Stay Out of Syria

Today, I repost Leah Bolger and David Swanson's statement about U.S. involvement in the emerging Israeli-Syrian war.  Ms. Bolger and Mr. Swanson are members of the Foreign Affairs Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet, which I invite you to learn more about. 

May 5, 2013

Foreign Affairs Branch

The following statement of Leah Bolger, Secretary of Defense and David Swanson, Secretary of Peace, of the Foreign Affairs Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet, is available online here. It may be republished with attribution and a link back to its original web location.

The Obama administration has seemingly painted itself into yet another military corner by announcing that use of chemical weapons by Syria would constitute a red line that would mandate military action on the part of the United States. Now we are hearing reports that the red line may have been crossed, and some prominent officials are calling for the U.S. to step up its aid to the rebels and/or impose a no-fly zone. Proponents of military action such as Secretary of State John Kerry and hawkish Senator John McCain seem to think that the U.S. can sort out the “good guys” in the Syrian civil war, and use U.S. military assets to help the rebels take down the Assad government.

U.S. military involvement in Syria could only make things worse. Syria does not need a "no fly" zone. It needs a "no weaponizing" zone. The White House and its allies need to stop arming one side of a civil war, and to persuade Russia to stop arming the other. Further escalating the violence will result in nothing that could outweigh the damage of that violence.

The Netanyahu government in Israel has just raised the ante in this precarious situation by conducting air-to-ground missile attacks against Syria, undoubtedly with the tacit approval of the United States. Allowing Israel to attack Syria without consequences is not only the sanctioning of a crime; it also allows momentum to develop for greater violence and pushes peaceful resolution further out of reach. Diplomacy must be actively pursued before it is too late.

Further military interference in Syria would be a disastrous decision in important ways. For one thing, it is not at all clear if chemical weapons have been used, and if so, by which side. U.S. media has a tendency to turn conjecture into accepted fact merely by repeating it. Furthermore, the U.S. military has itself used  and continues to use chemical and nuclear weapons — Agent Orange and napalm in Vietnam and white phosphorus and depleted uranium weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ongoing hypocrisy of U.S. policy and practice in this regard undermines our nation’s international moral and legal position.

Secondly, there are few if any “good guys” among the combatants in Syria. Because the White House has decided that regime change in Syria is our business, Americans are now squarely allied with extremist anti-democratic insurgents—the same people the administration has deemed our enemy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As it has time after the time, the theory that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” will come back to bite the U.S. once Assad is out of office.

Those who hold Libya up as an example of the kind of military action that should be taken in Syria don’t understand some very basic concepts. Syria’s air defense batteries are located in urban centers, not like Libya’s, which could be attacked without causing a high number of civilian casualties. If the U.S. targets urban centers in Syria, global opinion will quickly turn against us. Furthermore, the Assad government’s close relationship with major powers Russia and Iran could mean that a U.S. attack would lead to widespread war. An escalated U.S. war in Syria would not be waged simply on American terms. Those who advocate for military action don’t seem to understand the global response to our actions.

But the most basic reason that the U.S. should not interfere militarily in Syria is because we should support self-determination. It should be left to the Syrian people to decide who will run their government. Overthrowing foreign governments is not legal, moral, or practical.  It is not a safe practice to encourage. In fact, in nearly a century of warmaking, there is still no example of the United States or NATO having “liberated” a country to beneficial effect. Libya's violence is spilling into neighboring nations. Iraq is arguably in worse shape post-intervention than Syria is pre-intervention.

In the immediate term, the Green Shadow Cabinet calls on the United States government and the international community to provide humanitarian aid—food and shelter for those displaced, and assistance to countries that are providing safe haven for Syrian refugees. And the administration should invest in multilateral diplomatic efforts involving both Russia and Iran, as well as others, to push for a cease fire and an end to weapons shipments.

In the long term, we must win an international ban on weapons and war profiteering, which is a major factor in feeding the cycle of violence.

LEAH BOLGER is Secretary of Defense in the Green Shadow Cabinet. She is a former Commander in the United States Navy, retired.

DAVID SWANSON is Secretary of Peace in the Green Shadow Cabinet. He is author of War is a Lie, When the World Outlawed War, and The Military Industrial Complex at 50.

