message (2015-01-26) from Sandra Cuffe via Campesina office:
This morning, a group of Garifuna involved in the community of Nueva Armenia's land recuperation were shot at. Jesus Flores Satuye (who has a case in the inter-American human rights system regarding being shot by a Navy officer while diving in the Cayos Cochinos) was wounded.
* OFRANEH statement about today's incident (Spanish): [https://archive.today/0Mms2]
* OFRANEH statement concerning armed men coming in, firing in the air, and burning crops earlier this month (Spanish): [https://archive.today/gI0HN]
* A piece I wrote last year with info on Jesus Flores Satuye's case (English): [https://archive.today/BhvRj]
The Via Campesina office in Tegucigalpa was also the target of an armed attack. More than two dozen high-caliber rounds were fired at the building at around 1am, according to the organization. The Via Campesina communique (in Spanish) is below.
---
La Via Campesina Honduras, adscrita a La Via Campesina Centroamerica e internacional; por este medio comunica, informa y denuncia a la comunidad nacional e internacional de una bochornosa situacion que detallamos de la manera siguiente:
1: Que el domingo 25 de enero del presente ano, amparandose en las oscuras sombras de la noche, como a eso de 1 de la madrugada, nuestras oficinas situadas en la Colonia Alameda, contingentes armados dispararon mas de dos docenas de tiros, de grueso calibre, que impactaron contra el inmueble que aloja las oficinas del movimiento campesino hondureno articulado a LA VIA CAMPESINA.
2: En la escena de los hechos, el dia de hoy 26 de enero hemos encontrado casquillos de los disparos, las paredes rotas y los portones con los orificios correspondientes de los disparos ejecutados; lo cual nos hace recordar los tristemente celebres acontecimientos del golpe de Estado, en el ano 2009, donde tambien nuestras oficinas fueron irrumpidas, asaltadas con odio, destruyendo puertas, material y equipo de alto costo; que a la fecha no se han encontrado a los responsables.
3: Al profundizar en las causales de los hechos bochornosos, ya descritos, no encontramos otra explicacion que nuestra clara y transparente participacion en contra del golpe de Estado Militar de junio del 2009, la exigencia militante de una Reforma Agraria integral, con Equidad de Genero, para la Soberania Alimentaria y el Desarrollo Rural, presentada al Hemiciclo Legislativo en abril de 2014 y nuestra oposicion a la aprobacion, con rango constitucional, de la Policia Militar, cuerpo vinculado y blicamente con flagrantes casos de violaciones a los Derechos Humanos.
ANTE ESTOS VERGONZOSOS HECHOS DENUNCIADOS, EL MOVIMIENTO CAMPESINO Y LA VIA CAMPESINA EXIGE AL ESTADO DE HONDURAS LO SIGUIENTE:
A) Que la fiscalia realice una profunda investigacion para determinar y castigar a los responsables directos de estos actos remidos con la ley.
B) Responsabilizamos al gobierno de la Republica por los disparos y danos realizados a nuestras oficinas.
C) Mas importante aun, lo responsabilizamos desde ya por cualquier atentado, que pudiera suceder en el futuro cercano, en contra de la vida de nuestros empleados, dirigentes campesinos y coordinadores de La Via Campesina.
D) Exigimos la solidaridad de todo el movimiento social hondureno, de la comunidad internacional y de los organismos de cooperacion humanitaria.
E) De manera particular, solicitamos en forma puntual, la proteccion de la vida del dirigente campesino y referente de la reforma agraria hondurena del companero Rafael Alegria y de toda su familia.
Tegucigalpa, MDC, 26 de enero de 2015
GLOBALICEMOS LA LUCHA, GLOBALICEMOS LA ESPERANZA
REFORMA AGRARIA YA!
LA VIA CAMPESINA HONDURAS (LVCH)
Monday, January 26, 2015
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Solidarity with the People of the World
We invite you to do your part for Peace, with the Spring Days of Action to End Drone Killing, Drone Surveillance, Global Militarization! more info here [link]!
Solano Peace, Justice & Freedom coalition (SPJF) is an informal solidarity network, whose interests are primarily expressed in the following archives, collected by "Dr.G.", Minister of Information for the Northbay MDS and host of an affiliated FM radio news program. While the coalition is informal for the concern over participant safety, the archives provide views held by participants of the following affiliations:
Northbay MDS [link]; San Pablo Bay Ecological Preservation Association (SEPA) [link]; Dawnstar INC [link]; Vallejo Cop Watch [link]; Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) of Solano County [link].
Members of the network forward information for public commentary on the Northbay Uprising FM radio news program, broadcast to Vallejo at 89.5fm, Thursdays 4 to 5pm and Tuesday 7 to 9am with a focus on Communitarian power [link] and culture [link].
SPJF is affiliated with Honduras Solidarity Network, and tentatively affiliated with WILPF [link], United for Peace and Justice [link], UNAC [link], Uhuru Solidarity Movement [link].
Contact the SPJF: [SolanoPeaceFreedom@gmail.com]
SPJF's mission is to educate the public about the ongoing crimes against the People of the World by those holding companies and monopolist corporations chartered in the United States, who altogether dictate world government with their networks and uphold government through Fascism [link].
* We condemn all acts of terrorism, bigotry and violence, and we defend dignity and memory for all victims of state terrorism by the United States, domestically and around the world.
* We advocate against the use of military intervention and war against the People of the Earth, and support justice against crimes of war through established principles of international law.
* We promote the goal of global peace, and advocate for social and economic justice for every man, woman and child.
* We work against gang violence in the community, and advocate for peace in our neighborhoods in coalition with all who are affected by the desperation of poverty.
* We defend civil liberties from government attack and uphold human rights against police terror and state repression through our efforts towards educating the public about their rights and the current status of our liberties.
* We promote the preservation of the ecology and advocate for the natural right of existence for all life generally considered for the welfare of the ecology.
Peace & Justice and Freedom vigil in Vallejo
Gathering every 2nd Saturday of the month, 1pm.
at the Peace Pole at the Waterfront, located at the front entrance of Panama Red Coffee Co. 289 Mare Island Way, Vallejo, CA 94590.
