Volume 4 Number 4 Fall 2018 Donations Accepted Peace in Our Times A Veterans For Peace publication exposing the root causes and enormous costs of war

Grizzly bear just outside Gardiner, Mont., on a cool, Autumn morning. Photo: Horsefeathers Photography by Brad Orsted, The NRA and the Safari horsefeathersphotography.com Club Are Gunning for Grizzlies

By Doug Peacock

The gun lobby and big-game hunters are teaming up to get the bears off the en- Why I’m Going to Ireland to dangered species list. But that’s just a first step toward stealing public land. The NRA has become the bully who thinks he can run over anyone and domi- Try to Fix the United States By David Swanson ers) keep a couple of dozen foreign bases total. Imperialism is a As this issue was going to press, uniquely U.S. illness, although everybody suffers the damage. Chief District Judge Dana. L. The United States spends about five times what China does on Ireland is a nation legally bound to maintain neutrality but Christensen in Montana restored its military. And it spends more just on its military bases in other actively assisting in the crimes of U.S. wars. This coming Nov. Endangered Species Status to people’s countries than any country other than itself or China 11 is Armistice Day 100, and while Trump has been dissuaded the Greater Yellowstone grizzly, spends on its entire military. The United States keeps troops in from holding a weapons parade in Washington, he’s apparently saying the U.S. Fish and Wild- almost every country on earth, including in 800 to 1,000 major headed for France and Ireland. Come on, France, put the weap- life Service had exceeded its legal military bases outside the United States. The rest of the world’s ons away! Don’t welcome fascists! Come on, Ireland! You can authority in delisting the bears. nations combined (most of them U.S. allies and weapons custom- scare him off! Threaten to arrest him! “This is a tremendous victory in “We Serve Neither King Nor Kaiser, But Ireland,” it said 100 these dark days. Saving the Yel- years ago on the façade of Liberty Hall in Dublin as the Irish lowstone grizzly was at stake. I successfully refused to be drafted into a British war. “We Wel- cannot think of a better victory come Neither President Nor Imperial Buffoon” might be a good for wild nature,” said Doug Pea- new banner to promote a Trump-free Ireland. cock on hearing of the ruling. Within days of Trump’s possible visit, and of worldwide cel- ebrations of peace and the movement to abolish all war on Armi- stice Day 100, I’ll be taking part, along with people from all over nate partisan issues. And the issues are no the globe, in a conference at Liberty Hall Nov. 16–18 to discuss longer just those of the Second Amend- efforts to close down U.S. and NATO military bases. ment, though gun rights remain a primary If you’re like most people in the United States, you have a test of political loyalty. The NRA is also ac- vague awareness that the U.S. military keeps lots of troops per- tively trying to influence wildlife and wil- manently stationed on foreign bases around the world. But have derness issues, my center of interest. Last you ever wondered and really investigated to find out how many, spring the NRA with the Safari Club Inter- and where exactly, and at what cost, and to what purpose, and in national (SCI, a privileged group of mostly terms of what relationship with the host nations? wealthy hunters dedicated to killing large Some 800 bases with hundreds of thousands of troops in some and rare animals), backed a successful bill Liberty Hall in Dublin 100 years ago: ‘We Serve Neither King 70 nations, plus all kinds of other “trainers” and “non-perma- continued on page 4 … nor Kaiser, But Ireland.’ continued on page 14 … 2 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org

Letters to the Editor A Note from the Editors

If You Support Trump, that seems to have escaped his support- ers’ jaded memory. Put One in the Does the Burns/Novick Walk Your Talk Vietnam War Documentary I suggest [people that support Trump] re- Series Deserve an Emmy? Mr. Trump has: fuse to accept [their] Social Security checks, 1) Issued rhetoric that empowered stop going to the library, and don’t bother to Win Column white supremacists and racists leading to call the Volunteer Fire Department if [their A reporter once asked A.J. Muste 1976: Vietnam Veterans Against the War march in Philadelphia violent demonstrations around the coun- houses] ever catch on fire because that if he thought standing in front of To fully communicate the terrible reality and continuing legacy of the American war in Vietnam, one must have the courage to admit that the United States rained incredible violence on the Vietnamese try where people have been injured and would be supporting democratic socialism the White House with a candle people for no defensible cause, as it sought to replace France as the dominant power in Southeast Asia. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick assert at the beginning of their documentary series that the war “was begun in good faith by decent people, out of fateful misunderstandings.” Even a cursory reading of the Pentagon died as a result. and leave out the “God forbid,” since Jesus at night would change the coun- Papers disclosed by Daniel Ellsberg demonstrates the falseness of this claim of American innocence. The series pays scant attention to the millions of civilian deaths in Southeast Asia, the devastation of the 2) Signed order to allow the dumping and the Apostles were socialists! try’s policies. Muste replied, land, and the enduring impact of Agent Orange contamination and of unexploded ordnance (10% of the 7 million tons of bombs dropped never exploded), all caused mainly by the American military. of coal waste into the rivers. Steve Romine “Oh I don’t do this to change Instead, Burns and Novick in military leaders—mainly focus on the harm visited upon U.S. soldiers who were ordered to fight in Vietnam. They reinvigorate Cold War myths that the Vietnamese anti-colonial struggle was carried on as 3) Praised a foreign leader (Durterte) Woodstock, NY the country. I do this so the an extension of Soviet/Chinese Communist expansion. Instead of being honored for its accomplishments, the profound U.S. antiwar movement is belittled The Vietnam War—while justifiably critical of American Presidents and for his policy of sanctioning the extraju- country won’t change me.” as self-interested and self-indulgent, with stress on its supposed deep antagonism toward American soldiers. The documentary does not put forth an honest moral critique of the war. Instead, the views of pro-war career professionals are put forward. Daniel Ellsberg is absent, while Martin Luther King’s dicial killings of over 20,000 suspected Peaceful Ways to End Today’s campaigners opposition is sanitized by omitting his powerful words: “The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. We in the West drug dealers and users. for peace and justice must support these revolutions.” In this war-torn world, what is desperately needed and what Burns and Novick fail to convey is an War Crimes honest rendering of that war to help the American people avoid yet more catastrophic wars. The Emmy 4) Overseen psychological torture of know how Muste felt, Award is a powerful recognition of truth in art. Crowned with an Emmy, this defective history of the Vietnam era will become required viewing for generations of young Americans—a seductive, but false, 3,000 children by forcefully separating them Some people are critical of the lack of rarely seeing any in- interpretation of events. from their parents, holding them in animal international protest “as Syria, Russia and dication of success cages, and then deporting their parents with- Iran are allowed to act with impunity … in and rarer still, any sign that out their children when all they were doing their assault against Idlib.” In reality there their personal efforts made a dif- was seeking asylum fleeing violence. has been very widespread international ference. We press on, looking for ways 5) Undermined international coop- condemnation of Russia, Syria, and Iran to break through, but with Muste’s words eration on climate change claiming it is for their military actions in Syria, some of in mind. astrophic a “Chinese Hoax” as temperatures soar it justified. From an international law point But then along comes an unforeseen casualties suf- around the world breaking records, peo- of view, Russia and Iran are not in direct opening from a most unlikely place, TV’s fered by the Viet- ple are dying, and the West Coast of the breach of the U.N. charter by providing annual Emmy Awards. namese, Cambodian, and Thai people; United States and Canada is on fire. military support to U.N. member Syria, but Dave Clennon, an LA-based actor and characterized the U.S. peace movement 6) Appointed Scott Pruitt, who was in some cases breaches of international and long-time antiwar activist, anticipated as self-absorbed and anti-GI; and skipped forced to resign but not before he gutted humanitarian laws have been committed by that Ken Burns and Lynn Novick might be over the movement by active-duty GIs to the EPA, which formerly cleaned up wa- these countries when civilians were reck- awarded a “Best Documentary” nomina- thwart the war effort at every turn, as por- terways and the air and protected the pub- lessly killed in air strikes, and human rights tion for their massive, 18-hour, The Viet- trayed in David Zeiger’s powerful docu- lic from corporate polluters. abuses were committed by Syrian govern- nam War, a flawed documentary that he mentary, Sir, No Sir! 7) Appointed head of the Department of ment forces. But it must be pointed out that felt did not deserve that award. Wouldn’t Those shortcomings were surpassed Education Betsy Devos, who has no edu- the United States and its allies, including it be a good idea to create a debate over by VFP’s overarching concern, however, cational experience (sister of Eric Prince, NATO, have been in very clear breach of whether or not they should, based on the that the series never strayed far from the Blackwater CEO who fled to Saudi Ara- the U.N. Charter by carrying our military critical pieces they left out? narrator’s words in Episode One that the bia to avoid prosecution), depriving the na- attacks and supporting the attempted over- Dave’s idea was enough to get a crew war in Vietnam “was begun in good faith tion’s children of a qualified administrator. throw of the Syrian government without of VFP members already involved with by decent people, out of fateful misun- 8) Provided the worst example of a man U.N. approval. Tens of thousands of for- Vietnam Full Disclosure (vietnamfulldis- derstandings.” As VFP’s ad in Variety to the youth of this country as he faces eign and Syrian fighters associated with closure.org) and supporters to organize observed, “Even a cursory reading of lawsuits from a half-dozen women who ISIS and al Qaeda have been relocated to a project, the elements of which were a the Pentagon Papers disclosed by Dan- are charging him with sexual assault and Idlib province. They have little prospect of well-crafted ad placed in a major Holly- iel Ellsberg demonstrates the falseness of made payoffs to Playboy playmate Karen returning to their own countries, and many wood publication, as well as online arti- this claim of American innocence.” McDougal and porn star Stormy Daniels, of these fighters are both perpetrators and cles explaining the concerns and personal Did our efforts make any difference in both of whom he was having affairs with victims. It’s likely that the countries that appeals to individuals with influence. this case? We’ll probably never know for while he was married. helped train and finance them always in- Ultimately, the series did not get nom- sure. But the historical record has been 9) Damaged relationships with coun- tended to abandon them. In modern wars inated as a whole, understandable when revised and, faithful to Muste’s spirit, we tries around the world and further ruined innocent civilians, conscript soldiers and considering judges weren’t likely to view haven’t allowed the country to change our image abroad. manipulated fanatics are slaughtered while all 18 hours, but one of the 10 segments what we know is true. 10) Destabilized the world and caused the major war criminals and state terror- was chosen for best direction and best —Mike Ferner the doomsday clock to move to two min- ists go free. Similar massacres happened writing, utes before world destruction. when U.S.-supported forces captured and Whole or in part, the effect would be These are just a few of the many things destroyed Mosul in Iraq, and Raqqa in similar: crowned with television’s most Syria. Thousands of civilians were killed prestigious award, Burns’ and Novick’s with very limited outcry in Western me- work would become the definitive history dia. If humanity is to prevail and survive, of that war, woven into popular culture Correction we must find peaceful ways of preventing and the legends of U.S. history taught in In the spring issue of Peace in Our such atrocities and promoting reconcilia- schools. Times, Noriko Oyama was listed as be- tion when such war crimes are committed. The full-page ad in Variety, given opti- ing on the VFP Okinawa delegation. That Edward Horgan, mum placement by the editors, noted the was a mistake, she was not there. Apolo- Veterans For Peace, Ireland series made only brief mention of the cat- gies to all concerned.

Peace in Our Times Peace in Our Times is published quarterly by Veterans For Peace. ­Bundles of 80 are $40 or $25 for 40, and individual subscriptions are $15/year. To ­donate, subscribe, or order bundles, visit peaceinourtimes.org or send a check to ­Veterans For Peace, 1404 North Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63102. Letters, ­poems, articles, and images­ may be submitted to [email protected].­ Editorial staff: Tarak Kauff, Managing Editor; Ellen Davidson, Mike Ferner, Becky ­Luening, Ken Mayers, Doug Rawlings Website coordinator: Fred Nagel­ Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 3 Glimmers of Hope in Groundswell of Revolt Against Democratic Party Establishment The Death of the Old and Arrival of the Young By Chris Wright House leadership. Fascism is a youthful, virile creed.) Given the senescence of the If there is a silver lining in Donald Democrats, the moribund quality of their Trump’s sadistic presidency, we saw it on leadership is hardly a surprise. vivid display on June 26. The victories of On the other side, with the notable ex- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ben Jeal- ception of Bernie Sanders, is relative ous against establishment candidates con- youth. Ocasio-Cortez is 28; Jealous is 45; firm what many have been saying since Kshama Sawant in Seattle is 44; Keith El- last year, that Trump is one of the greatest lison is 54; Dana Balter, who defeated the recruiting tools the left has ever had. He DCCC-supported Juanita Perez Williams is, as it were, a personification and distil- in a race in New York, is 42; Chokwe An- lation of all the evils of neoliberal capi- tar Lumumba, left-wing mayor of Jack- talism, all the decadence, the corruption, son, Mississippi, is 35; and in general, a the awe-inspiring greed and misanthropy, tidal wave of millennials is poised to en- the savage disregard for humanity and all gulf local and state politics. National or- things living in the cause of a debased and ganizations have sprung up to help young orgiastic self-glorification whose telos is progressives run and win, and groups like the self-immolation of civilization itself. Indivisible and the Democratic Socialists Socialist Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawan Combined with the success of Bernie of America are proving effective in their Sanders’ campaign, the barbarity of the advocacy of candidates. Young women historic function of overseeing, in part- But in substance the Democrats were Trump administration is inspiring a new are running in record numbers. nership with Republicans, the shredding never committed to anything like genuine generation of leftists. However fatuous it sounds, I can’t help of the postwar social contract, the deci- populism, so their “failures” are in real- Let’s just take a moment to revel in remarking that leaders of past revolutions mation of organized labor, the global tri- ity a reflection of their priorities. By their and reflect on the victories of June 26. have tended to be quite young. Robes­ umph of the capitalist mode of produc- fruits ye shall know them. (It’s also true, In themselves they might not seem like pierre, Danton, Mirabeau, Desmoulins, tion, and the inauguration of a new Gilded though, that there is a remarkable amount much, at least in light of the enormity Saint-Just, Brissot, and their colleagues Age. That was the service rendered by of incompetence at the top of the Demo- of the crises we’re facing, but it’s clear, were between their 20s and (in one case) the likes of the Clintons, Obama, Biden, cratic Party. Hillary Clinton’s campaign, at any rate, that Nancy Pelosi is wrong: it early 40s; so were Jefferson, Madison, Pelosi, Schumer, Harry Reid, Tom Das- for instance, was stunningly incompetent.) isn’t just one or a few districts we’re talk- the two Adamses, Hancock, Hamilton, chle, the whole rotten lot of them. It was Whether the party can, even on lo- ing about, it’s a nationwide groundswell and most of the other “Founding Fathers” an almost wholly negative service, except cal or state levels, be transformed from of activism against the kind of politics she during the American Revolution. Trotsky in that—as Marx might see it—the class an agent of reaction to one of democ- symbolizes; namely, obedient service to and most Bolsheviks were not yet 40 in struggle has been brought to a screaming racy remains to be seen. The strategy of pitch of intensity and the door to radical “boring from within” has, historically, change has once again been opened. At yielded disappointment after disappoint- the nadir of the neoliberal era, with a buf- ment, from the Populists of the 1890s to foonish man-child capitalist-poster-boy countless attempts by organized labor to at the helm of the ship of state, popular push the party left. On the other hand,

… [A]s Marx might see it—the class struggle has been brought to a screaming pitch of intensity and the door to radical change has once again been opened.

