Demonstration at Creech Air Base in Utah

Ann Wright posted these photos of a Code Pink Demonstration.

From Ann Wright: "Some fascinating comments from local residents about our protests at Creech drone base- not all negative!!!!

"At the Oasis Bar, the only bar in town, a resident said he didn't believe protesters would effect any change at the base level, but that he shared a concern about civilian casualties from drone strikes.

“'We do worry,' he said of the base's Reapers and Predators, the two types of drones flown from Creech. 'It was a lot better when it was a Thunderbird (flying).'

"He added that if authorities arrested protesters, they should also prosecute those responsible for civilian deaths. (Yes!!! Ann's comment)

"But even as he identified common ground with some of the protesters, he recognized the economic benefits of having the base there.

"Some Indian Springs residents said protesters should direct their message to decision-makers instead of urging drone operators to disobey commands.

"Another resident said the town had become accustomed to protests but felt they created tension among residents and lowered the morale of drone operators, which she felt was unfair because the pilots merely follow orders."

DANIEL ROTHBERG / LAS VEGAS SUN

Ruben Beltran of Indian Springs waves a peace sign during a protest Monday, Oct. 26, 2015, at Creech Air Force Base. Beltran said most Indian Springs residents dislike activists because the base hires civilians from town.

By Daniel Rothberg (contact)

Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015 | 2 a.m.

DANIEL ROTHBERG / LAS VEGAS SUN

Indian Springs resident Ruben Beltran holds a poster Monday, Oct. 26, 2015, during a protest session to highlight the environmental effects of war. Beltran was across the highway from Creech Air Force Base as part of a weeklong anti-drone protest.

INDIAN SPRINGS — Ruben Beltran pointed across U.S. 95 to his neighbor, a man sitting on a motorcycle inside the fenced boundary of Creech Air Force Base.

Beltran and the man on the motorcycle know each other, like a good many other residents of this community of about 1,000 people. But they don't know each other in the warm small-town way captured in Norman Rockwell paintings.

“That guy, he hates me," Beltran said.

What divides Beltran and his neighbor is something that also has created fault lines among Americans well beyond Indian Springs. It's drone warfare. Beltran is an outspoken anti-drone activist, an anomaly for a resident of Indian Springs. On Monday afternoon, he was standing at a weeklong anti-drone protest directed at the pilots and civilian staff who commute every day to Creech, one of the military’s hubs for flying drones.

“They don't like people like us here because a lot of people work at the base," he said.

In fact, Beltran said that the town’s connection to the base runs so deep that some of his neighbors who work at the base no longer talk to him because of his activism.

While the installation has been in this small town for several decades, its purpose has shifted over the years, from being a practice site of the Thunderbirds precision flight team to being the base of operations for drones used for 24/7 surveillance or strikes overseas.

DANIEL ROTHBERG / LAS VEGAS SUN

An anti-drone activist calls for an end to targeted drone strikes in front of Creech Air Force Base Monday morning, Oct. 26, 2015.

As a result, the town has been a magnet for anti-war protesters like Beltran. This week, Code Pink, the grass-roots group known for disrupting congressional hearings and political speeches, is expected to protest on the highway by Creech twice a day until Friday. With the town in the spotlight, many residents said they had a dim view of the activists.

Several residents said they supported the base, which provides jobs to the community. And even those who are more sympathetic with an anti-drone sentiment believe protesting at the base is futile in affecting change and see the importance of having the base.

“They feed so many families,” said a resident who used to work as a civilian at Creech.

Accordingly, conversations with residents reveal how sensitive the topic of Creech is in the town. Residents were not willing to be identified because some worked at the base, had plans to apply for a job there or believed speaking about the base could harm their businesses.

Indian Springs, an unincorporated town in Clark County, has always had strong ties to the military. Besides being the home of Creech, it’s adjacent to a 2.9 million-acre test range and is 45 miles away from the Nevada National Security Site. As such, the military has served as one of the town’s principal employers and is integral to keeping the economy afloat.

But the drone missions have brought new attention to the town. Code Pink members have traveled to Creech since 2009 to call for an end to drone strikes, which in their view have been responsible for more civilian deaths than the government has acknowledged and have helped galvanize the nation's enemies. Other groups have come as well. Dozens of peace activists were arrested in March for trespassing and blocking the base.

