Waging Peace
Quotations:
Peace
is not the absence of war; it is a virtue; a state of mind; a disposition
for benevolence; confidence; and justice.
- Spinoza
A time
will come when a politician who has willfully made war and promoted
international dissension will be...surer of the noose than a private
homicide.
- H. G. Wells
The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own country - Martin Luther King
Because
I do it with one small ship, I am called a terrorist. You do it with
a whole fleet and are called an emperor.
- A
pirate, from St. Augustine's "City of God"
In a world
of war, waging peace is perhaps the
noblest act. Without peace, the ideals of this country simply cannot
be met.
Our best hope is to recognize the contribution of our own foreign policy to the reasons "why they hate us." Then we can begin to reverse some pernicious trends, the "fruits" of which were apparent on 9-11.
NO ONE accepts the manner in which our attackers showed their hate. Their reasons, however, have been purposefully misrepresented by the Bush administration. The president claims that world terrorists "hate us because of our freedoms." But read the statement of a Viet Nam combat pilot, addressed to then President Clinton. Statement of Robert Bowman
Mr Bowman states: "We are the target of terrorists because, in much of the world, our government stands for dictatorship, bondage and human exploitation. We are the target of terrorists because we are hated. And we are hated because our government has done hateful things."
So we are hated because, while we operate from the unassailable mandate of our freedom, our international actions all too frequently delay or destroy freedom for many around the globe. We are not hated because of our freedoms. We are hated because we vigorously advertise our freedoms BUT prevent others from achieving the same for themselves.
This section is an introduction to the disturbing truth of our chronic and frequent intrusions into the affairs of other sovereign nations across the world. Unless we learn the difficult history we will be unable and unmotivated to prevent its repetition.
As a nation we must disentangle the terms "national defense" and "national security." The first is about secure borders the second is ever more blatantly being used to rationalize deadly adventures to secure cheap raw materials and labor. Of course, we must fight to defend ourselves but we also hope that fighting to exploit others be rejected as an accepted American value.
As the nation with the largest military (by far), and too many "resolutions" to use it, we are the world's very best chance to lead the process toward peace. US military troops are loyal, brave, obediant and skilled in their service to America. All too often, however, they are given unwise and unjustifiable missions that increase our risk rather than diminish it.
Much grief has been delivered in your name, paid by your tax dollar, probably, entirely without your knowledge.
This may be a difficult section to accept. But please try. Who else but you, really, can do anything about it?
Contact information for local peace-waging practitioners:
Albany
Peace Seekers:
Don Rea--donlizrea@peak.org
Institute
for Peace and Justice at LBCC:
Doug.Clark@linnbenton.edu
phone: 917-4557
How
Do We Respond To...
"The
United States should not have invaded Iraq, but now that we are there,
aren't we responsible to clean it up and ensure that there is
no bloodbath when we leave"
Six
arguments against the war
Ten
arguments against the war
Web sites:
Arms
Control Association
Foreign Policy
Defense and the National Interest
Interview with Chalmers Johnson
The Basic Statistics of US Imperialism
Use of US Forces Abroad 1798-1993
The Arithmetic of US Military Bases Abroad
Iraq Confidential: Ritter and Hersh
How
we would fight China
China
military strength - Pentagon report - 2006
Definition of War Crime - US Code
Intelligence, policy and the war in Iraq
Books:
Target Iran: the truth about the White House's plan for regime change in Iran
Fiasco: the American military adventure in Iraq
Devil's Game: How the United States unleashed fundamentalist Islam
In the Name of Democracy : American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond
The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced By War
Dying to Win, Logic of Suicide Terrorism
War
Made Easy
Unauthorized
Biography: George H.W. Bush
The Psychology of War : Comprehending Its Mystique and Its Madness
When
war criminals retire
America's Hitler
Time
to talk war crimes
Delusions
of global hegemony
and
part II
What has the US wrought in the Middle East?
Secret war plans and the malady of American militarism
Bush
rendition program --interview M. Scheuer
US image problem due to history not media
A history of our violence in the Middle East
Will NeoCon fanaticism destroy America
The phony war against the war's critics
Ending suicide terrorism, Ron Paul
An
Economists's case against an
interventionist foreign policy
12-11: Israel readies for strike on nuclear Iran
11-28: Chemical in Iraq sparks debate - LA Times
11-26: Amnesty Intn'l against UK torture policy
11-22: Phosphorus clouds bring war crimes
11-21: Pentagon document calls white phosphorous a chemical weapon, when used by Saddam
11-21 Can nuclear attack on Iran be prevented
11-17 Eyes on US Troops in Paraguay as Bolivian elections near
11-16 Iraq probes phosphorous weapons
11-14
The EU will investigate CIA secret prisons. Link
(GOP Senate wants only to investigate the leaks!)
11-14: Arbitrary detentions, secret prisons, torture: accusations against the United States pile up.
11-15 Pentagon confirms phosphorous use
11-15 IUK: Account of chemical weapon use
11-09 IUK: US Criticized for use of chemical weapon
11-08 WP: High Court to Hear War Powers Case
11-08 Nuclear Arms Inspectors Win Nobel Prize
9-11 WP: Pentagon Revises Nuclear Strike Plan
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Citizens for Accountability for Iraq
Project Against the Present Danger
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Devil's
Game: How the US helped
unleash fundamentalist Islam
It's what we do 1-08-06
Now are best allies can hate us too
Robert Bowman, to Clinton 1998
10-26 Only US Seeks to Justify Abuse: Human Rights Watch
7-05: Central Asian States ask US Military to Leave
6-18 US Trained and Aided Uzbek Forces
War Crimes
US Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 118, § 2441 war crimes
Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land Signed at The Hague, 18 October 1907
Geneva
Convention (I) 1949
Geneva
Convention (II) 1949
Geneva
Convention (III) 1949
Geneva
Convention (IV) 1949
Geneva
Convention Protocol I - 1977
Geneva
Convention Protocol II - 1977
Geneva
Convention Protocol III - 2005
Geneva Conventions - essential rules