movements are beginning—one hopes— one cannot simply extrapolate the future to point the way to a new political econ- from the past. History is not a science; omy. Leaders can, it seems, be elected with changed circumstances can come even without funding from the corporate changed outcomes. In all likelihood, left- Jackson, Miss., Mayor Chokwe Lumumba. sector, which makes them beholden only wing leaders will emerge in the context to their popular constituency. The worse both of third parties and of the Demo- the corporate sector. She and her elderly 1917. Such has always been the pattern, things get under Trump and afterwards, cratic Party, which in the long run will colleagues at the summit of the centrist from Thomas Müntzer in the German the more people will be radicalized, and itself become more leftist—while at the power-hierarchy are on their way out, Peasants’ War to Castro and Che Gue- the better things may get in the long run. same time full of internal conflict (much both politically and even existentially. vara in the Cuban Revolution. America, Again, it’s worth pausing at this mo- as the Labour Party of Jeremy Corbyn has The “age” factor is of interest and im- of course, is nowhere near a revolution— ment of the changing of the guard—a mo- been—and the Republican Party, for that portance. On one side there are the old in fact, some such seizure of power is ment that will, of course, last years, as we matter). representatives of business, corrupted likely hopeless in conditions of advanced wait for the old guard to die off or lose But for now, I think we’re entitled to from decades at the center of power: Pe- capitalism—but with the mass entrance elections—to consider just how abject some savoring of Joe Crowley’s defeat losi, 78; Steny Hoyer, 79; Jim Clyburn, 77; onto the political stage of a younger gen- the leadership of the Democratic Party and some cautious optimism about the Maxine Waters, 79; Diane Feinstein, 85; eration not jaded from a lifetime of disap- is. Insofar as it was ever even nominally future. God knows we could use a bit of Chuck Schumer, an impressively young pointment or brainwashed from old pro- committed to helping the poor, the work- hope, after decades of defeat. 67; Patrick Leahy, 78; Dick Durbin, 73; paganda about socialism or the virtues ing class, and minorities, it has failed Chris Wright has a PhD in U.S. history Bill Nelson, 75; Richard Blumenthal, 72. of centrism, U.S. politics may be at the abysmally. It gave us Bush and it gave us from the University of Illinois at Chicago. You get the point. The 115th Congress is beginning of a long march to the left. Or Trump, and it gave us the Bush-lite and He is the author of Notes of an Under- among the oldest in history, with an av- at least away from the center, to both the the Trump-lite administrations of Bill ground Humanist and Worker Coopera- erage age in the House of 58 years and semi-fascist right and, on a broader scale Clinton and Obama. Obama wanted to tives and Revolution: History and Possi- an average age in the Senate of 62. (The among the sane majority, the left. be a transformative figure, and in a sense bilities in the United States. His website Republican House leadership is over two The Democratic Party’s leadership for he succeeded: he transformed millions of is wrightswriting.com. decades younger than the Democratic the last generation has served its heinous hopeful idealists into disillusioned cynics.­ 4 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org Grizzlies … continued from page 1 to permit extreme killing methods of wolves and grizzlies on national wildlife refuges in Alaska, including the gun- ning down of animals from planes and slaughtering wolf pups and bear cubs in their birthing dens. At this writing, the House Committee on Natural Re- sources passed HR3668, the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act. Democrats Abroad said, SHARE “is a nightmare for human life, wildlife, and public lands. The bill is chock-full of anti- wildlife, anti-Endangered Species Act, and anti-public lands provisions that would undermine wildlife conser- vation and put imperiled species in greater danger.” Of course, the NRA got an easy-to-buy gun silencer deal stuck into this shithouse of a bill. So, it was no surprise when the NRA and Safari Club asked to intervene in a lawsuit over the fate of Yellow- stone National Park’s grizzly bear population. Their in- tent is to support Trump’s decision to remove the bears’ Two grizzly siblings who were orphaned at six months when a hunter shot their mother, shown here at three-and-a-half Endangered Species Act protections and allow trophy years old. Photo: Horsefeathers Photography by Brad Orsted, horsefeathersphotography.com. hunting of Yellowstone’s grizzlies. Five NRA and Safari Club members said, in affida- of the evidence (or lack thereof),” and found “no empiri- came directly at me, and then skidded to a stop. One sow vits submitted by their attorneys, that hunting grizzlies cal support for this proposition.” There is essentially no grizzly stopped so close (probably six feet) she appeared would help the region’s economy, allow states to better evidence that a sport hunt instills fear in grizzlies. The to lean forward and sniff my pant leg. manage the animals, and improve public safety. These proposition also defies logic and everything that we oth- During the course of all these grizzly charges, my five outfitters and big game hunters claim their interests erwise know about grizzly bears. behavior was as nonaggressive as possible: I stood my would be harmed if they could not have the opportunity The NRA and Safari Club theory that hunting—as a ground without moving a muscle or blinking an eye; I to hunt Yellowstone’s grizzlies. perceived threat—thereby installs fear in bears is coun- looked off to the side (a frontal orientation can be con- Their core argument is public safety: that hunting terintuitive. Mattson believes the reverse may be true, frontational to a grizzly). I also held my arms off to the bears will make people safer by instilling in grizzlies a that “grizzlies can become less reactive to people, not as side (to make yourself look bigger?) and talked softly to fear of humans. These groups claim that Yellowstone’s a result of heightened fear, but rather as a result of the op- the bear, hoping to present no threat whatsoever to her grizzlies have become too aggressive, and that a fear of posite. These fundamentals alone call into question the cubs. It’s worked every time—so far. people would make bears shy and more subordinate, thus logic of using hunting to increase human safety.” This spectrum of grizzly behavior hints at a deeper so- benefiting public safety. The unexamined assumption is My own 50 years of experience with Yellowstone’s cial structure than bears have previously been given credit that bears learn by being shot at. wild grizzlies supports Mattson’s position. for. All wild bears in a region appear to know each other I disagree strongly with the NRA and SCI’s contention Here is one of my earliest encounters, from the preface and where they rank in a larger social hierarchy. Wild that there is any credible evidence whatsoever that hunt- grizzlies are capable of responding to nonaggressive hu- ing makes grizzlies shy, wary of humans, and therefore man behavior in surprising ways; we need to give them less aggressive and safer around humans. It’s not just the Yellowstone a chance. The simplistic notion that hunting and shooting And there is legitimate doubt that trophy grizzly hunt- grizzlies makes the bears fear humans is flat wrong. ing around Yellowstone is, in truth, good for the econ- ecosystem and Bear’s Ears omy, or that the state management is more effective than States or Feds Better at Managing Bears? federal oversight when it comes to endangered species mesas that are imperiled, but The NRA and Safari Club’s argument that the states like the grizzly bear. of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho are better fit than the The shy bear argument, which I’ve been hearing in also the underlying philosophy feds to manage trophy animals is disingenuous. It has Montana bars for 50 years, is good-old-boy folklore. I and concepts that made these nothing to do with wildlife management competency, do not believe trophy hunting—especially the guided and everything to do with their larger political agenda. type characteristic of Safari Club hunting—makes one places possible in the first place. The first objective of these two trophy-hunting groups an “expert” on grizzly bears. My own encounters with is to kill grizzlies, and the states—especially Wyo- wild bears have made me believe that, in fact, the oppo- ming—will help them achieve this goal in record time. site is true: The key to safely dealing with wild grizzlies of Grizzly Years: (In my own state, the Montana Department of Fish, is behaving nonaggressively. “The big bear stopped 30 feet in front of me. I slowly Wildlife, and Parks has decided to put off a trophy griz- worked my hand into my bag and gradually pulled out the zly hunt for 2018.) Does Hunting Make Bears Fear Humans? Magnum. I peered down the gun barrel into the dull red If delisting survives its legal challenges and a hunting Grizzly bear biologist David Mattson, who worked eyes of the huge grizzly. He gnashed his jaws and lowered season is opened, illegal killing of grizzlies will become for two decades with the federal Yellowstone Grizzly his ears. The hair on his hump stood up. We stared at each much easier (with or without a license) and will loom as Bear Study Team, recently wrote an article in the Griz- other for what might have been seconds but felt like hours. the primary threat to Yellowstone’s entire bear ­population. zly Times saying he had undertaken a “thorough review I knew once again that I was not going to pull the trigger. Then there is the issue of public lands. The NRA and the My shooting days were over. I lowered the pistol. The gi- Safari Club have not bothered to intervene in this regional ant bear flicked his ears and looked off to the side. I took hunting squabble because they believe the local state game a step backward and turned my head towards the trees. I departments of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho will better felt something pass between us. The grizzly slowly turned manage the region’s critters than would a federal agency. away from me with grace and dignity and swung into the These national groups have become involved with timber at the end of the meadow. I caught myself breathing the fate of grizzlies in order to serve a broader agenda: heavily again, the flush of blood hot on my face. I felt my converting public land to private ownership. To put it life had been touched by enormous power and mystery.” bluntly, stealing the land that belongs to all of us and That was the last time I carried a firearm into grizzly delivering it to the private sector for financial exploita- country. I found you didn’t need them. I believe to this tion. They would auction off the vast wild lands of the day that a gun will get you into more trouble than it will Bureau of Land Management, national forests, and wild- get you out of in bear habitat. life refuges, and open national monuments and even the More than a dozen different sow grizzlies have ag- national parks to resource extraction. gressively charged me. (None completed her charge; no All public lands are threatened by this so-called “states wild bear has ever touched me.) A few mother grizzlies rights” movement. It’s not just the Yellowstone ecosys- started the charge, then quickly veered off and ran away tem and Bear’s Ears mesas that are imperiled, but also Doug Peacock. without breaking stride. More often, charging bears continued on page 18 … Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 5

Starting with a 1905 invasion of the Dominican Re- public and scores of times since then, soldiers, spies and Immigration Stories Miss Context mercenaries have repeatedly intervened in nearly every country south of the Rio Grande. Sometimes they stayed, setting up puppet governments overseen by multi-year of Imperialism and Pillage occupation armies. On other occasions, Washington backed mercenaries and paramilitary forces who over- By Jane Regan family? Healthcare is pricey everywhere. Education is threw democratically elected leaders. often not free. Shelter and food are expensive. What are the long-term effects of policies and acts that I teach journalism. So, of course, I follow journalism In 2015, the Food and Agriculture Organization was are nothing short of imperialism? Many would argue that closely. pleased to announce that only 5.5 percent of the popu- they are at least partly responsible for massive poverty: On the immigration issue, many news outlets have lation in Latin American and the Caribbean was “un- About one-quarter of the region’s population lives below been doing a great job covering the rallies and marches, dernourished.” Sounds like a low number, right? Wrong. the poverty line, set at $5.50 per day, according to the the “baby jails” and rulings and (few) family reunifica- At the time, 5.5 percent equaled 34 million men, women World Bank. tions. and children definitely not “free from want.” What kind of “security of the person” is possible with But they lack context. Readers and viewers need to be reminded of that hun- these kinds of numbers? And why doesn’t it matter if In the classroom, I emphasize that every news story— ger, and—more important—of the historical and politi- one has a “credible fear” of the “harm” resulting from even a little one about a city sidewalk repair—must pro- cal contexts at least partly responsible for it. malnutrition? From lack of jobs and opportunities? From vide context. Countries of this hemisphere have borders mostly es- criminal gangs? Recent news stories certainly provide some context tablished by invading armies and settlers from Europe. With all the talk of Supreme Court candidate Brett Ka- and numbers. And many tell harrowing and important There were no walls to keep the Spanish, Portuguese, vanaugh’s “originalism,” I was reminded of one last bit specific stories, but they mostly don’t get into the struc- French, and English out. The indigenous people living of context: the “original” writings and philosophy that tural causes, the deep history. I worry that readers and in this hemisphere in the 15th and 16th centuries had no predate the Constitution and helped inspire the U.S.’s viewers are not getting the whole story. say on their “immigration crisis.” The entire hemisphere founding ideas and ideals.­ What about specific references to international law, was converted into colonies where local populations and Thank you, Enlightenment philosophers and your clar- like to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) imported African slaves were tortured, killed and/or ex- ion calls for freedom of speech, of religion, of thought. and its promise (in Article 14) that all people have “the ploited for centuries. One freedom many of them discussed was freedom of right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from In the 19th century, as European powers’ hold on the movement, an idea that dates back to ancient Greek and persecution”? It was ratified by the United States, and is hemisphere weakened, and even before some countries Roman scholars, according to University of New Wales thus “the supreme law of the land,” according to Article achieved independence, another kind of invasion took Professor Jane McAdams (Melbourne Journal of Inter- VI of the U.S. Constitution. place, this one from the north. national Law, 2011). She notes that philosophers like I’d argue that every single news story should remind U.S. businesses found ample opportunities to scoop pre-Enlightenment thinker Hugo Grotius (1583–1645),

Anti-ICE vigil on the bridge in Damariscotta, Maine, June 30. Photos: Ellen Davidson. that it is not illegal to cross a border and seek asylum. up land, launch industries and run banks. They were en- whose work contributed to international jurisprudence, In order to obtain political asylum here, a person must couraged by the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, the ­Spanish/ carried the idea forward when he wrote in 1625 of the have a “well-founded fear of persecution or harm on ac- American War of 1898 and the 1903 Platt Amendment, right of a person to temporarily sojourn in a foreign count of his or her race, religion, nationality, member- which noted without any irony that the United States country “for the sake of health, or for any other good ship in a particular social group, or political opinion,” could invade Cuba for, among other purposes, “the pres- reason; for this also finds place among the advantages according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Ser- ervation of Cuban independence.” which involve no detriment.” vices website. Writing some 50 years ago in The Open Veins of Latin John Locke (1632–1704), Jean-Jacques Rousseau Historically, every year U.S. courts have determined America, Eduardo Galeano noted that even though the (1712–1778), and others also thought freedom of move- that tens of thousands of people turning up at the U.S. colonial era had officially ended, “our region still works ment was one of the “natural rights,” according to Mc- border have that kind of well-founded fear—over 23,000 as a menial … at the service of others’ needs, as a source Adams. in 2014 and over 26,000 in 2015, according to the Mi- and reserve of oil and iron, of copper and meat, of fruit Writing in 1774, Thomas Jefferson agreed, noting that gration Policy Institute. That might sound like a lot of and coffee, the raw materials and foods destined for rich everyone had “a right, which nature has given to all people, but those numbers are tiny, given the U.N. High countries.” men, of departing from the country in which chance, not Commission on Refugees says the planet is witnessing Later in the book, he wrote: “Hasn’t our experience choice, has placed them, of going in quest of new habita- “the highest levels of displacement on record,” with 24.5 throughout history been one of mutilation and disinte- tions, and of there establishing new societies, under such million refugees and 3.1 million asylum-seekers. Com- gration disguised as development? Centuries ago the laws and regulations as, to them, shall seem most likely pared to countries like Turkey and Uganda, who are conquest cleared out lands to plant crops for export and to promote public happiness.” hosting 3.5 and 1.4 million refugees respectively, the annihilated the indigenous populations in the mines to In today’s world, with its borders and customs agents United States is doing little. satisfy the demand abroad for silver and gold.” and walls and razor wire, freedom of movement has be- But what about another promise of the UNDHR, Ar- That has not changed much since the book appeared. come detached from the rest of the liberal philosophy ticle 3, that all people in member nations have “the right In 2016, the World Bank reported that four of the top that underpinned our revolutionary generation. Why not to life, liberty and security of person”? What if someone five exports from the region were raw materials, and the give those who were born—as Jefferson put it—into a has a “well-founded fear” of “harm” due to lack of se- fifth was automobiles—U.S., European, or Asian vehi- country which “chance, not choice, has placed them” the curity? cles assembled south of the border. Top trading partners? opportunity to go “in quest of new habitations”? Perhaps The U.N. Development Program defines human se- The United States, followed by China. No wonder Ga- resurrecting freedom of movement as a “natural right” curity as “freedom from fear and freedom from want.” leano subtitled his classic, “Five Centuries of the Pillage would at least partly make up for the centuries of pillage What if your spouse beats you? What if gangs and thugs of a Continent.” and invasion. harass your little shop and demand tribute payments? What happened when U.S. companies’ “pillage” was Jane Regan is associate professor of the practice at the What if there are no jobs that will support you and your threatened? The Marines would show up. College of Communication at Boston University. 6 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org

sands of dollars of restitution. But even Plowshares actions have recently resulted in activist victories in other countries. Civil Disobedience or After doing 2 million pounds damage to a U.S. warplane refueling at Shannon Airport in Ireland in 2003, five activists Civil Resistance? were acquitted by the jury in 2006 after arguing that Ireland is a neutral country and U.S. troops and military cargo bound for Iraq should not be hosted there and paid for with Irish funds. Three New Zealand (Aoteoroa) activ- ists were acquitted in March 2010, after an April 2008, action destroying the vinyl dome cover of a radio transmitter dish at the Waihopai Echelon spy base, where mes- sages are intercepted and transmitted to the U.S. National Security Agency to facilitate U.S. military activity in Iraq. The activists argued they had a “claim of right,” simi- lar to the necessity defense in the United States, to expose the spying and challenge Police drag veterans away Aoteoroa’s connection to the Iraq War. A Distinction from the White House fence In June 2010 five British activists were during civil resistance in acquitted of doing 180,000 pounds of December 2010. damage in January 2009 (during Israel’s That Matters Photo: Ellen Davidson. Operation Cast Lead attack on Gaza) to an EDO MBM weapons factory in Brigh- By Ellen Barfield responsibly pointing out and objecting to to save lives when they acted, as their ton, England. The plans was manufactur- law-breaking by their government. attorneys argued they had the right to do. ing items to be sold to the Israeli military The theory and practice of nonvio- Classic civil “disobedience” includes The jury acquitted all of them, and noted in and used on Palestinians. The activists lent direct action, disrupting the system accepting draconian jail sentences and discussion afterward that they had learned argued that the corporation was misusing enough to risk arrest, to challenge war filling the jails. a lot about the wars and appreciated the export licenses to ship arms illegally, and and warmaking, are living and evolving. “Resistance” is understood to include activists challenging the state. they used a “lawful excuse” defense of Some frequent arrest-riskers have experi- legally challenging the government’s be- Even when protesters are convicted, their actions, comparable to the U.S. ne- enced a growing frustration with the in- havior and urging juries and judges to sentencing can show sympathy with their cessity defense. accuracy of the still widely used wording uphold the citizen right and responsibil- cause, as in a 2007 case where activists While occasional courtroom exonera- “civil disobedience,” and are using the ity to protest government wrongdoing protesting the Iraq war occupied Colo- tion for activists is satisfying, and “getting term “civil resistance” instead. off” can encourage others to act, the war “Disobedience” means breaking a spe- machine mostly rolls on, perhaps slowed cific law which is or embodies the prob- slightly by the activist grit in the cogs, but lem, such as African-Americans breaking While occasional courtroom exoneration … is not much. An exciting recent develop- racist Jim Crow municipal ordinances by ment though, shows exactly what activ- sitting in at lunch counters legally prohib- satisfying, and “getting off” can encourage others ists are working for. The actions damag- ited from serving them, or Indians pro- to act, the war machine mostly rolls on. ing U.S. warplanes at Shannon Airport cessing their own salt from sea water or to dramatize that neutral Ireland should spinning thread and weaving khadi cloth not be hosting soldiers and facilitating instead of buying them as legally required by acquitting accused resisters. Juries rado Rep. Joseph Salazar’s office after re- transport of war materiel, and the acquit- from the occupying British. While chal- are much more likely than judges to be peatedly trying to get a meeting with him. tal of the activists, seem to have helped lenging oppressive laws when possible is convinced by these arguments, so when After the activists readily admitted on the the brand-new Irish government decide to perfectly valid, the complex web of laws planning actions, it’s important to create witness stand they stayed past the closing uphold the 1907 Hague Convention that and policies governments use to prepare situations in which the charges are seri- time of the office, but argued they were allows neutral countries to prevent the use and perpetrate war do not lend them- ous enough to entitle defendants to a jury trying to save lives, the jury convicted the of their territory for warmaking, as Swit- selves to direct breaking. trial. This help activists to establish legal protesters of trespass, but the judge sus- zerland has for years. Peace and antiwar activists contend that precedent that resistance actions are legal. pended $50 fines and court costs. Ellen Barfield served in the army from what governments and corporations do to Below are a series of legal cases consid- More serious actions involving destruc- 19xx to 19xx. A longtime peace and jus- prepare and perpetrate war is illegal, and ered “resistance” and which were found tion of weapons, called Plowshares actions tice activist, she is a former vice presi- they consider their own actions of civil legally justified. after the Biblical injunction to beat swords dent of Veterans For Peace and a member “resistance” to the governments or cor- Law professor John Alan Cohan, in his into plowshares, seldom see acquittal and of the Steering Committee of War Resist- porations as obeying higher laws, be they 2007 law review article “Civil Disobedi- can result in years of jail time and thou- ers League. international treaties and human rights ence and the Necessity Defense,” details agreements or national constitutions or a series of legal cases, many of which re- religious tenets or all of those. Civil re- sulted in acquittal for the activists who sistance activists uphold the Nuremberg argued necessity or Nuremberg defenses. principles that citizens have responsibil- During the 1980s, U.S. support for oppres- ities to resist illegal government crimes sive regimes in Latin America and South of aggression, act out of the necessity to Africa and wrongdoing by the CIA gen- technically break a minor trespass or mu- erated blockades of weapons plants and nicipal order rule to prevent a much more military bases and sit-ins at congressional serious tragedy or crime, or obey such offices, many of which resulted in juries religious admonitions as “Love one an- acquitting the activists based on their ne- other” and “Thou shalt not kill.” cessity and Nuremberg arguments. The issue is more than just a semantic A 2008 Maine case involving the quibble for several reasons. Prosecutors occupation of Sen. Susan Collins’ office have argued in court that, if the protest- to protest the Iraq and Afghanistan wars ers were doing civil “disobedience,” then saw six of the 13 protesters go to trial and they already admitted they broke the law, discuss their “state of mind” opposing Crystal Zevon is arrested at the Senate Hart Building for speaking out about indefinite while civil “resisters” contend they are the government’s warmaking and trying detention of prisoners in Guantanamo. Photo: Ellen Davidson. Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 7

