On September 14, 2001, the US Congress passed, with only one dissenting vote, the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) which has served for the last 17 years as a legal veneer for our military misadventures around the world. Count the countries where our military has killed people who are not at war with us —at least nine (Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Niger, Algeria). Count the dollars spent on just our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — at least Four Trillion Dollars. Count the number of countries where we have deployed US Special Forces — 149 in 2017. Count the number of military veteran suicides daily — at least 22.

Add to these figures the tragic irony that recent news is filled with reports of the US being allied with Al Qaeda forces in Yemen and Syria. Al Qaeda, the enemy that was the focus of the 2001 AUMF. An additional irony is that there are efforts underway to pass a new AUMF in Congress, which would call for even less Congressional oversight than the 2001 AUMF.

It is time to start paving the path to the peace we claim to love. A good first step is to rescind the 2001 AUMF and get the US military out of the bullying business. Tell Senator Ernst and Senator Grassley and Representative Loebsack or whoever represents you in Washington that they need to get on board the peace train and enable war no more. And spend 15 minutes at the weekly peace rally at the east side of the Pentacrest, this and any Friday, 4PM-5:30 PM.
 

 
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

Let's put issues of Middle East Peace front-center ...
CAUCUS 2020 PEACE PROJECT
Initial meeting to kick off this project

Saturday, March 23rd, 1:00 pm at Merge 136 South Dubuque Street, downtown Iowa City (on pedestrian mall west of ICPL) Anyone interested in Middle East peace is welcome.

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.
 

Upcoming in the next few months

• March 5th: Prairie Preview, 6:30-9 pm. Highlander. Invite from Susan Spears. BurOak Land Trust.
  
• March 8th: Invite from Alisa Meggitt. Two faculty members from St. Ambrose University (Keith Soho & Keri Manning) will be presenting at St. Thomas More church.6:30 pm. Non-Violence is issue.
  
• March 13th, Wednesday: Nite of 1000 Dinners, Robt A. Lee Rec. Center, Iowa UNA, sponsor. VFP #161 co-sponsor. 5:30-7:30 pm. $25 per person
  
• March 14th: 6 pm Coralville Public Library. Presentation by James Zogby, pres. of Arab American Institute.
  
• March 15th-17th: Kathy Kelly and DM VFP and Catholic Workers, Catholic Worker complex in DM.
  
• March 17th, Sunday: St. Patrick's Day. Demonstration at IANG DM Reaper Drone Base. 1 pm
  
• March 19th, Tuesday: 16 years ago, US war on Iraq began
  
• March 21st: 7 pm, symposium at St. Ambrose University, Davenport. We have been invited to present.
  
• March 30th: Nuclear Abolition, I PSR program at Old Brick, afternoon. Features nat. expert on nuclear war and arms.
  
• April 4th: 51 years ago, Martin Luther King was assassinated. 52 years ago, he gave the "Riverside Speech."
  

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.
 

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