Directions. On I-80, take Georgia st exit towards Mare Island. At the end of Gerogia st, is the waterfront and Panama Red Coffee Co.
There are 2 "Peace Poles", one was placed by the Solano Peace and Justice Coalition during 2004, and another placed during 2012 by the Sister City Association of Vallejo [link]. We will meet at one and march to the other. Look for our "Peace & Freedom" banner!
Peace with Jobs! Peace against Imperialism! Peace in the Community! Solidarity for our Human Rights!
* Solidarity with the Women of the World! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Pakistan! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Haiti! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Afghanistan! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Africa! [link] [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Thailand! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Cambodia! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of the Philippines! [link]
* Solidarity with the oppressed People of the First Nations within Canada! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Lakota! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Honduras! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Colombia! [link]
* Solidarity with the Arab People! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Iran! [link]
Solidarity with All the Oppressed People of the USA, with the homeless, the wards of the state, and lumpen under-class, with the People of the captive nations of the Reservation system, and with the People of New Afrika [link]! Solidarity for our Labor Rights [link]! And our Constitutional Rights!
Peace through War, a deception masquerading a global megadeath!
* Iraqi Deaths: 1,874,036
* Afghan & Pakistani Deaths: over 2,000,000
Cost of War in just Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001 (as of 2013-09-07) is $1,470,406,206,469... as calculated by the National Priorities Project [costofwar.com]!
"US wars in Afghanistan, Iraq to cost $6 trillion" 2013-09-19 by Sabir Shah from "The News International" [thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-203012-US-wars-in-Afghanistan-Iraq-to-cost-$6-trillion]: LAHORE - The decade-long American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would end up costing as much as $6 trillion, the equivalent of $75,000 for every American household, calculates the prestigious Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Remember, when President George Bush’s National Economic Council Director, Lawrence Lindsey, had told the country’s largest newspaper “The Wall Street Journal” that the war would cost between $100 billion and $200 billion, he had found himself under intense fire from his colleagues in the administration who claimed that this was a gross overestimation. Consequently, Lawrence Lindsey was forced to resign.It is also imperative to recall that the Bush administration had claimed at the very outset that the Iraq war would finance itself out of Iraqi oil revenues, but Washington DC had instead ended up borrowing some $2 trillion to finance the two wars, the bulk of it from foreign lenders. According to the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government 2013 report, this accounted for roughly 20 per cent of the total amount added to the US national debt between 2001 and 2012. According to the report, the US “has already paid $260 billion in interest on the war debt,” and future interest payments would amount to trillions of dollars.This Harvard University report has also been carried on its website by the Centre for Research on Globalisation, which is a widely-quoted Montreal-based independent research and media organisation. [ ... ]
Ongoing Campaigns
* Advocate for an Economy based on Peace! [link]
* Inside & Out: Write a note of support to these imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists [link]
* Exposing the Warlords in the community [link]
* Call for an international bill of digital rights [link]
* Divestment and Boycott against Human Rights Abuse [link]
* No Nukes! [link]
Days of Peace
* August 27th, Peace Pact Day: War is Outlawed (according to USA Federal Law) [link]
* Sept 21st, International Day of Peace [link]
Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel taught: "The world rests on three things: justice, truth, and peace" (Avot 1:18)
Resources:
* War Tax Resistance! [link]
* "Bringing Down the New Jim Crow" campaign materials [link]
* Western States Legal Foundation: Working for Peace & Justice in a Nuclear Free World
[wslfweb.org] [disarmamentactivist.org] [facebook.com/WesternStatesLegalFoundation] [510-839-5877]
* Progressive Letter Writing Cooperative [progressivesecretary.org]: Would you like a cooperative way to get your voice heard in Washington? Progressive Secretary sends out progressive email letters to Congress, the President, and other officials on peace, the environment, civil rights and other issues. It's free! There is no charge for this. We volunteer our time because Jim and Pat are Quakers and long-time activists, and we believe in helping progressive people make their voices heard on important issues. There are no advertisements or other annoyances. You can cancel at any time. The letters are suggested by participants in the cooperative and are sent to you as a proposal. If you tell us to "send", then the letters are sent to your Congress people and others noted in the proposal over your signature and return address. A report is sent to you. If you like, you can send the letters yourself. Letters are not sent without your specific approval. Your name and email are never given out except to recipients of your letters.
Research pages:
* Military propaganda [link] * Global Conflict Tracker: Interactive Guide to U.S. Conflict Prevention Priorities in 2014 (from the Center for Preventive Action, a think-tank of the Council on Foreign Relations) [cfr.org/global/global-conflict-tracker/p32137].
Note on organizing Peace & Justice vigils and outreach:
California Law prohibits protests at public areas on private property (supermarkets, stripmalls) [link]
SPFJ website designed and moderated by Northbay MDS Minister of Information Dr.G.
Solano Peace, Justice & Freedom coalition (SPJF) is an informal solidarity network, whose interests are primarily expressed in the following archives, collected by "Dr.G.", Minister of Information for the Northbay MDS and host of an affiliated FM radio news program. While the coalition is informal for the concern over participant safety, the archives provide views held by participants of the following affiliations:
Northbay MDS [link]; San Pablo Bay Ecological Preservation Association (SEPA) [link]; Dawnstar INC [link]; Vallejo Cop Watch [link]; Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) of Solano County [link].
Members of the network forward information for public commentary on the Northbay Uprising FM radio news program, broadcast to Vallejo at 89.5fm, Thursdays 4 to 5pm and Tuesday 7 to 9am with a focus on Communitarian power [link] and culture [link].
SPJF is affiliated with Honduras Solidarity Network, and tentatively affiliated with WILPF [link], United for Peace and Justice [link], UNAC [link], Uhuru Solidarity Movement [link].
Contact the SPJF: [SolanoPeaceFreedom@gmail.com]
SPJF's mission is to educate the public about the ongoing crimes against the People of the World by those holding companies and monopolist corporations chartered in the United States, who altogether dictate world government with their networks and uphold government through Fascism [link].
* We condemn all acts of terrorism, bigotry and violence, and we defend dignity and memory for all victims of state terrorism by the United States, domestically and around the world.
