The Real Iraq We Knew

By 12 former Army captains

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/15/AR2007101500841.html?referrer=emailarticle

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the authorization of force in Iraq. As army captains who served in Baghdad and beyond, we think it's time to make a choice.

Anti-War Demo Sat. 10/27 1-4 pm

Let’s discuss on Thursday at our meeting.

OCT. 27^th

On this day 5 years ago, the U.S. Senate voted to give George W. Bush the authorization to go to war in Iraq.

If you agree that this war needs to end then join us

This Saturday Oct. 27^th

On the corner of Lake Otis and 36^th from 1:00 to 4:00pm

United for Peace and Justice

National mobilization

www.oct27.org

Jon Lockert

• Peace Events: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=qcq21ir6k6f56vll38aorgltic%40group.calendar.google.com
• Veterans for Peace: http://akpeacevets.blogspot.com
• Peace Coalition: http://alaskans4peace.blogspot.com
• Eyes Wide Open - Alaska http://ewoak.blogspot.com/

Agenda for VFP 10/25

Ernest Gruening Chapter (Southcentral Alaska), Meeting Agenda

Thursday, October 25, 7 pm, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Tudor & Lake Otis, Room 3 (downstairs)

1. Introductions & Discuss Agenda
2. Chapter Business-Finances
3. Eyes Wide Open Recap
1. See photos from Oct 13 event in Town Square (http://ewoak/blogspot.com)
4. Anchorage Truth in Recruiting - NEXT MEETING--day, October ?, 7 pm
1. I’ll find out and let you all know
2. 2621 Redwood Street (Rogers Park near Northern Lights & Seward Hwy) Contact: Mel 277-5751
3. http://akcountermilrec.blogspot.com/
5. IRAQ FOR SALE The War Profiteers (Documentary)
1. WHEN: Wed. Oct. 17th, 6:00 PM (NOTE: Early Starting Time)
2. WHERE: Café Felix - Metro Books
3. The director compiles a horrifying catalog of greed, corruption and incompetence among private contractors in Iraq. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15096.htm
6. VIETNAM FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE - 3RD ANNUAL SILENT AUCTION
1. WHEN: Friday, 10/19/7, 6:00 to 9:00 pm, Video Slide Shows
2. WHERE: Loussac Library, Public Conference Room, Snacks, Oyster Bar (don’t miss this!)
3. All proceeds will help build a new hospital and improve treatment and education programs for children affected by Agent Orange.
4. Join our international circle of friends in support of this unique village outside Hanoi built by war veterans and peace makers from six countries.
5. Bring auction items as donations at 5:30 pm. There is a $5.00 donation expected from the other participants to defray expenses.
6. For more information contact: Judith Moss 345-5351, E-mail: mossjudith@netscape.net
7. Upcoming Events
1. No War, No Warming (October 21st -23rd);
   FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE, NOT WARS FOR OIL! Join a global movement rising up against war and global warming by participating in a massive intervention in Washington DC or your own community. The Declaration of Peace is working with many other anti-war initiatives this summer and fall -- to consolidate our actions to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq. http://nowarnowarming.org/article.php?list=class&class=20
2. October 27 Massive Regional Actions to End the War in Iraq Regional Mobilizations being planned by United for Peace and Justice and member groups http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
8. Pressure on Politicians/Congressional Delegation- What can we do?
9. Next Meeting WOULD BE on Nov. 22nd (4^th Thursday of every month) but that is Thanksgiving—Let’s discuss whether to meet earlier or later.

Jon Lockert

Jon4Paz@AcsAlaska.net

• Peace Events: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=qcq21ir6k6f56vll38aorgltic%40group.calendar.google.com
• Veterans for Peace: http://akpeacevets.blogspot.com
• Peace Coalition: http://alaskans4peace.blogspot.com
• Eyes Wide Open - Alaska http://ewoak.blogspot.com/

Questions from the bootless & shoeless

All the boots & shoes from the Eyes Wide Open Exhibit got wet in the light rain at the end of the day. I took six tubs of boots to dry in my garage. I spread them out and turned up the heat.