DANIEL ROTHBERG / LAS VEGAS SUN

Anti-drone activists with the group Code Pink hold signs for cars turning into Creech Air Force Base Monday morning, Oct. 26, 2015.

Some residents said the protests had become business as usual. Asked about Code Pink’s peaceful 15-person rally Monday morning, a former employee of the town’s shuttered casino responded in an unsurprised tone: “There’s another protest?”

At times, though, several residents said the protesters had triggered a backlash. Residents have been known to stage counterprotests at Creech. One resident, who works full-time at the base as a civilian contractor and whose father worked at the Nevada National Security Site, said the counterprotesters felt the activists shed a negative light on the town, a sentiment echoed by several other residents.

“I used to flip them off every time I passed,” said the former Creech contractor. “They’re not always peaceful.”

She said the town had become accustomed to protests but felt they created tension among residents and lowered the morale of drone operators, which she felt was unfair because the pilots merely follow orders.

On Monday, protesters arrived at 6 a.m. so they could catch the attention of pilots on their commute. Some Indian Springs residents said protesters should direct their message to decision-makers instead of urging drone operators to disobey commands.

At the Oasis Bar, the only bar in town, a resident said he didn't believe protesters would effect any change at the base level, but that he shared a concern about civilian casualties from drone strikes.

“We do worry,” he said of the base's Reapers and Predators, the two types of drones flown from Creech. “It was a lot better when it was a Thunderbird (flying).”

He added that if authorities arrested protesters, they should also prosecute those responsible for civilian deaths. But even as he identified common ground with some of the protesters, he recognized the economic benefits of having the base there.

He said he might even apply for a job there.

Jacob David George who committed suicide when he heard Obama's latest war announcement

The Human Cost of War: IVAW Testimony ~ Jacob David George from First Unitarian Church on Vimeo.

U.S. veteran communities are reportedly grieving at news of the suicide of Jacob George, a three-tour veteran of America’s last decade-plus of war, after he failed to find relief from physical and mental injuries he sustained in battle. In a clip from a veterans event last year, he spoke of his experience with various types of therapy and performed his original song, “Soldier’s Heart.”

George’s suicide occurred after President Obama announced new war plans against the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

In his presentation, which is viewable below, George spoke of the limitations of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which he said “isn’t designed to address the depths of the wounds we have.” The VA doesn’t “really look at the soul and how the soul has been injured in war.”

George regarded antiwar work as the most important part of his recovery. “I marched with my brothers and sisters to the NATO summit and I threw my medals back. And the act of throwing released something inside of me. I don’t know what it is. I’m still trying to figure it out. But it played a role in healing my soul.”

His therapist noted that “the VA could never endorse something like that. Because it’s so politically loaded. ... The VA couldn’t say ‘Hey, look, you need to organize a protest. You need to march to the Pentagon with 100,000 veterans.’ ”

See Jacob George’s website here.

George responded: “Do you hear what you’re saying? You’re telling me that you can’t offer me the actual healing rituals and ceremonies that I need, that an entire generation of people needs in order to heal their soul.”

Celebration of Bob Nichols: August 20, 2011 in Glover, Vermont

Bread and Puppet Theater announces a celebration of the
life of friend and colleague, Bob Nichols.  The event will be held
at the Bread and Puppet farm in Glover, Vermont, starting with a
procession and ending with a pot luck dinner. August 20, starting
at 6 PM.


Robert Nichols was a poet and novelist, the author of In the Air, a
collection of short stories, and The Steam Room, a work of comic
fiction, among other works. Mr. Nichols was involved in the
anti-war, anti-nuclear, and conservation movements for decades.
He had a background in landscape architecture and playground 
design.  The following is the story of Bob's last arrest.

Boots Wardinski, 64, a Newbury farmer and former Marine, 
being escorted out of Congressman Welch's Main Street Burlington 
office after closing on Monday.


The 'Occupation' Of Rep. Welch's Office, Published 4/1/07
by Robert Nichols
On March 21, I was among the 30 or so protesters who occupied U.S.
Rep. Peter Welch's office in Burlington. Similar actions, part of
the Occupation Project sponsored by Voices for Creative
Nonviolence, have been taking place in other states. The point is
to occupy, or rather take a stand, in the office of a congressional
representative in order to extract a pledge from the congressman.
The pledge? To vote against additional war funding -- in this case,
the spending bill authorizing another $100 billion-plus for the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the days before the protest, I learned that some established
Vermont anti-war groups were not taking part in the Occupation
Project. They had met with the congressman and understood his
position. He had campaigned as an end-the-war advocate. Peter Welch
was the wrong target, they thought.

