From the President
On May 23, 2016, Michael McPhearson and I had the honor of representing Veterans For Peace at Breaking Through Power, an event organized by Ralph Nader, a strong supporter of VFP and a member of our Advisory Board. The event was held at Constitution Hall in Washington, D. C. Michael introduced Veterans For Peace to those in attendance and to the audience watching via live streaming.
May 25 th-- Breaking Through the Power of War day-- was“ dedicated to enhancing the waging of peace over the waging of war.” To spotlight VFP ‟ s continuous efforts on this issue, Ralph Nader asked Michael and I to serve as masters of ceremony. Later, Michael spoke about“ Is Peace Possible?” I was honored to represent VFP in my talk on“ Holding Government Accountable For Our Endless Wars.” I want to share with you some of my remarks. I hope they inspire you to continue the work of VFP and to reach out to others to do the same.
****
In breaking through the power of war and in our struggle for a more peaceful world without war we need to understand what we are up against. In her book ― They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return From America ‟ s Wars,” Ann Jones( VFP Advisory Board member & upcoming 2016 VFP Convention Banquet Speaker) writes:“ No other nation on the planet makes war as often, as long, as forcefully, as expensively, as destructively, as wastefully, as senselessly, or as unsuccessfully as the United States. No other nation makes war its business.”
Ann could have added that in its initiation and continuation of its endless wars, the United States regularly ignores the Constitution and our
2 VFP Newsletter Summer treaty obligations which are the ― Supreme Law of the Land ‖ by virtue of Article VI of the Constitution. Is there another nation that makes war its business? I suggest the answer is ‗ no‘. No other nation is in the business of waging war other than the United States and the various willing or unwilling coalition of nations it manages to threaten, cajole and pull together in its endless pursuit to find another nation to invade, bomb or occupy.
When our nation‘ s business is war how do we in VFP hold the government accountable?
For 31 years, Veterans For Peace has been the only veterans organization that has rejected war, violence, nuclear weapons, the destruction of the environment created by war, the steady erosion of our civil liberties, the corporate greed that drives our wars and the systemic injustice it produces here at home and abroad all in the name of advancing the American Empire.
As veterans, we refuse to accept the notion that to protect the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, the Constitution we swore to support and defend can be ignored, shredded and cast aside as an inconvenient nuisance standing in way of American hegemony. The threat to the Constitution does not come from some far off land like Russia or China, or even some group like ISIL, but from within our own country and from right here in this city, Washington, D. C.
Like Army Captain Nathan Smith, who recently sued President Obama for violating the War Powers Act, we want to know what is the legal authority for using drones that kill innocent civilians in Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Syria and Afghanistan, countries with whom we are not at war?
Barry Ladendorf
Ending war will not happen by the action of VFP alone or even by members of the peace movement acting together. We will hold the government accountable and have a chance to end war and the pursuit of nuclear weapons if, and only if, we can wake up the public to what is happening. We must convince them that peace is possible and that their survival and that of their children depends on their waking up.
We garner the public‘ s attention: by direct action in places like Creech, Hancock, and Gangjeong Village; by blocking the gates to military bases in Okinawa; by protesting the militarization of public schools in Chicago; and by our continued support of SOAW and so much more. We talk to schools and civic groups, challenge recruiters, publish the best activist newspaper in the country, Peace in Our Times, sail the historic Golden Rule to challenge nuclear weapons, and directly confront the rising
( Continued on page 21)
Newsletter Staff
Doug Rawlings, Editor editor @ veteransforpeace. org
Contributing Editor W. D. Ehrhart