This morning I checked and they were all dry. But in handling them this morning it sank in as I looked at the tags & ages. Young lives wasted for what? How are we honoring their ultimate sacrifice?

As history has shown, wars are easy to start and extremely difficult to stop. We don't have a clue as to how we are going to stop this one. The pile of boots will grow larger as the needless deaths & suffering continues.

We almost all say we don't like this war but responding to a poll or signing an online petition entails NO responsibiltiy to do anything about it. We are all much too comfortable and unburdened by this war. Most of us do not know anyone serving and so the war is abstract--something for the politicians/candidates to blab about and hack at each other with.

The deadly concoction of fears, delayed costs & uncertain responsibilities inevitably points to this war continuing until our vague grasp of what our country is descending toward changes.*

Do we really think we can kill all the people who oppose our arrogance & greed? Is cheap oil worth the price of destroying a country? Who will pay the price of our inattention and refusal to be true citizens?

It is often said that those who served in the military did so to protect our freedoms. Many suffered and died so we could be citizens of a democracy (not the ungrateful and unconscious inheritors of all that came before). How do we explain to them that we were just too busy with all the details of our affluence (managing it or being managed by it?).

* Historical Note. While the German military was putting the final touches on their plans to make war on France in 1914, there was a large and active peace movement in Germany and throughout Europe that had arisen due to the continued buildup of military power in Germany and other countries. But the German military had the ear of the Bismark and he couldn't resist the urge to go to war to restore Germany to its rightful place at the top of the heap. It was all so well planned it was supposed to last only 39 days! Think of the glory of being able to proclaim "mission accomplished."

Of course, what was set in motion led to the deaths of millions of soldiers and civilians throughout the 20th century. The war that was billed as the War to End All Wars did nothing of the kind.

My main source on this is Barbara Tuchman's Guns of August (also August 1914). Here is link to the Wikpedia entry on the book -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guns_of_August

Talk about history being written as we speak--the following is the final paragraph:

"On Semptember 30th 2007, former United States Senator from Alaska and 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, Mike Gravel wrote "It's easy to imagine a "Guns of August" scenario that draws in Israel, Saudi Arabia and potentially Pakistan, India, Russia, and China." in a blog post for the Huffington Post. The statement was in regards Hillary Clinton's laughter in response to Gravel's objection to Clinton's yes vote for declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization which Gravel predicts could draw the United states into a wider global conflict."

The following is from an essay on the peace movements in the world

"Today, however, the rhetoric of military action seems to have made a comeback amongst the liberal democracies. An example of this would be the optimistic and "macho" stance adopted by the US and Britain towards Iraq. It has been said that perhaps each generation needs to personally experience war in order to see through political fictions. Today, situations that allow the rationalizing of war abound such as punishing dictators/terrorists or re-establishing legitimate boundaries. In dealing with these situations, the lengthy and often difficult processes of negotiation and non-violent resolution of conflict seem woefully inadequate."

Like all of you, I am just trying to sort out my feelings and what I can do about them. The world has slipped into chaos too easily many times before. Never again?

Eyes Wide Open Pix

Thanks to all the VFP members who supported this event.

Former Top US Commander In Iraq Calls War "Nightmare With No End In Sight"

I know I am preaching to the choir but this might be a good one to send to anyone you know who is still holding out for winning the war. Let me know your reactions to the Eyes Wide Open Exhibit.

