Veterans For Peace Stands with Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange

Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning are both in jail right now. They are being persecuted by the very elite who are pursuing regime change wars around the globe and who do not want the people to know the truth about what they are up to.

Curiously, Assange has been charged with conspiring with Chelsea Manning to break into a classified Army computer in 2010. Regardless of the questionable allegations that WikiLeaks collaborated with Trump and the Russians to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, WikiLeaks did a great service by publishing evidence of U.S. war crimes. The charges against Assange go back nine years to when Chelsea Manning provided WikiLeaks with the 'Collateral Murder' video and the Army's daily after action reports from Iraq and Afghanistan. That is what the U.S. government is choosing to focus on, at least initially.

What Chelsea Manning released through WikiLeaks was evidence of the routine killing of civilians by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the routine cover-up of these war crimes. The Iraq War Logs and the Afghan War Diaries also revealed that military and civilian leaders were lying to the U.S. people when they presented rosy assessments of the progress of those wars. If more people had paid attention to these revelations, many thousands of lives could have been saved. ...

Chelsea explained her own motivation:

'I believed if the public, particularly the American public, could see this it could spark a debate on the military and our foreign policy in general as it applied to Iraq and Afghanistan. It might cause society to reconsider the need to engage in counter terrorism while ignoring the human situation of the people we engaged with every day.... I felt I accomplished something that would allow me to have a clear conscience.'
 

From the VeteransForPeace.org

Local VFP Members Speak Out Against New Obscene Military Spending Level

Have we become a welfare state for the military-industrial complex? Last August, Congress passed the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with overwhelming bipartisan support. It authorized a whopping $717 billion in military expenditures, a $98 billion increase over the 2017 NDAA.

Only 10 U.S. senators voted against this bill, and neither of Iowa's two senators was among the 10.

Why is this important?

First, and most easily understood, is that the fiscal 2019 military budget translates into about $2,200 per person in the United States. Of course, that is not proportionally reflected in the taxes that we pay. This gargantuan expenditure is funded mostly by new federal debt. The deficit for fiscal 2018 was $782 billion, and is projected to be $900 billion or more in fiscal 2019. So, we will let our grandchildren carry that burden.

Second, with funding for the military consuming 58 percent of total federal discretionary spending, all other programs are suffocated. For example, military funding is 81.5 times more than the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. Funding for transportation, mental health, food safety, education, and many other programs are cut, while the Pentagon goes unaudited and military contractors get rich. Many generals, when they retire, go to work for military contractors or consultants and get richer.

Third, the only possible legal and moral justification for our huge military establishment would be that it is defending our country from enemies outside our borders. However, we have not fought a war of defense since World War II. In the past 18 years we have spent $6 trillion on our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and numerous other conflicts. All of those were wars of intervention in the affairs of other countries, where the safety of this country was not under threat. Rather than a defender of freedom, the United States has become the bully of the world. That is immoral and un-American.

All of the above is history. We can't undo unnecessary wars, we can't get the $6 trillion back, and we can't take back the $717 billion military budget for fiscal 2019. So, what shall we do about the Trump administration's proposal for a $750 billion military budget for fiscal 2020? First of all, we must become informed. As Thomas Jefferson said, "an informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy." Next, we ought to become angry — very angry — and we must focus our anger on change rather than let it fester.

We in Iowa have the unique opportunity to influence whether our country takes the direction of peace or war. Presidential candidates are streaming through Iowa, and each should be confronted with the hard questions we have raised here. With only a couple exceptions, they will avoid the issue, unless pressed.

In addition, each of our two senators in Washington, D.C., has a powerful voice and unique background in military waste. We must tell them that now is the time to rein in military spending and to begin encouraging peaceful solutions.

We have become a welfare state for the military-industrial complex. We must not silently entrust our financial and moral capital to the tools of war, and we must not ignore our better angels' calls for personal and societal investment in peace.

— David Hempel, John Christenson, John Jadryev, Joe Michaud and Ed Flaherty, all of Iowa City, are members of Veterans For Peace, Chapters 161 and 169.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 7, 2019

Stand up for Peace! Fridays, New hours: 4 to 5:30 pm at the intersection of Iowa Avenue and Clinton Street on the University of Iowa Pentacrest Iowa City

Are you ready to show up for peace? Join us for an hour, or even just a few minutes, to voice your support for peace. We citizens must stand as a reminder that the military option is an unacceptable option. Maybe if we're serious about peace with North Korea, we could start the new year by declaring an end to the Korean War. Come with your friends, your family, your neighbors, or just yourself — all are welcome.
 

Historical Events of Interest

• 2018: US coalition forces kill 100 Syrians; Turkey shelling into Syria killing many civilians; Al-qaeda shoots down Russian plane, pilot dead; Israel downs Iranian drone; Syrian anti-aircraft fire downs Israeli F-15
  
• 2017, Feb 6th: Jeff Strottmann, a founding member of VFP #161, passes from this earth
  
• 2011, March 17th: US drones kill 40 civilians attending Loya Jirga in Pakistan
  
• 2003, March 19th: US begins Iraq war with Shock & Awe. Not to worry, Iraqi oil will pay for it and it will be over in 6 months
  
FIFTY YEARS AGO, 1968:

• Jan 30th: Tet Offensive begins in Vietnam
  
• Feb 27th: Walter Cronkite says, "it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate."
  
