An Individual Gesture for Peace

Senator Dianne Feinstein
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104

Dear Senator Feinstein:

I have studied violent conflict since 1961 and have seen US military decision-making often to be counter-productive to the interests of this country. Surely in Viet Nam a knowledge of what the colonial history (particularly multiple occupations) had left upon a largely peasant culture could have cut through the military strategist’s illusions that one new compliant leader or one more military barrage could turn the tide against an evil communist enemy. Congress deferred to professional military judgment. 68,000 thousand Americans and 2 million Vietnamese died as a result.

Military strategists play a similar role with regard to Afghanistan today. Al-Qaida is a negligible presence. Taliban, like the Northern Alliance warlords whom we support, are largely from tribal Pashtun backgrounds and have minimal identification with a central government. They span views from militant to accommodating on issues regarding women’s rights and armed resistance. Leading women’s rights groups and pro-democracy groups agree that the US military presence adds to killing, supports corruption and the drug trade, and creates a blowback. Again, as casualties mount, DOD military strategists continue to peddle the view that some pro-American leader will combine popular support with military and police power to control dissidents. Again our congress listens to them without the benefit of hearing from others who know better. I cannot make the lobbying visit to your San Francisco office, but I beseech you to display leadership in ending the war immediately. The costs in lives, in dollars and in respect for the US have already been too high for a misguided cause.

Peace,

Marc Pilisuk, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, The University of California
Professor, Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center 

2,853-0: The Complete Omission of War from Budget Commentaries

On Monday, April 11, The Washington Post ran three articles about the federal budget debate.
 
Zachary A. Goldfarb wrote the lead front page article, “Obama to offer new approach for reducing deficits.” He describes Obama’s effort to go on the offensive, quoting David Plouffe saying the president will look for cuts “in all corners of government.”
 
The article runs 1260 words. It never uses the words “military” or “defense” spending.
 
E. J. Dionne wrote a column, “Shut down the Government,” in which he describes the Tea Party’s “contempt” for government.
 
The article runs 773 words.  It never uses the words “military” or “defense” spending.”
 
Robert J. Samuelson’ column, “Suicidal politics,” describes how so much of America depends on government entitlements and tax breaks that “any effort to change the status arouses a firestorm of opposition that virtually ensures defeat.”
 
The article runs 820 words.  It never uses the words “military” or “defense” spending.
 
That’s 2853 to 0.
 
How can a citizenry and electorate be well informed on the budget deficit debate when respected newspapers and columnists don’t even mention an item that costs over $700 billion a year (up from $300 billion in 2000) and accounts for 50% of all discretionary government spending?

Bob Muehlenkamp

A Note from Sweden

This is really to the point, Tom.

A generation poisoned by interventionism -- and on the whole they are our children, which makes it so much worse.

Sweden breaks its neutrality for the second time today, joining a Nato war, sending fighter jets that we want to sell. A nation with a 200 year record of peace has in 15 years been turned into war mongers, war enthusiasts. Our leaders are all dressing up like White House officers and talking the same cirminal language, i mean mob language. The doctrine has been called "one leader - one nation" by Johan Galtung, a founding father of peace research whose insitute has been taken over by NATO, as all other peace institutes.

You don't like Gadaffi - bomb Libya. You don't like Ahmadinejad - bomb Iran. Etc...

Appreciate your writings, Tom. You are a true hero.

Stefan Lindgren,

Translator, Journalist, Peace Activist

An Exchange on Civil Disobedience

Tom,

As I so often quote Howard Zinn - real change occurs through strikes, boycotts and civil disobedience; the latter of which we are seeing in spades the last 4 weeks.  My frustration for the last 5 years has been with "progressive groups" not having the imagination to select a few crucial Corporations to boycott and/or strike as well as poignant scenes to bring to a halt via civil disobedience as is now occurring in Madison, WI.  

I join all the letter writing, calls to senators and representatives crusades, yet little of the radical reforms we need are being produced by such letters and calls.  How and when will those with imagination and knowledge and insight come up with a popular uprising.