By Kathie Ragsdale asked to review and comment on a draft Did U.S. Companies Give report being prepared for Congress and A retired New Hampshire Superior other government agencies by the Special Court judge is a witness in a federal anti­ Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruc- terrorist case that has the potential to Money, Medical Equipment, tion (SIGIR). Brennan says SIGIR was es- change the way corporations do business tablished by Congress in 2004 to oversee in U.S. war zones. and Free Drugs to Corrupt the $52 billion-reconstruction program in “The issues of U.S. corporate influ- Iraq and provide information on the work ence and government secrecy versus in- Iraqi Ministry of Health ? independent of intelligence coming from dividual U.S. citizens’ sacrifice and loss the executive branch. are powerful and heartbreaking,” Ar- A lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, The draft described the commitment of thur Brennan of Weare says of the case, D.C., last October claims that anti-American Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to ­Atchley v. AstraZeneca. militias that killed or wounded multiple U.S. addressing corruption and cited the estab- Brennan, who served as a Superior lishment of an Iraqi entity, the Joint Anti- Court judge for 15 years before his 2007 soldiers or civilians in Iraq were partly funded by Corruption Committee, as evidence of retirement, is involved in the case because five Western pharmaceutical firms steps being taken to address corruption. of the job he took after stepping down “To say the least, SIGIR’s positive from the bench: director of the U.S. Em- draft report on Maliki and the Joint Anti-­ bassy’s anti-corruption office in Baghdad. Corruption Committee was grossly mis- Filed in federal court in Washington, leading,” Brennan says. “The OAT team D.C., in October of last year, the suit knew that the Maliki government was claims that anti-American militias that corrupt and resisting anticorruption law killed or wounded multiple U.S. soldiers enforcement. or civilians in Iraq were partly funded by “In fact, the leader of the much-vaunted five Western pharmaceutical companies Joint Anti-Corruption Committee was through kickbacks the companies paid to one of the most corrupt and dangerous of- do business in that country. ficials in the government of Iraq, Dr. Adel The firms—AstraZeneca, General Muhsin, inspector general and de facto Elec­tric, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and minister of health. Roche—denied the charges in a motion to “Dr. Adel was close to Prime Minister dismiss filed in February. Maliki and a member of the terrorist in- The defendants argue that the plaintiffs’ surgent Mahdi Army. Dr. Adel was deter- arguments are tantamount to accusing the mined to stop inv estigations of U.S. government of engaging in terror- corruption within the Iraqi ministries.” ism against U.S. forces in Iraq through its Brennan’s team reviewed the draft and funding of the Iraqi Ministry of Health. wrote a response “urging SIGIR to cor- The companies further claim that the rect its mistaken and misleading draft re- suit seeks “to impose liability not on ter- port,” he says. rorists and their knowing supporters, but Within 24 hours, the U.S. ambassador’s on companies that answered the U.S. gov- deputy chief of mission recalled, with- ernment’s call to help with the recon- drew and rewrote the OAT memo with its struction of the Iraqi health care system,” objections, Brennan says, and he was told their motion states. further memos would have to be vetted by The plaintiffs have filed responses and the ambassador. the court will likely schedule a hearing Months later, in testimony before Con- date on the motion within weeks, accord- Retired New Hampshire Superior Court Judge Art Brennan. Photo: Ellen Davidson. gress, Brennan and his chief of staff, ing to Brennan. James Mattil, introduced the contrasting If the case proceeds, “There will be a thousands of hours working on the mat- Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), pop- memos “to illustrate the habitual misin- discovery process that’s going to be com- ter and that, for many of the survivors of ularly known as “the 911 Bill.” formation the Department of State was plicated and voluminous,” he adds. these attacks and the families of those In September 2016, Congress overrode feeding Congress through SIGIR about Brennan had a long history of military killed, much of what the investigation un- President Obama’s veto of the measure, Prime Minister Maliki and the depth of and international service before his post- covered came as a shock. which gives American victims of interna- corruption in Iraq,” he says. ing to Iraq in 2007—he served as a platoon “The defendants are among the biggest tional terrorism the right to seek compen- “I don’t know what motivates the State leader and paratrooper/jumpmaster with the pharmaceutical corporations in the world sation for their injuries and damages from Department to commit the crime of de- U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division start- and they are accused of knowingly aiding those who aided and abetted the terrorists ceit against the American people,” adds ing in 1969, and then spent 20 years in the and abetting terrorists from the Mahdi that caused them. Brennan, who is now active in Veterans U.S. Army Reserve. He later worked with Army and Hezbollah who killed and Its immediate effect was to allow con- For Peace. “That’s what I felt was going the International Human Rights Law Group wounded the plaintiffs by pouring mil- tinuation of a civil lawsuit brought by on in the State Department in Iraq. When in Cambodia. But the former judge was lions and millions of dollars through the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks the State Department is sitting on infor- shocked at what he says he saw when he ar- corrupt Iraq Ministry of Health to the ter- against Saudi Arabia for its government’s mation that could save hundreds of U.S. rived in Baghdad: widespread corruption rorists for training, weapons and attacks alleged role in the attacks (Obama op- lives and thousands from being wounded that was ignored by the very Americans on Americans, as well as innocent Iraqi posed it because he thought it could dam- and tens of thousands of Iraqis from being who were there to help stabilize the country. people,” Brennan says. age the U.S. relationship with the Saudis). killed, there’s something wrong.” The lawsuit alleges that the pharmaceu- Meanwhile, U.S. military personnel Brennan believes its passage also pro- Meanwhile, Brennan contends, the tical companies proffered money, medical knew of the corruption but did nothing, vided momentum for the filing of the Iraqi Ministry of Health had become “a equipment and free drugs to the corrupt says Brennan, who later testified before Atchley v. AstraZeneca suit. Some of his funding pipeline for the insurgents and Iraqi Ministry of Health in exchange for Congress about his observations. own reports, authored while in Baghdad, terrorists of the Mahdi Army and Hez- large contracts with the ministry. It fur- “I had been on the bench 15 years,” are evidence in the case. bollah (which) kidnapped, tortured, and ther charges that the ministry was con- he says. “I had seen a lot of people lie to His official title was director of the U.S. murdered thousands of Sunni Iraqis.” trolled by terrorists who used the kick- the court and that’s what I was seeing in Embassy’s newly established Office of Ac- “Our OAT anti-corruption team knew backs for attacks on Americans. Baghdad. countability and Transparency (OAT), that medical supplies and pharmaceuticals “The lives of the families of those killed “I don’t know what makes people which helped Iraqi government watchdog intended for the Iraqi people were show- and injured have been forever changed, change in an organization, but people can agencies get a handle on widespread cor- ing up in the black markets of Iraq and sur- and the results have been devastating,” lose their way in terms of being honest ruption. His team was to advise the Iraqi rounding countries,” he adds. said Ryan Sparacino, a partner at Spara- and forthright.” equivalents of the FBI, Government Ac- “We believed the profits from this cor- cino & Andreson, in a press release about The lawsuit is being brought under a counting Office and U.S. Inspector General, ruption were supporting insurgents and the lawsuit. controversial amendment to the U.S. Anti- as well as the Iraqi prime minister’s office. terrorists who were killing and wounding The release said the two law firms spent Terrorism Act called the Justice Against In mid-July of 2007, his office was continued on page 8 … 8 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org The Fallacy of Calling McCain or Anyone Else a War Hero By Daniel Borgström “Ask a GI!” implying that people who’d been in the military believed in the war Obit scribblers are calling John McCain and would speak in support of it. Well, a war “hero.” Well, I have to concede that you probably know the rest of that story. unlike so many warmongering chicken- I often think of the characters in the hawks such as Karl Rove, Paul Wolfow- Iliad and the Odyssey, wondering how itz, Robert Kagan, and most other neo- those guys could be considered heroes. cons, McCain did actually serve in the Socrates apparently thought they were; military. But the same could be said for He held Achilles up as an inspiring ex- nearly all top Nazis, including Hitler and ample of a man who stood by his prin- Goering; they fought in a war and they ciples.That strikes me as really strange. loved war. They were destructive persons In my view, Achilles was the archetypal who learned nothing positive from their spoiled brat who just wanted to have his military experience. own way. Then there was Odysseus, a no- Of course, few of the pundits and politi- torious liar, who got tangled up in his own cians who are eulogizing McCain would lies, and that’s basically what brought wish to include Nazis in their hall of about the loss of his ships and the deaths fame, nor would most of them care to des- of his crews on the way back to Ithaca. ignate most neocons as anything less than The leader of it all was King Agamem- patriots. So what is it that might qualify non, a rather poor general, also a poor someone as a hero, or as a war criminal? father who sacrificed his own daughter, Having been in the military, I sometimes and on returning to his home at the end of think about that. These are some thoughts the war he was killed by his wife, which that come to mind. is about what he deserved. Those “he- Heroism is sort of like morality: It’s usu- roes” were made of rather poor stuff, and ally defined by the powers that be. And a lot a couple of their gods, Zeus and Athena, of it has to do with being in the right place both of them deceitful schemers, weren’t at the right time. An example of that would too great either. The only person in the be the five Marines in the famous photo of Iliad who comes off as genuinely heroic the flag-raising on Iwo Jima. What made My friend Van Dale Todd was in Viet- War criminals? Van never spoke of is Hector. It’s interesting that Homer, pre- them more heroic than the many thou- nam and came back with medals. He himself as being a “war criminal,” but sumably a Greek himself, would present sands of other GIs who fought on that and didn’t seem to consider himself a “hero.” he’d been trained to enjoy killing “the their enemy’s champion and other Trojans other islands in the Pacific, you might ask. What he emphasized was that he’d been enemy,” and I think it bothered him im- as being about the only decent persons in And the answer is: time and place, plus a through an experience. “You don’t know mensely that he had enjoyed it. That, I the whole story. photographer to take their picture. So they what it’s like to see your buddies die!” he think, was a major factor in his suicide. Achilles, Odysseus, Agamemnon, and were in a dramatic photo, and that was at a often said, and then one night he killed Certainly not the only factor. He took part all the rest of them—those were the men time when the government needed heroes himself in front of me. That was in San in antiwar actions, and it shocked him to who fought the Trojan War, the elite offi- to sell war bonds. Francisco, in 1972. In his diary he’d writ- find nobody representing the power struc- cer class, that is. Homer called them he- Military discipline is such that soldiers ten, “How could killing humans have ture (news reporters or judges) would roes and sang their praises, but tongue tend to do as told, even under fire. It’s a been fun? Can God forgive me?” hear what he had to say. Of course, the in cheek, while carefully letting us know military axiom that soldiers fear their ser- Many Vietnam veterans suffered from corporate media make a big show of hon- who those guys really were. geants more then they fear the enemy’s PTSD. Many died before their time, some oring military personnel and veterans, ­ Daniel Borgstrom joined the U.S. Ma- bullets, and I think there’s a huge amount shortly after coming home, others years but only as long as we go along with the rine Corps (1959–1963), naively believing of truth in that. Even though a sergeant or even decades later, in their 30s or even bullshit, buy into their narrative, and re- he was helping to defend our freedoms. may not be particularly fearsome, there’s in their 50s, not necessarily from physical gurgitate propaganda. During the Viet- Today he’s an antiwar activist and also a huge power structure behind him. Indi- injuries, but often from invisible damage nam War, media pundits used to tell us a fan of film noir. He can be reached at: vidual soldiers become part of the mili- they’d incurred during the war. I never met that the United States was there to defend [email protected]. His website tary machine. any who considered themselves “­heroes.” democracy, and to back it up they’d say, is danielborgstrom.blogspot.com.

got from the senators for our ‘courage,’ nothing hap- ple than any of us made in Iraq.” pened beyond James and me being blacklisted by the In July of 2017, attorneys from two Washington, D.C., Iraqi Corruption State Department,” Brennan says. “Nothing happened law firms—Sparacino & Anderson, PLLC, and Kel- … continued from page 7 for nearly 10 years, that is.” logg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, PLLC—contacted not only U.S. soldiers and civilians but thousands and Brennan also undertook another action when he re- Brennan and met with him about his experiences in Iraq. thousands of innocent Iraqis. turned to the United States—one that Mattil calls “Art’s Three months later, they filed the Atchley v. AstraZeneca “In 2007, between 850 and 900 U.S. soldiers were greatest contribution.” complaint.­ killed in Iraq and thousands more were wounded. That He worked tirelessly to get asylum in this country for If the plaintiffs prevail, Brennan says, it would be a year, more than 22,000 Iraqi civilians were killed and several Iraqis who had worked with the Americans in way of “bringing some justice to American families af- about 4 million civilians were displaced.” Iraq, were at risk of being killed in their own country fected by the loss of family members in war when U.S. Brennan’s OAT team drafted an 80-page report on and were not being allowed refuge in the United States, corporations are recklessly assisting terrorists and kill- corruption in all of the Iraqi ministries—one that soon Mattil explained. ing and wounding. became Exhibit A in a fight between congressional over- Among them was Judge Radhi al Radhi, director of “I identify with that 19-year-old kid who thinks he’s sight committees and then-Secretary of State Condo- the Iraqi equivalent of the FBI, known as the Commis- helping his country when the people out to kill him are leezza Rice. Rice classified the report “to satisfy the Ma- sion for Public Integrity. being financed by pharmaceutical companies,” he adds. liki government,” Brennan says. Rahdi had been imprisoned and tortured under the re- “A few of us decided to speak up for ‘our kids out there The report is also potential evidence in the Atchley v. gime of Saddam Hussein and had also testified before dying in the sand.’ Perhaps the legal battle entitled Atch- AstraZeneca lawsuit. In 2007 and 2008, Brennan and Congress on the situation in Iraq. He and his family were ley v. AstraZeneca will tell us whether we did the right Mattil also defied State Department policy not to testify nevertheless not being accepted into the United States thing. We’ll see.” about corruption in Iraq and accepted a request by the until Brennan intervened. Reprinted with permission from the New Hamp- U.S. House and Senate Iraq Oversight Committees to “Art stepped up and led the effort to get legal assistance shire Bar Association. Originally printed in the New testify. They described massive corruption in the Iraqi for those Iraqis and was personally supporting them fi- Hampshire Bar News on August 15, 2018, nhbar.org/­ ­ ministries and named Dr. Muhsin as a corrupt and dan- nancially and getting support from others,” says Mattil, publications. gerous official. who adds the group was finally given asylum here. Kathie Ragsdale is a freelance writer based in Ches- “Despite our testimony, and the personal thanks we “He made a bigger difference in the lives of those peo- ter, N.H., and a frequent contributor to Bar News. Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 9 Liberation Is Collective Following are remarks given Aug. 25 at Veterans For Peace’s annual convention in St. Paul, Minn., by Alice Kurima Newberry, a 24-year old Okinawan-American and the youngest member of a recent Veterans For Peace delegation to Okinawa. I first want to thank and honor those whose land we are on, including the Santee, Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Oji Cree, and Algonquin people. Indigenous people have lived and will continue to live in spaces that we call home. My name is Alice Kurima Newberry. I am the secre- tary for the DC Veterans For Peace chapter, a member of the Veterans For Peace ROCK chapter, I work for Green- peace, I am 24 years old and I am indigenous and proud. I want to start off by telling you that it is a very special time right now in Okinawa. We are having to critically organize and stand in solidarity with Okinawa as Toma- san mentioned. But I wanted to highlight that today is a very special day, it is the third day of Obon. Obon is a time where our ancestors come back to visit us. Every year, we guide our ancestors back to our world. For three Alice Kurima Newberry and Toma Shisei of the Veterans For Peace Okinawan Chapter at the days we celebrate with our ancestors and tonight, we will VFP convention Aug. 25. Photo: Ellen Davidson. be saying farewell to them as they head back. And I want to send them back with a promise. I want to We didn’t survive to be traumatized by America’s bases we own [on foreign soil]. promise them that there are freedom fighters and veter- never-ending wars and the need for it. I am the future of the antiwar movement and it is di- ans who will fight to keep Okinawa the sanctuary that it I am demanding your allyship. verse, intersectional, and led by black, brown, indige- once was and the sanctuary it can be. I want you to make We are in a time where we cannot cherry pick which nous, Muslim, Palestinian, trans, non-binary, and mar- that promise with me while they are still here with us. issues of war are most convenient for us. ginalized communities. My ancestors are survivors of a war that was forced We must recognize that our liberation is collective. I You will not be free until I am. You will not be free un- upon them. Today, many Okinawans suffer generational will not be free until my black brothers and sisters are til Okinawa is free. I need you to invest in my future and and historical trauma from U.S. militarism, your mili- free from Nazi violence and police brutality. I will not the future of those not yet born. tary. They cannot escape the memory of war because it is be free until we abolish prisons and man camps. I will Will you make a promise to the ancestors with me not a memory; it is alive today and everywhere. not be free until we shut down ICE and the 800 military right now?

those injustices have nothing to do with ‘No Liberation Without us. They want us to believe that the pre- cious lives of our soldiers are being spent for the protection of our freedoms. I spent a year witnessing the bravery Addressing Militarism’ and the beauty of the Afghan people, men Brittany Ramos DeBarros, a national of violence on the planet.” and women, fathers and mothers, risking organizer in the Poor People’s Cam- Below is a speech DeBarros gave June their lives to overcome oppressive organi- paign: A National Call for Moral Revival, 23 in Washington, D.C., in front of thou- zations that we funded and enabled. I can- is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve as- sands at the national rally organized by Brittany Ramos DeBarros. not forget their faces. This is a racial jus- signed to the Psychological Operations the Poor People’s Campaign.­ tice issue. This is a gender justice issue. Command. I’m a woman, I’m white, I’m Latina, as our drones have obliterated weddings, This is an economic justice issue. She has drawn on her own experience I’m Black, I’m queer, and I’m a combat funerals, religious ceremonies, ordinary We begrudge the poor the pennies we in the military to highlight state terrorism veteran. As a person existing at the inter- homes, and ordinary people. give them to eat and survive but cheer for inflicted by the Armed Forces around the section of these identities, I carry a grave It is no mistake that we are waging war the nearly $600 billion annually we spend world as well as the high poverty and sui- conviction in my core that there can be in at least seven countries and all of them on defense. The military-industrial com- cide rates of soldiers and veterans. plex is literally corporate greed weapon- When DeBarros went on active duty in ized. The U.S. government is the largest July, she scheduled a post on Twitter each weapons dealer on the planet and the larg- day in protest, with the hashtag #Drop- For decades we have been lulled into complacency est user of those weapons. TheMIC. MIC refers to the military in- From the militarized equipment in which dustrial complex, and the hashtag is used and inattention as our drones have obliterated our police forces and federal agencies are by About Face: Veterans Against the War, weddings, funerals, religious ceremonies, clad to the large percentage of current and an organization DeBarros is part of. former soldiers conditioned for war and Army Times ran a story alleging an ordinary homes, and ordinary people. It is no then hired to occupy our streets to keep investigation into her conduct. Business peace, is it any wonder that our neighbor- Insider followed up on July 23 with the mistake that we are waging war in at least seven hoods are treated like combat zones and headline, “An Army officer is publicly countries and all of them are mostly impoverished, our neighbors like enemy combatants? protesting the U.S. government’s ‘war From the toxic masculinity that objec- machine’—and it’s gotten the Army’s Black, brown, and Muslim countries. tifies our bodies as nothing more than ­attention.” weapons or toys to the nationalism that DeBarros has received hundreds of tears us away from the true patriotism comments of support on social media no economic, racial, or gender liberation are mostly impoverished, Black, brown, that is demanding that America live up to from fellow combat veterans and others without addressing the militarism that is and Muslim countries. The same systems the dream that it has always been. who agree with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther strangling the empathy and morality out that shame and dehumanize us based on These wars are immoral. Profiting off King’s assessment that the U.S. govern- of our society. For decades we have been our skin color or documentation status or of killing is immoral. It is time to stand ment has become “the largest purveyor lulled into complacency and inattention bank account here want us to believe that up, and we won’t be silent anymore! 10 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org

