Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace
Are you for War or Peace?
Are you for War or Peace? This was the question that I and a fellow Veteran For Peace asked folks as they entered and exited the Montpelier post office Saturday morning (January 4, 2020). We tallied up the results on a flip chart covered with plastic to keep off the melting snow. The whole point of our being out there was to respond to the escalation towards war in the Middle East. We felt, given the wide division in the country now, it would good to engage folks in conversation and maybe bridge the gap a bit.
As we tallied up the results, which finalized at 95 for peace and one for war, we would point to the mounting tally for peace and ask, “If (almost) everybody is for peace, why are we at war?” With many folks this would lead to some interesting comments and discussion:
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It’s complicated.
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There are bad guys out there.
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Why isn’t Congress representing the people?
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Congress gave away its war making power to the president after 9/11.
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The president can designate who is a terrorist and assassinate them.
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There are bills in both houses of Congress to take back its war making powers.
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It all started with the US abandoning the nuclear deal with Iran.
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It’s because of economic sanctions. It’s warfare without bullets and explosives.
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We have to protect our troops.
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We have put our troops in harm’s way.
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Why are we in the Middle East, we are self-sufficient in oil and gas now?
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This question is like asking: “Are you for health or sickness?”
These are just a sample of the comments that often led to further and deeper conversation. The last comment or question in the above list got me to thinking a bit more. Why do we choose to eat all that sugar sweetened stuff when it’s not good for us and leads to sickness? Are we hard wired to go for honey? Are we hard wired to use war instead of diplomacy to resolve our problems?
The one person who was for war did not stop to talk and we respected his decision to engage no further as we did with others who were in a hurry or on a mission to get their business done.
Veterans For Peace is doing these kinds of actions in the sincere hope that such conversations will lead to a better understanding of why we are at war and how we, the US and other nations of the world, might see ways to be more peaceful and act on them.
Richard Czaplinski, President
Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace, Chapter 57
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The Christmas Truce – An Outburst of Peace During War
By Richard Czaplinski
Commentary – 12/15/2019
Christmas, 1914. The First World War had started only months before on July 28, 1914. The proximate cause of the war was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife by a teenage Serbian Nationalist. But the origins of the war had deeper roots.
Fourteen years before, Ferdinand chose to marry Sophie Chotek despite the opposition of his uncle, Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef, who refused to attend their wedding. Though not exactly a commoner, Sophie came from a family of obscure Czech nobles and not from a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty of Europe.
“His marriage notwithstanding, Ferdinand remained Franz Josef’s heir and inspector general of the army. In that capacity, he agreed to attend a series of June 1914 military exercises in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Austria-Hungary had just annexed these provinces a few years earlier against the wishes of neighboring Serbia, which likewise coveted them.” (NOTE 1)
Even after receiving multiple warnings to cancel the trip, and knowing danger awaited, the archduke traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Traveling in Sarajevo by motorcade, the Archduke escaped a bomb explosion and rather than immediately fleeing Sarajevo, he decided to continue on with planned events and, finally, again by motorcade, went to visit the people hospitalized from the previous day’s bomb explosion. Unfortunately, a wrong turn and ensuing confusion, brought his car within reach of 19 year old Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old Serbian army reject, who shot the Archduke and his wife. (NOTE 1)
That same day, July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Within days alliances between countries were activated and they declared war on each other. In August of 1914, Germany, Russia, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Japan had entered the war. In November, Russia, Serbia, the UK and France declared war on the Ottoman Empire.
In 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Germany. Bulgaria declares war on Serbia and in turn the UK, France, Russia and Italy declared war on Bulgaria. In 1916, Portugal and Romania entered the War. On April 6, 1917, the US declared war on Germany and a few days later, China declared war on Germany and on December 7, the US declared war on Austria-Hungary. (Note 2) Eventually, over 100 countries were involved in the war.
Shortly after the war started,
“Pope Benedict XV, who took office that September, had originally called for a Christmas truce, an idea that was officially rejected. Yet it seems the sheer misery of daily life in the cold, wet, dull trenches was enough to motivate troops to initiate the truce on their own …. To this day historians continue to disagree over the specifics: no one knows where it began or how it spread, or if, by some curious festive magic, it broke out simultaneously across the trenches. Nevertheless, some two-thirds of troops — about 100,000 people — are believed to have participated in the legendary truce.”( NOTE 3)
“The following year, a few units arranged ceasefires but the truces were not nearly as widespread as in 1914; this was, in part, due to strongly worded orders from the high commands of both sides prohibiting truces. Soldiers were no longer amenable to truce by 1916. The war had become increasingly bitter after devastating human losses suffered during the battles of the Somme and Verdun and the use of poison gas.
