Paul Kawika Martin and Col. Ann Wright: Don’t Escalate a Failing War

Peace Action’s Political Director Paul Kawika Martin and Colonel Ann Wright respond to Obama’s decision on CNN. The pair, who had just traveled to Afghanistan in October, tell the US “Don’t Escalate a Failing War.”

The first step in providing Afghans security and weakening the Taliban and violent extremists is to remove recruiting incentives. It’s time to stop air and Predator drone strikes that tend to kill, injure and terrorize civilians. It’s time to stop arbitrary detentions and harsh treatment of prisoners that would be unacceptable here.

Paul and Ann this Autumn in Kabul, Afghanistan.

While those in major cities live in relative security, rural Afghans fear violence from insurgents or U.S. and NATO forces. Many fear civil war or the return of the Taliban. Afghanistan requires more trusted Afghan police and security forces. These forces are paid only $110 dollars a month — not a living wage — and payments are regularly late. Little wonder these forces are corrupt, poorly motivated and have a high rate of desertion. The Taliban pays its foot soldiers far better.

Investing in a living wage and pressuring Hamid Karzai’s government to punish corruption swiftly will pay more security dividends than the $1 million a year it costs to send one U.S. soldier.

Read the rest of the article at CNN…

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Afghanistan — War of Necessity? Just War? Or Opportunity for Peace, Reconciliation and Development?

-by Kevin Martin

President Obama has repeatedly called the US occupation of Afghanistan a “war of necessity”, in contrast to the war of choice his predecessor waged (and of course is still ongoing) in Iraq.

While I am no mind-reader, I’m not sure the president really still believes that, or he may want to come up with a different way to describe the situation in Afghanistan and the region. Certainly there are grave problems in Afghanistan and in neighboring Pakistan that deserve attention and resources from the US, other countries in the region and the global community.

But, as my colleague Michael Beer of Nonviolence International said to me recently, if it really is a “war of necessity,” why is the president taking so long to decide whether to send more troops? Shouldn’t it be a no-brainer? Why is the Administration apparently preparing to try to persuade a war-weary public that more troops, maybe tens of thousands, need to deploy to Afghanistan?

My sense is the president’s deliberation (for which I think he deserves some credit) and his Administration’s desire to explore a broader range of issues (governance, aid, development, education, women’s rights, local policing and judicial systems as well as others) than just troop levels indicates there is serious doubt about how “necessary” continuing and escalating the war really is. At least it is a confirmation of the many statements from military and diplomatic leaders, both within the Administration and outside it, that there is no military solution in Afghanistan.

Clearly the US public doesn’t think Afghanistan is a war of necessity, as a majority of Americans now oppose the war or at least its escalation.

Another way to think of this is the “Just War” test, not the official Catholic doctrine, but the real definition of a Just War – one you’d send your kids to fight in.

Clearly this war fails that test for the overwhelming majority of Americans, and many veterans of Afghanistan and military families are now speaking out for an end to the eight years and counting US occupation, just as so many of them have regarding the Iraq war and occupation.

My children, at ages 12 and 15 a little older than President Obama’s daughters, think the US is always at war, and why wouldn’t they? The US has been involved in wars almost their whole lives. Of course the children of Afghanistan, and Iraq, and Palestine, Sudan, Congo and too many other countries know the horror of constant war much more personally. We, their parents, are failing them, aren’t we? They deserve peace, and we all need to demand it for them.

Instead of a military escalation, we need a transition to non-military solutions in Afghanistan, and a plan to withdraw US and NATO forces as soon as possible. Support for comprehensive peace negotiations between the various parties to the conflict in Afghanistan, including some Taliban leaders, and a surge in economic development and humanitarian aid to grassroots programs led by Afghans are the key steps to the new direction we need for Afghanistan, and for the U.S.

Many national and local organizations are organizing Call-In days to the White House next week to oppose the escalation of troops and call for an end to the war. Please call the White House between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time next week at 202/456-1111, and urge your friends, family and colleagues to do the same. Afterward, please call your Member of Congress with the same message, and go to

 

http://noescalation.org/ to find out more about our congressional pressure campaign, and you can report on what you learn from your representative on that webpage.

News Release: Non-Violent Peace Demonstrators Brutalized by Secret Service at White House Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Martin, 301-537-8244 (mobile)

Paul Kawika Martin, 951-217-7285 (mobile)

 

NON-VIOLENT PEACE DEMONSTRATORS BRUTALIZED

BY SECRET SERVICE AT WHITE HOUSE TODAY

Activists had sought a meeting with the Obama Administration to urge an end to the war in Afghanistan

 

Washington, D.C. – Twenty-three non-violent peace activists calling for an end to the US war in Afghanistan were violently pushed and dragged away from a White House gate by Secret Service officers this afternoon. The activists, participating in a larger demonstration of over 300 people organized by the National Campaign for Non-Violent Resistance, had sent a letter to President Obama last month requesting a meeting today to discuss their opposition to the war.

