island chapter in the photo below in front of Dave & Busters. VFP members Phil Reiss and Louise Legun from Lehigh Valley were there, as was Ann Wright and VFP Board Members Elliott Adams and Patrick McCann. VFP member Bill Perry was there with his Delaware Valley Veterans For America group. At least two IVAW members were part of the march.
[See pictures | Seven Arrested at Philly Mall - Press Release | Deadly Games - Written by Camillo "Mac" Bica]
APRIL 22, 2009
IVAW MEMBER, MATTHIS CHIROUX RECEIVES "GENERAL DISCHARGE UNDER HONORABLE CONDITIONS"
Yesterday, Sgt Matthis Chiroux faced a military hearing after several
months of refusing an order to join a unit headed to Iraq. Chiroux, a
member of IVAW, had been honorably discharged and placed in the Individual
Ready Reserves before he was called back to serve in the Army in support
of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Chiroux refused the orders based on the
illegality of the war and occupation of Iraq.
Member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace, as well as members of the St. Louis peace and justice community gathered outside the hearing to show their solidarity. After several hours of testimony, the Army discharged Chiroux with a "general discharge under honorable conditions."
Later in the evening, Chiroux and two other members of IVAW shared their experiences and testimonies with the community at a public event. See more photos
MARCH 23, 2009
VFP ACTIONS FOR THE 6TH YEAR OF THE WAR AND OCCUPATION OF IRAQ
From San Francisco to Washington D.C., members of Veterans For Peace
gathered in crowds big and small to demonstrate against more than six years of
war and occupation in Iraq.
- VFP Press Release regarding the 6th commemoration of the war and occupation of Iraq
- VFP actions nationwide
- Joint Statement between IVAW, MFSO, and VFP - "Our Troops are Still Dying"
- VFP Board President, Mike Ferner, statement at March on the Pentagon
MARCH 5, 2009
SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER - VFP VANCOUVER TOUR
Members of Veterans For Peace, including Gerry Condon, Board
President Mike Ferner, and Board member Elliott Adams, will be
visiting Vancouver, Canada to meet
and speaking with and about War Resisters. The tour is sponsored by
Vancouver Resisters War Committee and will take place March 10 and 11,
2009.
february 27, 2009
VETERANS' GROUP SAYS LEAVING 50,000 TROOPS TO CONTROL IRAQ IS NO "WITHDRAWAL"
Veterans For Peace objects to calling President Obama's announcement on Iraq a "withdrawal," adding that keeping troops there and Afghanistan will "put the nail in the coffin of America's economy."
VFP, referring to several published reports that the Obama plan will leave 50,000 or more troops in Iraq, and pointing to the buildup already underway in Afghanistan, warned that such policies will have the same effect on the new President as the Vietnam War did on Lyndon Johnson's plans for the Great Society.
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
NATIONAL MOBILIZATION IN NYC, APRIL 4, 2009
It is Time to End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
It is Time to Address the Economic Crisis by Cutting Military Spending
We will march on April 4 because the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan must be ended now! We will march on April 4 because a critical piece of addressing the economic crisis must be cutting military spending, starting with ending the flow of our tax dollars into these wars and occupations. We will march on April 4 because 'Beyond War, A New Economy Is Possible!'
On April 4, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic speech
against the war in Vietnam at NYC's Riverside Church. One year later, Dr. King
was assassinated in Memphis while there to support striking sanitation workers.
Dr. King's work linked the most pressing issues of his day; his life was about
taking public action in the service of the struggles for equality, freedom,
justice, and peace.
We will march on
April 4 filled with hope. Now is the time that our movements for racial justice
and economic equality; our movements against the wars and occupations in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Palestine and elsewhere; our movements for a new economy based on
people's needs, green union jobs and sustainability will ALL come together to
say YES WE CAN! Yes We Can move beyond war! Yes We Can build a new world of
justice, equality and peace!
Today, we ask you to join United for Peace
and Justice as we prepare for this timely mobilization.
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
TO THE PENTAGON AND WALL STREET, WE MUST MARCH
The next 5 weeks are very important to the anti-war and peace movements. March 19th, the 6th Commemoration of the U.S. invasion of Iraq is less than four weeks away. On March 21st, two days later comes the March on the Pentagon mobilization and then April 4th, two weeks later is the Beyond War; A New Economy is Possible mobilization on Wall Street in New York City. This is a lot of action in a short period of time. It is as it should be. There is much to protest and much to change.
