[haw-info] Call to action against the NDAA

Historians against the War denounces the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by Congress and signed into law by the President this past December. This law authorizes $662 billion dollars for defense at a time when the U.S. economy is in a "Great Recession." Meanwhile, the President has just this week given the preliminary report on another excessive defense budget for 2013. The 2012 allocations for Afghan Security Forces, who have been implicated in abuses and widespread drug use, warrant much closer scrutiny. Also, the sanctions on Iran are reminiscent of the distortions of the Bush administration's calls to halt Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program, and are not in line with either current international (both European and Middle Eastern) thought on this issue. Last but not least, the NDAA undermines the release of some 88 people held at Guantanamo Bay who have been cleared by the FBI, CIA and Defense Department. It also authorizes indefinite detention of a broad category of "covered persons," including U.S. citizens, thereby eroding the foundations of our democracy, and making possible many more abuses and risks the dismantling of habeas corpus entirely. Therefore, Historians Against the War calls on its members and friends to:

 

1. Organize a demonstration against the NDAA at local Congressional Offices on February 3 (National Day of Action, but if needed another date would still work). Link for list of the House of Representatives vote on the NDAA:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2011-932

 

2. Ask your Congressional Representative to, at minimum, co-sponsor HR3785 to repeal Section 1021. (See note below on this bill.)

 

3. Organize teach-ins at your university, school, or in your community, to discuss the implications of the NDAA. Some resources can be found on our website, www.historiansagainstwar.org

 

Please keep the HAW Steering Committee informed (by writing to Carlmirra <at> aol . com) informed if you decide to take these actions, andwe promise to spread the word to our members of such initiatives. 

 

Additional Note on the NDAA and HR3785:

The NDAA is a troubling law that follows a continuum of actions taken by both

Bush and Obama. A detailed draft on how the NDAA impacts U.S. citizens is

available upon request from Steering Committee member Carl Mirra,

Carlmirra <at> aol . com. Although the problematic Ron Paul is its sponsor, at least

one reserved, local Congressman has indicated that co-sponsoring HR3785 was an

action he would be willing to take. Note too that even this bill to remove

Section 1021 is not sufficient as there is so much that is troubling in the

NDAA, but we think that it is a necessary starting point.

[haw-info] Call for candidates for the HAW Steering Committee

To members and friends of Historians Against the War,

In a few weeks we will conduct e-mail voting for members of the HAW
Steering Committee. The Steering Committee, elected once a year, makes
decisions for HAW in between the annual meetings at the AHA. Aside from
one face-to-face meeting in the summer, the SC conducts business through
e-mail and occasional conference calls.

Eligibility to run, and to vote, will depend on being a member of HAW at
the time of the actual election. Membership is open to anyone who is in
"substantial agreement" (self-defined) with new defining statement and
wants to be considered a member. The statement, and an on-line form for
joining, are on the HAW home page at
http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/statement.html.

If you would like to run (and we encourage you to consider it) or if you
would like to nominate someone, let us know.

If you are nominating yourself, please send a brief description, using
the template at the end of this message, by January 31 to the co-chairs
Marc Becker (marc@yachana.org <mailto:marc@yachana.org>) and Jim O'Brien
(jimobrien48@gmail.com <mailto:jimobrien48@gmail.com>). If you are
nominating someone else, please send us the name and e-mail address
sooner so we can contact them and see if they are willing.

If you have any questions, feel free to write to either of us with
questions.

