CANference 2010 video

Pete made this amazing video to promote the conference! Check it out.

CANference 2010

UIUC is hosting the national CAN conference from Feburary 26-28. We've been working hard, along with the planning comittee, to put on a fabulous conference. A bunch of awesome speakers are coming and we have tons of interesting workshops/panels planned. COME COME COME and please feel free to contact us with any questions. We are always excited by discussion.

National Conference Schedule 2010
SATURDAY!

10:00 – 11:00

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over: Hope Only Goes So Far
[welcome]
Sarah Jaine, Michael, and Stephen, members of the Coordinating Committee, contextualize the state of CAN and welcome everyone to the CANference!

11:15 – 12:15

Palestine 101
[educational]
Nancy and Drew discuss their recent trips to the West Bank. Historical introduction by Paul, rooted in International Law.

Environment & Imperialism
[educational]
Susan talks about the effect imperialism has on environmental degradation.

Torture & Health Care Professionals
[educational]
Abdul explains the study done by Harvard Law students on Dr. Larry James, former chief psychologist for both Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

12:30 – 1:30

AfPak
[educational]
Stephen and Pete explore the disconnect between the Obama administration's rhetoric and practices in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

What the ROTC and Military Recruiters Won't Tell You: The Truth About Enlistment
[educational/tactical]
Patricia discusses strategies to combat militarism including veterans' benefits, length of enlistment and stop-loss, PTSD, and other ways of paying for college.

Immigration & Imperialism
[educational]
Dan Moore, from the Interfaith Worker's Center, describes the link between U.S. Interventionism in Central and South Americas, immigration, and labor.

1:30 – 2:30 LUNCH!
[1:30 – 2:25: Mike gives info session on the new website. Bring your lunch!]

2:30 – 3:45

GFM Reportback and What We Can Do At Home
[educational/practical]
Shannon, Layney, Jad & Joel describe their experiences with the Gaza Freedom March; Katherine Fuchs, National Organizer for the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, discussing Boycott Divestment, and Sanctions

4:00 – 5:00

Iraq
[educational]
Anthony discusses the United States history of imperialism in Iraq and the current facts on the ground.

Peace of the Action
[tactical]
Robby Diesu, antiwar veteran working with Peace of the Action, reviews PotA's plan to engage in direct action during the week of the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Budget Cuts
[educational]
Wes Strong, from Connecticut Students Against War (CT-SAW), explores the relationship between imperialism, budget cuts, and tuition hikes, and relates current initiatives for student power.

5:15 – 6:00

Soldiers Speak Out
[educational]
Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Vietnam Veterans Against the War share stories of their time spent in the military.

6:00 – 7:30 DINNER!

7:30 – 8:45

Why We're Really There & Stories From the Front
[educational/tactical]
Mike Schwartz details the neo-liberalism takeover of Iraq. Laura Slattery, antiwar veteran, relates her experience in counter-recruitment and non-violence.

9:00 – 10:00

The Insurgent Theatre
[entertainment]
The Insurgent Theatre performs a piece exploring violence and direct action.

10:00 – SLEEP

PARTY TIME!
[whoo!]
Boozin', schmoozin', and cruisin'.
SUNDAY!
9:00 – 9:15

Imperialism & the Democrats
[educational]
Kyle argues that dispelling the myth that the Democrats are the peace party and supporting political alternatives is crucial to building a lasting anti-war movement.

9:15 – 11:00

Chapter Building
[tactical]
Sarah Jaine and Chris lead an all-group discussion/brainstorming on how to more effectively build on campuses.

11:00 – 11:30 LUNCH!
[is delicious]
Provided by FOOD NOT BOMBS! <3 Let's make it quick! 11:30 – END NATIONAL DISCUSSION [oh yeah! alright!] Discussion on the role of off-campus and alumni organizers & roles of Regional Coordinators -breakout into REGIONAL CAUCUS voting for Regional Coordinators (back to full assembly) Discussions on Points of Unity, Resolutions, and National Actions

McChrystal to Recommend Troop Increase In Afghanistan

This morning, the US Commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, warned in a confidential report leaked to the Washington Post and the New York Times, that without a significant increase in troops in Afghanistan, the US mission there “will likely result in failure” by next year.

The question we must ask is, “What is the mission, as McChrystal sees it?” 

If the goal is to maintain US influence in the region, he may very well be correct. However, if the goal is to bring peace and stability to the region, a surge of troops is not the right way to go about it.  As, Graham Fuller, former CIA Station Chief in Kabul, said:

What can be done must be consonant with the political culture. Let non-military and neutral international organizations, free of geopolitical taint, take over the binding of Afghan wounds and the building of state structures.

I could not agree more.  The presence of US troops in the region exacerbates not only radical Islamists – those who see their ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam not only as a religion, but as a comprehensive socio-political system – but also the nationalist Pashtun people, who are the ethnic majority in Afghanistan and don’t take well to the presence of foreign troops on their homeland. 

The fact that there are two very different groups people in Afghanistan and Pakistan who are opposed to the US presence is often lost in the dialogue, but it is of crucial importance to recognize if there is going to be the possibility for peace and stability in the region.  The latter group, the Pashtuns, have fought invaders since the British in the 19^th century.  They have no interests in seeing the US destroyed, and they do not, as many conservative pundits used to state, “hate us for our freedoms” or some similar drivel.  Rather, they, like any peoples, want to be free from an occupation force.

The second group of peoples fighting the US are the radical Islamist.  They also do not “hate us for our freedoms” but rather for our ongoing policy in the middle east.  They oppose both our policy towards Israel and Palestine, and what they see as our undue and overbearing influence in propping up illegitimate governments in many countries.  They hope that by driving the US out of the middle east, they can topple existing governments and set up their own hyper-conservative socio-political system.

Neither group of people can be properly combated with through military forces.  In Islamists will simply move elsewhere, as we have seen with their surge in Pakistan, and the Pashtuns will into lay down their arms as long as foreign occupiers are on their soil.  However, as Fuller suggested, non-military, non-US peacekeeping and NGO forces will have a much better chance of creating peace and stability.

However, a surge in troops will likely cause the opposite – increasing destabilization in Pakistan, a surge in violence in Afghanistan, and the frettering away of Obama’s international good will and political capitol. 

This, then, is a crucial time for the Obama Administration, for the American People, and for the Antiwar Movement.  It is no secret that the Antiwar movement is smaller now than it has been in recent years, yet this is the moment when we need to be pushing as hard as we can for a WITHDRAWAL of troops, rather than an INCREASE. 

With increased opposition in congress – including from Sen. Carl Levine, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Diane Feinstein, Chair of the Intelligence Committee, and our own Sen. Dick Durbin, Majority Whip – and a war fatigue from many Americans tired of the years of senseless in Iraq, now is the time to pressure Obama to change his course.  

It is imperative that we do not let Obama off the hook, in either Afghanistan or in Iraq – where we still are seeing Americans killed, and mercenaries such as Blackwater – or Xu, as they now call themselves – running the show.  It is imperative that we do not let the antiwar movement, on campuses across the country, to whither away as the real and pressing issues of the economy and healthcare, and the fabricated issues such as the “birthers” or “Tea Baggers”  take over the public discourse.  It is imperative that we bring our troops back safely and as quickly as possible, imperative that we provide the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, Pakistan and Palestine, to be able to create the societies that they desire, free of US influence.  It is a moral imperative, a social imperative, an economic imperative, and we need to ensure that for Obama, it is a political imperative. 

We must continue to fight for peace, using every means at out disposal.  Protests, letter writing, education, nonviolent direct action, boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns: every non-violent means at our disposal must be brought to bear on Obama and the Democrats.

The Struggle of Peruvian Indigenous!

I am very inspired by the indigenous uprisings in Peru that have been taking place for the last three months. Everyone was paying attention to the "revolution" in Iran but almost no media attention was given to Peru or the coup in Honduras. The Amazonian indigenous are standing up against the government and President Garcia due to broken promises that have resulted in foreign companies destroying Amazonian land for resources creating pollution problems that threaten their way of life. It is led by the Association for the Development of the Peruvian Amazon (AIDESEP) and tens of thousands of people have occupied highways resulting in several clashes with police. Here is a good explanation from Wikipedia:

“On June 5 2009, President Alan Garcia ordered Police and military forces to stop Amazon Indians from blocking roads in the Bagua amazon region. The natives had been demonstrating against the signing by Alan Garcia of special decrees that allow foreign corporations to enter the Indians lands for oil drilling, mining and logging. As a result of the actions of the armed forces over 50 Indians have been killed and nearly two hundred disappeared[26]. Eyewitnesses claim that the bodies of the murdered amazon Indians have been dumped into the rivers” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Garc%C3%ADa)

It doesn’t mention that several police officers were also murdered in the clashes (they were brutally killed with machetes) which have led to some people to question the validity of the movement. It’s a good lesson we should always keep in mind…violence solves nothing. I am attaching some links, you should all check out the Real News clips. It’s so radical and awesome!

Real News:
Battle for the Amazon: People vs the government Part 1
http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=4117
Part 2
http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=4117

AIDESEP website (so badass): http://www.aidesep.org.pe/

Peru Natives complain of persecution, may restart protests: http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/global/latin/55733627.html

The fight for the Peruvian rainforest (A clip from the Guardian, mentions torture techniques used by the government forces) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2009/jul/03/peru-rainforest

In Solidarity,
Maura

Destroying Indigenous Populations

Just to start off the band wagon this article really opened my eyes to how the war aboard is directly related to people here domestically. Native Americans are population that I know so little about and this article beautifully written. Jamail goes on to tie it to the struggles of Iraqi people. The basic gist is that Uranium is a huge problem for the Sioux population as well as being used as a weapon in Iraq.

