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[haw-info] Letter to President Obama: Military Strikes Are Not the Answer in Syria
The following letter was initiated by the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). The Steering Committee of Historians Against the War has approved HAW's joining 17 other groups (the list is at the end of the letter) in co-signing it. The letter is also posted on the FCNL website. August 28, 2013 Dear President Obama, We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to express our grave concerns with your reported plans to intervene militarily in Syria. While we unequivocally condemn any use of chemical weapons along with continued indiscriminate killing of civilians and other violations of international humanitarian law, military strikes are not the answer. Rather than bringing an end to the violence that has already cost more than 100,000 lives, they threaten to widen the vicious civil war in Syria and undermine prospects to de-escalate the conflict and eventually reach a negotiated settlement. In the course of more than 2 years of war, much of Syria has been destroyed and nearly 2 million people - half of them children - have been forced to flee to neighboring countries. We thank you for the generous humanitarian assistance the US has provided to support the nearly 1 in 3 Syrians - 8 million people - in need of aid. But such assistance is not enough. As the U.S. government itself has recognized, there is no solution to the crisis other than a political one. Instead of pursuing military strikes and arming parties to the conflict, we urge your administration to intensify diplomatic efforts to stop the bloodshed, before Syria is destroyed and the region further destabilized. Sincerely, American Friends Service Committee
CREDO Action
Democrats.com
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Historians Against the War
Just Foreign Policy
Oxfam America
Peace Action
Peace Education Fund
Presbyterian Church, USA
Progressive Democrats of America
RootsAction.org
Shomer Shalom Network for Jewish Nonviolence
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
USAction
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
Women's Action for New Directions
[haw-info] Call Congress ASAP: No military attack on Syria!
[haw-info] HAW Notes 8/22/13: Links to recent articles of interest
Links to Recent Articles of Interest
The author teaches history at the University of Michigan
By Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted August 20
Edited by Malcolm Byrne, National Security Archive, posted August 19
By John Prados, History News Network, posted August 19
By Lawrence S. Wittner, History News Network, posted August 19
The author is a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany
By Andrew J. Bacevich, Washington Post, posted August 16
The author teaches history and international relations at Boston University
By Daniel N. White, Contrary Perspective blog, posted August 15
By James Livingston, Politics and Letters blog, August 15
The author teaches history at Rutgers University
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment blog, posted August 15
By Pater Maass, New York Times Magazine, posted August 13
Emad Mekay, Aljazeera, posted July 13
Thanks to Steve Gosch, Rusti Eisenberg, Rosalyn Baxandall, James Swarts, Larry Wittner, Dan White, and Chad Pearson for suggesting articles included above. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.
[haw-info] Let Them Stay: Oral Histories of Iraq War Resisters in Canada
Luke Stewart, a member of the HAW Steering Committee since 2011, is a
graduate student at the University of Waterloo and a leading activist in
support of US military personnel whose objections to the Iraq War led
them to seek refuge in Canada. He has now put together an edited
collection of oral histories, public statements, and personal narratives
of these war resisters between 2004 and 2013. He has donated his time,
money, energy and passion since 2011 editing this collection with the
War Resisters Support Campaign out of Toronto. The book is therefore the
product of an independent, grassroots initiative and is almost ready for
publication. Stewart is starting a fundraising campaign for final
production and marketing costs with Iguana Books, the publisher.
With the help of volunteers - including a professional editor,
videographer, and graphic designer - Stewart and the Support Campaign
have reduced the final cost to publish the book down to a very low
level: $6500. The fundraising efforts will go to pay for
marketing/promotion, ebook and print formatting, distribution licenses
(for bookstores and libraries), and other final production costs. Any
amount over the $6500 goal will go directly to the War Resisters Support
Campaign, and all royalties for the book will go directly to the war
resisters' legal, housing, medical, dental, and other associated costs
while seeking sanctuary in Canada.
If you want more information about the war resisters in Canada, visit:
www.resisters.ca. If you're interested in donating or spreading the
word, please visit:
Online Indiegogo Campaign for donations:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-them-stay-iraq-war-resisters-in-canada
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/resistersoralhistory
Email Contact: letthemstaybook@gmail.com
--
Luke Stewart
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of History
The University of Waterloo
Office: HH 141
Phone: 519-208-1266
Email: l5stewar@uwaterloo.ca
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.
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[haw-info] HAW Notes 8/13/13: Zinn event; teaching resources; Vietnam War counter-commemoration; article links
To members and friends of Historians Against the War,
Here are a couple of notes plus our occasional "links to recent articles of interest."
