veterans

Several great news stories from the past few days have FOR connections. No less a media source than The New York Times finally gave the anti-war community its due this weekend, profiling several of FOR's key allies in the movement -- including United for Peace & Justice, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and CodePink -- in its almost-alliterative piece "American Antiwar Movement Plans an Autumn Campaign Against Policies on Afghanistan."

Bill Scheurer, coordinator of the Peace Garden Project and a national council member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, had a great piece published this week on Truthout. His article, "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: Hope for Returning Veterans," profiled the growing number of cases of the "invisible wounds" of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

I am visiting Iran during these wonderful spring days, and in this visit, of course, I did not want to miss the opportunity to see my new friend Habib, who is as busy and as energetic as always. He shared with me one of his new writings; another memoir of war. 

Here's an update from our delegation leader David Hartsough

Father Louie Vitale and I met with a group of Iranian war veterans from the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) and a delegation from Hiroshima, Japan. Some of the vets had lost their legs; many had been attacked by the chemical weapons used by Saddam Hussein against the Iranians and have been suffering the consequences ever since.

There were widows who had lost their husbands, men who could barely see with one eye, people who could not breathe when someone started to smoke, and many from Hiroshima who had lost so many of their relatives and loved ones.

Peace Soldier provides a microphone for young American combat veterans to share their perspectives on the realities of war and the meaning of peace. The objective of the project is help ensure these young voices are heard loudly and considered frankly as we form our individual opinions and collective actions today and in the years to come. Peace Soldier brings together a wide range of creative works developed from the words and images of combat veterans, and distributes them using online media and public spaces. A series of peace soldier photography/essay portraits were unveiled publicly in September at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco and Art Storm Gallery in Houston.

Today is Veterans Day in the United States, and tributes are being made across the nation to those women and men who have risked their lives on behalf of the principles they feel are represented by our country's armed forces. While I am opposed to our nation's military efforts, I hold great respect for the selfless service of these courageous individuals.

The U.S. military has many faces across our globe. Today's international news reports that the deal being sought between the U.S. and Iraqi governments on security cooperation and transition is in danger because Iraqi officials want more concessions from the U.S. -- especially regarding the immunity that U.S. soldiers have had to crimes committed on Iraqi soil. According to the AP, "The latest U.S. draft also strengthens language regarding Iraqi
sovereignty but does not appear to make significant changes in the
limited legal authority granted to Iraq to prosecute U.S. soldiers."

IVAW Denver march 8/27/08: Photo: Rocky Mountain NewsSeptember is just hours away. The new school year is just around the corner (or has already begun, for some), and the attention of the country is turned to the presidential race, during this brief weekend "respite" between the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

On Monday evening, I was interviewed on a web-based radio station about the Fellowship of Reconciliation and especially our upcoming fourth annual Festival of Peace. The program, called "The Screaming Woman" radio show, hosted by Toni Quest (who I didn't find to be a screamer at all), is produced weekly on Passionate Internet Voices Radio.

Quest will be one of the featured artists in this year's art exhibit and auction being held at the Festival, and we had a lively conversation about the intersections between art and activism for peace and justice. She also invited me to talk about this year's peace prize winners, one of which is the Rockland Coalition for Peace & Justice (RCPJ).

Speaking of veterans, I just received an e-mail about Courage to Resist, a group working to support troops who refuse to fight. They are asking people to sign on to a letter asking Canadian government officials to allow resisters to stay there.

Visit www.couragetoresist.org/canada to send a letter.