someone else from being harmed. We are not “together as a people” when, in most cases, the perpetrators of police mur- der are allowed to escape serious conse- quences for their actions. The United States has a serious prob- lem with police violence, and if you’re not outraged by it, you haven’t been paying attention. The act of taking a knee is in- tended to focus people’s attention on that problem until it has been addressed. Only a committed racist or someone com- pletely lacking in empathy could read the accounts of what happened to Tamir Rice, Laquan McDonald, Eric Garner, John Crawford III, and countless others and not be angered. The problem of police violence is at once permeated by racism and also transcends it, as (typically poor) white Americans are also victimized by it (something I have personal knowledge of as a civil rights lawyer in southern Il- linois), yet black Americans are victim- ized roughly three times as frequently, and Native Americans are evidently be- ing shot and killed at an even higher rate. This is not only a terrible injustice in and of itself; it is also a psychological assault, inflicting mental and emotional trauma upon people of color. Police kill- 2017: Black Cheerleaders at Southern Illinois University take a knee. ings in the United States provide another instance of “American exceptionalism,” and not in a good way: Our police kill people at a far higher rate than in other Why I Choose to Take a industrialized countries, killing more in a matter of days than the police of other na- tions kill in years. Of course, police violence directed es- Stand — By Taking a Knee pecially against people of color is but one By Rich Whitney this great nation, is utterly disrespectful.” to Mr. Boyer, there are plenty of veterans component of a fundamentally unjust, Sad to say, our local so-called “repre- who support the national-anthem pro- class-based and racist criminal justice The national controversy over those sentative” in Congress, Mike Bost (12th tests, most notably, the thoughtful veter- system badly in need of overhaul. There who choose to protest racial injustice Congressional District, Illinois) weighed ans of Veterans For Peace. are solutions, from sensible proposals to in America by placing one knee on the in with similar sentiments by conduct- Third, this claim equates love of one’s create elected Civilian Police Account- ground during the playing of “The Star- ing an unscientific “poll” in his taxpayer- country with love of the military, as if ability Councils with real authority to Spangled Banner” doesn’t seem to be go- supported e-newsletter, before spouting the national anthem is meant to honor oversee police operations to an even more ing away. The NFL announced a policy off that he “agrees” with those who “be- the military, not the nation — or that the thorough transition to civilian-led polic- last May that any players who protest the lieve that it is disrespectful to the nation two are inseparable. Granted, this nation ing. However, such policy solutions will anthem while on the field will be subject and the flag to take a knee — rather than is probably the most militarized in his- not be enacted unless and until there is to discipline from the league. Here in stand — during the playing of the Na- tory, long steeped in war, and the lyrics a public groundswell demanding their Carbondale, Ill., where I reside, Southern tional Anthem.” of “The Star-Spangled Banner” certainly adoption. Taking a knee during the play- Illinois University — or, as I like to call Added Bost: “I believe Americans owe reflect this. Nonetheless, it is the national ing of the national anthem is one small but it, Self-Impaling University — impaled a debt of gratitude to our nation’s bravest anthem, not the Pentagon’s anthem, and important symbolic step toward building itself once again by announcing a policy individuals — those who have served and the ritual of playing it is intended to show the kind of solidarity needed to create that forbidding student athletes, cheerlead- risked their lives in defense of freedom respect for the country, not the military groundswell. We must build the kind of ers and spirit members from engaging in and liberty. As a Marine and the father and U.S. wars. This is one more instance movement that cannot be ignored. “displays of activism” while in uniform. of a Marine, I believe we must remember of self-appointed dogmatic “patriots” Finally, there is at least one more flaw Thankfully, after a public outcry, the uni- the sacrifices of our veterans who have glorifying all things military and simply in the claim that taking a knee during versity quickly reversed itself. bravely served our nation, as well as show presuming that to be patriotic means to the playing of the national anthem disre- Last year, when three black cheerlead- respect to service members currently support every act of war by the United spects those who “risked their lives in de- ers at SIU bravely took a knee before an serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.” States — and that every such act must be fense of freedom and liberty”: The latter SIU football game, they were subjected There are several things wrong with just, because the United States is commit- claim is simply not true. to a sickening barrage of racist vitriol, this claim that protesting during the play- ting it. Let’s be very clear here. No doubt, including death threats, sexual assault ing of the national anthem is disrespectful Fourth, how is it possibly dishonor- many of those who chose to serve in our threats, and being called the N-word. to the nation or to its veterans. ing the country or the military to make armed forces did so because they hon- What galls me especially is when self- First of all, the idea of taking a knee a symbolic statement to the effect that estly believed that they were signing up to appointed guardians of “patriotism” en- as a form of protest against unjust police “I would like to make my country a bet- protect our nation and its freedoms, and courage such hatred by proclaiming that killings of people of color in the United ter place to live, by calling for an end to I respect those who did so with that sin- taking a knee during the playing of the States came from U.S. Army veteran Nate the senseless unjustified killing of black cere belief. But the fact is that those who national anthem is disrespecting the na- Boyer, who convinced Colin Kaepernick people by police?” Yes, I understand the “risked their lives” — in Vietnam, Cam- tion and disrespecting American veter- to express his concerns over that injustice purpose of the ritual — we are supposed bodia, Grenada, Lebanon, Panama, Iraq, ans. Here’s a typical example: “Standing in that manner, because it was respectful. to come together as a people, despite our Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, Syria, and for the national anthem is to show respect Second, it is this claim, not the protests differences, and show our national unity. all the other nations illegally attacked by for our nation, and to honor those who themselves, that disrespects and frankly But that is a fiction. We are not “together the United States since World War II— have fought for our country. Freedom insults veterans, because the people mak- as a people” when we allow some of our did not do so “in defense of freedom and isn’t free; to not stand up for those who ing it presume that they are somehow en- people to be gunned down by agents of liberty,” because not a single one of those have served in the military to allow ev- titled to speak for all veterans, and that all the government in circumstances where nations ever threatened our freedom and ery American to have the opportunities of veterans hold the same beliefs. In addition it was not absolutely necessary to protect continued on page 22 … Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 11 Positive Actions Bring Great Harmony The second volume of Letters to The Wall is now avail- able through lulu.com (go to the “Shop” link and then type in “Letters to the Wall” and “Veterans For Peace”). The volume features 127 letters that were delivered to The Wall the past two Memorial Days, as well as photos of the deliveries. The letters were written by namvets, their loved ones, men and women who have resisted the war, and many others. An excerpt from one of this year’s Letters to The Wall is printed below. It was written by Le Ly Hayslip, author of the memoir, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, and the woman featured in Oliver Stone’s film, Heaven and Earth. Dear men and women who sacrificed your lives on our motherland named Vietnam, Colin Kaepernick Nike ad. Photo: Nike. I would like to share with you a little more about our motherland Vietnam where you made the ultimate sac- rifice. I understand it may be too late, but I want you to know of her. Because you were young when you were On Colin Kaepernick’s Nike Ad: there, you may or may not know much of her and her beauty! “Mẹ Việt Nam” as we call her (mother Vietnam) is a unique, ancient, and beautiful land. It is so easy to Will the Revolution Be Branded? fall in love with her and her children in her warm para- dise on earth! Colin Kaepernick is now the face of Nike, which raises questions We are very proud and praiseful of our motherland for we should not be afraid to ask. her intimate beauty. She brings us honor and courage, she gives us strength and tenacity so we are willing and By Dave Zirin believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this ready to face and endure anything that comes our way. generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help Therefore, we respect her with gratitude. Unfortunately, Ready to join the resistance? move the world forward.” The idea that Nike executives the land is too abundant and too strategically located for In mid-September, shock waves went through the sports would position themselves as messengers of Kaepernick’s others to ignore, so she has been invaded and occupied and marketing worlds when news broke that the quarter- righteous years-long struggle is, to put it mildly, galling. many times. Throughout all the death and devastation back blackballed by the NFL for kneeling during the an- In Nike’s antiseptic, hollow corporate-speak, Kaeper- caused by these incursions, the Vietnamese have main- them to protest police violence, Colin Kaepernick, would nick is simply “moving the world forward.” There is no tained their spirit and love of their motherland. be the face of the 30th anniversary of Nike’s “Just Do It” mention here of police violence or racism. And it would When many of you as Americans came and tried so ad campaign. The ad is an unairbrushed black-and-white be stupid to expect it. This is Nike. Asking them to be a hard to occupy her, some of you fell in love with her while close-up of Kaepernick’s face with the slogan “Believe in voice for social justice is like asking a dog to meow. others came to hate her name, but that is part of human something. Even if it means sacrificing ­everything. “ All of that being said, this is a case more complicated life on Earth! The ancient Vietnamese always referred to Immediately, this sent social media into paroxysms of than just calling out Nike for commodifying dissent. Kae- life as “âm” and “dương,” complementary opposites of confusion. Liberals and left-wing commentators found pernick has spent the past two years being showered with each other like man and woman, light and darkness, hard themselves largely praising the brave decision by the hatred and death threats, vilified on social media and from and soft, love and hate, war and peace, etc. That dualism global sneaker behemoth, promising to buy some Nike the presidential bully pulpit. In the last year, he has given in those symbolic characters exists in each of us. Positive products to show support for the move. Others on the away over a million dollars of his own money. He has been actions will bring great harmony and spirit to the land no left stopped short of singing Nike’s praises but saw it as unable to earn a living during the prime years of his ca- matter where you are coming from or where you are go- a victory for Kaepernick: He stood by his principles and reer. It is a great thing that he is actually going to earn an ing or where you are laid to rest. now has a sweet shoe deal to show for it, which for many, income and receive funding for his activist works. This year being the 50th anniversary (1968–2018) of further legitimizes his decision to protest. It is satisfying that after two years in the political wil- the Tet offensive of 1968, many groups and individuals, On the right, there were calls for demonstrations derness, he is getting an outpouring of support from myself included, have traveled from around the world to against the sneaker company. #BoycottNike trended on those defending an ad with a message that reinforces the Vietnam to remember and honor the Vietnamese dead. Twitter. Scenes of people burning their sneakers or cut- power of political sacrifice. Nike is the official sponsor There were ceremonies at the massacre sites in Son My ting the swooshes off of their clothes also went viral. of the NFL, so this ad campaign is a thumb in the eye of village in Quang This is a head-spinning set of circumstances. Nike every owner who has colluded against him. Imagine the Ngai province, has for decades been a target of protests by student ac- first time this ad plays during the commercial break of where the My tivists, with organizations like United Students Against an NFL game. Jerry Jones’ head might explode clean off Lai massacre of Sweatshops on the front lines, for notoriously poor labor his body. So, good for Colin Kaepernick. March 16, 1968 practices. Earlier this year, the company was accused of But global, multibillion-dollar corporations that run an occurred in cen- fostering a sexist work environment with chronic harass- ­archipelago of sweatshops don’t underwrite rebellions. They tral Vietnam and ment. The opening line of a New York Times exposé was, co-opt and quash them. If anyone can navigate this snakepit, where the mem- “For too many women, life inside Nike had turned toxic.” it is Colin Kaepernick, but it won’t be easy. The revolution ory lingers of Then there is Nike co-founder and chairman emeri- will not be branded. We should be honest about that. The one of the dark- tus Phil Knight, who gave $500,000 in 2017 to Oregon message of standing up to police violence and racial ineq- est chapters of the ­Republican gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler. uity shouldn’t end up in a swoosh-laden graveyard. That’s war. While I was When it comes to marketing, for three decades—from the risk that comes with this sponsorship. But if anyone has there I listened to Spike Lee’s famous Air Jordan ads and John McEnroe’s earned the right to take that risk, it’s Colin Kaepernick. the voices from “Rebel With a Cause” campaign to its current campaigns Dave Zirin, The Nation’s sports editor, is the author of the graves of the featuring LeBron James and Serena Williams—Nike has eight books on the politics of sports, most recently, Bra- fallen soldiers and used the image of rebellion to sell its gear, while stripping zil’s Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, The Olym- war victims from that rebellion of all its content. As Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s pics, and the Fight for Democracy. He also hosts The Na- all over the coun- vice president of brand for North America, told ESPN, “We tion’s Edge of Sports podcast. try Mẹ Việt Nam. 12 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org USS Liberty Survivor Joe Meadors Witnesses Israeli Violence Again By Ann Wright

On June 8, 1967, U.S. Navy Signalman Joe Meadors was standing watch on the USS Liberty off the coast of Gaza. In an aerial and sea attack on the ship that lasted 90 minutes, the Israeli military killed 34 U.S. sailors and wounded 174. Signalman Meadors watched the Israeli military almost sink the ship, including Israeli forces machine-gunning lifeboats. Fifty-one years later, on July 29, 2018, U.S. military veteran Joe Meadors witnessed another brutal Israeli military action, the violent takeover of the unarmed ci- vilian ship Al Awda in international waters, 40 miles off Gaza. Al Awda was part of the four-boat 2018 Gaza Freedom Flotilla that began its voyage in mid-May from Scandinavia, and 75 days later arrived off the coast of Gaza. Al Awda arrived on July 29 followed by Freedom on Aug. 3. The two other boats of the flotilla, the Files- tine and Mairead Maguire, were unable to complete the can only be restarted manually in the engine room in the voyage due to damage incurred during a storm off Sicily cabin level below. Arne the engineer refused to restart and maintenance problems. the engine, so the Israelis brought Herman down and hit Meadors said that on July 29, the Israeli Occupation him in front of Arne making it clear that they will con- Forces (IOF) appeared when the boat was 49 nautical tinue to hit Herman if Arne would not start the engine. miles off Gaza. He commented that there were six large Arne is 70 years old, and when he saw Herman’s face patrol craft and four zodiac boats with storm troopers went ash color, he gave in and started the engine manu- onboard. Meadors said one group of crew and passen- ally. Gerd broke into tears when she was narrating this gers protected the pilot house. The IOF commandos beat part of the story. The Israelis then took charge of the boat the captain of the boat, hitting him and knocking his and drove it to Ashdod. head against the sides of the ship and threatening him “Once the boat was on course, the Israeli soldiers with execution if he did not restart the engine of the ship. brought Herman to the medical desk. I looked at Her- Four crew members and delegates were tasered by IOF man and saw that he was in great pain, silent but con- forces. One crew member was repeatedly tasered on the scious, breathing spontaneously but shallow breathing. head and neck and a delegate was also tasered repeat- The Israeli Army doctor was trying to persuade Herman edly. Both were in serious medical condition after re- to take some medicine for pain. Herman was refusing the peated tasering and were only semi-conscious during the medicine. The Israeli doctor explained to me that what he seven-hour trip to the port of Ashdod in Israel. was offering Herman was not army medicine but his per- Renowned orthopedic surgeon from the United King- sonal medicine. He gave me the medicine from his hand dom, Dr. Swee Ang, who is about 4 feet, 8 inches and so that I could check it. It was a small brown glass bottle weighs about 80 pounds was hit on the head and body and I figured that it was some kind of liquid morphine and ended up with two broken ribs. Dr. Swee wrote: preparation probably the equivalent of oromorph or fen- An estimated $4000 in cash and numerous credit cards “After a while the boat engine started. I was told later tanyl. I asked Herman to take it and the doctor asked him were stolen. Delegates have cancelled their credit cards by Gerd who was able to hear Captain Herman tell the to take 12 drops after which Herman was carried off and upon their return home and will be monitoring whether story to the Norwegian Consul in prison that the Israelis slumped on a mattress at the back of the deck. He was there are charges from July 29 onward, as happened in 2010 wanted Herman to start the engine, and threatened to kill watched over by people around him and fell asleep. From when Israeli soldiers reportedly used credit cards of passen- him if he would not do so. But what they did not under- my station I saw he was breathing better.” gers from the six ships of the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla. stand was that with this boat, once the engine stopped it ‘Most Moral’ ‘Freedom’ Stopped An Indigenous leader from Canada, Larry Commo- Israeli commandos stopped Freedom, the second ship dore, was thrown to the deck and injured his foot when in the 2018 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, 40 miles off Gaza he requested to have his passport back as the passen- on Aug. 3. Twelve delegates and crew from five coun- gers were being taken from the boat. He told The Real tries were taken to Givon prison. It’s not clear whether News Network that a few hours after his return to Givon the Freedom delegates were also abused. The Gaza Free- prison, he developed bladder problems resulting from dom Flotilla Coalition continues to demand that the State his injuries and had to be re-hospitalized as he could not of Israel send to the Gazan people the $15,000 worth of pass urine. Prison guards did not believe he was injured medical supplies, primarily gauze and sutures, in 116 and forced him to drink more water, which resulted in boxes onboard Al Awda and Freedom. a worsened bladder. Commodore had to wait 10 hours Twelve national campaigns organized the 2018 Gaza for a doctor to come to the prison before being taken to Freedom Flotilla to bring bring not only much-needed the hospital for a catheter. He said he passed out several aid, but also attention to the illegal Israeli blockade and times during the procedure. repeated attacks on Gaza. Several delegates were not given their prescribed daily As Dr. Swee wrote on 21st Century Wire: medicines. “In the week we were sailing to Gaza, they had shot Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu describes dead seven Palestinians and wounded more than 90 with the Israeli military as the most “moral” military in the live bullets in Gaza. They had further shut down fuel world. Crew and delegates on Al Awda found that the Is- and food to Gaza. Two million Palestinians in Gaza live raeli commandos and military administrative staff and without clean water, with only 2–4 hours of electricity, prison staff did not act morally. in homes destroyed by Israeli bombs, in a prison block- Six delegates said that cash, credit cards, clothing, and aded by land, air, and sea for 12 years. personal items were taken from them and never returned. “The hospitals of Gaza since March 30 had treated Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 13 Palestinian Knesset Member Blasts New Israeli State Law in New York Synagogue By Robert Herbst

