Hardly any week passes that we do hear in the news, an account of some military action taken by our government. It may be a drone that has killed some unnamed “militant” or “terrorist”, along with some casually mentioned civilians. Or, it may be an attack on some stronghold by our special forces or by surrogates armed and trained by us. Never mentioned is the fact that these attacks are violations of international law; that it is totally illegal (as well as immoral) to assassinate people, innocent or guilty, without due process of law.
This frequent use of the military is not new. Since the end of WWII our government has intervened militarily on four continents, often resulting in the deaths of millions (as in Vietnam and Korea.) Today, there are 800 US military bases in 130 countries. The United Nations was formed to make war obsolete, but the US more than any other nation has ignored or subverted this lofty goal. It is not that peace and justice organizations have not objected, they are just not heard or are drowned out because most media sources have not provided them a fraction of the coverage they give our government. This has led to the public hearing only one side of the story.
While many peace organizations challenge our militarism, none is more entitled to complain than Veterans For Peace, its members being aware they were misled by the politicians into thinking they were “spreading Democracy” or “defending America.” VFP is a national organization with 150 chapters throughout the country. Guilford County has none. A few veterans in Greensburo, NC are trying to change this. If you are interested in helping or want more information, contact one of us.
George Haeseler – ghaeseler@triad.rr.com
Ken Knight – oldpeacenik@gmail.com
Scott Smith - kogflag@gmail.com