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War Times Mission On September 11 we were attacked by terrorists. We grieve our lost loved ones. We demand that the perpetrators be brought to justice. We hail the many heroes who have stepped forward to save lives and repair damage. We seek understanding of the reasons for this attack. We seek safety. But how will this be achieved? Should we follow President Bush into lethal and costly wars against his ever-expanding list of enemies? That would only produce more despair and more terrorism. Or should we use our singular wealth and power to promote a shared future of world peace, understanding and prosperity? September 11 taught us that in today's small world we will never be secure unless people everywhere have a chance at lives of peace, hope and justice. DEADLY CYCLE Not a single Afghan took part in the September 11 attacks. But the U.S. military onslaught has killed some four thousand Afghan civilians. The United Nations tells us that seven million Afghans may starve to death this winter. In government double-talk this is acceptable "collateral damage." Because of their color and religion, Afghans are dehumanized and their suffering denied. Rather than rejecting this deadly cycle of lost lives, the administration calls for permanent war against a global "axis of evil" and their numerous "allies." Is endless killing the memorial we wish to make to the victims of September 11? Let the heavens cry out against such a prospect. Stop the war now! At the highest level, the Bush administration weds the most powerful conservative and rightwing groups in the country: big oil (Bush and Cheney), the Christian right (Attorney General Ashcroft), and the military industrial complex (Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Powell). Who will benefit from and who will pay for their "wars on terrorism"? Seizing on the tragedy of September 11, the administration found $43 billion to wage wars against defenseless people. Yet it gives precious little to fight world hunger or AIDS, or to promote education and economic security at home. They doled out $15 billion to the airline corporations but nothing to the tens of thousands of airline, hotel and restaurant workers who lost their jobs because of the attack. The administration warns that any American who resists or even questions any element of its permanent war program is giving safe haven to terrorism and may be a target for surveillance, racial profiling and arrest. Thousands of Arabs, Muslims and South Asians have been detained by the government or physically attacked, including 11 senseless murders. Wonderfully, millions of ordinary Americans have also reached out to them in solidarity. THE FIRST CASUALTY A U.S. senator once lamented, "The first casualty when war comes is truth." The Project for Excellence in Journalism calls the Pentagon's current restrictions on the press "the most stringent in history." To hide the dire human consequences of war, the government bought rights to all satellite photos of the fighting in Afghanistan. And much of the press admits to using "patriotism" to filter the truth. This is why we have started War Times. It will be our mission to report hidden truths, to put a human face on events, and explore the real interests behind the "permanent war." It is our special intent to reach out to people who seek more information about the Bush program, and to serve as an educational tool for the anti-war movement. This is our pilot issue. Without your financial support, we cannot begin regular publication. We need thousands of people like you to share War Times with other people who question war, racial profiling and the curtailment of civil liberties; to those who seek the truth. This is a time of fear, but also a time of hope. We, the people, have a chance to reject militarism as our country's self-defining philosophy. We have the chance to build a new unity in this country and to come together with others around the world to affirm our common humanity. We can embrace a vital new truth: that peace and security at home are linked to peace and security abroad. This country
stands at a crossroads. Are we condemned to a deadly cycle of permanent
war. Or will we find safety in working with others to promote international
peace and prosperity? |
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