Thank you,

Marc Becker and Jim O'Brien
current co-chairs of the HAW Steering Committee

Nomination Form:

Name:

Institution:

Position:

Historical Specialization:

Political Background:

Reason for Running:

Note: You are receiving this email because you signed a Historians Against the War statement (see http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/) or asked to be including in HAW's informational mailings. If you no longer wish to receive these occasional messages about HAW's work, send an email to haw-info-request@stopthewars.org?subject=unsubscribe.
_______________________________________________
haw-info mailing list
haw-info@stopthewars.org
http://stopthewars.org/mailman/listinfo/haw-info_stopthewars.org

[haw-info] HAW Notes 1/20/12: City council resolutions; links to recent articles of interest

1.  Last month a great many people on our e-mail list responded to a request from Margaret Power of HAW and the Illinois Coalition Against Torture (http://illinoiscat.wordpress.com) to sign an on-line petition supporting a resolution in the Chicago City Council condemning torture by government at all levels, domestically and overseas.  On January 18 the Council passed the resolution unanimously, becoming the first city governing body in the country to pass a resolution on this topic.

2.  Another apparent first was a resolution adopted by the Charlottesville, Va., City Council on January 17 opposing the launching of a war against Iran, calling for an end to current U.S. ground and drone wars, and advocating a significant reduction of military spending.  David Swanson describes the resolution and its background at
http://warisacrime.org/content/charlottesville-va-city-council-passes-resolution-opposing-war-iran.
 

Links to Recent Articles of Interest

"Blood on Whose Hands? Bradley Manning, Washington, and the Blood of Civilians"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175491
By Chase Madar, TomDispatch.com, posted January 19

"Marines Urinating on Taliban Corpses: Putting Words to the Picture"
http://ncronline.org/news/peace/marines-urinating-taliban-corpses-putting-words-picture
By Jerry Lembcke, National Catholic Reporter, posted January 18
Relates Vietnam and Afghanistan wars

"Cult of Personality"
http://www.fpif.org/articles/cult_of_personality
By John Feffer, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted January 17

"The Myth of 'Isolated' Iran: Following the Money in the Iran Crisis"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175490
By Pepe Escobar, TomDispatch.com, posted January 17

"The U.S.: Still the Protector of Mideast Strongmen [Blowback]"
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2012/01/mideast-military-aid-obama-mubarak-arab-spring-blowback.html
By Mark LeVine, Los Angeles Times, posted January 16
The author teaches history at the University of California, Riverside

"How Beijing Sees Us"
http://hnn.us/articles/how-beijing-sees-us
By Michael H. Hunt, History News Network, posted January 16
The author is a professor of history emeritus at the University of North Carolina

"Americans are Less Nationalistic than Flag-Waving Politicians Think"
http://hnn.us/articles/americans-are-less-nationalistic-flag-waving-politicians-think
By Lawrence S. Wittner, History News Network, posted January 16
The author is a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany

"10 Reasons the U.S. Is No Longer the Land of the Free"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-the-united-states-still-the-land-of-the-free/2012/01/04/gIQAvcD1wP_story.html
By Jonathan Turley, Washington Post, posted January 13

"Obama's Revolution in American Strategy"
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/10/obamas_revolution_in_american_strategy/singleton
By Michael Lind, Salon, posted January 10

"The Bouazizi Spark: The Beginning of a Long Revolutionary Process"
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/bouazizi-spark-beginning-long-revolutionary-process
By Gilbert Achcar, Al-Akhbar English, posted

Thanks to Rusti Eisenberg, Ros Baxandall, Jerry Lembcke, and Larry Wittner for suggesting articles that are included in the above list.  Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.

[haw-info] Call for candidates for the HAW Steering Committee

To members and friends of Historians Against the War,

In a few weeks we will conduct e-mail voting for members of the HAW
Steering Committee. The Steering Committee, elected once a year, makes
decisions for HAW in between the annual meetings at the AHA. Aside from
one face-to-face meeting in the summer, the SC conducts business through
e-mail and occasional conference calls.

Eligibility to run, and to vote, will depend on being a member of HAW at
the time of the actual election. Membership is open to anyone who is in
"substantial agreement" (self-defined) with new defining statement and
wants to be considered a member. The statement, and an on-line form for
joining, are on the HAW home page at
http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/statement.html.

If you would like to run (and we encourage you to consider it) or if you
would like to nominate someone, let us know.

