End Wars Issue Committee
Email this pageInformation about the WILPF End Wars Issue Committee
The End Wars Issue Committee will work to end the war and occupation of Iraq and oppose and stand against any military aggression against Iran by the U.S. government. We will be working to influence the Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, that he may know there is a peace movement that opposes the war in Iraq and supports diplomacy in the Iran conflict.
Because our work is international in nature, it will be essential that we remain open minded to points of view coming from people in the Middle East. We also need to keep ourselves informed, continuously, of U.S. government policies, background and implications for the future of our relationships with Iraq and Iran.
We will be posting materials for branches and others to use in organizing and educating in our communities. These may include written statements for leafleting, press releases, suggested films, networking opportunities, announcements and plans for national and/or local actions. We may provide suggested articles and books for members, and hopefully others will send us their suggestions as well. We hope to create a library of resources that can be shared among branches and at large members. We invite your comments and suggestions, your stories about local work, and please join us for regular conference calls. The conveners of the committee are:
Marge Van Cleef: margevc(at)cavtel.net, (484) 384-2487 and
Yoshiko Ikuta: Ylkuta(at)aol.com, (216)521-7057
or call the WILPF National Office at 617-266-0999
Kucinich Announces Introduction of Privileged Resolution to End Afghan War
Saturday, 27 February 2010
(February 25, 2010) - On Thursday, March 4, 2010 Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) will introduce his privileged resolution that will require House debate on continuing the war in Afghanistan.
It is expected that the resolution will be taken up for consideration on the following Wednesday, March 10, 2010 and that the debate will be subject to a rule providing for three hours of debate.
U.S. WILPF Statement on War in Afghanistan and Drone Bombings in Pakistan
January, 2010
WILPF urges the U.S. Congress and all respective government departments to rescind a policy on continuing and escalating a dangerous war and occupation in Afghanistan, announced by President Obama in his December 1 speech at West Point This path of escalation is inflicting "collateral" damage on a civilian population and propping up a corrupt government. This escalation now includes CIA –operated drone (pilotless) aircraft attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, attacks which are war crimes forbidden by Nuremburg and the Army Field Manual. We condemn the possible further destabilization of the entire region, including Iraq, Yemen and Iran for the stated goal of capturing Al-Qaeda members and destroying the network. This endless war is killing civilians and military personnel on all sides in the war and becomes a recuiting tool for Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The Taliban, whether in Afghanistan or Pakistan, is not a direct military threat to the United States.
More War?
More War?
The cost of employing one soldier is $1 million per year*, in addition to money for equipment, for private contractors and for war-making materials, etc. To this figure we must add the cost of providing medical support for the injured soldiers who return to the U.S. We must oppose this ongoing war as strongly as possible. As Malalai Joya, a former member of the Afghan Parliament says, “A troop surge can only magnify the crime against Afghanistan.” Read her op-ed in The Guardian here.
Plan Now for October 2009: A Month of Anti-War Protest
Plan Now for October: A Month of Protest
October has several dates with significance for the peace movement. In October 2009, we'll mark the eighth year of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and seven years since Congress passed the resolution authorizing war against Iraq. In addition, October commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Moratorium, which brought hundreds of thousands into the streets to protest the war.
Designate October 17 as a day for mass rallies, marches, coordinated local and regional demonstrations and other forms of protest.
The truth behind the Afghan insurgency
From the Boston Globe Newspaper, August 17, 2009, page 11
ON A RECENT TRIP to Kabul for our nonprofit organization, Jobs for Afghans, Najim Dost and I made a startling discovery: There is no true Taliban insurgency.
Yes, there is a Taliban leadership, many of whom are “foreigners,’’ meaning, non-Afghans. Yes, there are many fighting-age men who fight because they are paid to do so, by the small cadre of Taliban and Al Qaeda commanders who have plenty of opium money. They fork out the excellent wage in these parts of $8 per day for “insurgent work.’’
But a die-hard, dedicated army of fighters who pledge allegiance to the Taliban ideology and cause? It’s not there. Even Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged last March, “Roughly 70 percent are involved because of the money.’’ And General Karl Eikenberry, former commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said to Congress in 2007: “Much of the enemy force is drawn from the ranks of unemployed men looking for wages to support their families.’’
May 2009: Statement on US Involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Statement on US Involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Click here to view and download a pdf version of this statement
Click here to read the letter to Congress urging aid be given to Afghan women
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S. Section, opposes military action to resolve the armed conflict in Afghanistan. Specifically, we cannot support the sending of 30,000 additional U.S. troops into the country and the use of drone aircraft there and in Pakistan. We call for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO military forces.
It should be self evident that the use of violent force by another country cannot lead to the elimination of violence and armed conflict within Afghanistan. The very people the U.S. claims must be protected from Taliban insurgents are actually endangered by the presence of U.S and NATO troops. According to figures provided by the United Nations, at least 2100 Afghan civilians died in conflict related deaths in 2008. Of these, at least 1000 were killed by Taliban or other insurgents, who often target communities where U.S. military forces have had a presence. At least 800 civilians were killed in 2008 by Afghan government forces or by occupying U.S. and NATO forces, and of these at least 445 were killed by air strikes. Afghan women’s organizations, such as the Revolutionary Association of Afghan Women, and women’s organizations involved in in-country initiatives, such as Madre and the Global Fund for Women, have consistently stated that the occupying U.S. military presence increases the level of violence in Afghan communities resulting in more civilian deaths and abductions and more dangerous conditions for women seeking to participate in public life, peace building, and civilian governance.
Films and Videos Recommended by the Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan Issue Committee
Films and Videos Recommended by the Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan Issue Committee
We have compiled the following list of films recommended by Wilpf members and friends, all of whom have reviewed and/or screened the films. The source for each can be found by clicking on or Googling the title. If that doesn't work in any case, please contact Nancy McClintock. nmcclintock(at)igc.org. This list is by no means complete, it will continue to be edited. If you wish to send us a comment received at your local showing, we would appreciate it.
Letter to Congress: Afghan Women Desperately Need Our Help
Click here to view and download a pdf version of this letter
May 20, 2009
Dear Senator/Representative:
Afghan women desperately need our help. As you consider the FY09 supplemental funding bill, aid for critically needed educational, occupational and health programs for Afghan women and girls must be included.
We urge you to include funding in the supplemental funding bill that will go directly to Afghan women-led non-profit organizations providing programs for Afghan women and girls, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Women's Affairs.
New US WILPF Statement on the War in Iraq and Iran
TO ALL CONGRESS PEOPLE
re: WAR in IRAQ and IRAN
We condemn and oppose the United States war and occupation of Iraq, which has caused the death of over 4,000 U.S. military personnel and over 1 million Iraqis. Untold numbers of combat troops have been physically and psychologically damaged. In addition there are over 5 million Iraqi refugees, which place a strain on the economies of the receiving countries. An estimated 1 million war widows work to eke out a living for their families.
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