Ceasar Chevez thought of the grape boycott and it worked!

Bill Nerin

Dear Bill,

Your point is excellent, although it’s not an either/or. Chavez was very involved in candidates and legislation.

The quandary for me is whether and how anyone can deliberately plan and execute a popular uprising, which almost by definition is spontaneous. Maybe like striking a match over and over hoping to light a fire. A few hundred will be arrested in DC on Mar 19, but will it lead to more? Not known.

What bothers me more is the lack of an institutional anti-war movement structure. They come and go, and are dominated always by sectarian infighting which puts off the undecided and turns off the spirited.

Just my thoughts.

Tom

Note from the Irish Peace Movement

Tom, good article.

Sinn Fein has been affiliated to the Peace & Neutrality Alliance for years, and in response to a letter from PANA, Gerry Adams has agreed to help establish a Oireachtas PANA group. Sinn Fein, together with a large number of progressive independents, could mean over 25 Dail members out of 166 will support an organisation that opposes Ireland's integration into the US/EU/NATO military structures. In fact, if you include the Irish Labour Party, then 42% of the Irish people voted for parties and individuals that oppose the use of Shannon Airport by the US troops on their way to and from their wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.

PANA is continuing to build up links internationally and I have attached a poster of a meeting PANA is helping to organise with the leader of the World Peace Council and we are also hosting the AGM of the No to NATO-NO -to -War network in April which includes representatives of peace movements all over Europe including some US representatives such as Joseph Gerson of the American Friends Service Committee. The ending of these imperial wars is absolutely crucial for the recovery of the Irish, European and US economies and it is the objective of PANA to continue to seek to find better ways to work more closely with the other peace groups such as your own in Europe & the US.

Keep up the good work and pass on my regards to friends you have in Wisconsin that are currently leading the fight against this neo-liberal militarist ideology.

Roger Cole
PANA
www.pana.ie

On Movement Building

Alan Haber was the original founder of Students for a Democratic Society in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Tom,

The option to build is that people are tired of the wars, endless, and the whole war system and war mission.

America needs the commander in chief to change the mission, the warriors are now in command, the majority would have it another way. America needs a commander in chief who will mobilize the majority for a turn toward peace, and challenge the war parties in side the government and in the various war zones. Is Mr. Obama that commander in chief?

Put another way, is there a movement for peace together and creative enough to articulate the vision and lead the leaders to mobilize the millions for a new mission?

I think there need to be more independent citizen initiatives bring the outstanding questions to the peace table, exploring the terms of real, just and inclusive "end of conflict" settlement agreements, promoting generosity, empathy, creativity and everyone, not greed, hate, destruction and just us, as a good button says. If the peoples movements in the war zones and internationally put forward the peace vision, taking initiative to invite the politicians to come to the table to discuss, more reasonable outcomes might be expected.

By and large the politicians, as a class, in the war zones and among the warriors have failed. A wider justice and a freer life for all is not the outcomes of their polices. the politics is blocked. An intervention from below might allow opportunities for realignments, and call into being the quality of leadership we hope Mr. Obama must possess. He must know better than to believe in empire. in my view it is for the movements to give him better chances and choices to show it.

Alan Haber

Ann Arbor, MI

Letters from Tucson

Tom,

Thank you for sharing this. I worked a little for the Gifford's Campaign this past election and I am still in a state of shock and profound sadness. Gabrielle is a golden soul that works to serve to the best of her ability; always with the intention of doing the best for the whole. Also for those that were with her today, I sent out my prayers and thoughts as well.

The political tension in our country is like the California earthquake zone; just waiting for the big one. I feel this extreme action today against a public servant is a warning sign that people need to pull back in their extremist ideas of hate and intolerance towards those who are not in agreement. I feel this action of hate that happened today, is symptomatic of an underlying move toward anarchy.