If you are nominating yourself, please send a brief description, using
the template at the end of this message, by January 31 to the co-chairs
Marc Becker (marc@yachana.org <mailto:marc@yachana.org>) and Jim O'Brien
(jimobrien48@gmail.com <mailto:jimobrien48@gmail.com>). If you are
nominating someone else, please send us the name and e-mail address
sooner so we can contact them and see if they are willing.

If you have any questions, feel free to write to either of us with
questions.

Thank you,

Marc Becker and Jim O'Brien
current co-chairs of the HAW Steering Committee

Nomination Form:

Name:

Institution:

Position:

Historical Specialization:

Political Background:

Reason for Running:

Note: You are receiving this email because you signed a Historians Against the War statement (see http://www.historiansagainstwar.org/) or asked to be including in HAW's informational mailings. If you no longer wish to receive these occasional messages about HAW's work, send an email to haw-info-request@stopthewars.org?subject=unsubscribe.
_______________________________________________
haw-info mailing list
haw-info@stopthewars.org
http://stopthewars.org/mailman/listinfo/haw-info_stopthewars.org

[haw-info] HAW Notes 1/4/12: AHA convention; links to recent articles of interest

AHA Convention (Chicago, January 5-8)

Historians Against the War will have a literature table (shared with the Radical History Review) from 11:30 to 2:30 on Friday on Level 2 of the Sheraton Chicago (the headquarters hotel).  The table will be in the common area of Level 2, called the LB Promenade.

Also on Friday, a special session on the jobs crisis, chaired by the AHA president and with Jesse Lemisch as one of the speakers, has been called for 1:00 to 2:30 in Chicago Ballroom VI, also in the Sheraton Chicago. 

Among other sessions of interest is one on "Cold War Policing and the American Empire," chaired by Alfred McCoy, 2:30 - 4:30 Friday in Chicago Ballroom A of the Chicago Marriott Downtown.  The on-line program for the convention is at http://aha.confex.com/aha/2012/webprogram/start.html.


Links to Recent Articles of Interest

"Iran and Historical Forgetting"
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/01/03/iran-and-historical-forgetting
By John Grant, CounterPunch.org, posted January 3

"Debacle: How Two Wars in the Greater Middle East Revealed the Weakness of the Global Superpower"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175484
By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com, posted January 3

"Will His New Sanctions on Iran Cost Obama the Presidency?"
http://www.juancole.com/2012/01/will-his-new-sanctions-on-iran-cost-obama-the-presidency.html
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment blog, posted January 3
The author teaches history at the University of Michigan

"Iraq: Remembering Those Responsible"
http://www.truth-out.org/iraq-remember-those-responsible/1325433300
By Stephen Zunes, TruthOut.org, posted January 1

"The United States as a Global Power: New World Disorder"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/28/us-global-power-new-world-disorder
Editorial in The Guardian, posted December 29

"Korea and the US Policy of Perpetual War"
http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/harry-targ-korea-and-us-policy-of.html
By Harry Targ, The Rag Blog Digest, posted December 29

"Q&A: Have Human Rights Been Left Behind in Egypt? On Condition of Anonymity, Representatives of Human Rights Organisations Talk about the Current Situation in Egypt"
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/20111213115244470203.html
By Mark LeVine, Aljazeers, posted December 29
The author teaches history at the University of California, Irvine

"Prospects for Peace on Earth"
http://warisacrime.org/content/prospects-peace-earth
By David Swanson, War Is a Crime.org, posted December 22

"David Montgomery, Grand Master Workman"
http://www.thenation.com/article/165235/david-montgomery-grand-master-workman?rel=emailNation
By Dana Frank, The Nation, posted December 19
The author teaches history at the University of California, Santa Cruz

"Iraq: No Comfort in Being Right"
http://original.antiwar.com/vlahos/2011/12/12/iraq-no-comfort-in-being-right/
By Kelly B. Vlahos, antiwar.com, posted December 12
Retrospective analysis of the Iraq occupation

Thanks to Maia Ramnath and Rosalyn Baxandall for suggesting articles that are included in the above list.  Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.