Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 for August 30, 2022

From a Speech by VFP Member Nate Goldschlag:

The United States has been spectacularly unsuccessful in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, and yet we continue down this road of militarism and war. We must remember all victims of war, and shout out that the main victims of war are civilians – men, women and children.

War is never the answer. In Ukraine there must be serious negotiations and an end to the war. Sanctions are another form of warfare. They almost never work for their intended purpose, and they harm many other people other than those they are directed towards. As we remember the victims of war, we must work to change the culture of militarism and war to one of nonviolence and peace.

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to: https://www.veteransforpeace.org
Chapter 099 - Western North Carolina Website: www.vfp099.org /  Facebook: Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 / email: president@vfp099.org
Mailing address: VFP Chapter 099, PO Box 1024, Asheville NC 28802

Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 on August 22, 2022

 

 

Photo above from Veterans for Peace website.

A Quote from VFP Executive Director Garett Reppenhagen:

The US seems to be entering a new era of military engagement. The Global War on Terror is morphing into a new cold war with major world powers. Unilateral fights with proclaimed terrorist groups may give way to more conventional warfare between well-equipped and trained national militaries.  We teeter on the verge of nuclear war as world leaders threaten Armageddon. Climate chaos and violence in the wake of scarcity, migrating communities and failed states will certainly set the stage for increased militarization.

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to: https://www.veteransforpeace.org
Chapter 099 - Western North Carolina Website: www.vfp099.org

Facebook: Veterans for Peace Chapter 099

Email: president@vfp099.org
Mailing address: VFP Chapter 099, PO Box 1024, Asheville NC 28802

Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 on August 16, 2022

 

U.S. military veterans and others were arrested during a protest against the Pentagon's role in the climate crisis on August 3, 2022. (Photo: Veterans for Peace)

Quotes from Veterans For Peace Members Arrested Demanding Action on Climate Crisis:

"It is totally irresponsible for our government to spend billions of dollars funding wars abroad that accelerate the climate crisis while people are suffering at home without housing or food." -Jeff Parente, U.S. Marine Corps, 2006-2014, OIF Veteran 

"The money needed to avoid the worst results of climate change, as well as many other social issues that lack adequate funding, is the wasteful and bloated military budget. Not only that, the U.S. military is the greatest contributor to mounting ecological catastrophe." -Joshua Farris, U.S. Army, 2000-2004, OIF veteran.

"I chose to risk arrest today because as a Marine who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, I saw firsthand the devastation that the military has wrought on countries around the globe, including just 48 hours ago when the U.S. military issued yet another drone strike on Afghanistan. The U.S. spends unprecedented amounts of money on an ever-expanding U.S. military, using veterans like me as pawns in their justifications for more money. We need to be reducing U.S. militarism and redirecting that money towards climate solutions like renewable energy and resources that meet human needs." -Chris Velazquez, OIF/OEF Veteran, 2004-2010

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to: https://www.veteransforpeace.org
Chapter 099 - Western North Carolina Website: www.vfp099.org /  Facebook: Veterans for Peace Chapter 099  /  Email: president@vfp099.org
Mailing address: VFP Chapter 099, PO Box 1024, Asheville NC 28802

Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 vigil on August 9, 2022

Veterans For Peace demands that the President and Congress:

Stop the U.S.-driven wars and all military weapons sales, shipments and support to nation states engaged in open armed conflict.

Require the U.S. military release a full report on their greenhouse gas emissions. The United States military does not publicly and regularly report its overall fuel consumption or greenhouse gas emissions—despite requirements laid out in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. DoD is estimated to emit more CO2 than over 120 separate countries.

Declare a Climate Emergency NOW–and use all the resulting Presidential powers including stopping the granting of new resource extraction permits and leases, e.g., drilling on public lands and pipeline construction, and strengthening of standards including air quality and methane emissions.

Cut the Pentagon Budget- Military spending should be reduced by at least $200 billion annually, freeing up $2 trillion or more over the next decade for domestic and human needs priorities. With those spending cuts, the Pentagon's budget would remain more than enough to keep America safe at a level well above our nation's post-World War II historical average.

Prioritize investing in communities in the U.S. impacted by the military and climate change and in the Global South including paying the U.S.' climate debt.

Prioritize diplomacy over the threat of military force, beginning with negotiations for a global Climate Emergency Treaty and the renegotiation of lapsed nuclear arms treaties between the U.S. and Russia.

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to: https://www.veteransforpeace.org
Chapter 099 - Western North Carolina Website: www.vfp099.org /  Facebook: Veterans for Peace Chapter 099
email: president@vfp099.org
Mailing address: VFP Chapter 099, PO Box 1024, Asheville NC 28802

Upcoming event in Asheville area

 

Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 vigil on August 2, 2022

Above came from Veterans for Peace website.

 

From the VFP homeless veterans work group:

The homeless situation continues to worsen in the United States. Approximately 15% of all homeless are veterans. Many soldiers that returned from Iraq and Afghanistan were suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain damage (TBD)
alcoholism, moral fatigue, drug abuse and depression. In most cases these maladies were artifacts from the horrific events they witnessed during their tour of duty. As a result, many will not be able to cope with civilian everyday life situations such as the stress of the workplace and as result will wind up homeless and in an environment that could cause them to run afoul of the justice system. As an organization one of our goals is to: “Seek justice for
veterans and victims of war”. Our homeless veterans are victims of war and as such it requires the full support of our membership and the community at large. This is the work of the homeless veterans work group (HVWG)

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to:

https://www.veteransforpeace.org

Chapter 099 - Western North Carolina Website: www.vfp099.org / Facebook: Veterans for Peac Chapter 099 Email: president@vfp099.org

Mailing address: VFP Chapter 099, PO Box 1024, Asheville NC 28802