After a non-violent “die-in” at the White House gate, the peace activists waited for over three hours while various police departments, including the Washington, DC Metro Police, Park Police and Secret Service, gave conflicting stories about whether the activists would be arrested or not, the group’s request to meet with someone from the Administration having been summarily rebuffed by White House guards.

Suddenly, with no warning and with dozens of other police officers watching, a group of about a dozen Secret Service officers swooped in to push and drag the protesters, who included a number of retirees, away from the White House gate and outside a police perimeter that had been established in the normally public area in front of the White House.

“I wonder how the officers who brought a grandmother to tears with their completely unnecessary, harsh use of force will explain how their day went when they go home to their families at the end of their shift,” asked Kevin Martin, Executive Director of Peace Action. Martin was shoved hard in the back by two Secret Service officers, causing him to fall into National Campaign for Non-Violent Resistance Co-convener Joy First, a grandmother from Wisconsin. First was roughed up by several officers and was still in tears twenty minutes after the incident.

“Clearly, the Obama Administration, which has increased the violence in Afghanistan with its escalation of troops earlier this year, would rather have Secret Service thugs rough up peace activists than to engage in a dialogue with us about Afghanistan,” said Martin. Paul Kawika Martin (no relation), Peace Action’s Policy Director, had just returned from a citizens’ peacemaker delegation to Afghanistan organized by the peace group Code Pink. “But we will not be deterred, and the American people have turned decidedly against this war. We call on Obama to meet with us to discuss Afghanistan and apologize for the brutality of the White House police force, and to begin bringing US troops home so the people of Afghanistan can resolve their country’s problems.”

Peace Action is the country’s largest peace and disarmament group with over 100,000 members nationwide. www.peace-action.org

The National Campaign for Non-Violent Resistance has worked for peace in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002. http://www.iraqpledge.org/

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Afghanistan House Party–Takoma Park Style

I recently participated in my first Afghanistan House Party in Takoma Park, Maryland. Our group of 12 or so people screened the films Rethink Afghanistan and followed it up with a lengthy and intense debate about the films’ content, Obama and his admistration’s approach to this war, and possible mobilizations in response.
First of all, I was not surprised to see that the films’ content was largely appreciated–and unknown prior to the screening. This fact affirmed what I’ve long suspected–in the circles I run in, the people protesting and obstructing the Afghanistan War are a minority.

For the most part, people at our party seemed to tacitly approve of the Obama approach to Afghanistan: increased troops, escalation of violence, the continued replacement of local warlords in “democratic elections” and the furtherance of violence against men, women, children, civilians, “terrorists,” and anyone else who happens to live in or near a strategic point of violence near the Afghan/Pakistani border.

After the films, many expressed confusion as well as a bit of dissonance between what they felt to be true (Obama has to be better than Bush; the war has lessened the Taliban’s oppression of women; Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan-in 01 or any other time–justifies American military presence and violence in the US then and now) and what the films revealed to be a very different reality. The war has not brought significant freedoms to average Afghanis–women or otherwise. It has further undermined the development and rebuilding of a country that has been crippled by 30 years of nearly-continuous conflict–of which the US often seems to be a big partner.

Thus, a large portion of our conversation centered around issues of “soft power” vs. “hard power” or economic development (with strings, of course!) and American military engagement were pitted against one another (can you guess which President is thought to champion which?). However, there were some (myself the loudest) who argued that this is an unfair and unrealistic frame. These powers are not opposed; rather, they are symbiotic. Where one fails, the other accomplishes the goals..and vice versa. Regardless, a free, democratic, healthy Afghan or Pakistani homeland remains a dream.

Finally, we dwelled on what to do now. Given the average response to the films, I personally believe that the focus must, must, must include more educational outreach, such as these parties, film festivals, panels, and everyday conversations.

The oft-repeated myth that our country is “more liberal” than some make it out to be is hardly grounded in reality or good data. It’s a feeling repeated by people who often listen and hear from only people like them. We have no idea whether people are more or less liberal than a general consensus might argue–but we do know that too many so-called peace activities are excusing the use of drones, the indiscriminate detention and deaths of hundreds of thousands, the displacement of millions of refugees–all because it’s no longer Bush’s battle.
It’s the same game, folks. Some new players–a lot of the old still around–and we can’t afford to act like we won already. Who will come out on top is yet to be determined. But there’s nothing like good ol’ fashioned truth-telling to threaten the status quo.

A good first step is Rethinking Afghanistan. I’d encourage more to host their own parties soon.

This blog was written by Peace Action Montgomery member Nik Sushka in response to a local Takoma Park event. The opinions stated here do not necessarily reflect those of Peace Action or Peace Action Montgomery.

