FUSsa-talk Mailing List: Fw: Honoring the Other Peacemakers

[jojane [at] juno.com (jojane]

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: Rita Brock <rita [at] faithvoices.org>
To: <jojane [at] juno.com>
Subject: Honoring the Other Peacemakers
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:39:39 -0800 (PST)

 This Truth Commission, rather than focus on troop deployments or withdrawals, 
has been designed to step back and ask the most important questions: Are the 
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just? Are they permissible under international 
law? Are they moral? And if they are not, as I believe they are not, what are 
the options for a person of conscience serving in uniform? -- Mr. Christopher 
Hedges, Pulitizer-prize winning war correspondent for The New York Times and 
author of War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning

Today, President Obama will accept the Nobel Peace Prize while 30,000 troops 
prepare to deploy to Afghanistan. But what if many of them, like so many 
Americans, object to this war? What does a soldier face if he or she believes a 
war violates the standards of just war or the Nuremberg Principles? 
Squeezed between moral conscience and a call to serve their country, soldiers 
face sanctions, court martial, dishonorable discharge, and prison, not prizes, 
if they object to the Afghanistan War. Military regulations today do not 
protect freedom of moral conscience for U.S. service members who object to a 
specific war; they only recognize objectors who oppose war in any form. 
With an all volunteer military, fewer than 1% of U.S. citizens in combat, and 
repeated tours of duty for most soldiers, the military is experiencing 
unprecedented rates of PTSD, depression, and suicide. Soldiers and their 
families are paying what New York Times columnist Bob Herbert called a "Fearful 
Price," while the rest of the country carries on, oblivious to the human cost 
of two wars. We urge you to help us support soldiers of conscience by donating 
to the work of the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, March 21-22, 2010, at 
New York's Riverside Church. The Truth Commission hearings will launch a major 
nationwide effort to support the rights of conscience for service members who 
object to a particular war. 
Thanks to all of you who have already donated. We deeply appreciate your 
support. 
Help us spread the word about it, and, if you haven't already done so, urge 
your organization to co-sponsor the Truth Commission! Contact us via Rita Brock 
ritabrock [at] sbcglobal.net to co-sponsor. 
Help us honor and protect freedom of conscience for our nation's service 
members and further the cause of peacemaking. Please donate now! 
Peace, 
The Truth Commission Planning Committee: 
Rita Nakashima Brock 
Gabriella Lettini 
Erin Reese 
Cathy Ryan 
Ian Slattery 
Justin Waters 
Truth Commission Organizers: 
Faith Voices 
Luna Productions 
The Riverside Church 
Starr King School for the Ministry 
Union Theological Seminary 
Current Co-Sponsors: 
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary 
Buddhist Peace Fellowship 
Chicago Theological Seminary 
Drew Theological School 
Graduate Theological Union 
United Theological Seminary 
Yale Divinity School 
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America 
Catholic Peace Fellowship 
Center on Conscience & War 
Christian Reformed Church in North America 
Disciples Justice Action Network 
Fellowship of Reconciliation 
Friends for a Non-Violent World 
Iraq Veterans Against the War 
Jewish Peace Fellowship 
Justice & Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ 
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. 
New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends 
Park Avenue Christian Church 
PeaceMajority Report 
Progressive Christians Uniting 
The Shalom Center 
United Church of Christ 
Women in Islam 
World Christian Student Federation of North America 


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