[Afsckc-peacealert] KC AFSC Peace and Justice Alerts - June 4, 2009
Ira Harritt
IHarritt at afsc.org
Thu Jun 4 18:54:25 EDT 2009
KC AFSC Peace and Justice Alerts - June 4, 2009
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Educate Yourself. Share your knowledge. Take Action!
For information about the American Friends Service Committee,
contact us at 816 931-5256 or afsckc at afsc.org
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"Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process,
gradually changing opinions,
slowly eroding old barriers,
quietly building new structures."
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
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Dear Friends,
A small group of area activists braved the rainy weather and joined the
regular Tuesday Peace Vigil at 63rd & Ward Parkway which this week was
held to mark the death of the 5,000th U.S. military person in the Iraq
and Afghanistan wars and occupations.
The vigil was organized after Monday's announcement of the deaths of
four U.S. soldiers in two roadside bombing attacks in Wardak,
Afghanistan, a province west of Kabul. In addition to the four U.S.
deaths, 24 Afghanis and others were killed in attacks across Afghanistan
that day.
The vigil was held to remember U.S. troops whose lives have been lost in
the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations and to call for an end to the
military action. Instead of seeking security through more troops we call
for a shift in U.S. policy and strategy asking that we:
* Foster Internal Peace-building and the Creation of True Security
* Strengthen Economic and Social Development
* End Reliance on Military Solutions
* Emphasize Regional Diplomacy
Occupation and U.S. military presence in the Iraq and Afghanistan only
create more anti-American hatred and delays the political and diplomatic
agreements necessary for a stable future for these two nations.
In a KSHB 41 TV interview at the vigil I commented "We are sorry we have
to mark these kinds of events. We would have thought that by now our
leaders would have realized there is no military solution in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and we must emphasize diplomacy." (Click her for the text
of the KSHB 41 story and post a comment.
<http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story/War-Vigil-Marks-5-000-Dea
ths/dXL-qa6xbU22lw6cXYjnUw.cspx> )
Though Iraq and Afghanistan policy does not yet reflect it, US Secretary
of Defense Robert Gates has acknowledged that "over the long term, the
United States cannot kill or capture its way to victory."
As the violence in Afghanistan escalates and as more citizens demand
change we hope that our elected officials will face the reality that it
is futile to rely on military action in Iraq and Afghanistan. They must
instead utilize other more constructive strategies (diplomacy,
peace-building, economic development...) to help stabilize these
countries (according to the Associated Press, 64 U.S. forces have been
killed in Afghanistan this year, compared to 36 troops killed through
the first five months of 2008).
See below for ways to advocate for new strategies for Afghanistan.
Thank you for your commitment and work for justice and peace!
Sincerely,
Ira Harritt
AFSC, KC
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Upcoming Peace and Justice Activities
Click on link or scroll down for more information about the peace and
justice activity
June 22, Monday, 6:30, KC Iraq Task Force Monthly Planning Meeting, 4405
Gillham Rd., KCMO This meeting will focus on ongoing work of the Task
Force and plans to address the increase of troops in Afghanistan.
July 4, Saturday, 10:30am to 2:30 p.m Patriots Picnic Benefit in support
of the continuing peacemaking work of the American Friends Service
Committee at the home of Sharon Lockhart, 8336 Sagamore, Leawood, KS.
Celebrate the Fourth of July, the freedoms of our democracy! Enjoy
picnic fare, game for kids and music - Mark Your Calendar. Stay tuned
for more details. Contact us at 816 931-5256 for information or to RSVP.
July 7, 11 and 15, Volunteer training for Fringe Festival - see below.
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EVERY Sunday: Iraq Peace Vigil, 4pm, JC Nichols Fountain, 47th & Main,
Streets, Kansas City, MO http://www.kciraqtaskforce.org/
EVERY Tuesday, JOIN THIS Peace Demonstration Every Tuesday between 5PM -
6 PM in the median strip on the south corner of the intersection at
63rd & Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Mo. For more information email '63rd
Street Patriots' at schwartzkatz at sbcglobal.net
Every Wednesday, 5:00pm, Iraq Anti-War Protest, College and Quivira,
Overland Park, KS (NW corner). Send a message to Sen. Pat Robert that
it's time to end the war!
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An organizer of the Fringe Festival volunteered his time to help with
last years AFSC showing of "Dr. Strangelove". We pledged to help support
the Fringe Festival in turn and recruit volunteers. If you want to
support this arts festival and volunteer tell them you are doing it
because AFSC recruited you. -
Thanks!
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VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED FOR 2009 FRINGE FESTIVAL!
Now's a good time to get on-board as a Fringe Volunteer. Training
Session dates and times have been confirmed. Earn 2 Fringe Bucks for
attending and 2 more when you bring a friend.:
* Tuesday, July 7th, 7:00 - 9:00pm, Arts Incubator, 115 West 18th St.,
Third Floor
* Saturday, July 11th, 2:00 - 4:00 pm, Arts Incubator, 115 West 18th
St., Third Floor
* Wednesday, July 15h, 7:00 - 9:00pm, Arts Incubator, 115 West 18th St.,
Third Floor
For more info, see our Volunteer
<http://www.kcfringe.org/kcfvolunteer.html> section.
http://www.kcfringe.org/ <http://www.kcfringe.org/>
News and Advocacy Opportunities
Write a letter to the editor today -- 5,000 casualties is too many!
<http://support.afsc.org/site/R?i=VpC9RevTn4HAC-BR2i-YMw..>
Dear Peacemakers,
We reached 5,000 on Monday afternoon - 5,000 U.S. troops killed in wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lately Iraq seems like the war time forgot. People have moved on. Most
major media outlets no longer have staff there.
But the daily reality of life and death in a war zone continues. In
fact, May was the bloodiest month for U.S. soldiers in Iraq since last
September.
And now there's Afghanistan. U.S. troops are to be completely withdrawn
from Iraq over the next three years. Many could be redeployed to
Afghanistan.
The G.I. and civilian deaths will increase there, too.
5,000.
That's the human cost of both wars for the United States. The human cost
for Iraq and Afghanistan is much greater. It's a cost that's too high
emotionally for friends, for families, and for all three nations as a
whole.
We want our troops home now. We need timely plans for complete
withdrawal in both countries.
Please join us by sending a letter to the editor
<http://support.afsc.org/site/R?i=pGH2yjdoRytRYbzhCW8FzA..> or
downloading our 5000th milestone signs
<http://support.afsc.org/site/R?i=LR6FLn3YBCyEw2ui5mNz8w..> (like the
one above) to use in your windows or at a vigil.
Peace,
Laurie Creasy,
American Friends Service Committee,
http://support.afsc.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=8521.0&dlv_id=11581
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New AFSC Resource on Afghanistan
The Cost of War in Afghanistan
THE WAR IN CONTEXT
Seven years ago, the "global war on terror" began in Afghanistan as a
military response to the
September 11 attacks. In March 2003, the United States also invaded
Iraq. Today, US forces are
deeply mired in both countries with some 200,000 US troops in the
region, of which 137,000
are in Iraq and about 40,000 in Afghanistan, with the Obama
Administration requesting an
additional 21,000 troops.
Until now, the war in Iraq has attracted far more money, resources, and
troops as well as public
attention and criticism. As the Obama Administration turns to
Afghanistan, we need to ask ourselves:
Is this a "good" "war"?
More> http://www.afsc.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/79168
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Published on Thursday, June 4, 2009 by The Real News Network
<http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I
temid=74&jumival=3804&updaterx=2009-06-04+04%3A24%3A30>
A Report on Afghanistan
Anand Gopal: US focused on military approach but Iraq tactics can't work
in Afghanistan
Paul Jay speaks to Anand Gopal, journalist for the Christian Science
Monitor and many other publications about U.S. foreign policy in
Afghanistan. "The U.S. administration," says Gopal, "is currently
fighting a counter-insurgency in Afghanistan, and every day they're
creating new Taliban insurgents because of their military actions."
Speaking to whether there is a fundamental change in the Obama
Administrations' approach to the country, Gopal adds, "every year has
been more violent than the previous year, and I think this summer we're
going to see a lot more violence."
Video> http://www.commondreams.org/video/2009/06/04
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Saturday May 16, 2009 07:26 EDT
The NYT sums up Obama's civil liberties record in one paragraph, Glenn
Greenwald
(updated below - Update II)
Among progressives, Democrats, liberals, Obama supporters and the like,
there seems to be some debate about the extent to which Obama deserves
criticisms for what he has done thus far in the realm of civil
liberties, restoration of Constitutional principles, and reversing the
severe imbalance between "security" and liberties -- major planks of his
two-year-long campaign and among the most frequent weapons used to
criticize the Bush presidency. On that topic, here is the first
paragraph of this New York Times article
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/16/us/politics/16obama.html?_r=1&hp>
this morning by David Sanger, summing everything up:
President Obama's decisions this week to retain important elements of
the Bush-era system for trying terrorism suspects and to block the
release of pictures showing abuse of American-held prisoners abroad are
the most graphic examples yet of how he has backtracked, in substantial
if often nuanced ways, from the approach to national security that he
preached as a candidate, and even from his first days in the Oval
Office.
More> http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/16/obama/
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We need your support to keep our life affirming peacemaking work alive.
Contribute. Volunteer. Spread the word!
Contact us and mail your tax deductible contribution to:
American Friends Service Committee
4405 Gillham Rd., KCMO 64110
(816) 931-5256
The information and events described in AFSC Peace and Justice Alerts
are intended to educate and assist members of our community in becoming
active in working for a more just and peaceful world. Inclusion of a
listing does not necessarily imply that AFSC KC agrees with all points
of view that will be represented at the event.
The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that
includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice,
peace, and humanitarian service.
Its work is based on the Quaker belief in the worth of every person and
faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice
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