ACORN Versus Serious Criminals: Defund Lockheed

Check out this great article by former ACORN communications coordinator David Swanson.

This is context.

Among recipients of government money already convicted of serious misconduct, ACORN (had it been so convicted) wouldn’t make it onto the list of the top 100. In fact, ACORN could receive 100 times the funding it does and still not make it onto the list.

Read more at AfterDowningStreet.org.

Also, check out his latest book “Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union” by Seven Stories Press. You can order it and find out when tour will be in your town: http://davidswanson.org/book.

New Jersey Peace Action Director Madelyn Hoffman in OpEdNews

New Jersey Peace Action Executive Director Madelyn Hoffman just wrote a piece for OpEdNews on the war in Afghanistan. She starts:

After eight long years, the so-called “good war” in Afghanistan has become the “unpopular and high cost war”—and it isbecoming a quagmire.

General Stanley McChrystal recently requested an additional 45,000 troops for Afghanistan , on top of the 21,000 additional troops sent earlier this year. If honored, this request would bring the total number of troops stationed in Afghanistan to approximately 100,000. Even that large number would be less than what the non-public portion of the McChrystal report states as necessary to “win” the war – 500,000 troops.

Check out the rest of “The So-Called “Good War” in Afghanistan is Now “The High Cost War” by Madelyn Hoffman here.

Viva Mexico! Viva la Revolucion!

Yesterday and today, Mexico celebrates its 1810 and 1910 revolutions (so next year will be una fiesta muy grande!). While this is a big generalization to make, my sense from being in Mexico City last week is the people of Mexico take the spirit of revolution and independence much more seriously than we do here in the US, where my sense is we mostly pay lip service to those ideals.

Sure, Mexico has its share of problems, which I won’t attempt to go into here. But last Saturday night, I had the distinct pleasure and blessing of being in the Zocalo, the national square in Mexico City, among a throng of celebrating Mexicans (the Zocalo was decked out in independence regalia starting last Friday). My (US) friends and I found the experience to be very different than July 4th celebrations here. It seemed a very genuine and non-militaristic expression of patriotism for Mexico and its culture. The square was filled mostly with families, there was no drinking going on (though I surely would have appreciated sipping some tequila!), it was a very wholesome display of pride in the country and its rich cultural history. Again, I felt blessed to be there and experience a different kind of Independence Day fiesta.

Mexico City is a phenomenal place (all the hype about pollution and crime is way overblown), with beautiful people, food, music, street life, architecture and historic/cultural institutions. It was a terrific host city for the 62nd annual United Nations Non-Governmental Organizations Conference, with the theme “For Peace and Development, Disarm Now!” The conference was co-chaired by Peace Action, but I and the other staff of the national office can take no credit for that. It was the indefatigable work of the volunteers of the Peace Action International Committee, led by Judy Lerner, Joanne Robinson and others, and especially Chuck Hitchcock, the conference chair, that helped make the gathering of over 1600 participants such a rich experience. We will post more information on the conference, its outcomes and next steps soon.

Paz, Justicia y amor,

Kevin

Peace Action Organizing and Policy Director Paul Kawika Martin points to weapons confiscated by the Mexican government (this display was in the Foreign Ministry right next to our conference!)

Here it is, the Asparagus Missile!

Here is the poster for the inspired Asparagus Missile used by our sister peace group GENSUIKIN for its recent conference and other activities in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Doubt it will become the new symbol of the peace and disarmament movement, but it’s funny and may remind you to eat your vegetables, so that’s good, right?

More Photos from Nagasaki and Hiroshima

The origami peace cranes on the podium are from 4th graders in Wisconsin! (oh yeah that's me speaking at the opening of the GENSUIKIN conference at the Nagasaki Gym)

Panel discussion at the GENSUIKIN international conference in Hiroshima

Dramatic statue at the official city ceremony site in Nagasaki

UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto speaks at the Nagasaki commemoration

Children's Chorus at the Nagasaki commemoration

Peace walk to the commemoration in Nagasaki

Photo in the Hiroshima Peace Museum showing the devastation after the bombing

Peace Action Executive Director Kevin Martin (me) speaking at the GENSUIKIN opening rally at the Hiroshima Gymnasium

Peaceprints Camper Speak ‘Truth to Power’ at Buffalo City Hall

Last month, over 30 summer campers met with Mayor Byron Brown at City Hall to present a gift and engage him in a question and answer session. Buffalo Public Radio station WBFO explains:

The kids are part of Camp Peaceprints — a two week long day camp that educates local youth on issues relating to social justice, the environment and community activism. The campers…asked [the Mayor] questions on issues ranging from affordable education to housing demolition.

Elea Mihou, Executive Director of the Western New York Peace Center and Camp Peaceprints Co-Director, says:

The camp provides an opportunity for young people to be exposed to local leaders and understand the importance of “speaking truth to power.”

See footage of the meeting here: