Dallas Peace Center - End the Occupation of Iraq

Obama Commits to 2011 Withdrawal from Iraq

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:37:51 -0500

President Barack Obama signed legislation last Wednesdaythat formally recognizes the U.S. obligation to withdraw from Iraq and requires the Pentagon to provide quarterly reports on the progress of that withdrawal.

This is the first time since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 that Congress has passed legislation that affirms that the United States is committed to leaving Iraq by a specific date, two national Quaker organizations, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) said.

"We congratulate Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin and House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton for including this important milestone in the 2010 military authorization bill," said Aura Kanegis, Director of Public Policy for the American Friends Service Committee. "The U.S.-Iraq bilateral agreement is so central to public discourse in Iraq, but too often forgotten in the U.S." The United States and Iraq signed a bilateral agreement in November 2008 that commits the United States to withdraw all military forces from Iraq by December 31, 2011.

Protestors Call for End to Drone Warfare

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:54:48 -0400

Nevada -- At the gates of the Creech Air Force Base, where American soldiers inside use advanced technology to aim and fire pilotless drones at human targets thousands of miles away in Afghanistan or Pakistan, peace activists from several organizations will rallyt next Monday to stop the use of these drones, violations of international law and fuel for Taliban and Al Qaeda.

"These are war crimes being committed from our own backyards," said local rally participant Father Louis Vitale, a Franciscan friar for 49 years and peace activist. "It's unbelievable that from thousands of miles away, we're dropping bombs on people's houses."

Quaker Lobby Urges Administration to Pursue Diplomacy, Not War, in Afghanistan

Tue, 05 May 2009 10:43:47 -0400

Washington DC... Responding to President Barack Obama's announcement of an escalation and expansion of the military conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) urged President Barack Obama to instead invest more heavily in regional diplomacy and improved assistance to strengthen civilian rule of law and stimulate development and peacebuilding.

Obama today announced his plans to send 4,000 additional troops to the country, on top of the 17,000 additional combat soldiers he had already committed to the war. He also reframed the Afghanistan war as a regional conflict and encouraged cooperation among neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, India, Iran, Russia, and China.

Appeals Court Rules In Favor Of Sheehan Protesters

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:28:12 -0400

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday upheld a ruling that two protesters should not have been arrested for pitching tents near then-President George W. Bush's Crawford ranch during Cindy Sheehan's anti-war campaign.

The court ruled 5-4 that the 10th Appeals Court was correct last year in tossing out the convictions of Hiram Myers of Edmond, Okla., and Emily Hardy of Austin, saying they were not obstructing a highway during their 2006 arrests.

"I'm really pleased we prevailed," said David Broiles, the Fort Worth attorney who represented the protesters. "The court ruled that you can't use that (statute) to stop a lawful protest."

KBR unlikely to get road work

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:25:32 -0400

After Iraq veterans' complaints, commissioners expected to withdraw offer and take bid from another Houston company.

By Andrea Lorenz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, April 03, 2009

SAN MARCOS — Hays County commissioners appear ready to rescind a contract offer to KBR Inc. after complaints about the company's work in Iraq.

Commissioners had made a preliminary decision several weeks ago to award a contract for up to $1 million for KBR to design a portion of FM 110, also called the San Marcos Loop.

But according to a public notice posted Thursday, commissioners now intend to take the No. 2 bid for the road work. The switch comes after two military veterans shared their concerns about KBR at a meeting last week.

Iraq War resister Cliff Cornell deported from Canada

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:56:42 -0500

From Courage to Resist

AWOL GI held in county jail, to be transferred to Fort Stewart

U.S. war resister Cliff Cornell surrendered himself to U.S. border police on Wednesday after being ordered to leave Canada. He was promptly arrested for being AWOL from the U.S. Army, and is now being held at the Whatcom County Jail in Bellingham, Washington, twenty miles south of the U.S.-Canada border.

Cornell’s attorney and supporters expressed outrage at the arrest:

War Resisters facing deportation this week

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:24:35 -0500

Cliff Cornell has been ordered to leave Canada today. An Arkansas native, Cliff left for Toronto, Canada in January 2005 to resist deployment to Iraq.

"In my heart I felt it's wrong," Cliff has said of his decision to resist deployment. "I've been hearing a lot of people talking about all the innocent people who are being killed and the prisons over there where they've been torturing people. I just didn't want to be a part of it."