The original post can be found here:
  http://greenshadowcabinet.us/statements/bolger-swanson-stay-out-syria

And no, I couldn't have said it better myself.

Beyond Borders: A National Day of Action Calling for Fair and Inclusive Immigration Reform (4/10/13)

Wednesday's stunning sunshine welcomed those who showed up in Oakland's Oscar Grant Plaza to call for fair and inclusive immigration reform.  As I stood there surrounded by members of the community, labor unions, faith organizations and simply lovely people, I noted the life on the faces, the names behind the actions, and some of the unique personalities that make our nation strong.  Whether we come to these events to represent our organizations, our families or ourselves, we each have a voice that deserves to be heard and rights that warrant protection.  All too often, the immigrant voice is lost in anonymity and inhumane workloads, perhaps stifled by fear of deportation or mistreatment by those in power.  At actions such as these it becomes all too apparent that so many immigrants rely on community organizers to tell their story to the public, while they carry on their struggle in silence.  Here are some of the folks who came together -- to share a word, a sign, a smile, a march and a call for change.

In the presence of great women

 More Pictures from Oakland's Immigration Rally & March on 4/10/13

Among those groups represented were SEIU Local, LIUNA Local 304, EBASE, Interfaith Worker Justice, Presente!, GENESIS, Janitors for Justice, Justa Causa, and Forward Together.

“ Today we must fight for a better world, without poverty, without racism, with peace. ” – Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize Winner

An International Women's Day Rejoicing

Dear Fantastic Women of the World,

I am convinced that the only way to save the universe is for some Wonder Woman style Amazonian takeover run by you.  It's going to have to be a collective effort.  We're going to have to pull out all the stops, use all our profound knowledge, all our savvy, all our sex appeal, and all our nurturing habits to make this thing work.  We've been leaving it up to the men now for so many centuries, and pardon the diss, gentlemen, but you're failing miserably at running the world.  It's time to bring out the golden lassos of truth and send the existing "Administration" to the rehabilitation center on Transformation Island.  It's time to tap into our womanly super powers -- draw upon our strength, develop our limited telepathy and use our eyes-in-the-back-of-our-head supervision to steer this ship back on course -- without the gas-fired vehicles and jets that have been getting us around for so long now.  We need to travel in a different kind of vehicle on a different route than has traditionally been done for some time now.  And women, we are not afraid to start at home.

First, turn off the status quo.  (This may include your gas furnace.  Think now -- how do I warm the place up without PG&E and Shell Oil in bed together?)  Abandon stale or fixed ideas as changing and insubstantial. Move into the present.  See a different future.  How do we cook up some good news for ourselves, our families, our communities and our planet?  Do some brainstorming about better ways of being and doing.

Secondly, call upon the Female Muses.  Who are the women you admire?  Bring them to mind and contemplate that which inspires you to greatness.  Top of my list -- my Mother, Barbara Ann Elledge.  In spite of the fact that she's not my birth mother, this has never stopped her from loving me and my brothers and sisters alike.  She's hugely responsible for instilling in me a strong work ethic, a sense of belonging, a desire to be self-sufficient and a can-do attitude.  She's allowed me to make my own mistakes and to learn from them. She taught me that if I was going to do something half-ass, not to do it at all.  She taught me that in spite of educational shortcomings, you can still perform at a high level of excellence in the workplace and in the community.  She taught me to nurture and to provide, to take care of my family and not to sweat the small stuff.  She taught me that being successful in the world means a peaceful existence with your basic needs for food, shelter and clothing met.  She taught me to cook, clean and be friends with the neighbors.  She taught me that you are sometimes called upon to take care of others when they are in a bind.  She taught me not to judge others, and that what others think of me is not my business.  But most importantly, she taught me that there is such a thing as unconditional love, and she exhibits it each and every day with her husband, with each of her children, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren.  She continues to love me in spite of myself, and this is a very high calling.  I never had to look far for a role model of womanly love, strength, power and attainment; she was right there in my mother.  I hold her image in my heart today and every day.

Thirdly, call upon the men you know and love and ask them to support you.  (And I don't mean in a stereotypical monetary fashion, ladies and gentlemen!)  Call upon the men you'd like to know and ask them to support you.  Call upon the men you don't know and ask them to support you.  Men, we women could use some support!