In her first address in an American synagogue since becoming a member of the Israeli Knesset, Aida Touma- Sliman ripped into the new Jewish Nation State Law, which she said normalized discrimination and Jewish supremacy, and finally dispensed with equality as a nor- mative value of Israel. Handling a few hostile questions with aplomb, this in- spiring Palestinian feminist, journalist, and politician then you would have paid a very high price as Jews, be- won plaudits from the audience at Temple Israel of New cause what happened to you as Jewish people should put Rochelle on Sunday evening, even as she told them that you in a situation of more tolerance and more sympathy the passage of this Basic Law was “the first moment of and understanding for the suffering of other people, es- the Israeli Apartheid regime.” pecially when they are suffering under occupation.” Born into a Christian Arab family in Nazareth, with When asked about her own future in the Knesset, Touma- a degree in psychology and Arabic literature from the Sliman said that she and other Arabs may not be members University of Haifa, Touma-Sliman was a founder of the for long, citing the Suspension Law which permits a mem- Arab feminist group Women Against Violence, working ber to be suspended if a majority of MKs vote to do so. with battered women. Upon her election to the Knesset “While the Supreme Court has put limits on the law, that in 2015, she was the first female Arab MK appointed to court is changing, with three settlers with ultra-rightwing chair a Knesset committee, the Committee on the Status backgrounds” having been newly appointed to serve on the of Women and Gender Equality. Supreme Court. She was referring to May 2018 decision She has two daughters, one of whom, she said Aug. 19, unanimously upholding a July 2016 amendment to the Ba- married a Dutchman. Her grandchildren, born in Israel, sic Law on the Knesset, allowing 90 lawmakers to remove are automatic citizens of the Netherlands, but not citizens a sitting member of the Knesset if they believe his or her in Israel, where they were born and their mother was born. actions incite racism or reflect support for armed struggle “I meet a lot of Jews back home who say we need a Jew- against the state or for a terror organization, but cautioning ish State as an insurance policy, in case something goes that “the expulsion authority” cannot be used “except in wrong,” she said. “But why should I pay the price of your the most extreme of exceptional circumstances.” insurance policy?” Israel, she said, takes on responsibil- Touma-Sliman was then asked about her views about ity for Jewish citizens of other states and neglects its own the two-state solution. Since she was the first female non-Jewish citizens and residents. In the last 70 years, member of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citi- 700 Jewish settlements were built; 0 for Arabs. “We can’t zens of Israel, which in 2006 published a manifesto called buy houses in many of these settlements.” Under Article “The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel,” 7 of this new Basic Law, she said, development of Jewish which called for Israel to change from a Jewish state that settlements is a national value. “It is like saying, in the privileges its Jewish majority into a state of all its citizens, United States, that white development is a national value. it was surprising to hear her say that she now believes Equality is no longer the value of the state.” that, while the two-state solution is “fading out,” it is still There is no mention, she noted, of “democracy” or preferable to the likely one-state solution that would con- more than 9,071 wounded persons, 4,348 shot by ma- “democratic” in the Basic Law, which “put an end to tinue to privilege Jews and discriminate against and op- chine guns from a hundred Israeli snipers while they balance” between “Jewish” and “Democratic” in the de- press Palestinians. Yes, she said, the ideal would be a one- were mounting peaceful demonstrations inside the bor- scription “Jewish and Democratic State” that Jewish Is- state solution that offers complete democracy, but the bad ders of Gaza on their own land. Most of the gunshot raelis often proudly ascribe to themselves. blood that afflicts the two peoples suggests that “the one- wounds were to the lower limbs and with depleted treat- Early in the question period that followed her talk, Touma- state solution will not be our dream,” as it will not provide ment facilities the limbs will suffer amputation. In this Sliman was confronted by a man who described himself “the right of self-determination that we believe in.” period more than 165 Palestinians had been shot dead by as an American Jew whose family members went to the Touma-Sliman has a lot to say, and leaves her listen- the same snipers, including medics and journalists, chil- concentration camps. He asked why Palestinians “feel they ers with a lot to think about. We need more Palestinian dren and women. have a right to gain something from the Israelis every time voices like hers speaking to more Jewish congregations, “The chronic military blockade of Gaza has depleted they lose a war?” Don’t the spoils belong to the victors? here and around the world. the hospitals of all surgical and medical supplies. This Her answer: “If you mean, by Palestinians losing the Robert Herbst is a civil rights lawyer. He was chap- massive attack on an unarmed Freedom Flotilla bringing wars, that nations or peoples who lose wars do not de- ter coordinator for Westchester Jewish Voice for Peace friends and some medical relief is an attempt to crush all serve to struggle and demand to live as human beings, from 2014 to 2017. hope for Gaza.” Ann Wright served 29 years in the U.S. Army/Army Reserves and retired as a colonel. She was also a U.S. diplomat and was in U.S. Embassies in Nicaragua, Gre- nada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. She resigned from the government in March 2003 in opposition to the lies the Bush administration was stating as the rationale for the invasion, occupation, and destruction of Iraq. She is the co-author of Dissent: Voices of Conscience. Clockwise from top: USS Liberty attack survivor Joe Meador, the Al Awda at dock in Caglian,0 Italy, with eyes painted by Italian artist Jorit Agoch; Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament Aida Touma-Sliman addressing the Veterans For Peace convention in August; Freedom at anchor off Capri; Freedom at dock. Boat photos courtesy of Freedom Flotilla Coalition. 14 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org ‘Today, I’m Just Going to Cry’ Syria Attack By Kristin Foss the United States did nothing. Palestinians need to reconcile. I don’t even know what remember her still, with respect and dig- that means. They say that dialogue is the in the Works? RAMALLAH, Occupied West Bank— nity, gratefulness and immense sadness. only way, and the Palestinians have to Former British ambassador to Syria I woke up feeling sad today. I’m just so The Israelis make fun of her. Most Ameri- reconcile. There is no dialogue here, it’s and Bahran Peter Ford is warning that the sad. I’m crying now, I started crying in cans don’t even know her name. all pretend. There is only violence, op- United States, the U.K., and France may be the supermarket, I cried a little when a I’ve been reading comments that peo- pression, murder, land theft, and politi- planning to create pretext to invade Syria. farmer refused my money for grapes. ple have left in the comment sections of cians keeping up the façade that there is Ford, who works on refugee issues at the I think that today, I’m just going to cry. interviews with me, some say “third time dialogue, while the press helps keep this United Nations and co-chairs the British Maybe I need it. lucky,” or “if she is there knowing the risks game of pretend going. The Palestinians Syrian Society, recently wrote a piece en- Yesterday, I was called by a friend to ask it’s her own fault, she deserved it,” etc. must reconcile … I think they mean that titled “Is a Syrian Suez approaching?” if ISM [the International Solidarity Move- Then I think of what these same people Palestinians must forgive and forget, get Ford recalls the Suez crisis: “The plan ment] could spare some people to come to say about my Palestinian friends: that they on their knees and hand over the keys was for France, soon joined by the U.K., to a place I can’t even remember the name of are an invented people, there was never a they have left. I asked the representative invade Egypt on the pretext of safeguard- now. There are too many places, too much place called Palestine. If a nurse gets killed for Norway what they meant with recon- ing the Suez Canal, in hopes of precipi- need for assistance. I wrote about it earlier tending to the wounded, she is Hamas. ciliation—she did not know. tating the overthrow of President Gamal though. Ras Karkar, the village is called. If a school or hospital gets bombed, then But there is another side. On this side Abdel Nasser. The Tripartite Aggression, I remember now. The Israelis are go- Hamas was storing weapons there. If a there are the Palestinians, the people of as the Arabs call it, was duly triggered on ing to build yet another illegal settlement child is murdered, his parents are using this land, and some of us, international 29 October 1956, when Israel invaded.” there. Their village is already surrounded him for sympathy. It’s inexplicably inhu- and Israeli activists who stand with them He warns that a similar plan may be by three: in the north, in the south, in the mane. I have never witnessed anything in solidarity. All we have is truth, dignity unfolding in Syria: “September 2018 is and humanity. We have this, but no power, likely to witness another tripartite ag- unless everyone gets involved. Now, af- gression based on pretexts and plotting, ter getting shot twice, they talk about me, this time involving the U.S. alongside the This is not a history lesson, this is today and only because I’m a European woman— U.K. and France. The victim now is Syria. this can be stopped, before it becomes another and thank god I videoed it. There are so “The three governments in April staged many, just so many who would speak bet- a rehearsal for the upcoming performance, shameful period of human history. ter than me, Palestinians, whose fate is in- responding with bombing raids to the al- comparable to what happened to me. I’m leged use of chemical weapons in Douma. a bit ashamed, but I will try to use it. If While Plan A for the raids involved heavy east—and now the Caterpillar machines like this, people denouncing a whole peo- they all got the attention I got, would peo- attacks on presidential offices and armed and the soldiers have arrived to block the ple. It is so unspeakably evil. How does it ple care then? I would like to think so. forces command and control centers, Pres- west; to build yet another illegal settle- feel for Palestinians to read this; to read I still believe in humanity. I don’t be- ident Donald Trump was reportedly talked ment, trapping the villagers. It’s illegal ac- that they don’t even exist? To be faced with lieve there is any left in Israeli politics, down from this by Secretary of Defense cording to international law of course. But, this evil? When all they did was to be born but there is enough in Palestine to make James Mattis, concerned by the prospect what is international law? It doesn’t apply on their own land, and all they do is try to up for their lack, when Palestine is free. of possible clashes with Russia and risks to in Palestine. The Israelis know it; they’ve live under an inhumane occupation. But where is the global humanity, where U.S. forces stationed in Syria. … never had to comply. The United States has The thing is that the people who make are all those who say that we must never “It is not necessary to rehash the moun- made sure of it, and the rest has accepted it. these comments are the ones with the forget? Don’t ever forget, but don’t ignore tain of evidence pointing to the probabil- The man who alerted me is my age; he power. They are on the current winning what is happening now, because this too ity that Douma was fabricated. Suffice has a professional job, a nice car. But he side. Obama, Trump, Theresa May, Macron, will have a horrible end if people do not to say that [Organization for the Prohibi- spends his free time alerting people, trav- Trudeau, Erna Solberg … these are the peo- react. This is not a history lesson, this is tion of Chemical Weapons] inspectors, in elling to places where he is needed and ple that are on Israel’s side, and pour money today and this can be stopped, before it their interim report presented on 6 July, getting beaten up by 20-year-olds with and support into its government. They have becomes another shameful period of hu- stated that they had found no evidence machine guns. He does not get to go home the power, they have the money, they have man history. Palestine can still be free. that chemical weapons such as nerve and have a nice dinner with his wife or the media and they have the politicians. This cannot go on, it cannot! agents had been used, and that the evi- play with his kids. I guess he could. But My own government doesn’t even care Kristin Foss is an ISM volunteer who dence for the use of chlorine as a weapon then, will his kids even have a country that five Norwegians were brutally beaten was shot twice in one week with rubber- was inconclusive. … when they grow up? up, threatened with murder and arrested coated steel bullets by Israeli soldiers in “Were there any doubt that skulduggery A man who is sending me live videos is after being illegally boarded in interna- Kafr Qaddum. The first time she had her was afoot, it was removed by media reports, my dad’s age. I’ve been watching the videos, tional waters, or that I’ve been shot twice. hands raised, along with another female based on Russian statements and briefings, videos of normal people, new friends I have I think they find us a nuisance. They ISM volunteer from Iceland, and the sec- of the White Helmets being on maneuver not even met yet, although I recognize a few. blame us for being here; that we should ond time she was standing up against the in the vicinity of Jisr al-Shughur, and the Normal people, being brutally pushed over not be here, that it’s the Palestinians who wall of a shop. transfer to a nearby village of canisters of by young soldiers from God knows where, chlorine, under the direction of English- but from this land they are not. speaking special forces or contractors. I’ve watched videos of men trying to “Simultaneously, reports appeared of push heavy machines with their arms. I can the U.S. bolstering its naval presence in feel the desperation. I want to be there. But the Gulf and land forces in Iraq on the today it’s only me here and I can’t go alone. borders with Syria. Russia has moved I guess I could, but I don’t dare today. I more of its naval forces into Syrian ter- need a time-out. Maybe my fear is stronger ritorial waters in response to the warning than my solidarity. I don’t want to die. of imminent action, say reports. Rachel Corrie died. She was in ISM too. “How could anybody … believe a con- I don’t think she could have imagined that spiracy theory like this, and from such they would actually do it. That they would tainted sources? Was it for a moment run her over with a bulldozer, as she was believable that the British or the Ameri- visible to all, standing in front of it, but they cans could be so duplicitous as to create did. They killed her with a bulldozer. Her for themselves a pretext to bomb a weak solidarity was stronger than her fear. The country in the Middle East? No need to Israelis got away with it. They got away go back as far as Suez to answer that; a with it, and they call her Saint Pancake. quick recap of events in Iraq (weapons of She was 23, and they ran her over with a mass destruction again) and Libya (base- bulldozer for trying to stop a house from lessly alleged imminent massacres in being demolished. She was American, and Kristin Foss. Benghazi) would suffice.” Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 15 Shame on You, America By Gideon Levy

Now it’s out in the open: America has declared war on the Palestinians. With his son-in-law Jared Kushner, an expert on humanitarian organizations and Palestin- ian refugees, the great bully Donald Trump decided to end aid to the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees. The official explanation: The business model and fiscal practices of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency made it an “irredeemably flawed operation.” Trump and his son-in-law, the keepers of the seal of good government, found that the agency isn’t properly run. The annual U.S. contribution of $360 million will end. Even in Israel, which rejoices at every Palestinian calamity and is positive that everything is a zero-sum game, people think the state’s greatest friend of all time went a little overboard. The new America treats small slights and major crimes equally. Allocations to U.S. aid organizations operating in the territories, such as the U.S. Agency for Interna- tional Development, have been cut by $200 million. Washington decided to hit the Palestinians in the wal- let. Of all the huge sums going to aid corrupt regimes, of all the trillions spent on pointless wars and mass kill- ing, it’s the aid to the Jabalya refugee camp that’s mis- A woman walks past a Jeremy Corbyn mural in Camden, London, on June 1, 2017. Photo: AP/Frank Augstein. managed and has to stop. The Palestinians, blackmailing sons of blackmailers, no longer deserve it because of the business model. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad; the price of the joke will be paid from Chatila to Rafah. Anti-Semitism Charges Against In the next decade, the United States is set to pour $38 billion into Israel, among the most developed countries on the planet with one of the best-equipped armies in the UK’s Corbyn Are Diversion from world—which of course follows the right business model. This year, America will spend $46 billion in Afghani- stan, on a war it can’t get enough of. It will pour $13 bil- Israeli Occupation of Palestine lion into Iraq, long after one of the most foolish wars ever ended. By Miko Peled emony at a cemetery in Tunis in 2014 is deserving of Wars? The one in Afghanistan cost America $753 bil- condemnation, because—according to Netanyahu—ter- lion, the one in Iraq $770 billion, according to the Pen- LIVERPOOL, UK—Despite increasingly vicious at- rorists are buried there. tagon. Two unnecessary wars that caused the needless tacks and spurious accusations of anti-Semitism, UK Corbyn did not remain silent. He struck back, remind- deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, but the money Labour Party head Jeremy Corbyn, true to himself and ing Netanyahu that what is deserving of condemnation is spent on them conformed with a proper business model. his principles, has stayed above the mud-slinging and Israeli forces’ killing of hundreds of protesters in Gaza The same for the wars in Syria and Yemen. continued to fight for the principles to which he has dedi- and the passing of the new, racist Israel Nation State Law. Only the U.N. relief agency for the Palestinians is im- cated his entire life. He focuses on issues like social jus- Netanyahu—along with what may well be the loudest properly run. The leader of the free world, the greatest tice; caring for the many rather than the few, the millions Zionist mouthpiece in Britain, The Daily Mail—claims warmonger since World War II, cuts flour for Yarmouk not the millionaires; and, as Corbyn himself said in his that Corbyn was present at a ceremony and even laid a and cooking oil for Bureij, because the Palestinians over- speech at last year’s convention, “end[ing] the oppres- wreath on the graves of terrorists connected with the estimate refugee numbers. sion of the Palestinian people.” 1972 attack on the Israeli athletes during the Munich Behind all this, of course, is a much broader truth. Zionist groups within the Labour Party, which include Olympic games. UNRWA could hire Eliad Shraga, head of the Move- Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) and the Zionist Jewish La- The truth of the matter is that the event in which Cor- ment for Quality Government in Israel, and comply with bour Movement (JLM), skillfully utilize the pro-Zionist byn participated had nothing to do with the Munich at- Scandinavian management standards, but nothing would media. They are trying—and failing—to paint Jeremy tack. In 2014 Jeremy Corbyn attended a service at a cem- make a difference. Israel long ago declared war on the Corbyn as an anti-Semite. However, the problem is not etery in Tunis commemorating the victims of the 1985 agency, America followed it as usual, all with the aim of anti-Semitism but Corbyn’s stance on Palestine. These Israeli airstrike on the Palestinian Liberation Organ- removing the refugee issue from the agenda. Zionist groups want to get rid of Corbyn because of his isation (PLO) offices in Tunis. This Israeli attack was a Anyone familiar with the conditions in the refugee principled stance on Palestine, Israeli colonialism and breach of international law, violated the sovereignty of camps knows just how dependent their inhabitants are on occupation of Palestine, and they use anti-Semitism la- another country, and received worldwide condemnation, the U.N. agency. There might be some waste, certainly bels because they think it will work. including by the United States. there are freeloaders, reform is absolutely necessary, but Furthermore, none of the eight men who participated UNRWA provides basic humanitarian assistance. With- The 1972 Munich Attacks Issue in the Munich attack are buried in Tunis. The four men out it there are no schools, clinics and food in the camps. The desperation of those seeking to oust Corbyn can who are buried there—and whose tombstones are shown America owes an indirect debt to the people there; it funds be seen by the latest accusation against him: attending a in The Daily Mail photo—are Salah Khalaf, who was and supports the Israeli occupation, and it has never lifted memorial for terrorists. Yasser Arafat’s deputy; his aide, Fakhri al-Omari; Hayel a finger to reach a genuine solution to their suffering. It was given impetus by a remark by the Israeli prime Abdel-Hamid, who was the PLO chief of security; and But the new America has lost its shame, too; it no lon- minister, in what is a shocking intervention by Israel Atef Bseiso. Bseiso was assassinated in Paris in 1992— ger even wants to pretend to be the honest broker, or take in British politics. Benjamin Netanyahu made remarks 20 years after the Munich Olympics. He was heavily in- care of the world’s needy, as its position obliges it to do. about the Labour leader, saying that he deserves “un- volved in talks with the CIA in an attempt to advance Let us say, then, shame on you, America. equivocal condemnation.” In what can only be described relations between the United States and the PLO. Israel Gideon Levy is an Israeli journalist and author. His as an escalation of the already heavy-handed interven- claimed that all four were involved in the attack in Mu- opinion pieces and weekly column for the newspaper tion of Zionist groups to end Jeremy Corbyn’s leader- nich and had all of them assassinated either directly or Haaretz often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Pal- ship, Netanyahu said that Corbyn’s participation in a cer- continued on page 20 … estinian territories. 16 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org Ireland … continued from page 1 nent” exercises that last indefinitely, maintain an ongoing U.S. military pres- ence around the world for a price tag of at least $100 billion a year. Why they do this is a harder question to answer, but when Trump, of all people, vaguely gestured toward the remote pos- sibility of allowing peace and reunifica- tion in Korea, the U.S. Congress immedi- ately and indignantly jumped in to save us all from such a calamity, forbidding the removal of U.S. troops from Korea. Even if you think there is some reason to be able to quickly deploy thousands of U.S. troops to any spot on earth, airplanes now make that as easily done from the United States as from Korea or Japan or Germany or Italy or Diego Garcia. That’s clearly not a complete explanation of the motives behind U.S. base world. The bases, in many cases, generate an enormous amount of popular resentment and hatred, serving as motivations for attacks on the bases themselves or else- where—famously including the attacks of September 11, 2001. Bases around the borders of Russia and and viewed these runways as a threat. disaster area surrounding U.S. bases has refugees on other islands without means China are generating new hostility and So did peace activists in the United continued to this day, despite the decision of support or a social structure in place. arms races, and even proposals by Russia States. By the next month, Roosevelt had in 1945 to start sending families to live In the coming years, the United States and China to open foreign bases of their planned war games and maneuvers near with soldiers—a policy that now includes would remove 147 people from Enewetak own. Currently all non-U.S. foreign bases the Aleutian Islands and Midway Island. shipping each soldier’s entire worldly pos- Atoll and all the people on Lib Island. in the world total no more than 30, with By the following month, peace activists sessions including automobiles around the U.S. atomic and hydrogen bomb testing most of those belonging to close U.S. al- were marching in New York advocating world with them, not to mention provid- rendered various depopulated and still- lies, and not a single one of them being friendship with Japan. Norman Thomas ing single-payer healthcare and twice the populated islands uninhabitable, leading in or anywhere near the United States, wrote in 1935: “The Man from Mars who spending on schooling as the national av- to further displacements. Up through the which would of course be considered an saw how men suffered in the last war and erage back home. Prostitutes serving U.S. 1960s, the U.S. military displaced hun- outrage. how frantically they are preparing for the bases in South Korea and elsewhere are dreds of people from Kwajalein Atoll. A Many U.S. bases are hosted by bru- next war, which they know will be worse, often virtually slaves. The Philippines, super-densely populated ghetto was cre- tal dictatorships. An academic study has would come to the conclusion that he was which has had U.S. “help” as long as any- ated on Ebeye. identified a strong U.S. tendency to defend looking at the denizens of a lunatic asy- one, provides the most contractor staff On Vieques, off Puerto Rico, the U.S. dictatorships where the United States has lum.” The Japanese attacked Wake Island for U.S. bases, cooking, cleaning, and ev- Navy displaced thousands of inhabitants bases. A glance at a newspaper will tell four days after attacking Pearl Harbor. erything else—as well as likely the most between 1941 and 1947 and announced you the same. Supposedly World War II has ended. prostitutes imported into other countries, plans to evict the remaining 8,000 in 1961, The smaller bases that don’t house tens Why have the troops never come home? such as South Korea. but was forced to back off and—in 2003— of thousands of troops, but secretive death Why have they continued to spread their The most isolated and lawless base to stop bombing the island. On nearby squads or drones, also have a tendency to forts into “Indian Territory,” until the sites include locations from which the Culebra, the Navy displaced thousands make wars more likely. The drone war on between 1948 and 1950 and attempted to Yemen that was labeled a success by Pres- remove those remaining up through the ident Obama has helped fuel a larger war. The smaller bases that don’t house tens 1970s. The Navy is right now looking at The U.S. government’s pursuit of domi- the island of Pagan as a possible replace- nation and conquest once drove it to build of thousands of troops, but secretive death ment for Vieques, the population already bases in Native Americans’ lands, and having been removed by a volcanic erup- now in many other places referred to as squads or drones, also have a tendency to tion. Of course, any possibility of return “Indian territory.” In the 20th century, make wars more likely. would be greatly diminished.­ U.S. imperialism went global. When FDR Beginning during World War II but visited Pearl Harbor (not actually part of continuing right through the 1950s, the the United States) on July 28, 1934, the United States has more foreign bases than U.S. military evicted the local popula- U.S. military displaced a quarter million Japanese military expressed apprehen- any other empire in history, even as the era tion. These include bases in Diego Gar- Okinawans, or half the population, from sion. General Kunishiga Tanaka wrote of conquering territory has largely ended, cia, Greenland, Alaska, Hawaii, Panama, their land, forcing people into refugee in the Japan Advertiser, objecting to the even as a significant segment of the pop- Puerto Rico, the Marshall Islands, Guam, camps and shipping thousands of them off build-up of the American fleet and the ulation has ceased thinking of “Indians” the Philippines, Okinawa, and South Ko- to Bolivia—where land and money were creation of additional bases in Alaska and other foreigners as subhuman beasts rea—with people evicted as recently as promised but not delivered. and the Aleutian Islands (also not part of without rights worthy of respecting? 2006 in South Korea. In 1953, the United States made a deal the United States): “Such insolent behav- One reason, well documented by David During World War II the U.S. Navy with Denmark to remove 150 Inughuit ior makes us most suspicious. It makes us Vine in his book Base Nation, is the same seized the small Hawaiian island of people from Thule, Greenland, giving think a major disturbance is purposely reason that the huge U.S. base at Guan- Koho’alawe for a weapons testing range them four days to get out or face bulldoz- being encouraged in the Pacific. This is tánamo, Cuba, is used to imprison peo- and ordered its inhabitants to leave. The ers. They are being denied the right to greatly regretted.” ple without trials. By preparing for wars island has been devastated. In 1942, the return.­ Then, in March 1935, Roosevelt be- in foreign locations, the United States is U.S. Navy displaced Aleutian Islanders. Between 1968 and 1973, the United stowed Wake Island on the U.S. Navy and often able to evade all kinds of legal re- President Harry Truman made up his States and Great Britain exiled all 1,500 to gave Pan Am Airways a permit to build strictions—including on labor and the en- mind that the 170 native inhabitants of 2,000 inhabitants of Diego Garcia, round- runways on Wake Island, Midway Island, vironment, not to mention prostitution. Bikini Atoll had no right to their island ing people up and forcing them onto boats and Guam. Japanese military command- GIs occupying Germany referred to rape in 1946. He had them evicted in Febru- while killing their dogs in a gas cham- ers announced that they were disturbed as “liberating a blonde,” and the sexual ary and March of 1946, and dumped as continued on page 18 … Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 17

