MISSY COMLEY BEATTIE (Gold Star Families for Peace): At Martha's Vineyard with Cindy Sheehan

September 2, 2009
At Martha's Vineyard with Cindy Sheehan
Hejira

By MISSY COMLEY BEATTIE (Gold Star Families for Peace)

My sister, Laura Comley, and I joined Cindy Sheehan on Martha’s Vineyard last week to participate in events to breathe life into the antiwar movement. Cindy’s project is a mission of hope which she calls International People’s Declaration of Peace. She spent a portion of her time on the island drafting her message to be circulated around the world.

Meanwhile, Gen. Stanley McCrystal has acknowledged failure in Afghanistan and is calling for a new strategy. Those of us who subscribe to the Gandhi principle that “There is no path to peace. Peace is the path,” believe that the only strategy for war-torn Afghanistan is complete withdrawal of troops. Same for Iraq, a humanitarian and environmental disaster. No more drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan. These unmanned instruments of torture drop missiles that have killed entire wedding parties instead of the intended “target.”

Certainly, Barack Obama understands that any surviving friends and relatives of those we incinerate will be inspired to avenge these deaths.

Our foreign policy is the product of savage plotting by men and women who have other-ized and dehumanized entire populations living in countries whose resources we covet.

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So the distillate of this is a moral imperative. We must end war, all wars. Not because supporters of Barack Obama are worried that war will ruin his chance for a second term. And not because we need the money here at home. We must end war for one reason--because we have an unavoidable obligation to correct injustice.

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http://www.counterpunch.org/beattie09022009.html