"End Empire, Begin The Peace"
VETERANS' GROUP TO MEMBERS: MULTIPLY RESISTANCE BY ANY PEACEFUL MEANS AVAILABLE
http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/47338By Mike Ferner, After Downing Street
This is good, see my response below:
I cheer Veterans for Peace call for action on every level to fight against our escalation in Afghanistan, the continuation of the occupation of Iraq, the inhuman attack with drones in Pakistan. Many of us have been sitting in our congressional representatives offices for years. We too have gone to jail so that we can say to the judges and all who will listen, “Our beloved county is ‘Empire’ and we are killing the innocents. This article is good news, but it is still fighting against the tentacles of the beast. We have to go for the heart and kill this monster for the last time. The heart is barely mentioned in the article and that is “Empire.”
We have troops stationed in most countries around the world, why? We will not criticize Israel for the shame of Gaza, why? We do not have any foreign troops stationed here in the United States within their own bases, why? We supply the weapons to the world to continue the killing, why?
We will not join in the elimination/outlawing of ground mines, which kill a child as fast as a soldier, why?
We must stop fighting against the tentacles and drive a stake through the heart of the beast, never let it raise its violent head again, this is the great battle.
Our battle cry must be, “End of Empire, begin the Peace.” I love the story and the call to battle, we are veterans and that is what we know. Our cry must include all of the suffering, we as a nation have caused. The rest of the world must also answer the question why they just stood by and watched.
Thank you for your call for more actions; I will see you in the streets, in the congressional offices, in the insurance company’s buildings, in the town halls, in the city halls, in the very private clubs that hide our war criminals--I will be there with you my brothers and sisters of peace.
Joe Walsh
Individuals for Justice, Portland, Oregon
VVAW, Veterans Against Torture
Veterans for Justice
US NAVY 1962-71