Most importantly, call upon yourself.  Be your own Shero. With your women ancestors and idols and Sheroes and role models in mind, take yourself to the next level.  Keep in mind that we are all interconnected, and that our thoughts and actions, relationships and endeavors all manifest in wonderful womanly ways.  We cannot continue to underestimate ourselves and our place in the world.  We must prevail in the Power of the Feminine.  The World is watching and waiting for our ascension.

Women of past, present and future.  This day, this time, this moment is all about YOU.  I salute you!

My mother’s unconditional love breaks the bonds placed on her by social, economic and environmental strictures. She is a Force of Nature.    (That's my Mom on the right. :)

Note to Mom:  You're right up there in my steering committee, along with Padmatara and the women Sangha members of the San Francisco Buddhist Center, Toby Blome and the ladies of Code Pink, my sisters Cheryl and Tena, my good friends Christine, Miria, Tammy, Nelda, Jane, Joanna & Carolyn, my boss Hillary, Dr. Jill Stein and Amy Goodman.
 And of course, my daughter Zoe, the youngest and most hopeful Shero of them all.
(Other women that I love, I have not excluded you.  I just ran out of breath on my way to work.)

                                        

Placeholder

This is a placeholder for an entry that has yet to be written due to circumstances of life.  For the chronological sequence of things, it belongs in this order. I'll get back to you shortly, my friend.

Felling Trees

They cut down the last three pine trees on the hillside they've been clear cutting in Glen Canyon Park over the weekend (just the entranceway behind the tennis courts, and not the whole park.)  The pine trees had also been tagged as "invaders, just as many of the acacia and eucalyptus and olive that took over the park over a century ago, but they were doing a pretty good job of posing as native trees.

Just days before, I saw a red-tailed hawk perched in the tallest pine, saying his goodbyes.

I met a woman photographing the barren hillside last night, and we talked some.  When I mentioned to her that it was hard to see 100-plus-foot trees fall, she laughed and said it was a welcome change.  She said she's been working with trees her whole life and the ones they've chosen to fell were "all the right ones" and that "they're terrible for the environment."  I replied something like, "That's why the owls and hawks live in them."  She insisted that those birds would have nothing to do with the trees they chose to fell, and that she was looking forward to the diversity the change would bring.  I smiled, and said nothing, but inwardly I was crying, thinking, "Tell that to the hawk."

Yes, there's nothing so fulfilling as change, I say.  That's why I feel so empty inside.

Marked Tree 6 of 400.   Surely you, too, are a safety hazard.

    

Drone Letters to Congress

The long version:

Date:

Dear Senator/Representative,                                                                         

As members of local peace and justice organizations opposed to the continuation of the Bush administration’s failed wars, we are writing to condemn the Obama Administration's use of unmanned aerial vehicles or “drones”, to kill citizens in at least seven countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia and Yemen.  The use of drones is wrong on many levels:  the illegality and immorality of assassinations, the violation of international law and the Constitutional protection of due process, the targeting killing of civilian populations, and the violation of national sovereignty.  Equally wrong and quite disturbing are killings by U.S. drones of at least 3 U.S. citizens, including a 16 year old boy born in Denver, Colorado, all in violation of their right to due process.  We are especially troubled by the Obama Administration's refusal to release, even to Congress, the documents which purportedly give the U.S. legal cover to determine who is placed on the "kill list."  A recent House Resolution, HR 819, sought to make these documents public.

The use of killer drones does and will continue to create more enmity toward the United States.  Because of the lack of transparency, it remains unclear how many civilians have suffered losses of life, limb or property as a result of strikes.  A recent Columbia University study gives strong evidence to support high rates of civilian casualties.  Another recent and important study by Stanford and New York Universities revealed in detail how communities living under drone warfare in Pakistan are being "terrorized" by the daily presence of these drones in their skies.  High rates of psychological trauma, suicide, and PTSD are just a few of the symptoms, as well as the serious disruption of their entire social structure.  We are providing copies of these studies to your staff, and hope that you will take the time to read them.   Sadly, Obama has drastically increased the use of drone strikes compared to former President Bush, leading to rampant anti-U.S. sentiment throughout these areas of conflict.

