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It is time for the people of the world to cry Enough! No more war threats, no more War! The peace movement must be a global people’s movement, aligned with the policies of no government.

The governments of the United States and its allies bear responsibility for refusing to include the post-Soviet Russian government in security arrangements that would allow it to feel secure within its borders. After the Cold War, Russia’s government sought a European security order in which it could be a full participant. Russia also relied on assurances from the United States government and its allies that NATO would not be expanded to the East.

Instead, the government of the U.S. and its NATO allies pursued a far more confrontational course, expanding NATO to include former Soviet republics and Warsaw Pact countries, and leaving open the possibility of membership for Georgia and Ukraine, moves which would extend the alliance right up to Russia’s borders. It was against this background that the 2014 overthrow of Ukraine’s government occurred, leaving Russia with a government backed by Western powers on its doorstep. Followed swiftly by Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the revolt of two regions in Ukraine’s East, the crisis devolved into a complex proxy war in the breakaway regions, with forces supported by Russia facing a Ukraine military receiving varying degrees of support from the government of the United States and its NATO allies.

The people of Ukraine have borne the brunt of all this. In eight years of fighting, 14,000 Ukrainian soldiers and noncombatants have been killed, and over 1.5 million displaced.  Russia also likely has suffered combat casualties in Ukraine, although the numbers are unknown. The society and infrastructure of Ukraine’s East have been badly damaged by eight years of fighting.

And now the people of Ukraine find themselves at the center of a renewed and broader crisis, one that could draw the militaries of the United States, its NATO allies and Russia into direct conflict. The Russian government has deployed a significant part of its land forces towards Ukraine’s borders.  At the same time it is making demands for a sweeping renegotiation of Europe’s security arrangements, including a significant rollback of NATO. The United States and NATO have for the most part rejected those demands, offering instead negotiations on a narrower range of arms control and confidence-building measures, and refusing to place any limits on further NATO expansion.

The United States government and some of its NATO partners are increasing weapons shipments to Ukraine. The U.S. also is placing military forces on alert for rapid deployment to Europe. Russia, the United States, and NATO all are conducting significant naval exercises in the waters in and around Europe. It must be emphasized that Russia and the United States together hold over 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, and a wider war in Europe could involve four out of the original five nuclear-armed states.

All of the governments make much of their “sovereign” rights to deploy their militaries however they wish within their borders or in international waters, and to make alliances and send weapons and military forces to any allied country that will accept them. That does not mean that every alliance is wise, or that a government can deploy its forces at will in ways that an adversary is likely to understand as a threat. The United Nations Charter, a treaty to which all the antagonists here are a party, prohibits member states from “the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state….” (Article 2, sec.4) It also requires members to “settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice, are not endangered.” (Article 2, Sec. 3). Further introduction of more weapons and forces, overt or covert, into or around Ukraine and its disputed regions by any party only increases the likelihood of a war that careens out of control.

All military forces of all nations must stand down, and their governments must stop insisting that this crisis is necessary. It is up to the peoples of each of the antagonists to demand this of their governments.

Here in the United States, what we must demand of our government, in the hope that the people of all countries involved on all sides of this deepening crisis will make similar demands on theirs:

Immediately:

–We call on the government of the United States to be willing to negotiate with any and all states without conditions. Its “security” policies have played a significant role in bringing Europe, and the world, to the brink of disaster.

–The people of the Ukraine are on the front lines of the ongoing war and most at risk should it intensify. We call on the government of the United States to use all diplomatic means to encourage an immediate cease fire, a pullback of military forces from the conflict zones, and negotiations aimed at giving Ukraine’s people a real voice in their future, free of coercion from armed formations of all kinds, whether state militaries or regional militias. The United States should also provide humanitarian assistance to be directed to ordinary people in all of Ukraine’s regions, sustaining social benefits and public services and aiding in reconstruction of housing and public infrastructure damaged by war.

–We call for an immediate cessation of shipments of weapons or other military aid to Ukraine, and of the introduction of additional U.S. military forces and equipment of any nature into Europe.

–We call for an immediate, and world-wide, moratorium on U.S. military exercises outside the borders of the United States, and especially of provocative exercises, tests, and deployment of nuclear-capable forces.

–We call for a halt to the rush to additional sanctions against Russia, its government, or its economy. Ill-considered sanctions are more likely to impair than enhance good faith negotiations.

–We call for a moratorium on expansion of NATO.

And then we call for:

— Reversal of NATO decisions to expand rapid reaction forces and supporting infrastructure in Eastern Europe.

–Termination of U.S. programs to deploy U.S. ballistic missile defenses in Europe.

–Removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe.

–More than three quarters of a century after the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and more than half a century after the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom committed in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to negotiate in good faith for an end of the nuclear arms race and the elimination of nuclear arsenals, immediate commencement of negotiations encompassing all nuclear-armed states for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

–Commencement of broader negotiations towards peaceful, inclusive security arrangements for Europe in which the NATO military alliance, its roots deep in the Cold War, will no longer be seen as needed by any of Europe’s people, allowing all U.S. forces in Europe, after more than three quarters of a century, to finally come home.

The most powerful countries have been in a permanent state of mobilization for war for over 80 years. We have lived under the threat of nuclear war for three quarters of a century. It is time to bring all the troops home, to bring us all home from the war.

The United for Peace and Justice Coordinating Committee

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MARCH 11, 2021—The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) Solidarity Network, made up of allied organizations and individuals, demands the North Atlantic Treaty Organization end its imperialist endeavor in Afghanistan and calls on the United States to abide by the 2020 U.S.-Taliban agreement by exiting Afghanistan by May 1.

