(11 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Just prior to the Republican Convention Veterans For Peace held their annual convention, it to took place in the twin cities area, Minneapolis-St Paul. For those who might be interested you can take a look at some photo’s of the VFP Convention Here and Here
But this isn’t about the VFP Convention, it’s about what came out of.
Veterans For Peace adopted two resolutions last week effectively firing signal flares into the path of whoever wins this November’s election, regardless of party.
The resolutions mentioned above, along with the others voted on, set the goals for the over 150 chapters of Veterans For Peace for the coming year. In these times of two, now long running, Occupation Theaters they are also adopted as goals by the rapidly growing, in members and chapters, Iraq Veterans Against the War – IVAW adding to their other goals and resolutions for their own present brother and sister Veterans of OIF and OEF.
Along with VFP and IVAW another fast growing groups members attended and also adopt these resolutions, Military Families Speak Out, the families who along with the soldiers are the only ones sacrificing, in this country, in these times and because of these long running occupations.
Members of Military Families Speak Out from around the country traveled to Denver and St. Paul to make their voices heard.
In meetings with delegates, interviews with the press, and demonstrations in the streets, MFSO members criticized Democrats and Republicans alike for voting again and again to fund the occupation of Iraq while denying troops and veterans the health care they need. In an early morning meeting in Denver, MFSO members from Colorado and California were able to tell Michelle Obama that they want the next President to bring all of our troops home from Iraq immediately and give them the care they deserve when they get here. Other members tried to deliver the same message to Republican leaders in St. Paul.
{if you click on the photo you’ll be able to get a much bigger one to view, it would be a slow load for dial-up as it is a much larger picture}
Why am I using the photo above, of Michele Obama hugging a member of MFSO and if you look close you will see Jill Biden, both are wearing “Supporting Our Troops” t-shirts, well it’s the least I can do to thank them as an older Veteran for this:
IVAW Victory: Message Delivered at the DNC
IVAW members were in Denver on August 27th where they led a march of ten thousand to the Democratic National Convention to deliver a message to Barack Obama calling on the Democratic nominee to endorse the three main goals of IVAW: Immediate withdrawal, full veterans benefits, and reparations for the Iraqi people.
Following a packed show at the Denver Coliseum where Rage Against the Machine and the Flobots encouraged the crowd to join IVAW’s march, two squads of 25 IVAW members each formed up outside the venue and began marching to the Pepsi center. The squads were led by members in dress uniforms and combat uniforms, with thousands of supporters marching behind them in support.
Read more for a full report on the actions at the DNC plus video and photos of the actions.
And why, you may ask, not any photo’s of the Republican candidates wife and their VP choices husband, well apparently there aren’t any that I can find and also because of this:
IVAW Turned Back from Delivering Briefing to McCain
A formation of 60 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans marched in uniform to Xcel Energy Center on Monday to deliver a briefing on veterans’ issues to Senator McCain on the opening day of the Republican National Convention.
IVAW member Wes Davey led the march and attempted to deliver the briefing to Senator McCain’s staff. Despite numerous mailed, faxed, and in-person invitations to meet, McCain’s office refused to send anyone to receive the briefing. When Davey, a retired Army First Sergeant and former St. Paul police officer, attempted to deliver the briefing, he was escorted off the premises.
Davey is a father of five and grandfather of seven. He served 28 years in the Army, including a tour in Iraq in 2003. His oldest child has served two tours in Iraq. “After being an NCO for all those years, I care deeply about all those still serving in Iraq,” said Davey about his reasons for organizing this march.
Sorry those of you in this so called Republican party, this Independant and old Vet doesn’t have a Thank You to give to you!
Now back to the two very important resolutions mentioned at the beginning.
The First Resolution, sorry but not up at the site just yet but soon to be, as written in the article linked above as well as Here states:
is likely to become a guidepost for a peace movement now almost exclusively concentrating on Iraq
It is a
statement recognizing that when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan;
* “…the only threats to our nation existing there were non-indigenous groups whom we ourselves had fostered and fed,” and that “our wanton use of force and violence against the people of Afghanistan has inflamed world opinion against the United States and has diminished our nation’s ability to work toward world peace and our own security by non-violent means.”
The resolution called for the immediate withdrawal of all military and intelligence forces, similar to what most of the peace movement demands in Iraq. More significantly, however, VFP “renounces the claim that the war in Afghanistan is somehow the ‘right’ war and reaffirms our position that war must be abolished.”
