Tag Archives: Veteran

We Must Rethink Drone Warfare

VIGIL FOR PEACE Mondays Noon-1p Corner MLK Jr. Blvd. & Doty St. Madison City-Cty. Bldg. WK 1650 11.18.2019

 

Volk Field ANGB, Camp Douglas, WI trains personnel to operate the RQ-7 Shadow Drone, used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and acquisition integral to U. S. Drone Warfare. Albeit unwittingly, Wisconsin taxpayers support these illegal, immoral actions with our tax dollars.

We must rethink drone warfare.

 

Andrew J. Bacevich Jr. (born July 5, 1947) is an American historian specializing in international relations, security studies, American foreign policy, and American diplomatic and military history.

Bacevich is a professor of history and international relations at Boston University. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he received his Ph.D. in American Diplomatic History from Princeton University. Before joining the faculty of Boston University, he taught at West Point and Johns Hopkins University. Read posts on BillMoyers.com written by Andrew Bacevich.

Volk Field ANGB, Camp Douglas, WI

Seven peace activists walked onto the base at Volk Field at noon on Tuesday, November 12, wearing black veils, carrying limp dolls and posters of children killed by drones. They were
arrested by Juneau County officers, handcuffed and taken to the station in Mauston, where they
were booked and cited for trespassing and released.

 

Joy First: Seven Arrested Mourning Children Killed By Drones

 

Statement read on the grounds of Volk Field ANG Military Base, November 12, 2019 

by Bonnie Block . Joyce Ellwanger . Joy First . Bob Graf . Jim Murphy . Phil Runkel . Brian Terrell

We come, in peace.

We come, because we mourn the children who have died from attacks by U.S. military drones. We remember these children, whose lives have been cut short while also remembering their
mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and grandparents who continue to mourn the deaths of
these beautiful children.

We come, because the United States is solely responsible for the deaths of many thousands of people from drone attacks, including thousands of children who have been killed by drones.

We come, because our government covers it up, and it is impossible to really know how many innocent lives have been lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and other countries in the Middle East and in Africa, yet the Journal for Investigative Journalism claims that between
8,000 and 12,000 people have been killed by U.S. drones.

We come, because we are causing unimaginable grief to mothers and fathers, sons and daughters whose loved ones have been murdered by the US government. We must remember that these are real people with names and families who love them.

We come, because killing with drones is a violation of human rights and international law. Drone attacks are clearly extrajudicial assassinations, going against the constitution and have
been condemned by the United Nations.

We come, because the personnel working with and training with the RQ-7 Shadow Drones at Volk Field are an integral part of and are complicit in the whole US drone warfare program.

We come, because Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The Arc of the Moral Universe Is Long, but It Bends Towards Justice.” We want to be a part of making the arc bend towards justice. We call upon you to be part of it also.

Contact: joyfirst5@gmail.com
(Photo by Cassandra Dixon)

 

Frances Wiedenhoeft: Making the case for Armistice Day

This op-ed originally appeared on madison.com.

Remember Armistice Day? Unless you were socially aware before 1954, or had an exceptional history teacher, probably not. I didn’t.

The day we now honor solely as a tribute to military veterans has its roots in a national dedication to peace. Consider the history. America’s founders believed war would be a temporary state until the country got off the ground. They viewed a standing army as a threat to our fledgling democracy. A nation with a ready military would be more likely to use it. The result would be a potentially unsustainable tax burden on citizens to support the army and the wars.

Two generations later, 8 million soldiers and 10 million civilians were dead in the bloodiest, most far reaching and destructive war the world had ever seen. On Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m., an armistice was signed to end World War I. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed to a war-weary nation that Nov. 11 would be celebrated as a day for America “to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the council of nations.”

Congress strengthened the intention of the day in its 1926 resolution that “the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through goodwill and mutual understanding between nations.”

In the intervening years, America’s commitment to celebrate Nov. 11 honoring peace has wavered. By 1954, after World War II and a war on the Korean Peninsula, the United States was home to more than 20 million veterans. President Eisenhower changed the name of the Nov. 11 holiday to Veteran’s Day. His goal was to “pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this nation.”

Unfortunately, the day to “solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly” has romanticized war. Talk of peace is seen as unpatriotic and a disservice to veterans.

My own deployments have taught me that no one desires peace more than a soldier. We have seen firsthand the inglorious brutality of war and its vicious cycle of pain and retribution. As a veteran, I believe nothing makes our nation greater or honors my service better than celebration to resolve world conflict through peaceful and diplomatic means.

Can a day to honor veterans coexist with a return to the original spirit of Armistice Day? Absolutely. The best way to honor a veteran is to celebrate peace.

Wiedenhoeft, of Madison, is a veteran of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Desert Storm, and a member of Veterans for Peace, Chapter 25.