that U.S. military aid to the Saudi-led co- leviate the humanitarian crisis; undertak- alition in Yemen was not sanctioned by ing demonstrable actions to reduce the U.S. Leaders Aid and Abet prior congressional authorizations. The risk of harm to civilians; complying with resolution condemned the targeting of ci- laws regarding military purchases from vilians and urged all parties to “increase the United States; and taking appropri- efforts to adopt all necessary and appro- ate steps to avoid disproportionate harm War Crimes in Yemen priate measures to prevent civilian casu- to civilians. By Marjorie Cohn theon on a wedding in Yemen, killing 22 alties and increase humanitarian access.” Trump also attached a signing state- people, including children. When they On Aug. 13, 2018, Trump signed the ment to that provision, saying any certi- U.S. leaders who provided military explode, cluster bombs scatter tiny bom- 2019 National Defense Authorization Act fication that section 1290 purported to re- support to the Saudi-led coalition that blets. Some remain unexploded and det- (NDAA), which contains an allocation of quire would have to be “consistent with bombed civilians in Yemen this August onate when people accidentally step on $717 billion for the U.S. military. In that the President’s constitutional authorities could be charged with aiding and abetting them or children pick them up off the legislation, Congress included several as Commander in Chief and as the sole the commission of war crimes under cus- ground. These weapons are banned by the provisions to achieve accountability for representative of the Nation in foreign tomary international law, which is part of Convention on Cluster Munitions, which U.S. support of the Saudi-led coalition in ­a ff a i r s . ” U.S. law. prohibits all use, stockpiling, production Yemen. The bottom line is that Congress must The 500-pound laser-guided MK 82 and transfer of cluster munitions. Section 1274 directs the Defense De- immediately end all U.S. involvement in bomb that the coalition dropped on Aug. The Saudi war on Yemen could not partment to conduct a review of whether the war in Yemen and refuse to appropri- 9 killed 51 people, including 40 children. continue without support from the United U.S. or Saudi coalition forces in Yemen ate funding for arms sales to Saudi Arabia The bombing constituted a war crime. States and the United Kingdom. are violating U.S. or international law. and the UAE while they continue bomb- “They came to the hospital in cars U.S. military assistance to the coali- But when Trump signed the bill, he at- ing and blockading Yemen. and ambulances. Dozens of children tion includes in-air refueling of Saudi and with an array of grisly wounds,” Marta United Arab Emirates aircraft, logistical ­Rivas Blanco, a nurse from the Interna- support, and intelligence sharing. U.S. in- Yemen has one of the world’s largest humanitarian tional Committee of the Red Cross who volvement in the war escalated late last works at the Al Talh hospital, wrote in the year when a team of Green Berets secretly crises. At least 22.2 million people—and nearly all Guardian. “Some were screaming, some arrived at the border between ­Yemen and were scared, many went straight to the Saudi Arabia. Yemeni children—need humanitarian aid, and it morgue.” At least 6,385 civilians have been killed is suspected that more than 1 million people have Lockheed Martin, one of the leading and 10,000 injured since the war began. U.S. military contractors, manufactured Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition ac- cholera. Nevertheless, the coalition restricts aid the bomb, which was part of a U.S.-Saudi count for over 60 percent of the civilian arms deal last year. casualties. and imports of food, medicine and fuel. Yemen has one of the world’s largest Aiding and Abetting a War Crime humanitarian crises. At least 22.2 mil- According to customary international lion people—and nearly all Yemeni chil- tached a signing statement saying his ad- Copyright Truthout. Shortened from law, aiding and abetting a war crime re- dren—need humanitarian aid, and it is ministration would treat the provisions of the original for space. Reprinted with quires three elements: 1) a person or en- suspected that more than 1 million people section 1274 “consistent with the Presi- permission. tity committed a war crime; 2) another have cholera. Nevertheless, the coalition dent’s constitutional authority to withhold Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at actor committed an act that had a substan- restricts aid and imports of food, medi- information, the disclosure of which could Thomas Jefferson School of Law, former tial effect on the commission of the war cine and fuel. impair national security, foreign relations, president of the National Lawyers Guild, crime; and 3) the other actor knew that law enforcement, or the perform­ance of deputy secretary general of the Interna- the act would assist, or have a substantial Congress Condemns U.S. Role in Yemen the President’s constitutional ­duties.” tional Association of Democratic Law- likelihood of assisting, the commission of The U.S. House of Representatives Section 1290 requires the secretary yers and an advisory board member of the war crime. All three of those elements unanimously passed a non-binding reso- of state to certify that Saudi Arabia and Veterans For Peace. An updated edition were present in the Aug. 9 bombing. lution in November 2017 calling on U.S. United Arab Emirates are making good of her book, Drones and Targeted Killing: First, the coalition committed a war military forces to withdraw from “unau- faith efforts to end the civil war in Ye- Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues, crime. Willful killing and the targeting of thorized hostilities” in Yemen. It stated men; taking appropriate measures to al- was recently published. civilians constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Targeting a busload of children in a busy marketplace is a war crime. Second, U.S. leaders provided the means to commit the war crime. The pur- chase of the bomb was part of an arms deal with Saudi Arabia that the U.S. State Department sanctioned. Third, the U.S. military knew that sup- plying the bomb to the coalition was likely to result in the commission of a war crime. A similar bomb killed 155 people in a funeral hall in Yemen in October 2016. After the 2016 bombing, the Obama ad- ministration, citing “human rights con- cerns,” banned the sale to Saudi Arabia of precision-guided military technology. That ban was reversed the same month Trump made his $110 billion arms deal with the Saudi king in Riyadh, and the U.S. government reauthorized the provi- sion of laser-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia. The Aug. 9 school bus bombing was one of over 50 airstrikes on civilian ve- hicles by the coalition so far in 2018. On April 23, 2018, Saudi aircraft People stand near a bus destroyed by an airstrike that killed dozens of children on Aug. 9, 2018, in Saada, Yemen. dropped cluster bombs made by Ray- Photo: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images 18 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org Grizzlies … continued from page 4 the underlying philosophy and concepts that made these places possible in the first place. The Wilderness, Endangered Spe- cies, and Antiquities acts are all under siege. The NRA and Safari Club agen- das on wildlife and wilderness issues are driven by the desire to dismantle our wild heritage. I’ve spent time with Yellowstone’s griz- zlies each year for the past five decades, beginning in 1968. The first 15 years were the most intense, during which time I filmed bears full-time in the Yellowstone and Glacier National Park ecosystems. Typically, I’d spend the first six weeks of spring in Yellowstone, and then come

Throw in some colonial dominion over the beasts, a little Hemingway, and you find a tremendous amount of masculine bullshit. Orphaned grizzly whose mother was killed by a hunter. Photo: Horsefeathers Photography by Brad Orsted, horsefeathersphotography.com. back for October. The rest of the season, I filmed in Glacier and worked seasonal bears were likely to come by and just for a fair chase (no baits or dogs) hunter. They may trophy hunt because it runs in jobs for the park service. wait. It helped if there were winter-killed Grizzlies, by contrast, are open country the family. Or because male archetypes Much of the time, I worked alone, lug- elk or bison carcasses nearby. animals and their dominance at the top of like Teddy Roosevelt did it. ging camera gear around in a backpack, Using such methods, spread over three the food chain means they don’t automati- Throw in some colonial dominion over camping in the backcountry for stretches decades, I managed to sneak up on at least cally run away. the beasts, a little Hemingway, and you of up to a couple weeks at a time. 200 unsuspecting grizzlies in and around Here is a crucial distinction between find a tremendous amount of masculine My strategy for finding grizzlies in Yellowstone and Glacier parks, to distances me and trophy hunters. I don’t hunt pred- bullshit in consideration of what consti- Yellowstone was split between two gen- within about one hundred yards. Most of ators. I wouldn’t shoot a bear for a cool tutes an “authentic” experience in out- eral approaches: I could go out into good those approached were captured on film, million. door blood sports. spring habitat, find a set of fresh bear which is now archived at Texas Tech. For the record, I do hunt, mostly game tracks and follow them to where the griz- Here I want to say something about Trophy Hunting birds and the occasional deer. I eat what zly was feeding. Sometimes, this took hunting. I don’t think dispatching brown How do you justify killing an inno- I kill and have many guns. I don’t hunt days of tracking to catch up with the bear. bears with a weapon capable of bringing cent animal of exceptional carriage that predators on principal or trophy-sized an- Compared with today, grizzlies were down a B-52 is very challenging. Because you don’t intend to eat and who poses no imals. Each year as I grow older, I find scarce in Yellowstone during the ’70s— I could have shot any of those bears, I have threat to you? A few trophy hunters try to myself backing off a bit. something everyone agrees on. always suspected grizzlies are easy to answer this question; most see no prob- Despite a few female members, groups The other, more efficient strategy was hunt. Easy, say, compared to black bears, lem, they kill the big grizzly or the lion like the Safari Club are rooted in mascu- to set up on a hill or promontory where who are spooky forest creatures and a test with a huge mane just because they can. line institutions of patriarchy and clan- ship. Within the fraternal organization, intense competition abounds. If your was discovered in 1999, and was more than do so now, and we in the United States need buddy bags a huge kudu or leopard head, twice the size of the Exxon Valdez spill. them to. The U.S. government’s mania for you’d better get a bigger one. Ireland U.S. bases within the United States have world domination hurts us as well as those My own feeling is that the time for … continued from page 16 been environmentally devastating, but not whose lands are occupied. The upcom- these ceremonial executions is over. We ber and seizing possession of their entire on the scale of those in some foreign lands. ing gathering in Dublin will be an effort to lost our authenticity somewhere in the co- homeland for the use of the U.S. military. A plane taking off from Diego Garcia to unite people across borders in resistance to lonial past. We don’t need a Yellowstone The South Korean government, which bomb Afghanistan in 2001 crashed and a rogue state that needs to be brought into grizzly hunt. evicted people for U.S. base expansion on sank to the bottom of the ocean with some the world of law and nonviolent community. The year 2018 finds us much deeper the mainland in 2006, has, at the behest of 8,500 pounds of munitions. Even ordinary For more information on the Interna- into the climate change game than anyone the U.S. Navy, in recent years been devas- base life takes a toll; U.S. troops produce tional Conference Against U.S./NATO wants to talk about and also smack dab in tating a village, its coast, and 130 acres of over three times the garbage each as local Bases, go to nousnatobases.org. the early middle of the Sixth Great Extinc- farmland on Jeju Island in order to build residents in, for example, Okinawa. David Swanson is an author, activist, tion. The first critters to go in a great ex- another massive base for U.S. use. Disregard for people and the land and journalist, and radio host. He is direc- tinction tend to be the big ones, especially In hundreds of other sites where the pop- the sea is built into the very idea of foreign tor of World Beyond War and campaign the large rare mammals favored by trophy ulation was not evicted, it might wish it had bases. The United States would never tol- coordinator for Roots Action. Swanson’s hunters. This endangered species list does been. Foreign bases have been environ- erate another nation’s base within its bor- books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at not exclude two-legged primates; the hot mentally disastrous. Open-air burns, unex- ders, yet imposes them on Okinawans, DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime. winds of change are coming for us all. ploded weaponry, poisons leaked into the South Koreans, Italians, Filipinos, Iraqis, org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a Doug Peacock is Vietnam War veteran, ground water—these are all commonplace. and others despite huge protest. 2015, 2016, and 2017 Nobel Peace Prize naturalist, and author. He is best known A jet fuel leak at Kirkland Air Force Base Countries have rid themselves of U.S. Nominee. for his memoir Grizzly Years: In Search in Albuquerque, N.M., started in 1953 and bases in the past. Many desperately need to of the American Wilderness. Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 19 They Risked Everything to Fight the Nazis By David Broder collaborationist Vichy regime. The Manouchian Group including Manouchian and Rajman, were Communist resistance activity in the first In fact, the Allies were already para- shot at the Forteresse du Mont-Valérien Arsène Tchakarian was the last surviv- months of occupation was scattered: not chuting weapons into France, an arsenal on February 21, 1944. ing member of a Communist military unit only were party structures weak but the po- bolstered by weapons stolen from the col- Tchakarian was saved by a former reg- in the French Resistance. Mainly Jews litical line adopted in September 1939 (in laborationists and Germans. Tchakarian’s imental comrade, a policeman who kept and immigrants, they risked everything accordance with the Soviet Union’s peace own first use of arms took place on March him in a Paris hideout. In May he was ex- to fight the Nazi occupation. deal with Nazi Germany) tended to place 17, 1943, as 19-year-old Polish Jew Marcel filtrated from the capital to Bordeaux, be- Arsène Tchakarian, who died Aug. 4 at the two sides in the war on an equal footing. Rajman directed him together with Ma- fore heading to the town of Montargis, 70 age 101, was the last surviving member of Nonetheless, Communists were among the nouchian in a grenade attack on 20 Ger- miles south of Paris, in June. Appointed the “Groupe Manouchian,” a military unit first to begin Resistance activity on French man military police at Levallois-­Perret. a lieutenant, he helped liberate Montargis active in the French Resistance. Named soil, conducting numerous armed attacks In June, Tchakarian became leader of one at the head of a group of 20 fighters on after its leader Missak Manouchian, this and industrial sabotage and leading a min- of the “commando triangles,” uniting the August 23, 1944, occupying the German Communist network mainly composed ers’ strike even before the June 1941 Ger- different Resistance forces organized as headquarters that had been set up in the of Jews and immigrants carried out nu- man invasion of the Soviet Union. the “Secret Army,” while Manouchian Post Office. merous armed attacks on the German occupation forces. Twenty-three of its members were executed and three others killed in action. Tchakarian and his com- rades fought both as Communists and in defense of their adoptive homeland.

An Immigrant Communist The Manouchian group in which Tcha- karian fought was part of the “Immigrant [or Foreign] Workforce” (MOI) partisan formation attached to the Communist-led Francs-Tireurs et Partisans (FTP). He, like Manouchian, was an Armenian, born in 1916 to a family escaping the genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Having arrived in France as a teenager in 1930 using a Nan- sen refugee’s passport, he soon became active in the General Confederation of La- bor (CGT). He met the Communist poet Manouchian as early as 1933, during ef- forts to raise famine relief for their native Armenia. The MOI’s history began long before the war. Already in 1924 the Communist- led CGT formed a special organization for the foreign workforce, which adopted the name MOI in 1932. With French, Ger- man, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, and Yiddish-speaking sections, the MOI was also key to mobilizing French-based com- munists to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Eight members of the French Communist urban guerrilla resistance unit ‘The Missak Manouchian Group,’ including their Armenian-born Migrants whose own countries had fallen leader Missak Manouchian (1906–1944) (third from left in line, second from left in photo), stand before a wall as they await execution to fascism played an especially prominent after their capture by German occupation forces, Fort Mont Valerian, Paris, Feb. 21, 1944. role in the International Brigades’ fight against Francisco Franco. This latter development nonetheless took over the Paris FTP-MOI leadership Fallen for France As France entered the war in September added urgency to Communist resistance from Holban. The FTP-MOI’s activity was particu- 1939 and the government dissolved the movements, which also drew strength Its more than 100 operations over sum- larly notable because it organized specif- Communist Party, many members of the from the first signs that, unlike France, mer and autumn 1943 targeted the key ically immigrant groups in a French na- MOI headed into the underground. Like the Soviet Union would not just roll over leaders of the Occupation infrastructure, tional cause. On trial a few days before its foreign counterparts, the party ad- in the face of the German onslaught. In also raising awareness of its existence. his execution, the young Manouchian had opted a line condemning both sides of the March 1942, the tide of the war had al- An abortive attempt to assassinate Gen- admirably faced down insults from col- war as imperialist, breaking with its ro- ready started to turn after the successful eral Ernst von Schaumburg, commander laborationists in the public gallery with bust Popular Front-era positions empha- Soviet defense of Moscow, and the FTP- of the Greater Paris region, on July 28, his famous cry: “You inherited French na- sizing antifascism and national defence. MOI formed an armed group in Paris un- 1943 highlighted the danger the Manou- tionality, we earned it!” Nazi propaganda As a conscript soldier in the Ardennes, der the leadership of the Romanian Com- chian group posed to the authorities, as instead sought to use the presence of for- Tchakarian did, however, fight against the munist Boris Holban. did the September 28 killing of SS man eigners in the Resistance to present it as German advance, before France collapsed Linked to this organization through Julius Ritter, chief of the STO organiza- an alien force, driven by the international in May–June 1940. Manouchian, the leader of its Armenian tion which recruited forced labor for Ger- Judeo-Bolshevik conspiracy. Returning to Paris after being demobi- section, Tchakarian soon made the turn man war industry. The existence of the MOI, rooted in an lized that August, Tchakarian found what to armed activity. As he recalled, “[Up However, even as the Resistance struck earlier history of migrant unionism, re- he called “an empty city. You saw noth- until] that point our resistance had been such blows, it suffered deadly repression. flected both France’s multinational work- ing but German tanks and trucks on the a matter of distributing leaflets and talk- Intelligence had already been tracking the ing class and the presence therein of for- Champs-Élysées. People were shaking. ing a bit about politics. But one day in Manouchian group, leaving it untouched eign nationals whose countries had fallen The curtains were shut. Everyone had left.” 1942 Manouchian came to the tailor’s in order to draw information on its net- to authoritarian and antisemitic regimes At first there were few signs of resistance. workshop I was working in and told me, works. But finally, the trap was sprung. even before the war. Indeed, of 23 exe- But having resumed contact with Manou- ‘We’ve had enough leaflets. Now we need On November 16, two dozen members cuted members, only three were French: chian, by November 1940, Tchakarian had to fight with weapons.’” “Missak,” Tcha- (around a third of the total) were arrested; the others included seven Polish Jews begun to produce clandestine propaganda karian replied, “How are we going to do all but one was condemned to death. (and another Pole), three Hungarian Jews, against both the German occupier and the that? We do not have any weapons.” Twenty-two of Tchakarian’s comrades, continued on page 20 … 20 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org

were themselves the subject of a Resis- Fighting Nazis tance response. Many were daubed with the words “Fallen for France.” As with … continued from page 19 Manouchian during his trial, Tchakarian one Romanian Jew, five Italians (one of would long insist on the patriotic nature Armenian origin), two other Armenians, of the cause in which he fought: “I may and a Spaniard. well have been a little Armenian immi- This was advertised by the Nazis them- grant, but I had suffered the occupation selves, in the infamous Affiche Rouge just like everyone else. I was cold, I was (“Red Poster”) posted on walls around hungry, and I’d been at the front in 1939. I France after the executions at the Fort de was a tough one. I fought more for France Mont-Valérien. It showed 10 of the exe- than some French people did.” cuted men (including six Jews) with such Nonetheless, the Communist Party’s epithets as “Polish Jew—13 attacks” or need to assert its patriotic credentials “Spanish Red—seven attacks”). The in the face of Cold War claims that it poster, printed in some 15,000 copies in fought for a Russian and not French in- a large 120 x 80 cm format, combined the terest meant that postwar party press of- images of death and destruction at the ten overlooked the FTP-MOI’s specific hands of this “Army of Crime” with the record. In more recent decades, as part question in block capitals: “Are these lib- of the ideological offensive against the erators?” party, revisionist historians even made Arsène Tchakarian (with cane) in 2012 was awarded the French Legion of Honor. In 2017 he A leaflet issued simultaneously pre- lurid claims that its leadership had delib- was given the rank of Commander of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award. sented even the French members of the erately destroyed the “embarrassing” Ma- group as mere patsies for a foreign inter- nouchian group; a narrative that lifelong coming a Léo Ferry ballad), published on history of how in a capital city like Paris, est. It proclaimed, “If Frenchmen pillage, Communist Tchakarian strongly denied. the front page of the Communist Party’s riffraff like us could shoot down Germans steal, sabotage and kill. … It is always Indeed, already in the early postwar pe- daily L’Humanité. in broad daylight. And if I hadn’t been foreigners who command them. It is al- riod there was recognition of Tchakarian A member of the historical group de- there, I could hardly believe it either.” ways professional criminals and unem- personally (who became a French citi- voted to the killings at the Forteresse Arsène Tchakarian, tailor, historian, ployables who carry out their orders. It zen in 1958) and the Manouchian group du Mont-Valérian, Tchakarian also up- Communist, and commander of the Lé- is always Jews who inspire them. This is more widely. In 1947 a medal of the Re- held this memory in a series of histori- gion d’Honneur, died aged 101 on August the Army of Crime against France. Ban- sistance was conferred on its members; in cal works. He explained that as long as 4, 2018. ditry expresses not a wounded Patriotism 1950 Paul Éluard devoted a poem to the he lived, he would be a living witness to David Broder is a historian of French but the foreign plot against the lives of the “23 foreign terrorists tortured and shot by his comrades’ extraordinary contribution and Italian communism. He is currently French and France’s sovereignty. the Germans,” and this was followed by a to the anti-Nazi Resistance. As he put it, writing a book on the crisis of Italian de- Around France these Nazi posters 1955 work by Louis Aragon (in 1959 be- “It’s part of the history of France—the mocracy in the post-Cold War period.

accept because it seeks to silence criticism of Israel and My presence during the conference and my comments Jeremy Corbyn conflates Zionism with Judaism. The anti-Semitism defi- did not warrant such attention. However, this is a war of nition includes several clauses that have nothing to do attrition in which Labour Friends of Israel, the so-called … continued from page 15 with racism or anti-Semitism and have everything to do Jewish Labour Movement, and the British Daily Mail are by the proxy terror group, Abu-Nidal. There was never a with protecting Israel from criticism. For example: leading the charge and will jump at every opportunity to shred of proof, not to mention a trial, to substantiate Is- • Denying the Jewish people their right to self-deter- get attention. Once again, the problem was not denial of rael’s allegations against these men. mination; e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State the Holocaust or anti-Semitism—because there was no of Israel is a racist endeavor. expression of either one—but the fear of a discussion on Blatant Intervention • Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy Palestine and Zionism. The big question is why does the Israeli prime min- to that of the Nazis. By trying to silence the discussion regarding Zionism ister feel he needs to engage in such blatant interven- and its legitimacy, Israel abuses the memory of the mil- tion and and make such blatantly false accusations just War of Attrition lions who died in the Holocaust, particularly the Jew- as Britain’s largest political party is about to convene? Another example, in which I was personally involved, ish victims. There are entire communities of Jewish Ho- Netanyahu and his henchmen must realize that UK La- has to do with a comment that I made at a fringe event locaust survivors and descendants of survivors who are bour, having gained over half a million members since during the 2017 Labour conference and that turned into quite ready to discuss and debate any issue, including Jeremy Corbyn’s ascent as leader, is poised to win in the a major news item. During a panel on free speech, I said the Holocaust, and who view the Zionists’ stance as ab- next elections, so that, if Israel fails to oust him, Jeremy that free speech means we should be able to discuss ev- surd. These same Jewish communities also reject Zion- Corbyn will end up in 10 Downing Street. ism and support the Palestinian call for boycott, divest- One of the ridiculous charges laid against Corbyn is ment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. It is time that the following: He was criticized for attending a passover By trying to silence the these voices be heard. Seder with a particular group of Jewish people who “dis- After a career marked more by his appearance at peace missed concerns about anti-Semitism in the party.” So it discussion regarding Zionism marches and union rallies than speeches in Parliament, is not good enough that he went to a Seder and that he and its legitimacy, Israel abuses Jeremy Corbyn, the bearded 68-year-old who promotes opted to do so among people who live in his own con- “the socialism of the 21st century,” is trying to overcome stituency; he had to do so with Jewish people who think the memory of the millions skepticism about his leadership in a national election a particular way. that will determine how the country exits the European Corbyn was also criticized for participating in an event who died in the Holocaust, Union. with the late Hajo Meyer, a Jewish Holocaust survivor Jeremy Corbyn is a man who has dedicated his entire himself. This was in 2010, when Corbyn hosted a Ho- particularly the Jewish victims. life to fighting racism and injustice—he is not a racist locaust Memorial Day event in London with Meyer as and therefore clearly he is not anti-Semitic. He has not the main speaker. Hajo Meyer was, like many holocaust ery issue, including Palestine and the Holocaust. The once denied the Holocaust and therefore he is not a Ho- survivors, a fervent advocate for Palestinian rights and a Daily Mail published this as though it was a scandalous locaust-denier. However, none of this matters. As was severe critic of Israel—hence the criticism. thing to say and accused Labour and even Corbyn him- stated clearly in The Daily Mail, “The Board of Depu- Another sticking point is the self-appointed Interna- self for allowing it to happen. ties of British Jews warned Mr. Corbyn to ‘come out of tional Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which Every other newspaper in Britain followed suit and hiding’ and said the anti-Semitism crisis would not go apparently adopted a new and, in their own words, “non- then papers in Palestine and even the Israeli papers away.” In other words, there is nothing he can say or do legally binding” working definition of anti-Semitism. picked it up as well. I added in my remarks that, while to “clear” himself. They are determined to oust him and Initially Labour’s national executive committee refused free speech should not be criminalized, we do not need they think the anti-Semitic card will do the trick. to accept this definition, but there are signs that a com- to give a platform to proponents of any racist ideology, Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist promise might be on the horizon. This definition of anti- and that includes Zionists who regularly demand to be born in Jerusalem. He is the author of The General’s Semitism is one that entire Jewish communities do not present and give their perspective at events and lectures. Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine. Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 21

their families. (So much for supporting the troops.) Is Climate the Worst Casualty of War? We have to replace the flawed patrio- If we don’t get serious Religious communities are mobilizing still haven’t left, so the U.S. invasion and 15 tism that has us clinging to the idea that about stopping the U.S. on behalf of the healing and protection of years of occupation likely has generated up- we can’t win without war (all evidence to the planet. But with few exceptions, such ward of 400 million metric tons of CO2e to the contrary) with a bipartisan paradigm war machine, we could as Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s date. The money misspent on that war—a devoted to liberty and justice and free- Campaign resurrected by a trio of minis- war for oil, let’s not forget—could have pur- dom for all, so that creating an intelligent, lose the biggest battle of ters, the topic of America’s literal war on chased the planetary conversion to renew- muscular peace becomes a national prior- our lives. the world is still off the table. Although able energy. Just sit with that for a moment. ity. If we do not, we will never become Pope Francis knows creation is God’s ca- Then stand up and get back to work, please. the America we have said that we are. By Stacy Bannerman thedral, he spent only a handful of words We’ve got wind farms to build and pipe- In the end, what we haven’t included on the ecology of war in the beautifully lines to stop. We’ve got solar panels to in- in the cost of war may end up costing the How do you clear a room of climate rendered “Laudato Si: On Care For Our stall and water to protect. We need torch- most. activists? Start talking about war. It’s Common Home.” And the big environ- bearers from every tribe and nation to We cannot continue the moral, spiritual, not just environmentalists that leave. mental organizations seem to have agreed walk the green path and light the Eighth fiscal, or environmental policy of benign It’s pretty much everyone. Mission ac- that the U.S. military is the entity we Fire. But to do so while continuing to feed neglect that underwrites the decimation of complished by the Bush administration, won’t talk about when we talk about the the fossil-fueled military beast chewing land, air, and water around the world. That, which sent the military and their families biggest contributors to climate change. up nearly 60 percent of the national bud- my green friends, is the single most unsus- to war and the rest of the country to an The Pentagon uses more petroleum per get is energy inefficient and environmen- tainable policy on this nation’s books. amusement park. day than the aggregate consumption of tally self-­defeating. We cannot cure this I know a lot of folks have decided not The military-civilian divide has been 175 countries (out of 210 in the world) and manmade cancer on the climate without to speak out about war in order to avoid called an “epidemic of disconnection.” But being labeled traitors, or accused of be- the biosphere doesn’t see uniforms, and ing anti-military. If we learn nothing else the environmental devastation caused by We cannot cure this manmade cancer on the from the Iraq war—and it seems we have bombs, burn pits, and depleted uranium can- not—we learn that silence is a luxury we not be contained within a combat zone. We climate without addressing underlying causes. cannot afford when lives are on the line. haven’t counted the massive carbon footprint The hands of the Doomsday Clock are at of America’s endless wars, because military two minutes to midnight. Life itself is on emissions abroad have a blanket exemption generates more than 70 percent of total addressing underlying causes. In order to the line. It is time to find your voice. from both national reporting requirement- U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, based on achieve the massive systemic and cultural We have to defrock the sacred cow graz- sand the U.N. Framework Convention on rankings in the CIA World Factbook. “The transformations required for mitigating cli- ing at the Pentagon, because climate may Climate Change. There will be no exemp- U.S. Air Force burns through 2.4 billion mate change and advancing climate justice, be the worst casualty of all. My whole ex- tions in the coming climate collapse. We’ve gallons of jet fuel a year, all of it derived we’re going to have to deal with the socially istence was a casualty of the Iraq War, all got skin in the war game now. from oil,” reported an article in Scientific sanctioned, institutionalized violence per- and too many of my friends have gotten a

Veterans For Peace making the connection between militarism and climate change at the People’s Climate March in September 2014. Photo: Ellen Davidson

The cost of America’s post-9/11 wars is American. Since the start of the post-9/11 petrated by U.S. foreign policy that is pour- Gold Star. I don’t use the word “casualty” approaching $6 trillion, and the price tag wars, U.S. military fuel consumption has ing fuel on the fire of global warming. lightly. When I tell you the pain of losing will continue to climb right along with sea averaged about 144 million barrels an­ The Department of Defense (DoD) has everything you love because of war is a levels, temperatures, atmospheric CO2, nually. That figure doesn’t include fuel the largest carbon footprint of any enter- pain you do not want, I beg you to believe and methane, a potent greenhouse gas. We used by coalition forces and military con- prise on the planet. The DoD is the sin- me. We have to keep working to “keep it can look forward to an escalation in global tractors or the massive amount of fossil gle greatest manufacturer and dissemina- in the ground,” but if we don’t get serious food insecurity, climate refugees, and the fuels burned in weapons manufacturing. tor of tools and toxins like Agent Orange about stopping the U.S. war machine, we release of long-dormant, potentially lethal According to Steve Kretzmann, direc- and nuclear waste that are destructive to could lose the biggest battle of our lives. bacteria and viruses. Research published tor of Oil Change International, “The Iraq ecosystems. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. en- Stacy Bannerman is the founder of Wom- in the journal Pediatrics in May 2018 re- war was responsible for at least 141 million vironmental disasters the EPA classifies en’s EcoPeace and the author of Homefront vealed that “children are estimated to bear metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent as Superfund sites have been caused by 911: How Families of Veterans Are Wounded

88 [percent] of the burden of disease re- (MMTCO2e) from March 2003 through the Pentagon, which is a primary polluter by Our Wars. She has testified before Con- lated to climate change.” Nevertheless, December 2007.” That’s more CO2e than of U.S. waterways. It should be no sur- gress three times, spearheaded the passage public health agencies don’t discuss what 60 percent of all countries, and those fig- prise, then, that at least 126 military bases of two bills, and was a charter board mem- war costs our climate when they discuss ures are only from the first four years. We have contaminated water, causing cancer ber of Military Families Speak Out. Her what climate change will cost our children. downsized the war in December 2011, but and birth defects in service members and website is stacybannerman.com. 22 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org

Caspian region, across western Afghani- by sending it overseas to fight for oil, re- sentiment that you are supposed to cheer Take a Knee stan and Pakistan to the Indian Ocean. sources, and profits for the wealthy own- for your country, no matter how crimi- Like all the other wars listed above, ers of U.S. corporations and banks, a nal or horrible its government’s actions … continued from page 10 those who “risked their lives” were not national security state that spies on us, may be — is an attitude to be resisted, not liberty, such as it is. Not a single one of fighting to defend freedom and liberty. assassinates and tortures people, perse- embraced. As George Bernard Shaw fa- those countries ever once threatened to They were used to fight wars of conquest, cutes whistleblowers, infiltrates the me- mously wrote: “Patriotism is your con- attack, let alone actually attacked, the to assert U.S. control of other nation’s dia, manufactures consent for war, and viction that this country is superior to all United States. resources, markets, sources of cheap la- repeatedly lies to the American people. other countries because you were born Some may claim that the invasion of bor, and strategic territories that would They are under attack from a Congress in it.” Afghanistan was a justifiable act of “de- facilitate access to the wealth of other that rammed through the USA PATRIOT The social convention of standing for fense” because of the 9/11 attacks. But nations. Proof of this in each and every Act within weeks of the 9/11 attacks, and the national anthem is not the action of a that claim fails on several grounds. Even instance is beyond the scope of the pres- that, just last January, supported by lead- people celebrating freedom and liberty. if one accepts the official story that Osama ent article, but I will return to that sub- ing Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and To the contrary, it smacks of regimenta- Bin Laden was responsible for the attack ject in the future. For now, it will suffice Adam Schiff, passed a bill to give the tion and group-think, using peer pressure and was being harbored in Afghanistan, to point out that none of the nations at- Trump administration greater authority to get everyone to agree that your particu- that does not justify invading an entire tacked by the United States since World to spy on Americans, immigrants, jour- lar nation-state is the best — not because country, overthrowing its government, War II ever once threatened to attack the nalists, dissidents, and everyone else. it actually is, but because you are told to and occupying it for 17 years in order to United States or threatened its “freedom To me, the shameful U.S. record of con- believe it and are threatened with ostra- arrest the perpetrator and his support- and liberty.” The claim is simply a lie, and ducting aggressive wars of conquest that cism, verbal abuse or worse if you don’t ers. Such claims ignore the fact that the it is not made any more true by its fre- have nothing to do with defense of free- go along with the crowd. I align myself Taliban government offered to turn over quent repetition. That is not the fault of dom and everything to do with the ac- with Albert Einstein and Eugene V. Debs Bin Laden if the United States had simply the people who fought in those wars; they cumulation of wealth and profit is all the when it comes to the question of patrio- produced evidence that he was responsi- were used a pawns by a ruling class and more reason to take a knee every time the tism. As Debs well put it: “In every age it ble for 9/11, but the Bush administration its political agents, both Democratic and national anthem is played. It is every bit has been the tyrant, the oppressor and the refused the offer, deliberately choosing Republican, who repeatedly sent them as shameful as our failure to address the exploiter who has wrapped himself in the invasion over a peaceful solution. Such into wars fought for the sake of profit and problem of racist police violence. I will cloak of patriotism, or religion, or both to claims also ignore the fact that the inva- wealth accumulation, not defense of free- not express my “pride” in being a mem- deceive and overawe the People.” sion of Afghanistan was planned well be- dom and liberty. ber of a nation that acts as an interna- Rich Whitney is an attorney, disk fore 9/11, and was motivated by the Tal- Yes, our freedoms are under attack, tional outlaw. jockey, environmental and peace activ- iban’s failure to cooperate with the U.S. but they are under attack from the same In all candor, I am not a big fan of “pa- ist, and current Green Party candidate ruling class’ desire to build a pipeline to national security state and powerful ex- triotic” displays in the first place. In my for County Board in Jackson County, Ill. transport oil from Central Asia and the ecutive branch that misuses our military view, national chauvinism — this raw