FEBRUARY 13, 2009
ANN WRIGHT REPORTS BACK FROM 48 HOURS IN GAZA
Retired Col. Ann Wright recently spent 48 hours in Gaza with two other members of CodePink. She reports back the devastation on the lives, homes, and economy of the people of Gaza. Read her article at CommonDreams.
FEBRUARY 12, 2009
VFP SAYS: "CONGRESS MUST FACE ESCALATING MILITARY SUICIDES"
The United States military is scrambling to head off what has turned into an epidemic of suicides. As reported on CNN, 24 service members killed themselves in January of this year, six times as many as in January of last year. 2008 was the fourth consecutive year of increases in soldier suicides.
Veterans For Peace Executive Director Michael McPhearson said this is not a surprise to him. "It is tragic. It is the culmination of years of continuous deployments and general stress the Armed Services have been put under because of an invasion and subsequent occupation that should have never happened."
The Army Times reports that Army Secretary Pete Geren has ordered a February 13, 2009, one day halt to recruitment activities, also known as stand-down of the Army's entire recruiting force, and a review of almost every aspect of the job in the wake of a wide-ranging investigation of four suicides in a Houston Recruiting Battalion.
One vivid example of this equation comes from the Houston Chronicle, which reported on May 18, 2008 that an Army investigation attributed the 4 recruiter suicides to a combination of work environment, stress and personal issues. The latest was the March 6, 2007 death of Sergeant Nils Aron Andersson who shot himself in the temple less than 24 hours after his wedding to Cassy Walton. Cassy killed herself the next day.
Veterans For Peace is asking our members to visit with their Congressional Representatives and Senators next week to discuss these suicides, how the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan contribute to the deaths and how our economy must transition from a reliance on war spending to human needs spending.
FEBRUARY, 10 2009
VFP JOINS 67 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ASKING OBAMA TO REVIEW U.S. POLICY ON LANDMINES
Leaders from 67
national organizations representing a wide cross-section of American values and
constituencies issued a strong call today for President Obama to reconsider
U.S. opposition to global treaties
prohibiting the use, transfer, and production of antipersonnel landmines and
cluster munitions. The signers include the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the head of Evangelicals for
Social Action, the President and CEO of CARE, the heads of communion of seven
major U.S. churches, two
former U.S. ambassadors, and one former
senator.
According to the letter, "Reconsidering these two treaties-and eliminating the threat that U.S. forces might use weapons that most of the world has condemned-would greatly aid efforts to reassert our nation's moral leadership."
The letter was organized by the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL), a coalition of religious, veterans, medical, peace, humanitarian, and human rights organizations and thousands of individual members who support U.S. participation in the Mine Ban Treaty. The campaign also encourages the government to increase U.S. funding for mine clearance and landmine victim assistance programs. The USCBL, a member of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines, is coordinated by and based at the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, DC.
January 26, 2009
BRING THE GUARD HOME WEBSITE LAUNCHES
January 21, 2009 marked the day that the Bring the Guard Home! Campaign launched it's new website.
State campaigns are active in Alaska, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington D.C., Wisconsin, and new states are joining all the time. For updates on state legislation ending Guard deployments to Iraq and/or Afghanistan click here.
National sponsors include AfterDowningStreet.org, Cities for Peace, CODEPINK, Courage to Resist, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Liberty Tree, Military Families Speak Out, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, United for Peace and Justice, Veterans For Peace, and U.S. Labor Against the War
JANUARY 22, 2009
UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE TO LAUNCH "YES WE CAN!"
UFPJ has launched the ‘Beyond War, A New Economy Is Possible: Yes We Can! campaign.
The campaign builds on UFPJ’s unceasing call to end the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan by seeking to connect the issues of war and poverty,
the way that militarism abroad also impoverishes our communities at
home. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘Beyond Vietnam’ speech at
Riverside Church in 1967 will guide the work of UFPJ during this
campaign, and we will lead our work up to a national mobilization on
April 4th on the anniversary of Dr. King’s speech.
Events are going to include:
March 19 - Local actions on and around the 6th commemoration of the war and occupation of Iraq.
March 31 - Possible day of local actions on Cesar Chavez's Birthday
April 4 - National March in NYC calling for a re-ordering of economic priorities
Aptil 6 - Delegation and press event in Washington D.C. to deliver signatures to Congress and White House
JANUARY 20, 2009
"WAR CRIMES TIMES" HANDED OUT AT NEWSEUM
At 11:30 AM, Saturday, January 17th, at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, activists will surprise and delight tourists as they distribute the Inaugural Issue of a 12-page tabloid called War Crimes Times, and display a huge banner saying, "ARREST BUSH AND CHENEY /CORPORATE MEDIA: PARTNERS IN CRIME / READ WARCRIMESTIMES.ORG" Two dozen members of Veterans For Peace and supporters will conduct the action as part of an ongoing campaign.. "Our goal is to have George Bush and his administration prosecuted for war crimes, no matter how long that takes. There is no statute of limitations on war crimes," said Tarak Kauff, VFP member and coordinator of the event at the Newseum.
Kauff, a former Viet Nam war paratrooper, added, "We have come to
the Newseum, the showpiece home of the corporate media, to distribute
the War Crimes Times, a newspaper created to fill the void left by the
corporate media's failure to report the Bush administration's numerous
and severe war crimes. We are also here to demand the Obama
administration vigorously and unconditionally prosecute Bush and all
members of his administration responsible for these crimes."
The War Crimes Times features articles by Michael Ratner, President of
the Center for Constitutional Rights; Colleen Rowley, former FBI agent
and one of Time magazine's Persons of the Year for exposing FBI
mishandling of September 11 information; Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army
Col. and career foreign service officer; Lawrence Velvel, Dean of the
Massachusetts School of Law; Jesselyn Radack, former U.S. Department of
Justice Ethics Adviser; and Elaine Brower, mother of a young Marine
deployed in Iraq.
JANUARY 16, 2009
VFP MEMBERS GET READY FOR END OF BUSH REIGN & OBAMA INAUGURATION
While members of VFP are excited to see an end to the Bush Regime, there is a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation over Barack Obama's presidency. However, members remain focused to bring the Bush Administration to justice for War Crimes. While some members will be attending the Obama inauguration, some will participate in a rally outside the FBI Building in Washington D.C. calling for an "Arrest Bush 2009". Read more at http://www.arrestbush2009.com/
For more peace and justice related inauguration events, check out http://www.washingtonpeacecenter.net/civic/
JANUARY 7, 2009
NATIONAL VFP STATEMENT ON GAZA
VFP does not take the side of any government, but rather takes the side of all people in the region who are victims of the most recent outbreak of violence raging between Palestine and Israel.
As U.S. military veterans all too familiar with the horrors of war, Veterans For Peace must shout "HALT" to the violence, restating our position that attacks on civilians are never warranted. Neither Israel nor Hamas is justified in attacking the civilian population of the other. Bombings, rocket attacks, blockading medical supplies and military invasions will not lead to peace and security but will perpetuate the cycle of death, destruction, fear and insecurity among the people of all countries, including the U.S.
JANUARY 5, 2009
VFP JOINS CAMP HOPE - CHICAGO, IL
Camp Hope kicked off January 1 in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood as a way to reach out to President Elect Barack Obama on issues like education, health care, and the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans For Peace helped hold the vigil in 16 degree weather all day on Thursday, January 8th. Following the vigil there was a speaking event including Executive Director Michael McPhearson, VFP member Ret. Colonel Ann Wright, and award winning journalist Stephen Kinzer. See Photos here
JANUARY 5, 2009
SUZANNE SWIFT IS FINALLY OUT OF THE MILITARY!
This is a joyous email from Sara Swift, Suzanne's mother who has tirelessly worked for justice for Suzanne.
"December 31 marked the last official day of Suzanne Swift's active military duty. She sent me a text message after she finished handing in her signed paper work, "DONE" it read.
"I wanted to write one last email to you all to thank you for your care and support through the past few years. It has been a long long haul. You emails and prayers have been crucial in helping Suzanne get through this and she is now finished.
"What are Suzanne's plans? To come home, go to school and put her life back together. She is optimistic about her future and looking forward to becoming more active in "real" life.
"Once again, happy New Year and thank you for your support."
JANUARY 2, 2009
VFP KICKS OFF 'STOP TORTURE' EVENT FEATURING JAMES YEE AND DEMISSIE ABEBE
VOICES OF TORTURE: PERSPECTIVES FROM A WITNESS AND A SURVIVOR
January 9, 2009, St. Louis, MO
Featuring the former U.S. Army Chaplain at Guantanomo Bay, Captain James "Yusof" Yee and Ethiopian torture survivor and current Executive Director of TASSC, Demissie Abebe