* We advocate against the use of military intervention and war against the People of the Earth, and support justice against crimes of war through established principles of international law.
* We promote the goal of global peace, and advocate for social and economic justice for every man, woman and child.
* We work against gang violence in the community, and advocate for peace in our neighborhoods in coalition with all who are affected by the desperation of poverty.
* We defend civil liberties from government attack and uphold human rights against police terror and state repression through our efforts towards educating the public about their rights and the current status of our liberties.
* We promote the preservation of the ecology and advocate for the natural right of existence for all life generally considered for the welfare of the ecology.
Peace & Justice and Freedom vigil in Vallejo
Gathering every 2nd Saturday of the month, 1pm.
at the Peace Pole at the Waterfront, located at the front entrance of Panama Red Coffee Co. 289 Mare Island Way, Vallejo, CA 94590.
Directions. On I-80, take Georgia st exit towards Mare Island. At the end of Gerogia st, is the waterfront and Panama Red Coffee Co.
There are 2 "Peace Poles", one was placed by the Solano Peace and Justice Coalition during 2004, and another placed during 2012 by the Sister City Association of Vallejo [link]. We will meet at one and march to the other. Look for our "Peace & Freedom" banner!
Peace with Jobs! Peace against Imperialism! Peace in the Community! Solidarity for our Human Rights!
* Solidarity with the Women of the World! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Pakistan! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Haiti! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Afghanistan! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Africa! [link] [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Thailand! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Cambodia! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of the Philippines! [link]
* Solidarity with the oppressed People of the First Nations within Canada! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Lakota! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Honduras! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Colombia! [link]
* Solidarity with the Arab People! [link]
* Solidarity with the People of Iran! [link]
Solidarity with All the Oppressed People of the USA, with the homeless, the wards of the state, and lumpen under-class, with the People of the captive nations of the Reservation system, and with the People of New Afrika [link]! Solidarity for our Labor Rights [link]! And our Constitutional Rights!
Peace through War, a deception masquerading a global megadeath!
* Iraqi Deaths: 1,874,036
* Afghan & Pakistani Deaths: over 2,000,000
Cost of War in just Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001 (as of 2013-09-07) is $1,470,406,206,469... as calculated by the National Priorities Project [costofwar.com]!
"US wars in Afghanistan, Iraq to cost $6 trillion" 2013-09-19 by Sabir Shah from "The News International" [thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-203012-US-wars-in-Afghanistan-Iraq-to-cost-$6-trillion]: LAHORE - The decade-long American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would end up costing as much as $6 trillion, the equivalent of $75,000 for every American household, calculates the prestigious Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Remember, when President George Bush’s National Economic Council Director, Lawrence Lindsey, had told the country’s largest newspaper “The Wall Street Journal” that the war would cost between $100 billion and $200 billion, he had found himself under intense fire from his colleagues in the administration who claimed that this was a gross overestimation. Consequently, Lawrence Lindsey was forced to resign.It is also imperative to recall that the Bush administration had claimed at the very outset that the Iraq war would finance itself out of Iraqi oil revenues, but Washington DC had instead ended up borrowing some $2 trillion to finance the two wars, the bulk of it from foreign lenders. According to the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government 2013 report, this accounted for roughly 20 per cent of the total amount added to the US national debt between 2001 and 2012. According to the report, the US “has already paid $260 billion in interest on the war debt,” and future interest payments would amount to trillions of dollars.This Harvard University report has also been carried on its website by the Centre for Research on Globalisation, which is a widely-quoted Montreal-based independent research and media organisation. [ ... ]
Ongoing Campaigns
* Advocate for an Economy based on Peace! [link]
* Inside & Out: Write a note of support to these imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists [link]
* Exposing the Warlords in the community [link]
* Call for an international bill of digital rights [link]
* Divestment and Boycott against Human Rights Abuse [link]
* No Nukes! [link]
Days of Peace
* August 27th, Peace Pact Day: War is Outlawed (according to USA Federal Law) [link]
* Sept 21st, International Day of Peace [link]
Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel taught: "The world rests on three things: justice, truth, and peace" (Avot 1:18)
Resources:
* War Tax Resistance! [link]
* "Bringing Down the New Jim Crow" campaign materials [link]
* Western States Legal Foundation: Working for Peace & Justice in a Nuclear Free World
[wslfweb.org] [disarmamentactivist.org] [facebook.com/WesternStatesLegalFoundation] [510-839-5877]
* Progressive Letter Writing Cooperative [progressivesecretary.org]: Would you like a cooperative way to get your voice heard in Washington? Progressive Secretary sends out progressive email letters to Congress, the President, and other officials on peace, the environment, civil rights and other issues. It's free! There is no charge for this. We volunteer our time because Jim and Pat are Quakers and long-time activists, and we believe in helping progressive people make their voices heard on important issues. There are no advertisements or other annoyances. You can cancel at any time. The letters are suggested by participants in the cooperative and are sent to you as a proposal. If you tell us to "send", then the letters are sent to your Congress people and others noted in the proposal over your signature and return address. A report is sent to you. If you like, you can send the letters yourself. Letters are not sent without your specific approval. Your name and email are never given out except to recipients of your letters.
Research pages:
* Military propaganda [link] * Global Conflict Tracker: Interactive Guide to U.S. Conflict Prevention Priorities in 2014 (from the Center for Preventive Action, a think-tank of the Council on Foreign Relations) [cfr.org/global/global-conflict-tracker/p32137].
Note on organizing Peace & Justice vigils and outreach:
California Law prohibits protests at public areas on private property (supermarkets, stripmalls) [link]
SPFJ website designed and moderated by Northbay MDS Minister of Information Dr.G.
Peace and Justice Campaign page
We must help them listen and comprehend our concern for Humanity! Support the call for Peace, Justice and Freedom! Join a gathering for near you!
Action Alert:
Organize against the war agenda contained in the upcoming Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act (S 1881). Join the campaign here [link]!
Living Graveyard peace vigil
Monthly every 3rd Monday, January 13, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street (two blocks from 12th Street BART)
Covered with sheets to represent the dead of the war of occupation on Iraq, people lie down on the city sidewalk in front of the Federal Building, This is legal, non-violent witness. People stop, look and think.
Participants lie at least three feet apart and do not block entry to the building. The names of some of the Californians who have died in Iraq and the names of some of the Iraqi dead will be read. A gong is sounded after each name. People will hand out flyers, as we do each week at the Tuesday noon vigil.
Please bring a white sheet to cover yourself with. A pad to lay down on is recommended.
sponsors include: * Berkeley Women in Black * East Bay Coalition to Support Self-Rule for Iraqis * Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice * Peace & Freedom Party * BFUU Social Justice Committee * Gray Panthers * Mustardseed Affinity Group * Father Bill Social Justice Committee, St Joseph Church * Middle East Children’s Alliance * Trinity United Methodist Church * East Bay Peace Action * Southern Alameda County Peace & Justice Coalition * Ecumenical Peace Institute, www.epicalc.org, (510) 990-0374
Action Alert:
Organize against the war agenda contained in the upcoming Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act (S 1881). Join the campaign here [link]!
Living Graveyard peace vigil
Monthly every 3rd Monday, January 13, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street (two blocks from 12th Street BART)
Covered with sheets to represent the dead of the war of occupation on Iraq, people lie down on the city sidewalk in front of the Federal Building, This is legal, non-violent witness. People stop, look and think.
Participants lie at least three feet apart and do not block entry to the building. The names of some of the Californians who have died in Iraq and the names of some of the Iraqi dead will be read. A gong is sounded after each name. People will hand out flyers, as we do each week at the Tuesday noon vigil.
Please bring a white sheet to cover yourself with. A pad to lay down on is recommended.
sponsors include: * Berkeley Women in Black * East Bay Coalition to Support Self-Rule for Iraqis * Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice * Peace & Freedom Party * BFUU Social Justice Committee * Gray Panthers * Mustardseed Affinity Group * Father Bill Social Justice Committee, St Joseph Church * Middle East Children’s Alliance * Trinity United Methodist Church * East Bay Peace Action * Southern Alameda County Peace & Justice Coalition * Ecumenical Peace Institute, www.epicalc.org, (510) 990-0374
Peace and Justice movement directory
Sonoma County Peace & Justice Center
[peaceandjusticesonomaco.org] [467 Sebastopol Avenue Santa Rosa, CA 95401] [707-575-8902]
We work to replace violence, war, racism, and economic injustice through active nonviolence as a way of life and as a means of radical change.
Mount Diablo Peace & Justice Center
[ourpeacecenter.org] [925-933-7850] [info@mtdpc.org][55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94596]
San Jose Peace & Justice Center
[sanjosepeace.org] [408-297-2299] [48 South 7th St, San Jose, CA 95112]
Peace and Justice Resource Center (PJRC)
[tomhayden.com/] [310-559-9522]
Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World
[nuclearweaponsfree.org] [2201 Broadway, Ste 321 Oakland, California 94612]
Peace Action
* Peace Action West [www.peaceactionwest.org] [2201 Broadway, Suite 321, Oakland, CA]
Jon Rainwater, Executive Director [94612jrainwater@peaceactionwest.org] [510-849-2272 x106]
* East Bay Peace Action: Betty Brown [PO Box 6574, Albany, CA 94706]
* Peace Action of San Mateo County [sanmateopeaceaction.org][smpa@sanmateopeaceaction.org] [650-342-8244]
Sacramento Area Peace Action
[www.sacpeace.org] (916) 448-7157
Chico Peace and Justice Center
[chico-peace.org] Open 12-2pm M-F [526 Broadway Street Chico, CA 95928] [530-893-9078] [chico-peace@sbcglobal.net] Subscribe to our news updates
THE CHICO VIEWSPAPER: Where Chicoans Explore the Issues that Matter -
The Chico Peace and Justice Center's quarterly publication. The Viewspaper highlights a key social issue each quarter through the perspectives of six unique and dynamic Chicoan voices. The inaugural issue focuses in on the critical and sticky issue of taxes, and features reflective essays from Chicoans Stephanie Elliott, Chris Nelson, Dan Everhart, Michael Coyle, Steve Tchudi, and Carin Anderson.
Chico Peace Vigil, Going strong since 1960
Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
[mcli.org] [510-848-0599] [PO Box 673, Berkeley, CA 94701-0673]
“International Human Rights Poster” [mcli.org/portfolio/international-human-rights-poster]
Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace & Justice
Social Justice Committee of the Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists
[bfuu.org/events/social-justice]
meets on the First & Third Sundays of the month at 12:30 pm in the Benjy Room at 1606 Bonita Ave.
The Hal Carlstad Social Justice Center (HCSJC) is located in the Fireside Room on the 2nd floor of the BFUU RE Building with open hours from 1 - 5 pm M-F.
We have a "Partners for Justice" program with links to many of the groups that we work with on justice issues. To get on the Rise-Up Email list for activists in the SF Bay Area, send an email to [bfuusjev-subscribe@lists.riseup.net]
BFUU [bfuu.org] SUNDAY SERVICES begin at 10:30 am every Sunday.
[epicalc.org] [epicalc@gmail.com] [epicalc@lmi.net] [510-655-1162] [P. O. Box 9334, Berkeley, CA 94709]
“On the Edge of Peace — Voices from the faith-Based Peace and Justice Community”, a new anthology from EPI! Print copies of “On the Edge of Peace”, the price is $15.00 + $5.00 for shipping & handling (for orders outside the US, (or for multiple copies – a price break on shipping) please write or email us for the cost to you. You may read order information in our Donation section. Click here [peaceandjusticeparkhere.net/EPI/#donate].
Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County
[interfaithccc.org]
Oakland Peace Center
[oaklandpeacecenter.org]
United for Peace and Justice - Bay Area [unitedforpeace.org]
United for Peace and Justice – Bay Area is a regional, movement-building coalition that coordinates and supports the work of existing local groups and strives to strengthen or create solidarity where it is lacking.
United Nations Association (UNA)
"We the peoples of the United Nations determined... to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors..." Preamble, United Nations Charter, 24 October 1945.