Photo: Ellen Davidson

Civil Resistance … continued from page 6

execution of juveniles. (In 2015, Iran’s tice. There has been success and failure. other Western-sanctioned businesses. death row held 160 juveniles.) Life expectancy has risen from 53 to 75, a “Chapter 8: Iran’s Relationships with Inside Iran In “Social Deviance: Gays, Prostitutes, good thing. But 60 percent of the economy U.S. and the West” may be what the reader … continued from page 24 Drugs and Alcohol,” Medea tells us homo- is in the hands of the government, a situ- came to the book for. Don’t jump to it. a subject that interests you. Medea’s de- sexuality can be a capital crime, while at the ation that has never done well anywhere. What Medea presents to this point illumi- livery will make it clear, with endnotes if same time the government subsidizes trans- And the sanctions that followed the take- nates our understanding of what we are told you want to delve deeper. gender surgery. And prostitution is illegal, over of the U.S. Embassy, the 444-day hos- in the final 70 pages. A hint? Oil. The dem- Take “The Paradoxical Status of Iranian but the Ministry of Health has established tage situation, and the increased sanctions ocratically elected government that had re- Women.” The marriage age before the drop-in centers for female sex workers to after the bombing of the Marine barracks duced the shah to a figurehead also nation- 1979 revolution was 15, but after the revo- get STD checks and medical treatment. in Beirut, have played well for no one. alized the oilfields. That government was lution it was lowered to puberty. Several The chapter “Religious Freedom, for The Supreme Leader has the final word overthrown in 1953 by our CIA and the years later it was raised to 13; however a Some” is interesting. Medea explains on most of what goes on. If someone wants shah was elevated again to head of state. father can ask permission to marry off his why the Saudis are Sunni and speak Ara- to run for political office, his candidacy Our relationship with the government of daughter at a younger age. Yet the average bic, while the Iranians are Shia and speak needs the Supreme Leader’s okay. Still the Iran went downhill from there. marriage age for women in 2016 was 24. Farsi, and we learn that Iran is also home to presidency has a great deal of power, and Inside Iran should be read widely. Par- This chapter also tells us being a woman Christians, Zoroastrians, and Jews, groups the swing of liberal and conservative pres- ticularly, it should be read by the people athlete “offers opportunities for Iranian known as “People of the Book.” idents has been enough to give the elector- in our government and military who are women to travel abroad, but women do The last half of the book presents the ate whiplash. Women’s permitted attire in most dangerously involved in demonizing require permission from a male relative, story of the Pahlavi monarchy that ruled public is a stark example of that. the Iranian people. Get a copy of Inside such as a father or husband.” from 1925 to 1979, transforming the A French carmaker that controlled 30 Iran (preferably through your local inde- “The Struggle for Human Rights in Iran” economy from agrarian to industrial, percent of the Iran market pulled out in pendent bookseller, although it is avail- includes subsections on Iranians’ rights manufacturing, and oil production, and 2011 because of international sanctions. able online), read it, and send it to your under the shah; rights recognized by the also reports on the corruption and the for- The easing of restrictions with the 2016 congressperson’s assistant for veterans Iranian government; freedom of speech, tune accrued by the royal family and its nuclear agreement has the company com- and military affairs. association, and assembly; imprisonment 63 princes and princesses. Their solution mitted to investing hundreds of millions Denny Riley is an Air Force veteran of of foreigners and Iranians with dual na- to poverty was to bulldoze shantytowns. into manufacturing cars in Iran. How- the Vietnam War, a writer, and a member tionality; the judicial system; prison con- The revolutionaries of 1979 espoused ever, during the sanctions China grabbed of the San Francisco chapter of Veterans ditions and torture; the death penalty; and the objectives of equality and social jus- most of the car market, as it did many For Peace. Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org V4N4—Fall 2018 23

Photo: Ellen Davidson “Whiteness” becomes more public, generating a com- munity based on resentment rife with barely repressed as well as more open violence. Many Whites fret about be- coming a “minority” group in the near future. This is not a happy way of life. As economic desperation increases, previously marginalized white supremacist groups enter the mainstream egged on by a egocentric, white-nation- alist President. While such white anxiety maintains and fortifies the distance between racial groups, the symptoms of op- pression that people face tend to cross racial boundaries, especially for those not part of the elite. Environmen- tal, health, and infrastructure problems cannot be easily confined to the “ghetto.” Drug addiction comes to under- mine White, as well as Black and Latinx communities. Whites, also, are sacrificed in failed imperial wars and suffer PTSD in their aftermath. They also suffer from foreclosures, loss of health benefits and of food stamps, and a generally diminishing social welfare. The suffer- ing of people of color can be the canary in the coal mine, a signal that the longterm negative consequences of so- cial inequality have come to the fore. Numerous studies demonstrate the relationship be- tween economic equality and social satisfaction. Non- elite people perceive growing inequality as unfair and as undermining their hope for social mobility. But when The Ups and Downs of ‘White Privilege’ inequality is in large part racialized, many Whites resent By Howard Machtinger opportunities to expose the illusions of white privilege affirmative attempts to address racial inequality, fearing altogether, to make the argument that we are all harmed that such attempts undermine their privilege. White so- The concept of white privilege helps white people by the toxicity of racism and have a common interest in ciety becomes less trusting and more fearful. The soci- grasp the depth and pervasiveness of racism in Ameri- dismantling it. ety as a whole becomes more militarized to protect some can culture and society. For starters, let’s be clear about White privilege is both real and illusory. It is used as and control others. Racist violence becomes increasingly what the concept entails and what it doesn’t. White priv- a mechanism to keep potential allies apart and to wed normalized whether by the state or by non-state actors. ilege has both material and psychological components. non-elite White people to those in power. Privilege has The future will play out in one of two ways. Either It confers wealth benefits, but also serves as a balm for to be real enough to have a chance of winning over sig- white resentment at presumed loss of status will domi- “fragile” white egos. nificant numbers of White people, but not so real that the nate, morphing into American-style “fascism”—for lack White privilege is being perceived as normal; being power of the political, corporate, and financial elites— of a better term to describe a dangerous racist authori- considered a real American; thinking one is color blind; those who dole out the privilege—might actually be tarianism—or alternatively, an authentic alliance against not having to think about race; not needing to have The threatened. The strategy behind white privilege is to racist, authoritarian capitalism can be created. Talk about how to survive an encounter with the police; construct difference so as to suppress and divide poten- There is desperation in the white panic that buttresses being criticized and not having to wonder if it’s related tial ­opposition. Trump. Moving beyond “dog whistles” to a strident bull- to race; believing hard work will yield success; believing Privilege assumes two advantaged groups: the privi- horn is belligerent, but also betrays weakness. The ma- one has a seat at the table; benefiting from government lege provider and the privilege receiver. How privilege is nipulative psychology of white privilege is both more ag- programs while stigmatizing them; having easier access doled out through our institutions is a subject for another gressive and also more vulnerable. Progressive society to credit, education, housing, and jobs; being the benefi- essay, but it is obvious that what is given can be taken has an opportunity to articulate a vision and develop a ciary of historical wealth disparities; a continuing gap away by those in control. practice of a common interest in social transformation— between White wealth and Black wealth. To move beyond just essential moral concerns, it may social transformation that is truly antiracist, as well as White privilege is not necessarily White people escap- be useful to employ a concept from critical race theory, antisexist, and one that benefits most people, including ing suffering in their lives; being automatically richer or “interest convergence.” As stated by Warren J. Blumen- Whites, by creating a caring, trusting, truly democratic more successful than people of color (White people with feld in the Huffington Post, “The late Dr. Derrick Bell and just society. privilege can be poor too); freedom from oppression. of New York University Law School forwarded the the- To have a chance at a just future, we need to find ways “Whiteness” is a form of “property,” providing access ory of “interest convergence,” meaning that white peo- to push back against the raging tides of racism that have to myriad forms of power. White privilege as a concept ple will support racial justice only when they understand driven our nation’s history and are now re-emerging in effectively communicates racism’s centrality and ubiq- and see that there is something in it for them, when there stridently blatant forms. Trump seems eager to run on uity in our lives. It infuses and distorts interracial in- is a “convergence” between the interests of white people his exclusionary policies in an attempt to invigorate a teractions. Further, it highlights and helps explain an and racial justice.” If properly conceived, the interests white, Christian, male-dominated America. extremely effective mechanism of social control. Expos- of non-elite White people and People of Color will con- We are called upon to offer a compelling alternative, ing, understanding, and recognizing this mechanism can verge—moving beyond alliances of momentary conve- powerful enough to halt this dangerous trajectory. To ef- enable Whites to engage in needed internal reflection nience to a more profound connection in overcoming a fectively counter Trump’s open white nationalism, it is concerning control issues, arrogance, and the inability system bent on disempowering both. imperative to untangle the contradictions surrounding and/or unwillingness to hear/understand/appreciate the When the powers that be are doing well, they can be white privilege—to understand the centrality of race in voices of People of Color. more generous in material white privilege provision— our society so that the change we call for will be antira- But understanding white privilege does not serve as an witness the post World War II period of economic ex- cist, upending a deeply entrenched system of white su- all-purpose concept. Partially because it critiques white pansion where many Whites were afforded the privilege premacy, while at the same time expose the illusory na- consciousness so effectively, it may not necessarily aid of suburban life and GI bill access to higher education. ture of white privilege, contending with its temptations in providing an incentive for Whites to be active in the When matters are more challenging to the powers as we expose the flimflam at its core. struggle against racism. Since racial privilege is so per- that be—as with the decline in U.S. global power be- This article was originally published on portside.com. vasive and fundamental, the struggle against racism can ginning in its defeat in Vietnam—then privilege begins Howard Machtinger was a representative of Students be expected to entail real risk for all people, whites in- to assume less material and more illusory psychological for Democratic Society (SDS) at the second session of cluded. forms. Real wages stagnate; deindustrialization acceler- the Bertrand Russell International War Crimes Tribu- How does understanding the concept of white privi- ates; the welfare state is disassembled; social inequal- nal in Copenhagen in 1967, which included testimony lege contribute to the motivation of White people to en- ity is magnified. People of Color are disproportionately (including from U.S. soldiers) about the use of torture gage in such a daunting struggle? affected, but Whites are less insulated and increasingly by U.S. personnel in Viet Nam and the uses and dan- If Whites partake in the struggle against racism only vulnerable to these indices of decline. The material wage gers of Agent Orange. After the war, he helped found the as an act of moral virtue or even atonement for the un- of whiteness is increasingly replaced by a more evanes- Viet Nam Support Committee in Seattle in the hope that earned benefits they have gained from a destructive and cent, if still powerful, wage based on psychological mes- Americans would not abandon postwar Viet Nam. divisive privilege, they miss the larger issue and miss saging from politicians and mass media. 24 V4N4—Fall 2018 Peace in Our Times • peaceinourtimes.org Leave No Trace: A Case Study of the Scars of Betrayal Leave No Trace lems, most of them have flunked. They Directed by Debra Granik, Written by and any other viewers unfamiliar with Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini. the psychological problems of U.S. vet- Bleecker Street Studio, 2018 erans will leave the theater largely clue- less about Will’s back story. The film’s By Sam Coleman ­present-day setting means that Will was deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan and/ Debra Granik’s superbly constructed or any of the seven or so other places that Leave No Trace follows Will, a veteran we have sent soldiers for combat roles in of America’s current wars, and his 13-or- recent years—and probably in multiple so-year-old daughter Tom, through devel- deployments at that. Granik wisely re- opments that shatter their attempts to live jected the hackneyed device of the com- Debra Granik’s characters’ worlds are circumscribed by the aftermath of war. off the land in a semi-survivalist lifestyle bat flashback scene, giving us the space to surrounded by Oregon public forest. The consider causes of psychological damage to brutal climates. But most fearfully in- has given her a head start in education, premise of the film is Will’s intense need far broader than “the” PTSD-inducing jurious of all is betrayal of the self for tak- and her affinity for the creatures around to minimize contact with other people incident—a pathetically stunted explana- ing part in atrocities. When all of those her, from rabbits to bee colonies, hints at and Tom’s equally intense need to cleave tion of the devils that beset our veterans. betrayals boil over, it can result in actions a career in veterinary medicine or ento- to her father. The attentive viewer will see We can sum up every veteran’s emo- that the soldier later intensely regrets.­ mology that would reward her intelligence that, despite his impressive adaptations to tional injuries in one word: betrayal. Be- Is it any wonder that Will wants to leave and maturity. Had she been living in Or- the wild, Will is no naturalist, and he is trayal by politicians who condemn our the world? Or that our soldiers have expe- egon a few decades ago, she could real- a man of very few words so you won’t service members to military campaigns rienced so much pain that they seek other ize a dream like that, but today’s withered hear any soliloquies from him about his that prop up corrupt regimes. Betrayal escape hatches, from alcohol to suicide? public sector, drained by perpetual war plight. It’s not just his reaction to helicop- by venal careerist superiors and oppor- Clinicians are finally discussing these and financial shenanigans at the highest ter noise, a newspaper article on Marines’ tunists in the chain of command. Be- collective insults to the soul under the ru- level of policy, leaves Tom and everyone suicides squirreled away among his pa- trayal by members of an American public bric of “moral injury.” Their discourse is else her age undereducated or at the mercy pers, or his rejection of cell phones and who’ve either salved their guilt about vet- still halting and informal, though. Prog- of a pay-to-play educational system. And TV sets that will cue you in to his stress: erans with cheap gestures like magnetic ress in defining etiology and treatment is we are all the poorer because that door to whenever dealing with anyone other than ribbons, or who have forgotten our sol- glacial, because our mainstream mental career fulfillment is closed to her. his daughter, his face pinches up as if diers entirely. Betrayal by the local peo- health community refuses to peer into the Ultimately, no review can do justice to from a pain that just won’t go away, and ple in far-off lands who are supposed to ugly truths of our wars. the viewing experience. See this movie. he has to squeeze each word out of his be grateful to the U.S. military but who A no-spoilers review severely limits Then vow to help stop the crazy military mouth. provide “bad intel,” help plant roadside what I can write about healing. Whether machine that keeps churning out this kind Leave No Trace is not another depic- bombs, and plan ambushes after nightfall. this movie’s immediate outcome is happy of suffering. tion of timeless bonds between parent and These betrayals gnaw away at any valida- or sad, however, we should think about Sam Coleman, PhD, MSW, is a lec- child. The movie is getting well-­deserved tion our combat soldiers may feel for their Tom. What’s in the future for her, with or turer at California State University Long praise from reviewers, but as a test of their immense personal sacrifices, among them without her father? Not much. She’s bright Beach and the coordinator of the Veter- knowledge of veterans’ emotional prob- the deaths of battle buddies and exposure and quietly assertive. Her father’s tutelage ans For Peace PTSD Working Group.

lated by the United Nations into all six of- ficial languages and are the basis of the A Clear Exposition of a Complex History Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics For the people in Iran, that’s all ancient of the Islamic Republic of Iran history. As Medea writes, “Iran today, un- By Medea Benjamin fortunately, is no bastion of freedom.” My OR Books, 256 pages, 2018 reading of her book leaves me with the im- pression the problem has come (as such problems usually do) from a succession of By Denny Riley greedy and solipsistic leaders and foreign countries that thought they knew best. Alli- If you’ve been lucky enough to hear ances with the British, the Russians, and the ­Medea Benjamin speak, you know she is French never really had an advantage for full of blazing truth. She can stand in front the Persians. In the 1870s, Persian leaders of a hundred people and give them every- made almost unbelievable economic deals thing they want to know about the topic with foreign powers “to pay back debts she came to speak on, and give it to them they had accumulated, in part because of with fire in her belly, without pause or en- their extravagant lifestyles.” They granted tertaining aside. The facts and details she “a series of enormous economic conces- shares could come from some speakers in sions to British interests. The first, in 1872, a somnambulant voice, but Medea deliv- was known as the Reuters Concession. It ers them as something between a startling Medea Benjamin speaks on Iran at the Veterans For Peace convention. handed to Baron Julius de Reuter control story of outrage and a direct order to grab Photo: Ellen Davidson. over the nation’s roads, telegraphs, mills, the truth and do something about it. And factories, mineral extraction, forests, and she delivers her talks without notes. hostility. Medea has been to Iran twice and known as Persia and extended from the public works.” In 1890, British businessman Fortunately, she sometimes does take both times found the citizenry generous and Indus River in the east to the Aegean Sea Major G.F. Talbot was granted control of notes. She is a curious person who can look warm. The book is written to enlighten us in the west and down to Libya and Egypt. the production, sale, and export of tobacco. deeply into an issue and come up with a on the humanity of these people and this an- Cyrus the Great set slaves free and de- In 1901, Iran’s rulers signed over exclusive book. A recent result of her keen intellect is cient land that some persons of power in our clared religious freedom for everyone and oil-drilling rights to British businessman Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of government would like us to bomb, along equal opportunity for all races. He had William D’Arcy. Hard to imagine. the Islamic Republic of Iran. The book de- with the causes of the current situation. these basic rights inscribed on a barrel- Inside Iran is written in 10 chapters, livers a broad and understandable, though Medea writes in a clean, uncomplicated shaped baked-clay tablet that still exists, each one crisp and powerful. Many of the rich and detailed, account of the people and manner about a history rife with compli- known as the Cyrus Cylinder. Twenty- chapters can stand alone. Pick one with land toward which so many in America feel cations. Such as in 539 BC, when Iran was five hundred years later they were trans- continued on page 22 …