“The truces were not unique to the Christmas period, and reflected a mood of “live and let live,” (emphasis added) where infantry close together would stop overtly aggressive behaviour and often engage in small-scale fraternisation, engaging in conversation or bartering for cigarettes. In some sectors, there were occasional ceasefires to allow soldiers to go between the lines and recover wounded or dead comrades; in others, there was a tacit agreement not to shoot while men rested, exercised or worked in view of the enemy. The Christmas truces were particularly significant due to the number of men involved and the level of their participation—even in very peaceful sectors, dozens of men openly congregating in daylight was remarkable—and are often seen as a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the most violent events of human history.” (NOTE 4)
The estimated casualties of World War One are 40 million with half of those being deaths, 10 million civilians and 10 million military personnel.
Had the Christmas Truce prevailed and the mood or inclination of the troops to “live and let live” had been allowed to manifest, so much injury, death and destruction could have been avoided.
As I go about my work as a Veteran For Peace, I ask the question: “Are you for war?” So far no one has answered “yes” to that question. I also ask the question: “Are you for peace?” and everyone answers in the affirmative. Yet people and nations are at war. Something appears to be awry. In ourselves? In the leaders of nations? In the cultures and systems that have been created? Exactly what is awry still needs to be discovered, acknowledged and corrected.
It is good to review this history and other similar histories of war, to recognize the extreme folly of war and the death and destruction that ensues. We are all in this life together. We must try our best to avoid war by fully dedicating ourselves to the cause of peace, within ourselves, in our communities, and in the world.
Richard Czaplinski, President
Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace, Chapter 57
Notes:
1. The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand 100 Years ago – Jesse Greenspan https://www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand-100-years-ago
2. Timeline of Major War Declarations in World War one https://www.familytreemagazine.com/premium/ww1-war-declarations-timeline/#
3. Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce of 1914, By Naina Bajekal December 24, 2014 https://time.com/3643889/christmas-truce-1914/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
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Armistice Day – 2019
What Happened to Armistice Day?
It’s been one hundred and one years since the Armistice was signed that ended the First World War. That war was so horrific that it was viewed as the war to end all wars. People wanted peace.
In November, 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day, but it wasn’t until 1938, and after many states had already made Armistice Day a legal holiday, that Congress made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday with the words describing it as “… a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day."
For over three decades, Armistice Day was celebrated as a day dedicated to remembering and recognizing that world peace was a goal. Then in1954, Congress amended the Act of 1938 the created Armistice Day by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." That same year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first “Veterans Day Proclamation” which began with the words: “WHEREAS it has long been our custom to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace(emphasis added)…”
It was at this juncture that the emphasis and reason for the day began to drift from remembering to dedicate ourselves to the cause of peace to emphasizing the service of veterans (heroes) to their country. This is certainly very fitting when that service is necessary to defend the country and necessary somehow bring about peace through the action of war when negotiation and arbitration have failed as was the case of the Second World War.
Yet in the recent decades, the US wars including the Vietnam War, the Iraq wars, the 18 year war in Afghanistan, and the “war on terrorists” in many countries, it seems that this country has forgotten the real meaning of Armistice Day – rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace. Clearly, if peace had been at the forefront of our leaders’ thinking and mission, these wars would have been avoided.
Maybe it is human nature to be warlike. History is full of wars. Our recent attempts at promoting peace among nations have failed. The League of Nations, formed after World War One failed to keep the Peace. The United nations, formed after World War Two, does not have a very good track record of fostering peace. Can we not simply live and let others live, rather than impose our way of being on others?
What will it take for us humans to realize that peace is in our collective interest? Maybe a common enemy? So far the enemy has been another nation or an alliance of other nations. But now, the looming common enemy is clearly showing its powerful mettle to all of us. Though alarm and fear are spreading in the face of this enemy, we do not fully and collectively acknowledge that it is in our common interest to band together to face the enemy. Probably because that enemy is exactly us. We humans, collectively, are the ones creating the enemy – The climate crisis/emergency.
Maybe this common enemy will make us realize that the many trillions of dollars spent on militarization and war by the US and many other nations is better spent to promote the peace and do the work necessary to meet the challenge of the climate crisis/emergency.
I am not very hopeful that our leaders are capable of making changes required. They are too caught up in the culture and patterns of the past to make the change of course. In the meantime, in the very little time we have, there are hundreds of actions that individuals can take to face the challenge. And who knows, collectively, billions of small individual actions may just change the course of history.
A good first action is to change the Veterans Day back to Armistice Day and a return to emphasizing and dedicating ourselves to the cause of peace.
By Richard Czaplinski, President
Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace, Chapter 57
October 29, 2019
The F-35s – Only the Tip of the Iceberg
(April 19, 2019)
The F-16s have left and the F-35s are scheduled to begin arriving in Vermont this fall. For about five months this part of the country is left without the protection by the Air National Guard from incoming threats. Interesting. This brings up the question – Was it necessary and crucial that the F-16s, and this fall, that the F-35s need be based at the Burlington International Airport?