East Bay Chapter [unausaeastbay.org] [unaeastbay@sbcglobal.net]. UNA Peace Center [510-849-1752] [2539 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley (at Blake)], hours are Tues - Sat 12-5. UNICEF cards, flags, international fair trade gifts, books, jewelry, T-shirts are available for sale.
Sacramento Chapter [unausasacramento.org] Eddie Lee, President [916-444-7800] [P.O. Box 163381 Sacramento, CA 95816-9381]
Occupy Beale AFB!
[solanopeacejustice.blogspot.com/2013/12/occupy-beale-afb.html]
Democratic World Federalists
[dwfed.org/index.php] [dwfed@dwfed.org] [415-227-4880] [55 New Montgomery Street, Suite 225.
San Francisco, CA 94105]
California No-Drones Network
[nodronesnetwork.blogspot.com]
[nodronescalifornia.blogspot.com]
[nodronescalifornia.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-8-beale-9-anti-drone-hearing.html]
Project SALAM: Support And Legal Advocacy for Muslims
[projectsalam.org]
Purpose of Project SALAM: This web site is devoted to researching and documenting the likelihood that the United States Justice Department’s post-9/11 terrorism-related prosecutions and convictions have included a significant number of Muslims who were in fact innocent of any crime. Other cases were severely overcharged and/or over sentenced.
[www.mecaforpeace.org], [510-548-0542], [1101 Eighth Street (near Gilman & San Pablo, lots of parking), Berkeley]
Organizing Benefit Programs for Women and Children in Palestine, fostering industry and trade with the world with products made by the People of Palestine including Extra-Virgin Olive Oil from the West Bank, Stunning Scarves & Shawls, Palestinian Embroidery, Olive Oil Soap and Palestinian Dead Sea Products, Olive wood toys, Hand woven rugs, Painted Ceramics from Jerusalem, Cookbooks and Kitchenware, Children's books, Arabic food and coffee! Organizers of the famous ANNUAL MIDDLE EASTERN HOLIDAY CRAFTS BAZAAR in Berkeley!
Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR)
The only organization in Israel made up of rabbis and rabbinical students from all denominations of Judaism, all of whom uphold the rabbinic concept of tikkun olam - "repairing the world" - referring to universal human rights and social justice.
Courage to Resist
[couragetoresist.org] [510-488-3559]
United States Labor Against the War (USLAW)
[uslaboragainstwar.org] [info (@uslaboragainstwar.org]
Here's what one union leader had to say about why he supports USLAW:
"USLAW is the sturdy bridge..." message from Fred Hirsch, Vice President, elect, of the Plumbers and Fitters Local 393:
I have been the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council representative on the Steering Committee of US Labor Against the War since 2003. USLAW
has functioned magnificently and economically with a skeleton staff of
three devoted, bright and talented leaders who are responsible to a
vastly experienced Steering Committee and a Board of labor movement
leading lights as Co-Convenors. We’re all asked to contribute to
many causes. Though I’m a fixed income retiree, I give to a few
groups, but more than any, I give what I can to USLAW to help keep it
afloat and fighting the good fight for all of us. Please give as
generously as you can. The labor movement needs the peace movement and
the peace movement needs the labor movement. USLAW is the sturdy bridge
between the two to the future that we all need. Your donated dollars
will go further with USLAW than with any other organization I know. In solidarity, [signed] Fred Hirsch
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of USLAW. USLAW's decade of activity established it as an organization that is truly unique, not only in the American labor movement, but in the global labor movement as well. It is the only organization that is rooted in the official institutions of the union movement but also counts among its affiliates non-traditional labor organizations like worker centers and ad hoc labor antiwar committees. It operates within the official bodies of unions but is not dominated by or subservient to them. It functions as the antiwar voice of the labor movement and labor's voice in the antiwar movement.
USLAW is a network of nearly 200 labor organizations [uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=16781] - including three national unions, more than two dozen labor councils, eight state labor federations, regional labor bodies, local unions - large and small - and official constituency group organizations - in both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, and in independent unions like the National Education Association and United Electrical Workers. USLAW also has hundreds of individual associate members, including unrepresented workers, retirees and union members in both affiliated and unaffiliated organizations.
It made history in 2005 when it won overwhelming support for a resolution to put the AFL-CIO on record against the Iraq War, calling for rapid withdrawal - the first time in its 50 year history that the federation publicly opposed the deployment of U.S. troops into battle. This was possible because USLAW is organized "bottom-up" rather than "top-down".
USLAW is one of the architects of the Jobs-Not-Wars Campaign [salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/302/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=11931&tag=JNW_USLAW] and cofounder of the New Priorities Network [newprioritiesnetwork.org/]. Highlights of some of its other accomplishments are recorded in a fact sheet [uslaboragainstwar.org/downloads/Achievements.Dec2012.pdf] posted to the USLAW website [uslaboragainstwar.org/].
Help USLAW start the new year with the resources it needs. USLAW has no big foundation grants. It is supported by its affiliates and members, and supporters inside and outside of the labor movement. It needs your support to carry on its work -- building an antiwar constituency in the American labor movement, providing ongoing solidarity to the unions and workers of Iraq and other targets of U.S. aggression, demilitarizing U.S. foreign policy, and redirecting our tax dollars to create an environmentally sustainable, just and equitable economy and society. Thank you for all you do and have done for justice, peace and democracy. Let's resolve together to make 2013 a year in which defeat the austerity schemes,end the U.S. military occupation of Afghanistan, win serious cuts in military spending and put our country on a new course.
Sign the Jobs-Not-Wars petition [salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/302/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=11931&tag=JNW_USLAW]. Then send this to ten others. Ask them to join you in signing and then send it to ten of their friends.
We are the majority. We must not be silent!
Jobs Not Wars coalition
[jobs-not-wars.org]
Bay Area New Priorities Campaign
[www.newprioritiescampaign.org] [newprioritiescampaign (@gmail.com]
The Campaign for New Priorities brings together organizations and individuals from diverse constituencies, communities and movements to demand of our public officials a change of direction for the U.S. – one that prioritizes putting people back to work, restoring and fully funding essential public services, rebuilding and repairing infrastructure, funding the development of new alternative energy technologies, cleaning up and protecting the environment, developing a sustainable peace economy, reducing poverty and inequality, and generally meeting important social and other human needs.