• Feb 28th: Gen. Westmoreland & Gen Wheeler ask LBJ for 206,000 more troops
  
• March 9th: Capt. Dale Noyd sentenced to one year in prision for refusing to train pilots headed for Vietnam
  
• March 16th: My Lai Massacre, 350-500 unarmed civilians killed
  
• April 4th: Martin Luther King assassinated in Memphis
  
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, 1918:

• March 3rd: Soviet Russia concludes separate peace negotiations in Treaty of Brest/Litovsk
  
• April 21st: German ace flyer, "The Bloody Red Baron" is shot down
  
• July 6th: Woodrow Wilson agrees to US intervention in Siberia
  

VFP #161 Hosts My Lai Memorial Exhibit

On June 15-17, the Coralville Public Library was the setting for the My Lai Memorial Exhibit. This awesome exhibit, a product of the creative efforts of artist Mac MacDevitt and Chicago Veterans For Peace, made its return to the Midwest after a successful tour of western U.S. cities. The interactive exhibit memorialized fifty years since the My Lai massacre, often referred to as the most shocking episode of the Vietnam War.

Mac was very engaging and helpful, and he inspired VFP #161 members who helped guide attendees through the exhibit. Every person who attended was touched. Many conversations, tears, and stunned silence. Everyone wished it had been an historical event that we all learned from. However, everyone who attended recognized that its lessons have largely been either forgotten or ignored in today's world.
 

Our thanks to Mac MacDevitt, an extraordinary peace advocate. And thank you to the Coralville Public Library for providing a wonderful venue.
 

Armistice Day 2018, Time to Recommit to Peace
 
September 14 2018, Congress passes AUMF
 
March 2018, a muddle of murky anniversaries
 
John Ivens on US policy on Yemen
 
Ed Flaherty on US policy on Gaza
 
Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA employee, released from prison
 
VFP 161 leader, Jeff Strottmann passes Feb 6, 2017
 
Retired Air Force Major General Charles Dunlap discusses AUMF in Syria
 
Taking Yemen to Congress
 
Ed Flaherty on Yemen & US military budget
 
Ed Flaherty on 9-11
 
VFP on Memorial Day
 
Muhammad Ali's service
 
Ann Wright & Women's Boat to Gaza
 
View Dan Berrigan commemoration
 
Private Manning's service to country
 
David Hempel: It's time to organize
 

 
Brief recap of Veterans For Peace Chapter #161 activities

 

 

 
Welcome to Veterans For Peace

Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars.

Statement of Purpose

We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others

• To increase public awareness of the costs of war
  
  
• To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
  
  
• To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
  
  
• To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
  
  
• To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.
  

To achieve these goals, members of Veterans For Peace pledge to use non-violent means and to maintain an organization that is both democratic and open with the understanding that all members are trusted to act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world peace.
 

 

Rendered for inclusion on website

 

Veterans For Peace Stands with Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange

Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning are both in jail right now. They are being persecuted by the very elite who are pursuing regime change wars around the globe and who do not want the people to know the truth about what they are up to.

Curiously, Assange has been charged with conspiring with Chelsea Manning to break into a classified Army computer in 2010. Regardless of the questionable allegations that WikiLeaks collaborated with Trump and the Russians to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, WikiLeaks did a great service by publishing evidence of U.S. war crimes. The charges against Assange go back nine years to when Chelsea Manning provided WikiLeaks with the 'Collateral Murder' video and the Army's daily after action reports from Iraq and Afghanistan. That is what the U.S. government is choosing to focus on, at least initially.

What Chelsea Manning released through WikiLeaks was evidence of the routine killing of civilians by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the routine cover-up of these war crimes. The Iraq War Logs and the Afghan War Diaries also revealed that military and civilian leaders were lying to the U.S. people when they presented rosy assessments of the progress of those wars. If more people had paid attention to these revelations, many thousands of lives could have been saved. ...

Chelsea explained her own motivation:

'I believed if the public, particularly the American public, could see this it could spark a debate on the military and our foreign policy in general as it applied to Iraq and Afghanistan. It might cause society to reconsider the need to engage in counter terrorism while ignoring the human situation of the people we engaged with every day.... I felt I accomplished something that would allow me to have a clear conscience.'
 

From the VeteransForPeace.org

Local VFP Members Speak Out Against New Obscene Military Spending Level

Have we become a welfare state for the military-industrial complex? Last August, Congress passed the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with overwhelming bipartisan support. It authorized a whopping $717 billion in military expenditures, a $98 billion increase over the 2017 NDAA.

Only 10 U.S. senators voted against this bill, and neither of Iowa's two senators was among the 10.

Why is this important?

First, and most easily understood, is that the fiscal 2019 military budget translates into about $2,200 per person in the United States. Of course, that is not proportionally reflected in the taxes that we pay. This gargantuan expenditure is funded mostly by new federal debt. The deficit for fiscal 2018 was $782 billion, and is projected to be $900 billion or more in fiscal 2019. So, we will let our grandchildren carry that burden.

