POB 31947, Seattle, WA 98103 info@vfp92.org

VFP 92 Radio Show: Russia and Ukraine – Call for Peace to End the War

Listen to “Russia and Ukraine – Call for Peace to End the War” on Spreaker.
We talk to Gerry Condon and Marjorie Cohn about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the danger of nuclear war. Gerry is a former president of the international Veterans For Peace and a local VFP 92 chapter member. He is also a Vietnam-era veteran and conscious objector to the U.S. war in Vietnam. Marjorie is a VFP advisory board member. She is a law professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, California, and a former president of the National Lawyers Guild. We referred to the Veterans For Peace Nuclear Posture Review and the Washington Against Nuclear Weapons (WANW) Coalition during our conversation. 

RELEASE: Veterans Warn Against “No Fly Zone” in Ukraine

March 17, 2022
VETERANS WARN AGAINST “NO-FLY ZONE” IN UKRAINE

“Veterans of several U.S. wars are urging President Biden to hold fast against growing political pressure to implement a “no-fly zone.”

A No Fly Zone is an area established by a military power over which opposing aircraft are not permitted. No Fly Zones are enforced by military interception of aircraft and missiles using deadly force, and sometimes include preemptive strikes to prevent potential violations. In other words, a country that declares a no-fly zone must then be ready to enforce the protected space, putting the U.S. in direct military conflict with Russia, escalating war between two nuclear powers.

No-fly zones have only been utilized three times in history — in parts of Iraq, following the 1991 Gulf War; in Bosnia in 1992; and Libya in 2011. Those crises were situations in which the U.S. and NATO used their superior air power to stymie the air defenses of the countries they were attacking.

The U.S. and NATO have so far resisted imposing a no-fly zone in Ukraine out of concerns that it would draw them into an armed showdown with Russia, and possibly even a nuclear war. A no-fly zone would almost certainly result in U.S. and allied aircraft directly engaging Russian aircraft — something that NATO leaders strenuously tried to avoid during all four decades of the Cold War”….

https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2022/03/17/release-veterans-warn-against-no-fly-zone-ukraine

Veterans For Peace Encourages Diplomacy Not War

February 24, 2022
“Veterans For Peace condemns the invasion of Ukraine. Our mission remains the same. We are committed to a sustainable and just peace. As veterans we know increased violence only fuels extremism. We have watched, and in some cases been firsthand witnesses to how the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, etc. have had their countries and lives destroyed by U.S. and Russian military involvement.
The only sane course of action now is a commitment to genuine diplomacy with serious negotiations – without which, conflict could easily spiral out of control to the point of further pushing the world toward nuclear war. Genuine diplomacy is a commitment to compromise and maintaining open lines of communication.
We reject punitive sanctions that harshen the lives of people across the region”….
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/diplomacy-not-war-peace-ukraine

VFP Seattle Radio Show: Unfreeze Afghanistan – Masuda Sultan & Dr. Cheryl Benard

Listen to “Unfreeze Afghanistan – Masuda Sultan & Dr. Cheryl Benard” on Spreaker.In this episode, we talk to Dr. Cheryl Benard and Masuda Sultan, two organizers from Unfreeze Afghanistan. We discuss the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Instead of unblocking access to frozen Afghan assets so that the people of Afghanistan can help themselves, the Biden Administration plans to distribute half the funds in a humanitarian relief effort. He plans to use the other half to compensate Sep 11 Families for their tragic loss.

Masuda is an Afghan American who has spent many years in Afghanistan helping to build Afghan civil society. Dr. Benard was a senior analyst and program director in the National Security Research Division of the RAND Corporation and is the author of several books about Afghanistan and post-conflict societal reconstruction.

VFP Seattle Radio Show: Jan 6th Insurrection and the Ukraine Russia Crisis

Listen to "Jan 6th Insurrection and the Ukraine Russia Crisis" on Spreaker. Co-hosts, Vietnam War veteran Mike Dedrick and Gulf War veteran Michael T. McPhearson

Jan 6th Insurrection and the Ukraine Russia Crisis: In this episode, we talk to Iraq War veteran Kelly Wadsworth and Vietnam War veteran Randy Roland about their thoughts on veterans’ involvement in the Jan 6th resurrection in the U.S Capitol. We also talked about the U.S. role in the Russia and Ukraine crisis.

 

No More Ukraine War

From United For Peace and Justice:

“The Ukraine crisis intensifies, with no clear path to resolution. An endless fog of propaganda makes understanding difficult, but a few things are clear. The governments of the United States and its allies bear responsibility for refusing to include the post-Soviet Russian government in a security system that would allow it to feel secure within its borders. Further introduction of more weapons and forces, overt or covert, into Ukraine and its disputed regions by any party only increases the likelihood of a war that careens out of control. The United Nations Charter prohibits “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state…” World Beyond War and Code Pink offer petitions calling for a step back from the brink.”

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-war-in-ukraine/                                                         https://www.codepink.org/ukraine_nato/

Veterans For Peace Nuclear Posture Review

Veterans For Peace Releases Nuclear Posture Review

The U.S.-based international organization Veterans For Peace has released its own assessment of the current global threat of nuclear war, ahead of the anticipated release of the Biden Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review. The Veterans For Peace Nuclear Posture Review warns that the danger of nuclear war is greater than ever and that nuclear disarmament must be vigorously pursued. Veterans For Peace plans to deliver their Nuclear Posture Review to the President and Vice President, to every member of Congress, and to the Pentagon.

With the first anniversary of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22, the Veterans For Peace Nuclear Posture Review calls on the U.S. government to sign the treaty and to work with other nuclear-armed states to eliminate all the world’s nuclear weapons. The TPNW, approved by a vote of 122-1 in the UN General Assembly in July of 2017, reflects the international consensus against the existence of such weapons.

Veterans For Peace Nuclear Posture Review also calls for measures that would reduce the risk of nuclear war, such as implementing policies for No First Use and taking nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert…

LINK to the Veterans For Peace Nuclear Posture Review

 

VFP Seattle Radio Show: Helping Afghans Now & Remembering Michael Brown Jr. and the Ferguson Uprising

 

In this episode, we talk to Afghan American Arash Azzizada about events in Afghanistan and what people can do to help the Afghan people. You can find Arash’s bio here. Among many things, he is an organizer with Afghans for a Better Tomorrow.

Listen to “Helping Afghans Now and Remembering Michael Brown Jr. and the Ferguson Uprising” on Spreaker.

Arash is asking people to visit the Afghans for a Better Tomorrow website to find four ways to support the people of Afghanistan. Right now, we must remain focused on pressuring the U.S. government to evacuate as many Afghans as possible and provide them with places to live in peace. The U.S. owes them that at the least.

Please donate money to your local efforts to help Afghans and Doctors Without Borders and Read to Lead? You can find links to those organizations on mtmdaily.com. Look for this episode under Red Pill Radio.

We also remember seven years ago this month, the senseless killing of an unarmed 18-year-old Michel Brown Jr., shot to death in Ferguson, MO, by police officer Darrin Wilson.

We end with a short clip from Larry Hamm, Chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress, telling us we need to keep our eyes on the prize – stay focused on the task at hand. While his words were about justice for Trayvon Martin and the racism that caused his death, it is a lesson to apply in many situations as people attempt – knowingly or not, to use important issues to obscure the matter at hand.

 

VFP Statement on U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan

“August 17, 2021
Veterans For Peace has previously condemned the U.S. “forever wars” against “terror” and called for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Iraq and other places in the world. We unequivocally believe that war is not the answer to any problem and that there is no military solution in Afghanistan.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was shameful and poorly executed. We have left too many behind. It was only after veteran and media outcry over leaving dedicated translators and their families, people who risked their lives for us that the U.S. decided, too late, to include them in our withdrawal. Many Afghans have been blocked by callous immigration policy and “Muslim Bans” from seeking safety in the United States, from the destabilization in Afghanistan that the U.S. created. Caring for refugees and civilians fleeing from conflict is basic decency, and the United States fails to act with the urgency required to protect people. Casual disregard for Afghan lives continues on all levels.

The release of the Afghanistan Papers last year clearly laid out the failed policy and the catastrophic level of malfeasance that reach the highest levels of the U.S. government. ..”
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2021/08/17/vfp-statement-us-withdrawal-afghanistan

VFP Seattle Radio Show: Sexual Trauma and Assault in the Military

Listen to "Sexual Trauma and Assault in the Military" on Spreaker. Co-hosts, Vietnam War veteran Mike Dedrick and Gulf War veteran Michael T. McPhearson.

This week we discuss sexual harassment and trauma in the military. We speak with local chapter members and Army Vietnam Veteran Allen Tlusty and Lorry Manning, retired U.S. Navy Captain and Director of Government Operations of the Service Women’s Action Network also known as SWAN.

From Hiroshima To Hope Every August 6th….VFP92 summer picnic

On Friday, August 6, candle-lit lanterns will once again float across Green Lake at From Hiroshima to Hope, Seattle’s annual peace event honoring the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all victims of war and violence. This August marks the 76th anniversary of the atomic bombings and the 79th anniversary of Executive Order 1066, which led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans on the U.S. West Coast. The event, held on Green Lake’s northwest shore, begins at 6:30 PM, and concludes with a lantern floating ceremony.

The family program includes speaker, Seattle Times columnist Naomi Ishisaka; emcee and poet, Larry Matsuda; cellist and activist Ebony Miranda; musical performer Lacey Stevenson Warrior; and the popular Japanese-American drum performance group, Seattle Kokon Taiko.

The public event is free. Donations are welcome, on-site, or in advance here.

The event will take place just south of the Bathhouse, on Green Lake’s NW shore, West Green Lake Drive North and Stone Ave North.

COVID safety protocols will be followed… https://fromhiroshimatohope.org/event-2/

This year Veterans For Peace– Seattle will hold our summer picnic at the same location at 4 pm prior to participating in the “Hiroshima To Hope” main event