New Priorities Declaration of Principles -
If you agree with these principles, we invite you to sign the Declaration of Principles of the Campaign for New Priorities and get organizations to endorse it. After collecting a lot of signatures and endorsements from organizations, the Campaign will ask public officials in our communities adopt a resolution calling on Congress to adopt these priorities. It will ask them to hold hearings to let us explain how the economic crisis and cuts in public services impact our families, jobs and communities.
Build the campaign! Please take a moment now to send a message to as many people as you can urging them to sign the Declaration and urge their friends to do the same. We've made it very easy.
Just click HERE to send your message [salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2488/p/salsa/web/tellafriend/public/?tell_a_friend_KEY=8617]. Thanks for your support. Together we'll change the priorities and direction our country is taking!
PANinA: Peace and Nonviolence in Action
[www.panina.org]
"Nevada Desert Experience (NDE)"
[www.NevadaDesertExperience.org] [info@nevadadesertexperience.org]
NDE is the most visible peace and justice group in Nevada, a leading participant in the national anti-drone movement, and the only nuclear abolition group that focuses on the Nevada National Security Site (the nuclear testing site). We organize local Nevadans as well as amplify the voices of peace-oriented people of faith from all over the country.
SOA Watch: Close the School of the Americas
[soaw.org] [202-234-3440] [info@soaw.org] [PO Box 4566, Washington, DC 20017]
Disarm Activist
[disarmamentactivist.org]
Lamorinda Peace and Justice
The Lamorinda Peace and Justice Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7 to 9pm in the fireside room of Lafayette Methodist Church, 955 Moraga Road, Lafayette. Our group is committed to working to support a healthy planet, a thriving local community, and a safe, equitable world for all. For more information, call 925-946-0563
Cynthia McKinney (and friends)
[enduswars.org] [livestream.com/dignity] [myspace.com/dignityaction] [myspace.com/runcynthiarun] [twitter.com/cynthiamckinney] [facebook.com/CynthiaMcKinney] [youtube.com/runcynthiarun]
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR)
[forusa.org] [P.O. Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960] [845-358-4601]
* Oakland [510-763-1403]
* 2017 Mission St #305 San Francisco [510-763-1403]
Since the 1920s, the Fellowship of Reconciliation has sent delegations of peacemakers to regions of the world in conflict and to nations regarded as U.S. enemies. This people-to-people outreach, a form of civilian diplomacy, has taken Americans to such places as Vietnam, the former Soviet Union, Iraq, Nicaragua, Israel/Palestine, and the Philippines. FOR currently sends peace delegations to the Middle East, to Colombia, and to Mexico.
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
[PO Box 652 Brunswick, ME 04011]
[207-443-9502] [globalnet@mindspring.com]
[www.space4peace.org] [space4peace.blogspot.com]
WAR and LAW League, nonpartisan, nonprofit, for the rule of law in international affairs. [warandlaw.org/files/index.html]
Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas
[415-924-3227] [mitfamericas.org/Newsletter.htm]
Jews Against the Occupation
[http://www.jatonyc.org/]
A Jewish Voice of Opposition to the War on Palestinians - Jews Against the Occupation is an organization of progressive, secular and religious Jews of all ages throughout the New York City area advocating peace through justice for Palestine and Israel.
Jewish Voice for Peace
[http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org]
Opposed to Bombing Civilians? Sign Jewish Call to Action Petition - HELP END THE GAZA AND LEBANON INVASIONS NOW! Urge the U.S. to put a stop to the attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. Show the world there is a principled Jewish voice that opposes the collective punishment of an entire people.
Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel
[http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3269]
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)
[www.cpt.org] [Box 6508 · Chicago, IL 60680-6508] [773-376-0550] [peacemakers@cpt.org]
Move to Amend
[movetoamend.org]
Veterans for Peace
[veteransforpeace.org]
Chapter 87 Sacramento Area [916-456-4595]
Peace Coalition of Monterey County
with Libertarians for Peace [lawsam1951@hotmail.com] [www.libertarians4peace.net]
Human Rights Centre - UN mandated University for Peace
[upeace.org] [hrc.upeace.org]
The Human Rights Centre of the United Nations mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) and Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) jointly organize several online courses on human rights issues throughout the year, including: Health and Human Rights * Business and Human Rights Human Rights * Indigenous Peoples' Rights * International Human Rights Law (Foundation Course).
These certificate courses are aimed at professionals working with the United Nations, government officials, NGO staff, development workers, human rights advocates, academics and students. We will very much appreciate your kind help in disseminating this opportunity to interested candidates.
For more information about the courses and registration, please visit [www.hrea.org/upeace] or send an email to [elearning@hrea.org]. Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) [http://www.hrea.org/index.php?language_id=1]
Friday, October 17, 2014
Clergy and Veterans Among Eleven People Arrested at Beale Air Base Over Two Days of Campaign Nonviolence Demonstrations
"11 people arrested last month while resisting global warfare and drones killing", 2014-10-17 by Toby Blomé of Code Pink:
MARYSVILLE/BEALE AIR FORCE BASE (September 30, 2013; 3:00 p.m.) – Eleven people, including clergy and veterans, were arrested during two days of peace demonstrations at Beale Air Force Base, site of the surveillance drone Global Hawk, which performs reconnaissance for armed drones. The demonstrations at Beale were coordinated with Campaign Nonviolence, a national campaign calling for an end to war, poverty, and climate change. Over 250 nonviolent actions have been carried out in coordination with Campaign Nonviolence in the past week alone.
Two people were arrested at Beale on Monday, September 29, at 3:45 p.m. The Reverend John Auer, a retired United Methodist pastor from Fresno [archive.org], was assisted in his wheelchair by Guarionex Delgado, a veteran from Nevada City. Mr. Delgado pushed Rev. Auer’s wheelchair the length of the mile-long road to the Wheatland Gate. Rev. Auer stated that he was attempting to deliver a letter to Colonel Phillip A. Stewart, the Base Commander, informing him of a recent anti-drone resolution passed by United Methodists in the California-Nevada region [archive.org].