People like Jesse Kelly and Sarah Palin seem to feed that drive toward disaster with their ignorant ramblings to those that just seem to feed on their words without question. A friend of mine works for the city of Tucson and some of those who he works with listen to radio programs that perpetuate this type of thinking. They often voice their negative and hateful thoughts in agreement to what they hear on the radio, again without question. Then there is media such as Fox that brings it on as well. The news media, I believe is suppose to report the news unbiased, but it is always a spin job with most networks; Fox tops the list.

As for Jesse Kelly; I watched his political ads and they did frighten me. I am not sure what has happened to our "civilization" that is creating this following of bully politics, but the ideas are getting out of balance and I fear for the future and those who want to control it. To me; Sarah Palin is the anti-christ. She is the wormwood that has oozed itself into the limelight and into the minds of those who are hungry for blood.

Christine

Well done Tom,

As you know, I'm a veteran of Arizona, had my share of death threats and a near deadly police beating there back in the 70's.

Would that Arizona were the only such ticking time bomb set by the extreme right. When the New Hampshire legislature convened earlier this month, their first decision was to mandate that people could carry guns into the State Capitol.

My deepest fears grow out of my experiences in Lebanon as the civil war was beginning there in 1975. I arrived in Beirut something like 15 minutes before it was fully on. In the years leading up to the civil war, people obtained guns at a frightening pace. As I recall, people then said that, on average, people owned two guns. They were everywhere and begging to be used in the incendiary environment. (The rhetoric of the Phalange and the Maronite leadership wasn't much more hateful or racist than what we're experiencing here.)

We may not have arrived at a civil war, but it's difficult not to draw links between the murders in Tucson and that assassination of Salman Taseer in Pakistan earlier this week.

With deep concern,

Joseph

Tom,

I really appreciate your providing this forum for discussion and collective emotional repair.

I'm a psychotherapist and I'm concerned about the gun imagery that is prominent in the language of Palin/Beck/Bachman/Engle, and other political reactionaries. To my way of thinking, this belies unconscious feelings of powerlessness being defended against by a conscious attempt to appear powerful.

Calls to "reload," to be "armed and dangerous," to use "2nd amendment remedies," etc. is a symptom of narcissistic fury based on unconscious fears of annihilation. I've noticed the buildup of this imagery since President Obama was elected. The literal displays of guns at rallies, the increase in the purchase of weapons and the use of language that alludes to physical violence by spokespeople on the political right should not be ignored.

A segment of largely white society seems frightened about their own survival and like cornered animals, they are banding together in a defensive but aggressive stance. What are they afraid of losing? Status; privilege; political supremacy? I'm only guessing. Their fears of being rendered powerless are concretized in their love of weaponry; guns protect them...guns are their defenders.

But their hidden fears are causing them to urge others towards violence. This is horrifying and all my inner alarm bells are going off. Jared Loughner is not the only man aching to demonstrate his "heroism" or "patriotism" through an act of gun violence. So maybe he's created a momentary antidote to his deep-seated feelings of interpersonal powerlessness, but he's terrorized the rest of us. He's gotten our attention in the most horrifying way. We need to respond ten-fold and assert our demand for safe and civil discourse.

First, people with microphones who use gun metaphors and open calls for violence should be resoundingly ostracized. We should clamor for their dismissal from whatever position gives them access to that microphone, whether it's radio, television, public speaking, newspapers, etc.

Second, we need to collectively protect and encourage those in government and the media who speak out for the democratic values of inclusion, generosity, and civility. They need our support and we need their perspective to generate a safer climate for the expression of sometimes aggravating differences of opinion. As SanityMan Jon Stewart said last night, let's not conflate "opponents" with "enemies."

And third, gun imagery is everywhere; in movies, television, billboards, etc. Gun lobbies hold too much sway in Congress and boys have few models of influencial yet non-violent men. Maybe we adults can give them more role-models of interpersonal effectiveness. We can listen to the feelings and needs of children with the respect of Atticus Finch, the father/lawyer in "To Kill a Mockingbird." We can refrain from shaming and blaming them, which causes them to develop a sense of self-loathing and unconscious fury which can boil over into violence later on in life; which finds a target in public figures, often eminently kind ones like Gaby Giffords or John Lennon.