Furthermore, we are also concerned that U.S. drones are used to eliminate political opponents of corrupt leaders.  This happened in 2010 in Yemen, when a state governor who opposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh was labeled as a leader of Al Qaeda and killed.

We believe that Congress should uphold its responsibilities in providing the checks and balances needed to protect us from an executive branch that has run amok, acting in total disregard to International and Constitutional law.  This would have a profound effect around the world, and could initiate a process of healing. As citizens, we do not see the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia and Yemen as enemies. They are our brothers and sisters.  Instead of wasting billions of dollars on immoral drone strikes, take the money from the program and give it to non-governmental organizations working on providing jobs and income to people so that they do not join militant groups.  There would be tremendous support for such a program in these war-torn countries. 

The illegal U.S. occupations and proliferating drone wars have been demonstrable failures.  Now is the time to take a bold step for peace.  Imagine becoming a country which has denounced the madness of war, and instead wants to assist and make friendship with the people of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the entire world.

We are asking you to do the following:  

- Sponsor a bi-partisan bill calling for an immediate moratorium on all targeted killing by drones, with the ultimate goal of an in-depth Congressional investigation into the ineffectiveness and illegality of U.S. drone warfare.

-Work diligently to get your Congressional peers to support the above bill, and establish Congressional oversight over the illegal practices committed by the Obama Administration, the CIA and the Pentagon, as is your obligation by the U.S. Constitution.

-Sponsor a bi-partisan bill to address some of the most egregious practices of U.S. drone warfare, calling for an immediate ban on:

a.)  All extra-judicial killings of U.S. citizens by U.S. drones or by any other means, without due process.  Stop the assassination of our own citizens.

b.)  The practice of “Double-tapping”, or “secondary strikes”, by U.S. drones, which is clearly a war crime under international law, and has led to the killing of rescuers and medical relief workers, and has discouraged witnesses from providing aid to those injured in drone strikes.

c.)  The practice of “signature strikes”, or killing of unknown individuals purely based on “suspicious behavior”, without any knowledge of their identity, which leads to very high rates of civilian deaths.

d.)  The Obama Administration’s policy of calling all military-age males “militants” and therefore subject to being drone targets, which also leads to very high civilian death rates.

        

We would like a response to these requests in the next 30 days, for we feel the lives and well-being of every person that is potentially threatened by these drone attacks requires our and your urgent action.  Should you agree to endorse a foreign policy with the goal of peace and justice, we will stand with you. Rejecting our requests will make you complicit in the immoral and lawless actions of the Obama Administration.  We will then continue to protest, risk arrest and denounce a foreign policy of endless wars and illegal assassinations and hold Congress complicit with these policies.  

We also request a meeting with you in the next month to discuss our proposal to immediately end killer drone strikes and to start a process of healing with the victims of U.S. wars.  Please give serious consideration to our proposal of reconciliation and diplomacy rather than be complicit in the continued use of pernicious killer drones.  We urge you to provide the necessary checks and balances against the executive branch, a responsibility required under the Constitution, which you have sworn an oath to uphold.

For a more peaceful world,

 

           

Imagine

Tuesday morning was the first time in months that I'd been up at 4am to prepare for a protest.  Usually my reasons for being up at 4am are more self-centered; I struggle for time alone, and being up at this time of day gives the impression that I'm achieving some of that.  Quickly packing for my day trip, I am excited to finally be part of the contingent headed to Sacramento for Anti-Drone Action Day, organized by Code Pink activist Toby Blomé.

At 8am, a BART ride and carpool ride later, we arrive at the Federal Courthouse in Sacramento where 9 anti-drone activists were scheduled for arraignment that morning for charges of blocking the gate at Beale Air Force Base back in October 2012. Nine very brave individuals who blocked base traffic that day to present their demands to the Base Commander of Beale, which is of course where the 9th Reconnaissance Wing (9 RW) of the Twelth Air Force Command is located and performs its national and international surveillance training and operations in the skies, along with combat support and forces.  Beale Air Force Base is the home of Global Hawk, among other drone aircraft.  We hit the sidewalks in front of the courthouse with our banners, signs and bullhorn, as more activists arrived for the morning rally.  It consisted of locals from the Sacramento, folks who lived near the base, folks from the Bay Area . . . from Elk Grove to Nevada City to Sacramento to San Francisco, peace activists who want to end illegal wars and stop the killing of innocents and "militants" in our name.