That question must be answered. And further, and more importantly, another crucial question must be answered – In light of the burgeoning National Debt, ($22 trillion and rising steadily) and the many costly manifestations of climate change, including making a speedy transition to a much reduced fossil fuel economy, can this nation afford the continually increasing military budget?
There is increasing evidence that we cannot afford the increasing military budget. It is unsustainable. A 2018 study by the Watson Institute, International and Public Affairs, Brown University, calculated the war related spending from FY2001 through FY2019 as $5 trillion. If the estimated future obligations for veterans medical and disability though FY2019 is added, the total is very nearly $6 trillion. These are huge numbers. The report concludes that the “… high costs in war and war-related spending pose a national security concern(emphasis added) because they are unsustainable.” (Note 1)
The Pentagon itself, in a report issued in 2014, warned that climate change is a national security threat (emphasis added). Recent reports indicate that the threats are real and that the costs to cope with the threats just to US military bases are significant.
All the naval bases will be and are already being affected by sea level rise. The National Naval Headquarters in Washington, D.C. is in the process of building a $20 million, 1.5 mile-long, 14-foot-tall seawall to protect three dozen buildings from flood waters.(Note 2)
“The Naval station Norfolk in Portsmouth, VA, the largest naval base in the world, already floods ten times a year when full moons cause especially high tides—sea levels there are one and a half feet higher than they were when the base was built in 1917, and rising twice as fast as average global sea levels. By 2050, Norfolk is expected to flood 280 times a year.” (Note 3)
Inland military bases are also threatened and will be increasingly at risk. For example, in March 2019, the Offutt Air Force, Camp Ashland Base in Nebraska was severely flooded andentirely shut down. The base flooded despite updated infrastructure following catastrophic flooding in May 2015. (Note 4)
Considering these national security threats, the costs of the national debt, the costs of coping with climate change, a third question arises – How did our country get itself into this situation? To me it is quite clear, Congress has not been doing its job. On September 18, 2001, Congress passed legislation to authorize the military to essentially go to war in (not necessarily against) any county in the world if the president designates an organization in that country as terrorist. This legislation is called Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) (Note: 5). Now drone strikes and military operations are on-going and increasing in at least seven countries on the OK of the president. Congress continually increases the military budget year after year without a full audit until last year much less determining if the military expenditures are being effective.
This brings us back home to the issue of the F-35s coming to Burlington. Early this year, with the full support of the organization that I lead, I sent a letters to Senators Leahy and Sanders and to Congressman Welch which posed a number of questions, including the need for basing the F-35s in Burlington and requested meeting with them. In March, six of our Chapter members met with Senator Leahy’s staff in Burlington and we had a teleconference with Congressman Welch. So far we have been unable to schedule a meeting with Senator Sanders or his staff.
In sum, the Vermont Congressional Delegation seems to remain firm in their decision to support the F-35s coming to Burlington. When asked about their nuclear capability and its potential impact on Vermont, Senator Leahy and Congressman Welch replied that nuclear weapons would not be part of the F-35 mission and that nuclear bombs would not be stored in Burlington. A National Guard spokesman said on VPR’s Vermont Edition on Friday, April 12, “the policy of the military is neither to confirm nor deny the existence of nuclear bombs (or capability) at a particular site.” Given the military’s policy of secrecy, we’ll never know if nuclear bombs are located at Burlington International Airport or if the F-35s have been made nuclear bomb capable.
As I recall, one of the main considerations of the Vermont Congressional Delegation advocating for the F-35s coming to Burlington was jobs, and giving a boost to Vermont’s economy. Well there is more to it than just jobs per se, it’s what kind of jobs.
Much has changed in the decade since our congressional delegation supported (and lobbied) for the basing of the F-35s in Burlington. It is time for congress to recognize the fast developing global events and to change its priority from military spending to finding and supporting the means to cope with climate change and to strengthen our democracy.
Between now and October, when the F-35s are scheduled to arrive, there is time for our Congressional delegation to deal with the tip of the iceberg and to stop the Vermont Air National Guard mission of basing the F-35s in Burlington. I hope that our Congressional Delegation will make a concerted effort to do so. I hope also that they will work with their colleagues in Congress to tackle the rest of the iceberg, the huge national and global issues, without delay.
Richard Czaplinski, President
Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace, Chapter 57
Note2:
Note 3: https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2017/09/20/what-the-u-s-military-is-doing-about-climate-change/
Note 5: 115 STAT. 224 PUBLIC LAW 107–40—SEPT. 18, 2001 Sept. 18, 2001