An Open Letter to President Obama

Mr. President,

We want our country to work for peace.  But since September 11, 2001, our country has chosen war as its first response.

At the beginning of your first term, hundreds of people signed a letter asking you to favor moral advisers over military advisers.  That request is even more urgent today.

Your administration took an important step away from war with the Iran nuclear agreement, but that has not ended the many other destructive military interventions we are engaged in.

We are bombing Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.  We supply the Saudis with bombs and cluster rockets for their war against Yemen.

We bombed Libya and the repercussions continue to be disastrous.  We resupply Israel with weapons after each attack on Gaza.  We committed dangerous and unpredictable acts of sabotage against Iran's nuclear facilities.  We threaten Iran with war unless they follow our orders.

Howard Zinn, a World War II veteran who later became one of our country's greatest peace activists, said, "Between war and doing nothing there are a thousand possibilities."  A letter to the editor written just after 9/11 suggested that instead of bombs we drop loaves of bread on Afghanistan.  Wouldn't the world be a better place today if we had followed that suggestion?

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his brilliant 1967 speech at Riverside Church, wondered if America could develop the maturity required to stop our war against Vietnam.  With so many voices today crying out for more war and labeling opponents as weak, it would take an act of courage and maturity to set our country on the path to peace instead of war.

For the sake of our children and all the children of the world who are denied their right to life, we urge you to break the chains of militarism that make our world a poorer place. We want you to choose the more courageous and mature path of making peace.

Respectfully,

Veterans For Peace, CPL Jonathan J. Santos Memorial Chapter 111
Bellingham, WA


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If you are satisfied with the letter as it is, you can sign it, have friends sign it, and send it to the White House. Yes, you have to use a stamp and an envelope, but it might show President Obama that we are willing to do a little more work than just clicking a button.

Also if you want to help us reach our goal of ten million signatures (Why not!), forward the letter to your email lists or post on Facebook.  Make copies and give them to your friends, even add a personal comment or re-write the whole darn thing if you like, but please, take a little time to tell the President how you feel.

If you wish to add your name/signature to this letter, please email Veterans For Peace Chapter 111.

FOREST SERVICE DRAFT DECISION NOTICE ON NAVY PERMIT EXPECTED IN LATE SEPTEMBER/EARLY OCTOBER -- WHAT IS A FAIR PUBLIC PROCESS?

In order for the Olympic Peninsula to be turned into an Electronic Warfare Range, the Navy and Forest Service must first follow the law. They have not.

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) has been violated multiple times. So has the National Forest Management Act. How?

1. The Navy has segmented its public process into many confusing pieces, making it almost impossible for the public to follow and understand.

2. They did not notify the public about their Environmental Assessment, and as a result, received no public comments. Only people who comment during the specified time have legal standing to mount a challenge.

3. The Forest Service is expected later this month to announce that it is adopting the Navy’s claims of no significant impacts despite serious procedural and biological flaws, without conducting its own scientific investigations, and despite 4,000 public comments, all but 31 opposed. Is that fair?

Most people would agree that regardless of how anyone feels about jet noise or electromagnetic radiation or sonar or air and water pollution, a FAIR PUBLIC PROCESS (click here) is in everyone’s interest. What would that look like? For starters, a full, complete and comprehensive EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) needs to be done. The State DNR did the right thing by declining to participate in Navy war games, at least until a fair and complete process is done. Write or call your elected representatives to encourage them to speak out, and to demand a fair process. In America, following the law shouldn’t be considered an unreasonable request.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
There will be a comment period after the Forest Service announces its Draft Decision Notice sometime in September. Start preparing your comment letters now. We will notify you when and where to submit comments, and will provide as much information as possible to help you make your comments substantive.