Since I'm the Newbie on the scene, I'll just point you a couple of articles that best summarize the happenings of the morning.  First, there's Ken Butigan's blog, which is in my opinion, a "must read."  There's also Reverend Sharon Delgado's blog. She's one of the 9 still facing federal charges, and a repeat demonstrator at Beale.  She's stunning in her clear anti-drone position, and posts regularly about her activities at Beale.  The Sacramento Bee covered the story of the 5 protesters (of the original Beale 9) who were arraigned on Tuesday the 8th and will return to court on April 15th.  (BTW, that's me, in the front on the right, holding one of Toby's lovingly hand-made banners with the lovely Martha Hubert, another Code Pink activist.)

After the Beale 9 were dismissed from court, our group spent the next hour signing letters to Congresswomen Doris Matsui and Barbara Boxer, and began our attempts to meet with their Congressional staff persons in attempt to explain our position, and to give them our letters of demand.  This is where the real ironic fun began for me -- in the Honorable Barbara Boxer's Sacramento office.  Although one of the activists had phoned in the day before to let them know we were coming and to request a meeting, the receptionist/administrative assistant insisted that there was no staff member available to meet with us.  A few of us decided to stay in the office and wait, while the rest of the contingent went to Matsui's office, and actually received an audience with a member of her staff, and were able to present their letter to be read at a later date.  Although I was not exactly hopeful that Boxer's staff would lend us an ear, it was particularly enlightening to be in her office and stare at the art on the walls.  It explains a lot about what we're up against in the anti-drone campaign.

On one wall of Boxer's office hangs the photograph entitled "Matriot."

Read about Nina in Howard Fast's Peekskill, USA

Here's a shot of my new friend Nina Folk sitting under "Matriot" in Boxer's office.  Nina's an 83-year-old activist who lost a finger back when she was 18 years old, while attending a 1949 ACLU Freedom Concert in Peekskill, New York, and she was inside her vehicle when a rioting group broke the windows of the vehicle with stones, screaming racist profanities at her.  The glass of the side window came in and severed part of her middle finger.  Nina was, of course, afraid to visit the local clinic and the police laughed at her, stalling her ability to receive other medical assistance until it was too late to reattach the finger.

Can I just say that Nina rocks!, and I hope I have the perseverance and dedication of Nina in my own lifetime.  Nina is still working, in geriatric care, with clients in the Bay Area, and she has many activist moves to share with her friends in the Movement.

But I digress.

On the other wall in the Honorable Barbara Boxer's office hangs this image of Beale Airforce men and woman standing in front of the surveillance drone Global Hawk:

"Senator Boxer, Thank you for all your support."  

 As you can see, Senator Boxer's got her bases covered.

The whole point of visiting Senator Boxer's office was to have a discussion with her or her staff members about our wish to end drone strikes, to deliver the studies referenced below, and to give her our letters of demand.  I invite you to read this information, and to write a letter to your own Congresspersons to advocate for change in the U.S. drone policy, both domestically and abroad. Should we continue in this vein, I imagine it won't be long until the international enmity we are creating will soon eat us alive, and leave many more dead and terrorized along the way.

   Research Studies on the negative effects of the U.S. drone program and civilian casualties:
      "Living Under Drones: Death, Injury and Trauma to Civilians from US Drone Practices in Pakistan" 
       Columbia Law School's "Counting Deaths From Drone Strikes"

After leaving my Senator's office disappointed but determined to see her in future, we picnicked in front of the Courthouse, then I joined a group of folks headed to Beale Air Force Base to see what I could see.  Here's a glimpse.

                                                       

Parking lot at the Main Gate w/ photo of Pakistani child killed by Hellfire missile

Standing in the Line of Protest

Corporate Flag of the United States of America

Militant?  Killed by U.S. drone

Making our presence known.

It's a lonely job, but someone's got to do it.

 

I hope one day you will join us.

If you would like to have a sample letter to send to your Congressperson or want to get in touch with folks who care about the U.S. drone crisis, you can email me at abacusaurus@gmail.com.  The protests at Beale are ongoing, and we could use your help.  Every action counts.

May you be well.  May all people be happy and secure.