Veterans For Peace Daniel Ellsberg Chapter 92, Seattle

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 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

“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

https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2021/01/07/veterans-peace-condemns-yesterdays-attempt-white-supremacist
January 07, 2021

The violence that broke out on January 6th in the U.S. Capitol by people who seek to halt the certification of the 2020 election results was both unsurprising given U.S. history and was also shocking to witness. The events highlight the reality that Trump, members of his administration and the silent GOP Senate have used their positions to foment hatred, racism, and sexism, to garner support for their own agenda. However, as we all know, the problem is not Trump but a deeply entrenched and longstanding system of white supremacy.

As military veterans who know the true costs and causes of war, members of Veterans For Peace reject state violence and state-sanctioned violence. We have had to watch dishearteningly as fellow Americans invoke violence against others. These actions follow a long history of white supremacist actions in this country against indigenous, Black and Brown peoples. Furthermore, many of the people who fill the ranks of these mobs are (often white) military veterans.

As veterans ourselves, we have seen how white supremacy and violence are perpetuated in the U.S. military. The U.S. military continues to be an active recruitment tool for violent extremism and hate groups. This culture of toxicity, often fully embraced and/or condoned by military leadership continues to be a pipeline to violent right wingers, border patrol and police. We know that this pathway to violence must stop.

VFP supports peace abroad and peace at home. We support true peace which begins with defending racial and social justice by challenging systematic violence. We stand in strong opposition to the increasing trend of hate groups and political action groups that exaggerate the myths of the so-called “American” identity into moralizing political violence.

Veterans For Peace encourages our members to remain vigilant and united. It is our belief that positive change comes through nonviolent organizing, direct action, education, mobilization, and having a firm vision and commitment to help make a better tomorrow. We must continue creating a community that stands in stark opposition to the U.S. military and organize our fellow veteran community to unlearn dangerous ideology and break the conduit of violence. We can help deflect rightful discontent created by the neglect and betrayal of our institutions to constructive organizing. Let’s help create a community that is an alternative to bigoted violence and pursue an egalatarian solution to our common root problems.