1. The HAW Steering Committee has endorsed a November 5 solidarity "read-in" event being organized by faculty members at Purdue University, in which participants (volunteers are welcome) will read passages from Howard Zinn's writings. This is in response to the revelation that Purdue's current president Mitch Daniels, when governor of Indiana, had welcomed the death of "this terrible anti-American academic" and sought assurance that Zinn's writings were not being taught in the state. Prof. Tithi Bhattacharya of the Purdue history department is a contact person for more information on the read-in, at tbhattac@gmail.com.
2. Rethinking Schools has published a collection of articles and hands-on lessons on the wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East since 2001, entitled Teaching About the Wars. Information is at http://www.rethinkingschools.org/ProdDetails.asp?ID=9781937730475.
3. An effort is being initiated to counter the upcoming official US commemoration of the Vietnam War. Plans are tentative, but the organizers have posted a statement and a form for endorsement, with a number of prominent antiwar activists among the early endorsers. Information is at http://ncveteransforpeace.org/memorial.
Links to Recent Articles of Interest
By David Swanson, War Is a Crime.org, posted August 11
By David Price, CounterPunch.org, posted August 9
By Kim Scipes, ZNet, posted August 7
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment blog, posted August 6 The author teaches history at the University of Michigan
By Peter Van Buren, TomDispatch.com, posted August 4
By Phyllis Bennis, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted August 2 By Noam Chomsky, AlterNet.org, posted August 2
By Ira Chernus, History News Network, posted August 1 By Joseph A. Palermo, Huffington Post, posted July 30
The author teaches history at the Sacramento Stagte University
Thanks for Rosalyn Baxandall, Steve Gosch, and Chad Pearson for suggesting articles that are included in the above list. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.
[haw-info] HAW Notes 8/2/13: Bradley Manning; links to recent articles of interest
To members and friends of Historians Against the War,
Below are some sources of updates and other information on the Bradley Manning case, now in its sentencing phase. They are followed by our occasional set of links to recent on-line articles of interest.
Thanks to Jerise Fogel, James Swarts, Rusti Eisenberg, and Rosalyn Baxandall for leads to the above sources.
Links to Recent Articles of Interest
"They Know Much More Than You Think"
By James Bamford, New York Review of Books, August 15 issue
On the National Security Agency, with historical background
By Juan Cole, Informed Comment blog, posted July 31
The author teaches history at the University of Michigan
By Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian, posted July 29
By William J. Astore, History News Network, posted July 29
The author teaches history at the Pennsylvania College of Technology
By Jonathan Cook, CounterPunch.org, posted July 29
On Alex Gibney's documentary "We Steal Secrets," on Wikileaks and Julian Assange
By Eduardo Galeano, TomDispatch.com, posted July 23
By Jackson Lears, History News Network (also in the Raritan Quarterly), posted July 22
The author teaches history at Rutgers University
By Michael Uhl, In the Mind Field blog, posted July 21
Review essay on the book Hardhats, Hippies and Hawks: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement as Myth and Memory
Thanks to Rusti Eisenberg, Steve Gosch, Rosalyn Baxandall, and Chad Pearson for suggesting articles that are included in the above list. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.
[haw-info] Petition against U.S. military intervention in Syria
The following petition is being circulated by, among other groups, United for Peace and Justice, an antiwar coalition of which HAW is a member.
TO: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS We urge you to reject any military intervention in Syria, including arming the rebels or creating a no-fly zone, and instead to focus on increasing humanitarian assistance through the United Nations and building active multi-lateral diplomacy without preconditions with all involved parties for an immediate ceasefire, a full arms embargo, and negotiations to end Syria's civil war...... This is how our petition starts to President Obama on stopping intervention in Syria, Can you sign it? And Why is this important?
You can't put out a raging fire by pouring gasoline on one side of it. There is no military solution to the crisis in Syria, and more arms to any side mean more civilians will be killed.
Any U.S. military intervention holds the threat of unplanned escalation, and ultimately a quagmire. It is much easier to send planes, bombs and missiles than it is to get out – especially if a plane is shot down or a pilot captured. There is no exit strategy for Syria and even a "no-fly zone" could easily become a costly quagmire.
The situation in Syria today is full-scale civil war, which denies the people of Syria their right to choose their own government and leaders. Other governments arming and financing the two sides does not restore that right, it only makes things worse. The U.S.-Russian initiative known as Geneva II talks should be pushed forward, involving all the relevant outside actors, especially those providing weapons and military or economic support to any side. The U.S. should stop trying to prevent Iran's participation in the talks – any serious diplomacy requires everyone to be at the table. On the Syrian side, negotiations must include not only the Syrian government and the armed rebels, but organizations representing Syrian civil society including unarmed opposition forces, Syria's minority communities, women, and youth. Follow this link to sign the petition.
Sponsored by:
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)
Just Foreign Policy (IFP)
Peace Action (P-A)
Peace and Justice Resource Center (PJRC)
United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)
Women's Actions for New Directions (WAND)
United for Peace & Justice
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