Still, under the circumstances, it seemed wrong not to take some
action. This was a bill to continue the war's funding. The
Constitution was written by persons who were former subjects of
King George III and whose memories were still fresh. The check
against a runaway executive was to grant Congress the power of the
purse. The spending bill, in this case, seemed the last check, a
defining moment.

And so we "occupied" Peter Welch's office. We were greeted
cordially by the staff. It was the day before the vote. We were
told the congressman was busy in committee meetings on Capitol Hill
but would address us by telephone when he came out. A microphone
connected to the telephone was set up on a desk. The 30 of us sat
on the floor in good spirits. There was a song. Then we read out
the names of the dead GIs and Iraqi civilians.

Then Welch got on the phone, and a dialogue began. But as we
learned that the congressman would not take the pledge or say how
he would vote one way or another, the conversation grew more
impassioned and hostile.

The police appeared at the office at closing time -- they were
extremely courteous and good-natured (this is Vermont's most
sophisticated city after all). By that time, just six of us
remained. We followed our plans to be arrested, choosing to leave
in handcuffs. We made our statement to the press.

Still, what we had done left me with an uneasy feeling. I was
disappointed. My guess was that Peter Welch was acting against his
own conscience, a difficult and perhaps agonizing choice, in order
to help the House Democrats maintain discipline and stay united.
Somehow or other, the situation could not be left that way,
however.

The next morning -- this was the day of the final budget vote in
the House, the day for the Democratic majority to get its act
together to pass a measure giving more than $124 billion to fund
the war in order to end the war. This evidently was, in political
and legislative terms, the only and best action. It was still
unacceptable. It was a real disaster for the country and somehow
shameful.

And so two of us went back to Welch's office -- I and another
Thetford resident, Will Allen, an organic farmer -- and announced
that we were there for something that is part of the creative
nonviolent tradition: to fast in order to speak truth to power. We
were to fast until Peter Welch, in a sense speaking to all
Vermonters, made a clear and honest statement of the consequences
of the supplemental funding bill -- consequences that include
further casualties and horrors in Iraq in the coming weeks, months
and year. We would fast until we heard him make that clear and
honest statement.

But actually he could not say what we wanted to hear.

There was another reason for our being there. The reason was to
mourn the passing of our nation's institutional memory. I, myself,
and Will Allen are both old persons. The situation now is the same
as it was at the end of the Vietnam war in 1968-69. That war might
have ended then, but it did not. The reason is that no one in the
administration -- and too few in the country at large --could say
the war was all a mistake. A million Vietnamese killed, tens of
thousands of our own soldiers dead or coming back with terrible
wounds or traumatized by having to kill people in front of their
own houses. All for no reason. All because of a mistake.

We waited and fasted until we heard from Welch. Both Will Allen and
I count ourselves personal friends of Peter Welch. But he could not
admit that there were unspeakable consequences to the bill. He
tried. He wrote out a statement for us. But he couldn't state the
facts.

This is how the "occupation" event was covered in the Burlington Free Press
Six arrested in protest at Welch's office
March 22, 2007   By Sam Hemingway
Six demonstrators were arrested on trespass charges Wednesday night inside the Burlington offices of Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., while protesting what they said was Welch’s unwillingness to firmly oppose the Iraq war.

“Last November, we elected a congressman we thought would end the war but instead the war is being expanded,” said Patrick Kearney, 55, of Thetford as he emerged from the building in handcuffs and escorted by police. “We can’t get a yes or no answer from our congressman about whether or not he is going to fund the war.”

The six, all men ranging in age from 27 to 87, were unhandcuffed by police and released after peacefully departing the building. They were told to report to the Burlington Police Department today to receive their arrest citations. The arrests were carried out by three officers, Chief Tom Tremblay and Deputy Chief Mike Shirling.

Later Wednesday night, Welch spokesman Andrew Savage said Welch would prefer that the charges against the six men not be prosecuted. “We’re fine with the charges’ being dropped,” Savage said.

The arrests came after a five-hour sit-in at Welch’s office by 30 demonstrators who were demanding that he oppose a spending bill up for a House vote today that contains funding for the Iraq war.

When the office closed at 6 p.m., the demonstrators were told they must leave or face arrest. Most of the demonstrators chose not to undergo arrests for family and other reasons and left the office, said Michael Colby, 43, of Worcester.