Former Top US Commander In Iraq Calls War "Nightmare With No End In Sight"

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/10/12/former-top-us-commander-i_n_68301.html

In a sweeping indictment of the four-year effort in Iraq, the former top American commander called the Bush administration's handling of the war incompetent and warned that the United States was "living a nightmare with no end in sight." In one of his first major public speeches since leaving the Army in late 2006, retired LtGenRicardo SSanchez blamed the administration for a "catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan" and denounced the current "surge" strategy as a "desperate" move that will not achieve long-term stability. "After more than fours years of fighting, America continues its desperate struggle in Iraq without any concerted effort to devise a strategy that will achieve victory in that war-torn country or in the greater conflict against extremism," Mr ... Read the rest at HuffingtonPost.com

Eyes Wide Open Reminder OCT 13

This is what I just sent out to the folks on the Alaska Peace Coalition list serv.

 

At our last VFP meeting, the idea of a forum on the war before the demonstrations being called for around the country on Oct. 27 was brought up. We will need lots of help to make this happen. Let me know your thoughts

 

TO THE LIST SERV --

 

Is anyone out there? Does history just keep repeating itself over and over? Will we never learn? Are we just too damn comfortable to speak up about things we have convinced ourselves we can’t do anything about?

 

I know it is depressing to see no end to this war. I keep trying to tell myself not to give up just because we don’t yet have a mass movement. To build a mass that Congress will pay attention to, we need YOU! Wars don’t end just because they don’t make sense, Wars don’t end just because lots and lots of innocent people suffer needlessly, Wars don’t end because people tell pollsters that they would like to see the troops come home, some day.

 

No, wars end when people act collectively to say NO! You can bet the war profiteers are acting collectively (and all too effectively) to keep us frightened and isolated. Our biggest power is coming together--RIGHT NOW!

 

Here is your chance to do SOMETHING--The Eyes Wide Open Exhibit will be mounted in Town Square in Anchorage Oct 13. I apologize for not explaining what the exhibit is about in my previous messages. Here it is:

 

The Eyes Wide Open exhibit, created by the American Friends Service Committee, is a living memorial to the military personnel and civilians killed in Iraq --and a stark reminder of the human cost of war.

The exhibit is designed to be reflective—no signs are allowed into the exhibit area. No matter what someone may think of the war, we want them to face the price we all pay for our violent approach to working out our differences.

 

WE NEED HELP IN GETTING THE WORD OUT

 

To see the publicity materials, go to http://ewoak.blogspot.com/

 

Or you can go directly to http://jon4paz.googlepages.com/EWOFlyer.pdf  for the Eyes Wide Open - Alaska poster (PDF file -- need Adobe Acrobat Reader)

 

http://jon4paz.googlepages.com/EWOFlyerTri.pdf  for 3-panel flyer.

 

http://jon4paz.googlepages.com/EWOFlyerQuad.pdf  for 4-panel flyer.

 

Here are a couple of easy ways for you to help with this exhibit:

 

   1) Print copies and post at work, school, church etc.

 

   2) Email the poster/flyer (either the links or the actual files) to EVERYBODY on your email list and ask them to do the same (this is called grass roots organizing and we need a lot more of it).

 

   3) Click on the PayPal link for donations. We are collecting money to place the poster in the newspapers or buy radio time (or both). Our goal is to raise $2,000 for publicity. As of 10/3 we are only half way to our goal. We have enough to pay for an ad in the Anchorage Press and three of there other free papers. WE DO NOT have enough funds to put an ad in the Anchorage Daily News. If you would like to see it in the AND, please consider a donation (a down payment toward stopping a war that has cost countless lives & about $500 billion so far).

 

The blog also charts the progress of bringing this exhibit to Alaska by your fellow concerned citizens in this time of seemingly unstoppable war. The blog also has links to the national EWO website.

 

Photos—please bring your camera on the 13^th and help us document this history making event. We will post your photos on the blog after the event. The organizers are planning to mount the exhibit again to keep reminding us that we are at war and our tax dollars what is keeping it all going.

 

Please tell us what you think of the proposed exhibit and how we are making it happen.

 

 

Jon Lockert

jon4paz@acsalaska.net

Breathe, smile & work for Peace