Second, with funding for the military consuming 58 percent of total federal discretionary spending, all other programs are suffocated. For example, military funding is 81.5 times more than the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. Funding for transportation, mental health, food safety, education, and many other programs are cut, while the Pentagon goes unaudited and military contractors get rich. Many generals, when they retire, go to work for military contractors or consultants and get richer.

Third, the only possible legal and moral justification for our huge military establishment would be that it is defending our country from enemies outside our borders. However, we have not fought a war of defense since World War II. In the past 18 years we have spent $6 trillion on our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and numerous other conflicts. All of those were wars of intervention in the affairs of other countries, where the safety of this country was not under threat. Rather than a defender of freedom, the United States has become the bully of the world. That is immoral and un-American.

All of the above is history. We can't undo unnecessary wars, we can't get the $6 trillion back, and we can't take back the $717 billion military budget for fiscal 2019. So, what shall we do about the Trump administration's proposal for a $750 billion military budget for fiscal 2020? First of all, we must become informed. As Thomas Jefferson said, "an informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy." Next, we ought to become angry — very angry — and we must focus our anger on change rather than let it fester.

We in Iowa have the unique opportunity to influence whether our country takes the direction of peace or war. Presidential candidates are streaming through Iowa, and each should be confronted with the hard questions we have raised here. With only a couple exceptions, they will avoid the issue, unless pressed.

In addition, each of our two senators in Washington, D.C., has a powerful voice and unique background in military waste. We must tell them that now is the time to rein in military spending and to begin encouraging peaceful solutions.

We have become a welfare state for the military-industrial complex. We must not silently entrust our financial and moral capital to the tools of war, and we must not ignore our better angels' calls for personal and societal investment in peace.

— David Hempel, John Christenson, John Jadryev, Joe Michaud and Ed Flaherty, all of Iowa City, are members of Veterans For Peace, Chapters 161 and 169.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 7, 2019

Historical Events of Interest

• 2018: US coalition forces kill 100 Syrians; Turkey shelling into Syria killing many civilians; Al-qaeda shoots down Russian plane, pilot dead; Israel downs Iranian drone; Syrian anti-aircraft fire downs Israeli F-15
  
• 2017, Feb 6th: Jeff Strottmann, a founding member of VFP #161, passes from this earth
  
• 2011, March 17th: US drones kill 40 civilians attending Loya Jirga in Pakistan
  
• 2003, March 19th: US begins Iraq war with Shock & Awe. Not to worry, Iraqi oil will pay for it and it will be over in 6 months
  
FIFTY YEARS AGO, 1968:

• Jan 30th: Tet Offensive begins in Vietnam
  
• Feb 27th: Walter Cronkite says, "it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate."
  
• Feb 28th: Gen. Westmoreland & Gen Wheeler ask LBJ for 206,000 more troops
  
• March 9th: Capt. Dale Noyd sentenced to one year in prision for refusing to train pilots headed for Vietnam
  
• March 16th: My Lai Massacre, 350-500 unarmed civilians killed
  
• April 4th: Martin Luther King assassinated in Memphis
  
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, 1918:

• March 3rd: Soviet Russia concludes separate peace negotiations in Treaty of Brest/Litovsk
  
• April 21st: German ace flyer, "The Bloody Red Baron" is shot down
  
• July 6th: Woodrow Wilson agrees to US intervention in Siberia
  

Armistice Day 2018, Time to Recommit to Peace
 
September 14 2018, Congress passes AUMF
 
March 2018, a muddle of murky anniversaries
 
John Ivens on US policy on Yemen
 
Ed Flaherty on US policy on Gaza
 
Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA employee, released from prison
 
VFP 161 leader, Jeff Strottmann passes Feb 6, 2017
 
Retired Air Force Major General Charles Dunlap discusses AUMF in Syria
 
Taking Yemen to Congress
 
Ed Flaherty on Yemen & US military budget
 
Ed Flaherty on 9-11
 
VFP on Memorial Day
 
Muhammad Ali's service
 
Ann Wright & Women's Boat to Gaza
 
View Dan Berrigan commemoration
 
Private Manning's service to country
 
David Hempel: It's time to organize
 

Veterans For Peace, Chapter 161

P0 Box 947
Iowa City, IA 52244·O947

Please contact:

E-mail John Jadryev <jadryevj[at]gmail.com>
  or call ( 3l9 ) 43O·2Ol9

E-mail Ed Flaherty <flahertyem[at]q.com>
  or call ( 3l9 ) 354·O54O

Webmaster:

Franklin Seibering
P0 Box l3O2
Iowa City, Iowa 52244·l3O2

E-mail: <webmaster[at]justword.net>
page: ( 3l9 ) 34l·llO7

 

 

VETERANS FOR PEACE
CHAPTER 161
The April 12th—Coralville Public Library
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

INTRODUCTIONS

MINUTES

TREASURERS REPORT
ANNOUNCEMENTS NEW BUSINESS OLD BUSINESS WORKING GROUPS