The $124 billion funding bill provides money for war operations but also has language requiring that all troops be out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2008.

In addition, the bill sets a series of deadlines for turning over military control of Iraq to Iraqi troops and contains guarantees that U.S. combat troops have proper armor before going into battle. The Senate is preparing similar legislation, and President Bush has vowed to veto the measure.

“We are not for this war, and we do not want to pay a dollar more for this war here in Vermont,” Liza Earle of Richmond told Tricia Coates, Welch’s state office director shortly after the group entered the office at 1 p.m. “You cannot fund and oppose this war at the same time.”

At first, the group said they would not leave until they had a conversation with Welch. The group included Vermont state poet Grace Paley of Newbury, perennial Liberty Union candidate Peter Diamondstone of Brattleboro and Dennis Morrisseau of West Pawlet, who ran as the Impeach Bush Now candidate against Welch last year.

As they waited for Welch’s phone call, members of the group discussed their opposition to the war, read the names of American and Iraqi war dead and, at one point, sang the protest song “We Shall Not Be Moved.”

“If he votes for $100 billion for the war, that could have gone for veterans’ benefits,” said Boots Wardinski, 63, of Newbury, who later became one of the six people arrested. “So if he votes for that, he’s saying to the veterans: ‘Screw you.’”

The conversations among the demonstrators and Coates and Welch were mostly cordial. Welch staff members passed out chocolate cookies to the demonstrators, and Buddy, a golden retriever owned by Welch staff member Susan Elliott, occasionally meandered about the room.

At 3:35 p.m., Welch called from his Washington, D.C., office and told the group via speaker phone that he was undecided on the $124 billion military spending bill.

In his remarks, however, Welch appeared to be leaning toward supporting the measure, saying it might be the best way for Congress to mandate a quick, orderly troop withdrawal from Iraq.

“What my decision will be based on is my judgment, and I’ll have to make this judgment as to whether voting for or against the bill is going to hasten the day when we can end this war,” Welch told the group.

Welch also reminded the demonstrators that he supported other strongly worded legislation aimed at ending the war. During his campaign, he often spoke of his opposition to the war and called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who did resign after the Democrats won control of Congress in November.

Welch spoke to the group for a half hour but failed to convince them that the bill he remained undecided on had merit. Instead, his stance drew sharp criticism from the group, most of whom said they voted for Welch in November.

“It’s absurd, when I think about it, that my future and the future of other students all over Iraq and Vermont and our country is being compromised because we are pouring all of our resources into a black hole,” said Renee Morley, a University of Vermont student living in Essex.

Wednesday’s demonstration was one of a series of actions backed by the Voices for Creative Non-violence, a Chicago-based group that has staged protests in states around the country to pressure members of Congress to oppose war funding.

The bill that was the target of the protesters has split the anti-war movement. MoveOn.org, a liberal Internet organization, supports the bill. Savage said Welch had received “dozens” of phone calls Wednesday from around the country urging him to vote for the legislation.

In addition to Kearney, Wardinski and Colby, the demonstrators arrested were Bob Nichols, 87, of Thetford; Palmer Legare, 27, of Cabot; and Will Allen, 70, of Thetford.

Young girl Leek farmer in Afghanistan

For the last several years, a group of young Afghani’s in the Bamyan province of Afghanistan have been on “Our Journey To Smile” (http://ourjourneytosmile.com/blog/).  This journey to smile is their effort to bring about peaceful nonviolent solutions to conflicts in Afghanistan using the principles taught by Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others.

Who We Are

Who we are-

Afghan college students and youth who started this journey in 2008.

International volunteer for Journey to smile

International volunteeers who will participate in support of Our Journey to Smile.

To date, we have volunteeers from Singapore, Egypt, Italy and Nepal.

VENUE World Heritage Bamiyan Buddhas

LOCATION Bamiyan Afghanistan    DATE 21 September 2009

Our Journey to Smile in 2009 wishes to gather Afghan college students and Afghan youth from every ethnicity, as well as international volunteers from every country, to come together at the World Heritage Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan on International Peace Day, 21^st September 2009, to be an example and encouragement to the world that wide-scale humane relations based on a humane love is possible, however in-humane our current global situation may be.

So, we ask every one of you, to join or support Our Journey to Smile, knowing that the cumulative hope and conscience of humanity, once communally expressed on a wide enough scale, would demonstrate a love that inspires Mankind to grow and to be compassionately humane.