After he was released, Reverend Auer explained, “I oppose drone warfare because the more we depersonalize war the easier it is for us to fight, and to act as if it is not costing us anything. When we mechanize war it makes others expendable. Everyone becomes collateral damage…
I want to be able to say that we offered some kind of resistance and some kind of hope.”
Guarionex Delgado explained, “I am opposed to all forms of violence. Climate change is violence against the earth. Poverty is violence against the people. War is violence against both people and the earth.”
On Tuesday, September 30, at 7 a.m., several demonstrators gathered in a circle and began singing and dancing in front of Beale’s Main Gate. They explained that the dances were “Dances of Universal Peace,” taken from many different faith traditions, and that their purpose in dancing was to “demonstrate peace” [archive.today].
Nine people were arrested while dancing, including Barry Binks, a veteran from Sacramento; Shirley Osgood from Grass Valley; Pamela Osgood from Grass Valley; Andrew Hayes, a veteran from Grass Valley; Flora Rodgers from Marysville; Lorraine Reich from Nevada City; MacGregor Eddy from Monterey; Toby Blome from the Bay Area, and Sharon Delgado, a United Methodist minister from Nevada City.
Anti-drone demonstrators have kept up a regular presence at Beale Air Force Base over the past three years. Over fifty arrests for civil disobedience have been made; eight people have been convicted in U.S. Federal Court. Thirty-one arrests were made in March and April of 2014 alone. Sixteen of the demonstrators were summoned to be arraigned on September 9, but at the last minute all charges were dismissed [archive.org].
Demonstrators vow to continue to nonviolently resist the violence and inhumanity of drone warfare.
MARYSVILLE/BEALE AIR FORCE BASE (September 30, 2013; 3:00 p.m.) – Eleven people, including clergy and veterans, were arrested during two days of peace demonstrations at Beale Air Force Base, site of the surveillance drone Global Hawk, which performs reconnaissance for armed drones. The demonstrations at Beale were coordinated with Campaign Nonviolence, a national campaign calling for an end to war, poverty, and climate change. Over 250 nonviolent actions have been carried out in coordination with Campaign Nonviolence in the past week alone.
Two people were arrested at Beale on Monday, September 29, at 3:45 p.m. The Reverend John Auer, a retired United Methodist pastor from Fresno [archive.org], was assisted in his wheelchair by Guarionex Delgado, a veteran from Nevada City. Mr. Delgado pushed Rev. Auer’s wheelchair the length of the mile-long road to the Wheatland Gate. Rev. Auer stated that he was attempting to deliver a letter to Colonel Phillip A. Stewart, the Base Commander, informing him of a recent anti-drone resolution passed by United Methodists in the California-Nevada region [archive.org].
After he was released, Reverend Auer explained, “I oppose drone warfare because the more we depersonalize war the easier it is for us to fight, and to act as if it is not costing us anything. When we mechanize war it makes others expendable. Everyone becomes collateral damage…
I want to be able to say that we offered some kind of resistance and some kind of hope.”
Guarionex Delgado explained, “I am opposed to all forms of violence. Climate change is violence against the earth. Poverty is violence against the people. War is violence against both people and the earth.”
On Tuesday, September 30, at 7 a.m., several demonstrators gathered in a circle and began singing and dancing in front of Beale’s Main Gate. They explained that the dances were “Dances of Universal Peace,” taken from many different faith traditions, and that their purpose in dancing was to “demonstrate peace” [archive.today].
Nine people were arrested while dancing, including Barry Binks, a veteran from Sacramento; Shirley Osgood from Grass Valley; Pamela Osgood from Grass Valley; Andrew Hayes, a veteran from Grass Valley; Flora Rodgers from Marysville; Lorraine Reich from Nevada City; MacGregor Eddy from Monterey; Toby Blome from the Bay Area, and Sharon Delgado, a United Methodist minister from Nevada City.
Anti-drone demonstrators have kept up a regular presence at Beale Air Force Base over the past three years. Over fifty arrests for civil disobedience have been made; eight people have been convicted in U.S. Federal Court. Thirty-one arrests were made in March and April of 2014 alone. Sixteen of the demonstrators were summoned to be arraigned on September 9, but at the last minute all charges were dismissed [archive.org].Demonstrators vow to continue to nonviolently resist the violence and inhumanity of drone warfare.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Anti-war movement responds to Obama's speech on Iraq, Syria and the Islamic State
“We in the ANSWER Coalition oppose this war and we will be organizing mass demonstrations to oppose the bombing of Iraq and Syria”
[AnswerCoalition.org]
No New Iraq War -
President Obama's new war plans in Iraq and Syria will not liberate the people of either country but will lead to more destruction. The U.S. military defeat of the secular Iraqi and Libyan governments (in 2003 and 2011) and its policy of fueling armed civil war against the secular, nationalist government in Syria are the fundamental reasons the so-called Islamic State has grown and become strong.
Perpetuating a now 23-year-long U.S. political tradition, President Obama is announcing tonight that he, like the three preceding U.S. presidents, will go forward with another bombing campaign in Iraq. This is a war that will lead only to more catastrophe and destruction.
“We in the ANSWER Coalition oppose this war and we will be organizing mass demonstrations to oppose the bombing of Iraq and Syria. This war, like the earlier ones, is being sold on the basis of misinformation and fear. The United States is a major part of the problem and cannot be the solution to the current crisis in Iraq,” stated Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition.
This Administration and the previous three administrations have each waged war or conducted a bombing campaign in Iraq under a shifting set of public rationales. Each was carried out under the supposed imperative need to protect “U.S. interests” and each was conducted using noble, humanitarian or anti-terrorist slogans.
If one goes by the media headlines this U.S. war too will be for another noble cause — just as the previous wars and bombing campaigns were described when they were conducted by George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush. This time the war will be conducted under the slogan of defeating the heinous so-called Islamic State forces who have come to dominate predominantly Sunni communities in northern and western Iraq.