My take on Afghanistan runs along the same line. Once we left Afghanistan to invade Iraq, who’s people than were not a threat to us, and didn’t bring forth the promised monies to help them rebuild after we helped stabilize somewhat that country, we opened the door for the al Qaeda and Taliban factions to reform and fanned the fires of hatred for them to easily recruit more into their ranks. Now the dangers in Afghanistan have been growing rapidly. We also have started bombing, and probably special forces, raids across their border into Pakistan which while probably killing and maiming members of those two insurgent factions have killed and maimed innocents. The killing and maiming of innocents and the opening of another front in another country, Pakistan, will only bring forth the patriotism of many of the Pakistanis, who have stayed out of the fray, causing many to join the established insurgent factions or forming their own and attacking American and Nato forces. This is already happening as well as others from that region traveling to the border to join the insurgent factions. We lost Afghanistan when we left it high and dry, there is no win situation in this growing Guerilla War, and the more innocent Afghans killed and maimed will only make more Afghans also go against the U.S. and Nato forces. Taliba and al Qaeda, along with Pakistanis and others to the front at the border and possibly growing forces of Afghans to the rear. It’s time to Get Out instead of fanning the fires of hatreds even further and creating an overwhelming number of enemies of Us and the Western World!
The Second Resolution is extremely important for this Countries survival, as we knew it, and for bringing us back towards the direction this Leading Democracy, of this World, can only take to bring back the respect of the rest of the World, and we’ve got a long hall, a real long hall!
This Resolution Calls For The Accountability This Country Must Take and Has Thus Been To Afraid To Approach:
Resolution on Prosecuting George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and other Bush Administration Officials for War Crimes, Crimes Against Peace and Crimes Against Humanity
Whereas, the March 2003 invasion of Iraq was not only immoral but illegal, violating numerous U.S. and international laws, including but not limited to USC 2441 (War Crimes Act of 1996), the Geneva Conventions, the Nuremberg Tribunal Charter, the U.N. Charter and Resolutions, the Laws and Customs of War on Land and;
Whereas, the Veterans For Peace “Case for Impeachment” details six pages of violations of the above laws and is still but a partial listing, and;
Whereas, the spineless dereliction of duty of the U.S. Congress may well allow Bush, Cheney and other administration officials to avoid impeachment before they leave office in January of 2009, and;
Whereas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Robert Jackson, appointed by President Truman to be the Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Tribunals following World War II, stated so prophetically, “…let me make clear that while this law is first applied against German aggressors, the law includes, and if it is to serve a useful purpose it must condemn aggression by any other nations, including those which sit here now in judgment.” and;
Whereas, the anguished cry of a village sheik in Iraq must be answered when he implored, “You say you live in a democracy. How can this be happening to us?” and;
Whereas, as citizens of the United States we are complicit in the crimes of the Bush administration in Iraq because we cannot claim ignorance of these crimes, and;
Whereas, for the sake of humanity, for the sake of history, and to absolve even a small measure of the complicity we each share as U.S. citizens, we must do everything in our power to hold our leaders accountable and bring them to justice;
Therefore be it resolved that Veterans For Peace will take every appropriate measure on our own and in coalition with others to insure that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and responsible members of their administration are prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity before any court claiming jurisdiction in this country or abroad, for as long as they shall live.
Veterans For Peace membership, like many Veterans Groups as well as the thousands of groups, many Community Service Groups, around this country, consists of all of political parties of the citizens of this country. This isn’t Politics this is keeping with the Oath civilians take at the time of entry into the Military Forces of Service to their country:
“I
_____
do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).
And good news to add to the above, especially for those who can tear themselves away from their computers and actually do some Community Service’s and Activism of the Political Stripe:
V.A. to Allow Voter Signup for Veterans at Facilities
The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday that it would no longer ban voter registration drives among veterans living at federally run nursing homes, shelters for the homeless and rehabilitation centers across the country.
Many of us who do have Won a Victory, one that shouldn’t have even been fought for!
Veterans officials said that they would welcome state and local election officials and nonpartisan groups to hospitals and outpatient clinics to help register voters but that such assistance needed to be coordinated by those facilities in order to avoid disruptions to patient care.
More than 100,000 people reside for a month or longer at V.A. facilities nationally, a number that has grown as soldiers return wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Right On Ms Feinstein, Right On:
“Given the sacrifices that the men and women who have fought in our armed services have made, providing easy access to voter registration services is the very least we can do,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who introduced legislation in July to reverse the V.A. ban. Ms. Feinstein added that she would soon hold hearings on the issue.
Now there is a question as to whether the VA will implement in time for the coming election, Hit The Bricks if you have a facility near you and Demand You Be Allowed In To Register, the country doesn’t wait when Soldiers are given Orders to Invade until the Soldiers Ready, this should have already been a Right for those who give service to!!