In 2009 AD, Afghanistan is in the depth of world conflict and self-interest.

Whatever our fellow humans, Obama or Osama or others, decide, the college students and youth of Afghanistan, together with all of humanity, wish to to encourage ourselves and others to SMILE.

By smiling, we are grieving over Mankind’s proud, in-humane and self-absorbed behavior. We seek to raise the possibility of a humane love by building wide scale humane relationships and thus enjoy the growth of a majority public practice of humanity’s shared hopes.

We hope to put courage and dignity into our lives and our world, to put delight into the hearts of children and all of Mankind, to suggest that whatever our shared condition, a HUMANE LOVE is possible.

While the US, NATO, Taliban and all other players decide what to do with a country that is not theirs and with a world that does not belong only to them, is there ANY ONE PERSON who understands what the common, average citizen of Afghanistan or citizen of the world wishes for?

Some say realistically but sadly, ‘this Journey will NOT happen….’

What they are saying is ,’ Genuine love, humanity and peace belong only to the poets and the fables. Humanity doesn’t have what it takes.’

It’s sad because both Afghans and the world need encouragement.

It’s sad because reality, perhaps life itself, seems keen for us to remain frozen in the timid beliefs that humanity cannot have the HUMANE RELATIONS which the majority of us want, that the small minority of decision-makers must always have their self-interested ways.

We want to address our own cynicism, to try, to face disappointment, to take our small steps, believing that when we embark on Our Journey to Smile, humanity has to grow and will not shrink back to its unsure and undignified days.

Afghan Youth Peace Volunteer’s Journey To Smile Bringing the Reality of the War In Afghanistan to the United States

Posted by asmig on 5/16/10 • Categorized as News

For the last several years, a group of young Afghani’s in the Bamyan province of Afghanistan have been on “Our Journey To Smile” (http://ourjourneytosmile.com/blog/).  This journey to smile is their effort to bring about peaceful nonviolent solutions to conflicts in Afghanistan using the principles taught by Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others.

These brave young Afghani men (and women) are aided by a humanitarian medical doctor from Singapore, Hakim, who previously worked for a Christian based NGO in Afghanistan, in the universal quest to promote nonviolence in a region that has been racked by almost constant violence since the 1970’s.  Douglas Mackey, from the FOR affiliate in the Olympia, WA area has been working with this group for well over one year.

Christian Peace Witness and other organizations have joined the effort to bring a few of the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers to the United States this summer to share their story and their journey for nonviolence.  Unfortunately, their request for Visa’s has been denied by the United States government on the basis that the U.S. government feels that they are risks to over stay their visas and not return to Afghanistan.

While attempts are still being made to get them Visa’s, there are still plans being made for a “virtual” tour of the United States for the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers this summer if the Visa’s are not obtained in a timely manner.  This virtual tour would consist of Josh Steiber, a young Iraq war veteran who became a Conscientious Objector, and others touring the U.S. and showing powerful films made by the Afghan youth, to various U.S. audiences and linking live to some of the Afghan youth so U.S. citizens attending these events have the opportunity to interact directly with these brave Afghan Youths who are working for non-violence.

Please go to “Our Journey to Smile” site (http://ourjourneytosmile.com/blog/) to learn more about these young Afghani’s and view some of their videos.  Also consider doing one or more of the following:

• Contacting your Congress person, Senator, the State Department or White House and ask them to provide Visa’s for these young Afghani’s to come to the United States either this summer (or sometime else in the near future);
• Considering hosting Josh and his traveling partners for an event to talk with the Afghani Youth from Afghanistan (or possibly another country they may visit this summer if the U.S. government continues to deny their VISA request).
• If the tour does not come by to your geographical area, consider hosting a live interaction from your area during a time that the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers will be speaking to another group in this country where Josh Steiber will be.  Your group would be able to ask questions and speak to the Afghan Youth and the other U.S. location live.
• Consider helping to pay for this effort.  Fellowship of Reconciliation is collecting donations for Christian Peace Witness for this event.  Online donations can be made through the FOR website (http://www.forusa.org/) or checks can be mailed to FOR noting that the donation is for helping to fund the visit of the Afghan Youth Peace Fellowship to the United States (either physically or virtually).

Also, please pray for an end to United States military involvement in Afghanistan and for the success of the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers in their journey to smile.