The U.S. military cannot solve, but only exacerbate, the current crisis in Iraq and Syria. In fact, the U.S. government, the CIA and the Pentagon are responsible for the disintegration of Iraq and Syria and the consequent rise of the Islamic State and other equally reactionary, sectarian forces in Iraq's central government and elsewhere in these countries.
The so-called Islamic State did not exist a decade ago. It exists now and has grown strong for three basic reasons each of which is a direct consequence of U.S. policies and actions in Iraq, Libya and Syria.
1. The United States invasion in 2003 destroyed the unitary secular government of Iraq and then followed it up by outlawing the Baathist political party, disbanded the national Baathist-led Iraqi army, and then, as an occupation strategy, hand picked Iraqi Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki whose government pursued a sectarian policy of terrorizing Sunni communities.
This Iraqi national government and army, and the Shiite militias that support the government, have carried out similar atrocities against Sunni communities that the Islamic State forces are carrying out against Shiites, Christians, Yazidis and other Sunnis who don't support their ultra-reactionary, sectarian and anti-women policies. It was precisely the brutality of the Maliki government that has allowed the Islamic State to pretend to be the defender of Sunni communities in north and western Iraq. If the US media had reported on the widespread abuses and atrocities committed by the Iraqi government against Sunni communities, it would have aroused the same visceral disgust that has now been engendered against the atrocities committed by the Islamic State.
2. The United States and its NATO partners smashed the secular, nationalist Libyan government through a massive bombing campaign in 2011. This war of aggression fractured Libya as a unitary state, similar to what happened in Iraq, and led to the seizure of vast tracts of territory and heavy weapons by jihadist militias. These weapons and many fighters quickly migrated to join the war supported by the United States and its regional allies against the secular nationalist government in Syria.
3. The Islamic State in Syria acquired vast quantities of heavy weapons and funds since 2011 as part of the armed opposition in Syria. Official U.S. policy was to support the armed struggle against the secular Syrian government. The armed opposition groups, including the Islamic State, received weapons and funds from a coalition of countries that included the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The U.S. government is also planning to use the current crisis to directly intervene militarily in Syria. The real goal in Syria will be to militarily defeat the Assad government. The armed rebel groups in Syria – including the Islamic State – have shown that they cannot defeat the Syrian army without the direct military intervention of the United States. Any military intervention by the United States in Syria without the consent of the Syrian government is a violation of international law and the UN Charter.
[AnswerCoalition.org]
No New Iraq War -
President Obama's new war plans in Iraq and Syria will not liberate the people of either country but will lead to more destruction. The U.S. military defeat of the secular Iraqi and Libyan governments (in 2003 and 2011) and its policy of fueling armed civil war against the secular, nationalist government in Syria are the fundamental reasons the so-called Islamic State has grown and become strong.
Perpetuating a now 23-year-long U.S. political tradition, President Obama is announcing tonight that he, like the three preceding U.S. presidents, will go forward with another bombing campaign in Iraq. This is a war that will lead only to more catastrophe and destruction.
“We in the ANSWER Coalition oppose this war and we will be organizing mass demonstrations to oppose the bombing of Iraq and Syria. This war, like the earlier ones, is being sold on the basis of misinformation and fear. The United States is a major part of the problem and cannot be the solution to the current crisis in Iraq,” stated Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition.
This Administration and the previous three administrations have each waged war or conducted a bombing campaign in Iraq under a shifting set of public rationales. Each was carried out under the supposed imperative need to protect “U.S. interests” and each was conducted using noble, humanitarian or anti-terrorist slogans.
If one goes by the media headlines this U.S. war too will be for another noble cause — just as the previous wars and bombing campaigns were described when they were conducted by George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush. This time the war will be conducted under the slogan of defeating the heinous so-called Islamic State forces who have come to dominate predominantly Sunni communities in northern and western Iraq.
The U.S. military cannot solve, but only exacerbate, the current crisis in Iraq and Syria. In fact, the U.S. government, the CIA and the Pentagon are responsible for the disintegration of Iraq and Syria and the consequent rise of the Islamic State and other equally reactionary, sectarian forces in Iraq's central government and elsewhere in these countries.
The so-called Islamic State did not exist a decade ago. It exists now and has grown strong for three basic reasons each of which is a direct consequence of U.S. policies and actions in Iraq, Libya and Syria.
1. The United States invasion in 2003 destroyed the unitary secular government of Iraq and then followed it up by outlawing the Baathist political party, disbanded the national Baathist-led Iraqi army, and then, as an occupation strategy, hand picked Iraqi Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki whose government pursued a sectarian policy of terrorizing Sunni communities.
This Iraqi national government and army, and the Shiite militias that support the government, have carried out similar atrocities against Sunni communities that the Islamic State forces are carrying out against Shiites, Christians, Yazidis and other Sunnis who don't support their ultra-reactionary, sectarian and anti-women policies. It was precisely the brutality of the Maliki government that has allowed the Islamic State to pretend to be the defender of Sunni communities in north and western Iraq. If the US media had reported on the widespread abuses and atrocities committed by the Iraqi government against Sunni communities, it would have aroused the same visceral disgust that has now been engendered against the atrocities committed by the Islamic State.
2. The United States and its NATO partners smashed the secular, nationalist Libyan government through a massive bombing campaign in 2011. This war of aggression fractured Libya as a unitary state, similar to what happened in Iraq, and led to the seizure of vast tracts of territory and heavy weapons by jihadist militias. These weapons and many fighters quickly migrated to join the war supported by the United States and its regional allies against the secular nationalist government in Syria.
3. The Islamic State in Syria acquired vast quantities of heavy weapons and funds since 2011 as part of the armed opposition in Syria. Official U.S. policy was to support the armed struggle against the secular Syrian government. The armed opposition groups, including the Islamic State, received weapons and funds from a coalition of countries that included the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The U.S. government is also planning to use the current crisis to directly intervene militarily in Syria. The real goal in Syria will be to militarily defeat the Assad government. The armed rebel groups in Syria – including the Islamic State – have shown that they cannot defeat the Syrian army without the direct military intervention of the United States. Any military intervention by the United States in Syria without the consent of the Syrian government is a violation of international law and the UN Charter.
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