Greens call for immediate bilateral ceasefire, just peace in Gaza conflict

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Dave Schwab

The Green Party of the United States has responded to the latest violence in Israel and Palestine by calling for an immediate bilateral ceasefire, followed by negotiation for a just and peaceful resolution to the conflict.

The Green Shadow Cabinet responded swiftly as well with a statement titled “How the U.S. could stop the Gaza invasion now.” Green Shadow Cabinet members Ajamu Baraka (Public Intervenor for Human Rights) and David Swanson (Secretary of Peace) have also responded with commentary on the latest developments.

Below is the Green Shadow Cabinet statement, followed by the statement from the Green Party of the United States.

What the U.S. State Department would do…

…if it believed in peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians. Continue Reading →

Tuesday: Green Shadow Cabinet and allies take the People’s Budget to Washington

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Dave Schwab

From the Green Shadow Cabinet:

This week social and economic justice, peace, environmental and community groups are heading to Washington DC to tell Congress: We the People demand a budget that meets our critical needs – by cutting out-of-control, dangerous military spending.

Over one hundred organizations have signed onto a letter outlining a plan to meet dire human and environmental needs by cutting the dangerous, runaway military budget by 25-50%.

Thousands of individuals have signed on to a petition calling for the same thing.

On December 10 we’re delivering it to Congress! Join us and tell Congress this is the only way to end the ongoing financial and humanitarian crisis caused by this reckless and obsolete wartime budget. Continue Reading →

Green Party opposes threats of U.S. intervention in Syria and Obama’s ‘blank check’ abuse of military power

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Dave Schwab

From the Green Party of the United States:

The Green Party of the United States opposes threats by the Obama Administration to launch an attack on Syria and said that an order to attack would be a serious abuse of presidential power. Greens called for repeal of the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) passed by Congress on September 18, 2001, which the two most recent presidential administrations have used to justify attacks on other nations.

Green Party leaders said that the accusations by the U.S., widely reported in U.S. media, that the Assad regime has used deadly nerve gas against rebellious civilians have been contradicted by numerous reports in foreign media, which claim that rebel factions have used chemical weapons.

In response to the Obama Administration’s pushback against the U.N. probe, Greens insisted that U.N. inspectors must be allowed to continue their investigation of chemical weapons in Syria and that the investigation must also address who used the weapons (“In Rush to Strike Syria, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe,” by Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service, August 27, 2013,http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/08/in-rush-to-strike-syria-u-s-tried-to-derail-u-n-probe/).

“The U.S. should use its clout to broker a cease-fire, with diplomatic persuasion for Turkey and Saudi Arabia to stop arming the rebels and Russia and Iran to stop arming Assad,” said Jill Stein, 2012 Green presidential nominee (http://www.jillstein.org). “U.S. military intervention will make it impossible for us to bring the two sides together for a political solution. We will sacrifice the only real pathway to peace for an act that can only pour gasoline on the fire. President Obama’s rush to war risks a repeat of 2003, when President Bush’s order to invade Iraq prevented U.N. inspectors from discovering that Saddam Hussein’s alleged WMDs, one of the stated reasons for war, did not exist.” Continue Reading →

Jill Stein, Cheri Honkala, Green Shadow Cabinet members featured at Democracy Convention in Madison Aug. 7-11

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Dave Schwab

From Jill Stein:

Are you ready to take power? I hope so! Please join me, Jill Stein, along with Cheri Honkala, and many other members of our Green Shadow Cabinet next month at this year’s Democracy Convention, August 7-11 in Madison, Wisconsin.

What is the Democracy Convention all about? As the website says:

“If you want to strengthen democracy where it matters most … in our communities, our schools, our workplaces and local economies, our military, our government, our media, our constitution … you will find something inspiring in Madison this August. Join us at the second national Democracy Convention. Continue Reading →

Stay out of Syria, says Green Shadow Cabinet Foreign Affairs branch

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Dave Schwab

Statement of Leah Bolger, Secretary of Defense and David Swanson, Secretary of Peace, of the Foreign Affairs Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet:

The Obama administration has seemingly painted itself into yet another military corner by announcing that use of chemical weapons by Syria would constitute a red line that would mandate military action on the part of the United States. Now we are hearing reports that the red line may have been crossed, and some prominent officials are calling for the U.S. to step up its aid to the rebels and/or impose a no-fly zone. Proponents of military action such as Secretary of State John Kerry and hawkish Senator John McCain seem to think that the U.S. can sort out the “good guys” in the Syrian civil war, and use U.S. military assets to help the rebels take down the Assad government.

U.S. military involvement in Syria could only make things worse. Syria does not need a “no fly” zone. It needs a “no weaponizing” zone. The White House and its allies need to stop arming one side of a civil war, and to persuade Russia to stop arming the other. Further escalating the violence will result in nothing that could outweigh the damage of that violence.

The Netanyahu government in Israel has just raised the ante in this precarious situation by conducting air-to-ground missile attacks against Syria, undoubtedly with the tacit approval of the United States. Allowing Israel to attack Syria without consequences is not only the sanctioning of a crime; it also allows momentum to develop for greater violence and pushes peaceful resolution further out of reach. Diplomacy must be actively pursued before it is too late. Continue Reading →

Leading peace advocates issue urgent call to support Jill Stein matching funds drive

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Dave Schwab

From an email sent out by Jill Stein for President:

URGENT! PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

FROM: David Swanson, Medea Benjamin, Leah Bolger, Bruce Gagnon, Chris Hedges, George Martin and Kevin Zeese

Dear Friends in the Peace Movement,

We can’t afford to let this opportunity slip by. By taking action over the next five days the peace community has a chance to inject a compelling and courageous peace advocate into the 2012 presidential campaign, to have a voice in the national debate over war, militarism, and military spending.

You know what is going to happen if we leave this election up to the two major party candidates. President Obama will defend his troop surges, his excessive Pentagon budgets, his preparations for war with Iran, his escalation of the drone wars, his crackdowns on whistleblowers, his indefinite detention policy, and his new role as manager of the White House assassination list. Mitt Romney will not question these policies, but will promise to pursue them with even more enthusiasm. In debates and interviews, the American people will have the Big Lie drilled into their consciousness: that our nation must accept escalating military engagement and must visit worldwide violence against all who defy the U.S. government. Continue Reading →