(fwd) WRL statement re/Trade Center et al

2001-09-11

Richard Moore

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Delivered-To: •••@••.•••
From: "Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space" 
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To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;@mindspring.com;;;>
Subject: WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE STATEMENT ON BOMBING
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 15:31:13 -0400


I'm writing this from home - the WRL office email is down,
but I was present when this statement was drafted and said
I'd take the text home to transmit at once. David McReynolds

As we write, Manhattan feels under seige, with all bridges,
tunnels, and subways closed, and tens of thousands of people
walking slowly north from Lower Manhattan. As we sit in our
offices here at War Resisters League, our most immediate
thoughts are of the hundreds, if not thousands, of New
Yorkers who have lost their lives in the collapse of the
World Trade Center. The day is clear, the sky is blue, but
vast clouds billow over the ruins where so many have died,
including a great many rescue workers who were there when
the final collapse occured.

Of course we know our friends and co-workers in Washington
D.C. have similar thoughts about the ordinary people who
have been trapped in the parts of the Pentagon which were
also struck by a jet. And we think of the innocent
passengers on the hi-jacked jets who were carried to their
doom on this day.

We do not know at this time from what source the attack
came. We do know that Yasser Arafat has condemned the
bombing. We hesitate to make an extended analysis until more
information is available but some things are clear. For the
Bush Administration to talk of spending hundreds of billions
on Star Wars is clearly the sham it was from the beginning,
when terrorism can so easily strike through more routine
means.

We urge Congress and George Bush that whatever response or
policy the U.S. develops it will be clear that this nation
will no longer target civilians, or accept any policy by any
nation which targets civilians. This would mean an end to
the sanctions against Iraq, which have caused the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of civilians. It would mean not only a
condemnation of terrorism by Palestinians but also the
policy of assassination against the Palestinian leadership
by Israel, and the ruthless repression of the Palestinian
population and the continuing occupation by Israel of the
West Bank and Gaza.

The policies of militarism pursued by the United States have
resulted in millions of deaths, from the historic tragedy of
the Indochina war, through the funding of death squads in
Central America and Colombia, to the sanctions and air
strikes against Iraq. This nation is the largest supplier of
"conventional weapons" in the world - and those weapons fuel
the starkest kind of terrorism from Indonesia to Africa. The
early policy of support for armed resistance in Afghanistan
resulted in the victory of the Taliban - and the creation of
Osama Bin Laden.

Other nations have also engaged in these policies. We have,
in years past, condemned the actions of the Russian
government in areas such as Chechnya, the violence on both
sides in the Middle East, and in the Balkans. But our nation
must take responsibility for its own actions. Up until now
we have felt safe within our borders. To wake on a clear
cool day to find our largest city under seige reminds us
that in a violent world, none are safe.

Let us seek an end of the militarism which has characterized
this nation for decades. Let us seek a world in which
security is gained through disarmament, international
cooperation, and social justice - not through escalation and
retaliation. We condemn without reservation attacks such as
those which occured today, which strike at thousands of
civilians - may these profound tragedies remind us of the
impact U.S. policies have had on other civilians in other
lands. We are particularly aware of the fear which many
people of Middle Eastern descent, living in this country,
may feel at this time and urge special consideration for
this community.

We are one world. We shall live in a state of fear and
terror or we shall move toward a future in which we seek
peaceful alternatives to conflict and a more just
distribution of the world's resources. As we mourn the many
lives lost, our hearts call out for reconciliation, not
revenge.

This is not an official statement of the War Resisters
League but was drafted immediately after the tragic events
occured. Signed and issued by the staff and Executive
Committee of War Resisters Leauge in the national office,
September 11, 2001.

Contact calls: WRL - 212 / 228.0450 also David McReynolds,
212 / 674.7268


Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 90083
Gainesville, FL. 32607
(352) 337-9274
http://www.space4peace.org
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