A local Canadian supporter noted that, "Many supporters on Gabriola Island (in British Columbia) are planning a send-off, and it's our job to raise hell on the phone lines today!”

Cliff is expected to return to his last duty station at Fort Stewart, Georgia to face a military court martial.

Blackwater Guards Charged in 2007 Shooting of Iraqis

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:50:18 -0500

By Nadine Elsibai

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been charged with voluntary manslaughter and weapons violations in connection with a shooting last year that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

The charges were announced today in Washington by the Justice Department and the FBI. Officials unsealed an indictment in the case that was returned last week. The fatalities included 14 unarmed civilians, and 20 others suffered injuries, the indictment said. A sixth Blackwater guard pleaded guilty last week to voluntary manslaughter and related charges, the government said.

As more troops refuse to deploy, getting conscientious objector status is an uphill battle

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:29:58 -0400

By Sarah Lazare, Courage to Resist Project Coordinator, for Alternet. October 8, 2008

"I don't feel that it's right to take someone else's life," said 19 year-old Tony Anderson, Private in the U.S. Army, in a quiet voice on the phone. "I felt that if it came down to it, I couldn't kill someone, in Iraq or anywhere."

Anderson was speaking while under the line-of-sight supervision of his commanding officer at Ft. Carson, Colorado where he is stationed. The young soldier, who refused to deploy to Iraq in July of this year, is under close restriction by the military and has been threatened with a prison sentence for refusing to fight. Despite these dire consequences, Anderson has decided to join the growing ranks of troops who are openly resisting service in the Iraq War.

9/11 March in Denton, TX

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:15:47 -0400

Robin Long to face "desertion" trial Friday

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:40:25 -0400

Courage to Resist. July 19, 2008

Last month 25-year-old U.S. Army PFC Robin Long became the first war resister since the Vietnam War to be forcefully deported from Canadian soil and handed over to military authorities. Robin is currently being held in the El Paso County Jail, near Colorado Springs, Colorado, awaiting a military court martial for resisting the unjust and illegal war against and occupation of Iraq.

Robin will be court martialed on Friday for desertion “with intent to remain away permanently”—Article 85 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The maximum allowable penalty for a guilty verdict on this charge is three years confinement, forfeiture of pay, and a dishonorable discharge from the Army. If convicted, Robin is expected to be transferred to the Army's stockade at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

UNT SDS 9/11 Rally

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:33:19 -0400

Start: Sep 11 2008 - 4:30pm

End: Sep 11 2008 - 6:30pm

Body:

when: 4:30 pm 9-11-2008

where: Corner for Fry and Hickory Denton Texas, 76203

what: Peace Rally, March through Denton Businesses and Residence, ending at public stage where there will be bands and speakers and organizations with tables.

how: This event is being organized by Students for a Democratic Society Denton with the University of North Texas and the City of Denton

why?: there are three main issues we wish to address on a global, local, and internal level.

Global: The United State's illegal and inhumane wars in the middle east. Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Iran.

Area Activist on MTV Street Report

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:35:25 -0400

Supreme Court ruling cripples Guantanamo trials

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:15:43 -0400

By Tim Reid in Washington

The future of President Bush’s controversial military trial system for terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay has been dealt a potentially terminal blow by the US Supreme Court.

In its third rebuke of the Bush Administration’s treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the court ruled that the 270 foreign terror suspects have the right under the US Constitution to challenge their detention in civilian courts on the American mainland.

The 5-4 ruling did not order the military tribunal process to be halted but it could trigger a chaotic rush to civilian courts that in practical terms will leave the question of what to do with men such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the September 11 mastermind, in the hands of the next president.

12,000 US vets per year attempting suicide

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:41:08 -0400

By Les Blumenthal
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The Veterans Administration has lied about the number of veterans who’ve attempted suicide, a senator charged last month, citing internal e-mails that put the number at 12,000 a year when the department was publicly saying it was fewer than 800.

"The suicide rate is a red-alarm bell to all of us," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Murray also said that the VA’s mental health programs are being overwhelmed by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, even as the department tries to downplay the situation.

"We are not your enemy, we are your support team, and unless we get accurate information we can’t be there to do our jobs," Murray told Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield during the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing.