US Social Forum—VFP In the Spotlight

Numerous members of Veterans for Peace from across the country attended the US Social Forum in Detroit, Michigan, June 22-26, 2010, including our own Leah Bolger, national vice president and board member.

The Social Forum addressed, through seminars, workshops and discussion panels, critical social problems related to the economy, the environment and peace. For more on the Forum click here.

During the event, VFP kicked off a campaign entitled, "How is the War Economy Working for You?" VFP members dropped a banner from a vacant housing project building, highlighting the impact of the war economy on especially hard-hit Detroit. For a short press conference video covering the banner drop, click here.

Leah also participated in a panel discussion at the Forum entitled, "War Powers: Who Decides?" She was joined on the panel by Daybreak author, David Swanson, Kevin Zeese, and George Martin. Videos of the panel are here.

 

 

New Truth in Recruiting Resource

If you're involved (or interested in getting involved) in our Truth in Military Recruiting program and want to learn how to be more effective, read on...

In a recent poll of VFP 132 members, Truth in Recruiting came out the clear favorite as the program we should emphasize most.

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) has completely redesigned its web site http://www.nnomy.org. It now has broader content, more resources to aid organizers, and information to answer basic questions that arise among young people, parents, teachers and community activists.

Another great resource is the web site of our fellow Oregon VFP Chapter 156 in Rogue Valley. See their good work here.

 

 

 

 

Local veteran's suicide reflects troubling trend

(Source: Hal Bernton, Seattle Times, July 5, 2010)

"Orrin Gorman McClellan is among the war casualties that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has just begun to track—young men and women who served in the post-9/11 military, and killed themselves after struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and other war wounds... During nine years of war, suicide rates among active-duty soldiers, once far below the civilian population, have been on the rise. From January through June 10 of this year [2010], 115 soldiers had taken their lives. The even higher rate of veterans taking their own lives after leaving the military also has raised major concerns." For the full story, click here.

The 'Long War' quagmire

The doctrine, which posits an 80-year or so war against insurgents in the Middle East to South Asia, needs more scrutiny.

By Tom Hayden

March 28, 2010, LA Times Opinion Page

"Without public debate and without congressional hearings, a segment of the Pentagon and fellow travelers have embraced a doctrine known as the Long War, which projects an "arc of instability" caused by insurgent groups from Europe to South Asia that will last between 50 and 80 years. According to one of its architects, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are just "small wars in the midst of a big one."

Consider the audacity of such an idea. An 80-year undeclared war would entangle 20 future presidential terms stretching far into the future of voters not yet born."

To read the entire article, go to the LA Times site or click here for a pdf version.

Wikileaks Posts U.S. Apache Helo Attack on
Unarmed Iraqi Civilians and Journalists

[Warning: The video below contains graphic violence.]

Leah Bolger of Chapter 132 sent this letter to the editor of the G-T regarding the video.

Josh Stieber, who visited our chapter in October 2009 as part of the "Contagious Love Experiment," was a member of the same unit that conducted this attack. He put out a press release on April 9, 2010 condemning the attack, saying this behavior is not out of the ordinary.

What other atrocities are being kept from us by the military leadership?

Corvallis Marks Seven Years in Iraq

March 19, 2010 was the 7th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. This was a war of empire and choice and has thus far led to 4386 U.S. Military deaths, 31716 U.S. wounded and many hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilian casualties.

Members of the Corvallis peace community came together on March 19th for a special vigil and protest beginning at the Benton County Courthouse at 4pm. Some members spread out from there to hold signs and banners at several intersections. VFP 132's Bart Bolger asked several participants what the date meant to them, i.e., what motivated them to attend the protest. He submitted this video to the Peace, Justice and Environmental Project and produced his own video for YouTube. The six-minute PJEP video is here. See our VFP 132 Photo Gallery for some still photos of the event.


Afghanistan War: The Soviet Lesson Not Learned

This short (~6.5 min) video from Brave New Foundation draws many lessons and analogies from the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Worth watching. Lots of talking points for those still convinced this is the "good war."

VFP 132 Helps Corvallis "Rethink Afghanistan"

On October 7th, 2009 the US and NATO militaries entered their 9th year of occupying Afghanistan. Since the first day of the invasion, October 7, 2001, members of the Corvallis peace community have stood vigil every night from 5-6pm in front of the Benton County Courthouse to heighten public awareness of the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Unfortunately that vigil continues to this day and all are welcome to attend.

This year the community hosted a special vigil marking the anniversary. Attendees filled out hand-written postcards to President Obama, asking for an end to US militarism in Afghanistan. Pictures of the vigil are in our photo gallery. A short video of the vigil is posted here.

Following the vigil, VFP 132 hosted a screening of the film,"Rethink Afghanistan." Thanks to Joe Magner for his expert sight & sound setup. The one-hour documentary was very informative and moving. For more information on the film see: http://rethinkafghanistan.com/, where you can view individual segments and order the DVD.

On October 8, 2009, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) sent President Obama an excellent letter detailing a new strategy for Afghanistan. Read it here.