Tearing Gaza Apart

So, no one (A.K.A. Pete or myself) has blogged in awhile, so here we go! There has been a lot happening in Gaza and Israel in the past couple of weeks, and even the last couple of days. Even though C.A.N. has not taken a stand against the occupation of Palestine as a point of unity, I believe that our C.A.N. chapter, as a majority, is against the occupation of Palestine. Also, it doesn't hurt to become more educated about the ongoings in Palestine, especially with the hope of going into the next CANference united against the occupation of Palestine (if it still is occupied, hopefully not).

This artile describes the most recent attacks on Gaza, after the on-foot invasion by Israel. There are now over 500 dead Palestinians, and for what? Four dead Israelis? How is that "defending" Israel? Also, the article makes a good point that the reason Hamas was launching rockets into Southern Israel was because Israel broke the five month cease fire back in November by killing 6 Palestinians. So, whose fault is it?

Another point is that the U.S. is aiding Israel in the attacks on Gaza. The weaponry that Israeli troops are using was manufactured in the U.S. and given to Israel by the U.S. And, not surprisingly, the international community, including the U.N., is calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, which the U.S. is blocking. This shares the same disregard the U.S. has when the U.N. mandated the ending of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.

Another point to be made is that Hamas is kind of the opposite of the Taliban. Whereas the Taliban started out as a political and humanitarian group, and turned into a terrorist organization, Hamas was a terrorist organization and is now turning over to a humanitarian group fighting for the rights of the Palestinian civilians.

This issue is most relevant to the conference call we had this past Sunday about including ending the seige on Gaza as one of our demands to Obama. There was dissention about calling Hamas a terrorist organization. We had to widdle down the demand of ending the total occupation to just ending the seige on Gaza, just to make it more relevant to what is currently happening. Also, I suppose Midwest C.A.N. wants to ease into its demands. Personally, I think we should just throw everything that we want at Obama. It seems, to be really effective, we need to stay strong with our demands, and not just "see what we can get." We need to DEMAND what we want, and what truly needs to happen.

So, everyone had better be at the demonstration on the 17th. It is our chance, as a grassroots organization, to make our demands heard by our new President. We need to let him know that the killings in Palestine can no longer be allowed to happen. That the aid and allowance of terrorism by Israel needs to be stopped.

-Patricia
College Not Combat, Troops Out NOW!

Blackwater accountability

US guards charged over Iraq deaths

The suspects had earlier handed themselves in to a court in Utah [Reuters] Five US security guards employed by the Blackwater firm have been charged over the killings of at least 14 Iraqi civilians and injuries to 20 others in a 2007 shooting in Baghdad. In a 35-count indictment, the five men were charged with manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter and weapons violations, the US justice department said on Monday. "The government alleges in the documents unsealed today that at least 34 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, were killed or injured without justification or provocation by these Blackwater security guards in the shooting at Nisoor Square," said Patrick Rowan, assistant attorney-general for national security. The five had handed themselves over at a federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah, earlier on Monday. A sixth Blackwater guard had already pleaded guilty to charges on December 5. If convicted, the men face 10 years in prison for each manslaughter charge, plus additional sentences for other charges. The shooting by Blackwater's guards as they escorted a convoy of US diplomats through Baghdad on September 16 2007, angered Iraqis and led US officials to tighten controls on private security firms. The shooting also enraged the Iraqi government, which wanted to put security contractors under Iraqi legal jurisdiction. Identity protected The five men's identities and the nature of the charges against them had been kept secret for more than a year, but were also released on Sunday. They were named as Evan Liberty and Donald Ball, both 26-year-old former marines; Dustin Heard, a 27-year-old ex-marine; Nick Slatten, 25, an ex-army sergeant; and Paul Slough, a 29-year-old army veteran. Paul Cassell, a Utah attorney on the defence team, said as the guards were being heard: "We think it's pure and simple a case of self-defence ... Tragically people did die." IN VIDEO Blackwater on trial Khalid Ibrahim, a 40-year-old electrician who said his 78-year-old father, Ibrahim Abid, died in the shooting, said: "The killers must pay for their crime against innocent civilians. "Justice must be achieved so that we can have rest from the agony we are living in. We know that the conviction of the people behind the shooting will not bring my father to life, but we will have peace in our minds and hearts." An Iraqi government spokesman said that they believed that the attack was tantamount to deliberate murder. Ali Al-Dabbagh told Al Jazeera that Baghdad would maintain the victims' right to a fair trial and would not accept anything less than "normal standards available in such cases". Decorated veterans The Blackwater guards are decorated war veterans who were contracted to protect US diplomats in Iraq. FBI investigators found in late 2007 that most of the deaths had been unjustified and the incident created a furore about the perceived ability of private guards to act with impunity in Iraq. FBI investigators found that most of the 17 deaths in Baghdad had been unjustified Blackwater said that the guards were returning fire after their convoy was shot at in al-Nisoor Square. The head of Blackwater appeared before the US congress shortly after the incident, saying that the men acted responsibly. The case has also been complicated because, at the time of the attack, private contractors like Blackwater operated without any clear legal oversight and it could be argued they did not have to answer either to Iraqi or US laws. Under the deal Blackwater had with the US government, it was allowed to repair the vehicles involved in the attack before investigators saw them, taking away key forensic evidence.