This page includes material related to the group PeaceLOGIC (Peaceful Local Outreach to GIs Campaign) that was formed in the Spring of 2003 during the invasion of Iraq. Our purpose is to organize demonstrations at military bases and other activities aimed at putting military personnel in contact with the antiwar movement, not filtered by the media or the military itself.
We held seven vigils then at the entrance to Coast Guard Island, on March 25th, on April 1st, 8th, 16th and 24th and 30th, and on May 7th. One of the participants, Joseph Woodard, took some pictures and created a web page about the actions, but it has now been bumped along with other pages from that time period to make room for coverage of more recent antiwar events.
At least twelve U.S. military personnel (active-duty or reserve) and three U.K. military personnel have publicly opposed the war on Iraq during the period from the buildup to the invasion through the "end of major combat" at the beginning of May. These include at least one public military resister from the Bay Area, Stephen Funk.
Below is a list of announcements and reports about PeaceLOGIC (including those going out before this project became a group with a name) that have gone out to various e-mail lists.
We also have a page of links for more information about antiwar groups, GI and veterans organizing, conscientious objectors and other military resisters, and Bay Area military bases. Another page links to reports by members and friends on antiwar activities.
Our next action:
To Be Announced |
Other upcoming actions:
Local action in Oakland
Words Against War: An Open Mike Spoken Word-Poetry Read Out
Supporting Military Resistance--Against War and Occupation
5 pm to 8 pm, Armed Forces Recruiting Center
2116 Broadway, between 21st and 22nd Streets
(1 block north of 19th Street BART Station -- exit 20th Street)
Join Courage to Resist, the Not in Our Name Project and Motherspeak
After serving in the military for eight years, including a tour of duty in Iraq, Kevin Benderman decided he could not participate in the Iraq war and occupation. He filed for conscientious objector status in December 2004. His application was quickly denied without due process, and on the weekend of Jan. 7, 2005 Benderman refused to re-deploy to Iraq with his unit. "As I went through the process which led to my decision to refuse deployment to Iraq for the second time, I was torn between thoughts of abandoning the soldiers that I serve with, or following my conscience, which tells me: war is the ultimate in destruction and waste of humanity."
Sgt. Benderman was charged with Desertion and Missing Movement by Design (Articles 85 and 87 in the Uniform Code of Military Justice) and scheduled for court martial on May 11. On May 10th 30 cities held public support events for both Kevin and Navy refuser Pablo Paredes. On May 11 in a partial victory, Kevin’s court martial judge overturned his hearing -- citing a biased investigation -- and ordered a new hearing.
On Wednesday May 25 the military filed a new court martial against Kevin, which was just recently scheduled for July 28. Once again people across the country are asked to show their support on this day.
People are supporting Kevin and the thousands of other public and (mostly) private resisters because their courageous stand against the war -- actually upholding international law -- deserves our support. They also deserve our support because the military is an anti-democratic institution which denies soldiers basic democratic rights and punishes them for engaging in free speech. This is reflected in the many cases which have rejected granting conscientious objector status for soldiers who, like Kevin, take a public stand. The other reason to support Kevin and Pablo is that GI resistance has the power to stop the war and occupation in Iraq, and check the reckless policies of empire behind it. Young people in the military, resisting recruitment on college campuses and in the streets are taking the lead in this unstated, but potentially successful "people power" strategy.
For more information on Kevin’s case, visit the www.BendermanDefense.org website.
For more information on this action, or to endorse it, please e-mail: courage@riseup.net.
As of this writing, for political and organizational reasons that we won't address here, United for Peace and Justice and International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) are organizing separate mobilizations on September 24th in Washington, DC, to demand an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
In the Bay Area, the September 24th action is the one initiated by ANSWER that will gather at 11:00 am at San Francisco's Dolores Park (bounded by 18th, 20th, Dolores and Church Streets) and march to an unspecified location. (The email list archives of Bay Area UFPJ include various messages indicating they will join in the ANSWER-initiated march on Saturday and also hold another demonstration on Monday, September 26th, targetting Nancy Pelosi.)
For further information about PeaceLOGIC, e-mail us at dave94606@igc.org.
To receive announcements about PeaceLOGIC's future activities, please write to peacelogic-announce-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. This list should ordinarily receive no more than two to three messages a week. You should be able to join automatically and immediately have access to the archived messages via the lists.riseup.net website.
To participate in discussions about PeaceLOGIC's future activities, please write to peacelogic-plan-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. This list requires owner approval to join, so if you have not previously had contact with PeaceLOGIC, your membership may be delayed until we talk to you about why you want to join the list.