Maybe we can prevent the next Jared Loughner by paying more collective attention to the mental health needs of five year old bullies in kindergarten or 10 year old loners in 4th grade. I don't know what signals Jared gave those around him when he was younger but maybe we can offer support to parents of troubled kids before those kids become trouble for all of us. Distressed families produce distressed kids who stress the rest of us later in life.

My deepest feelings are with the families of the fallen and with Gaby Giffords who is holding onto life at this moment.

~Madeline

William Polk Casualty Debate

Dear Tom,

Several people have sent me your summary of bad news from Iraq and Afghanistan. Alas, this account is so under-reported as to seem almost good news.

The money cost is significantly higher than reported here, although scattered throughout the DOD accounts. Even the US Congressional research office, a non-partisan organization with supposedly complete access regardless of level of security classification, told me that they were unable to establish a complete figure.

The wounded fall in several categories.  The superficial or "walking" cases are generally not reported.  So they would add a considerable number to the c. 42,000. But even the others cannot be treated just as a lump statistic. Our ambassador in Afghanistan, a retired Army Lt. General, almost wept when he told me of his visits to some Americans who were being more or less secretly evacuated. Some are very long-term "basket" cases. Severely crippled with multiple loss of limbs. They will spend most of their lives in hospitals. Severe head wounds (various forms of concussion) often result in medical treatments, counseling and support in many cases project costs out 20 or more years for estimated totals (in AD 2000 dollars) of about $5 million/person. These wounds are far more common than is realized. In the whole Iraqi campaign, the number has been estimated (the real figures are still unknown) at more than 320,000. I have not seen figures (if they exist) on Afghanistan.

Even in the very short (usually put at just 100 hours) American invasion of Iraq, wounds and other forms of trauma (often improperly lumped together as PTSD) led to disability claims by about 300,000 returning servicemen and -women.  

Successful suicides as reported here (2001-2010 of 2,129) don't give a complete picture. As of 2008, the head of the mental health division of Veterans Affairs reported that attempted suicides were running at about 1,000 a month. I don't think more recent figures are available. So those who actually succeeded were only a small portion of those who were driven to try.

And then there is the lingering results of using a form of nuclear weapon, depleted uranium. Incidence of cancer has multiplied and severe defects in fetuses and newborn children are truly horrifying. On these and comparable issues, you can check out my account and sources (although now dated) in my book Violent Politics (pages 204 and 259).

In short, while the report is dire enough, it is not nearly as dire as the actual happening. And the real casualty in both wars is a combination of our reputation abroad and our institutions and beliefs at home. Of course, we "won" in Iraq -- as the good General Petraeus has told us -- but even he does not claim victory in Afghanistan. There is more to come.

Bill

Ron Paul on WikiLeaks

Dear Mr. Hayden:

Thank you for your recent message of support for my position on the WikiLeaks issue. I believe, as I am sure you do as well, that what we need is more privacy and freedom from government snooping in our own lives and more transparency from our government. I find it chilling to hear so many U.S. government officials calling for the leader of this organization, Julian Assange, to be labeled an "enemy combatant" and jailed - or worse. Thank you for all you do to promote our civil liberties and the cause of peace.

For Liberty,

Ron Paul

Re: Murder Threats Rise Against WikiLeaks Founder

Tom,

The irony of these politicians saying Assange has blood on his hands. A glance in the mirror in the cloakrooms of Washington, D.C. would reveal who has voted the money and enabled the military to kill civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The truth can't hurt you unless you have already lied. I wonder if Hillary Clinton at age 24, a Vietnam War protestor, was irate at Daniel Ellsberg for releasing the Pentagon papers in June 1971?

- Bill