The BAP Solidarity Network encourages anti-imperialist, anti-war people and organizations to sign a petition to demand the Biden administration exit Afghanistan. It also has developed a template to help the U.S. public write letters to the editors of news organizations to demand an end to the U.S. intervention.

The BAP Solidarity Network has uncovered through its research that although 2,500 U.S. troops occupy Afghanistan, 11,000 NATO troops representing 36 countries are in the war-riddled country. At a December 16, 2020 meeting, NATO allies agreed to a $1.94 billion 2021 military budget and a $312.5 million 2021 civil budget—all for its Afghanistan operations.

Tod Wolters, commander of the U.S. European Command—one of 11 global command structures the United States uses to dominate every inch of the world—also is NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He said, “Everything we do is about generating peace. We compete to win… and if deterrence fails, we’re prepared to respond to aggression, primarily through NATO.” That indicates NATO does not merely advise or train Afghan troops.

Today, the U.S. European Command and NATO, along with the Afghan Forces they finance, are shifting their objectives from the so-called anti-terrorist campaign to “peace building in Afghanistan.”

“The BAP Solidarity Network understands this is only a cover for the real objectives, namely fighting the New Cold War against Russia, China and other countries not aligned with the U.S.-European imperialist consensus,” says Zach Kerner, member of the BAP Solidarity Network.

While increasingly under threat of a global war, the people of Afghanistan continue suffering the immediate brunt of imperialist and capitalist interests in the region. To date, the U.S. empire and its European allies are complicit in the deaths of over 100,000 Afghan adults and children, leaving thousands more injured or permanently disabled. Two decades of dropping 50,000 bombs on a country the size of Texas has left Afghanistan with catastrophic levels of poverty, an economy in shambles, and health care workers struggling with the added burden of the pandemic. Nearly 3 million Afghans refugees have fled their country to escape the violence, making Afghanistan one of the world’s biggest sources of refugees, and over 2 million Afghans have been internally displaced. Two decades of war has cost the U.S. public more than $1 trillion.

Within days of taking office, the Biden administration signaled it would not abide by the U.S.-Taliban agreement, citing the importance of supporting a “stable, sovereign, democratic, and secure future for Afghanistan.”

“This is the same language we hear whenever the United States and NATO conspire to destabilize foreign countries hostile to U.S. and European capital,” says Danny Haiphong, co-coordinator of the BAP Solidarity Network. “But we condemn the threat of the New Cold War and the continued war and occupation of Afghanistan, as we condemn the use of state violence and militarism against poor and working-class people of all nations. That is why we demand the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO forces as well as the financing of the war machine in Afghanistan and the region.”

No to the New Cold War!
U.S./NATO out of Afghanistan!  

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Speakers:

• Iraklis Tsavdaridis, Executive Secretary, World Peace Council (WPC) will address Europe and the EU.
• Carolus Wimmer, President, Committee for International Solidarity and Struggle for Peace (COSI Venezuela) on Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Dr. Akel Taqz, President, Palestinian Peace and Solidarity Committee / WPC Regional Coordinator for the Middle East.
• Margaret Kimberley, Member of Coordinating Committee, Black Alliance for Peace / Senior Columnist, Black Agenda Report will speak about Africa.
• Bimal Rathnayake, President, Peace and Solidarity Organization of Sri Lanka (PASOS) / Member of Sri Lanka Parliament on the Asia/Pacific:
• Roger Harris, Member of the Executive Committee, U.S. Peace Council / Member of the Board, Task Force on the Americas will focus on U.S. Foreign Policy.
• And a special guest speaker from Cuba.

The panel will be moderated by Professor Bahman Azad, a member of the executive committee and the Organizational Secretary of the U.S. Peace Council, and an NGO representative of the World Peace Council at the United Nations. Following the speakers comments there will be a Q&A period. The webinar will be bilingual in English and Spanish.

Click Here to Register

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NATO is coming to Washington DC soon, to “celebrate” its 70th birthday and announce its global plans.  Unless checked by a people’s opposition, NATO’s ambitions can lead to unimaginable catastrophe and war.  We think, moreover, that it is a special act of desecration that NATO chose to celebrate itself in the US on the anniversary of the assassination of one of our country’s greatest champions of peace and social justice, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Scores of antiwar and social justice organizations are calling for days of mass action and protest. Several groups are keeping a tally of planned events: 

http://notonato.org

http://no2nato2019.org

https://popularresistance.org/no-to-nato-spring-actions-in-washington-dc/

https://www.no-to-nato.org/2018/12/2019-04-02-washington-dcno-to-nato-yes-to-peace-disarmament-counter-summit/

https://blackallianceforpeace.com/events/april4natodemo

Find out about them, come to as many as you can, and join us in Washington DC! 

The post Come to Anti-NATO Protests in Washington DC Saturday, March 30 – Thursday, April 4 appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Nearly 150 people, from Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Scotland, Sweden, U.S., UK, and Russia registered for the webinar. (The largest number was from the US.) About 50 participants heard presenters from the U.S., Russia, Germany and the UK discuss the history and significance of the INF Treaty and the importance of working to preserve it.

Click here to watch a recording of the webinar. At this link you can also read transcripts of the presentations. You can watch the entire webinar or scroll down to view the individual presentations on YouTube. Keep scrolling and you will find links to Take Action and Background information. Please Take Action in your country!

The post International Webinar to Preserve the INF Treaty appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Add Your Support and Join Us 

For full information go to http://nousnatobases.org/

As a Friend of Peace Around the World, you know how the threat of war permeates the present global atmosphere.

The increasingly aggressive and expansionist actions of US/NATO forces in violation of international law and the sovereign rights of all nations, the raging wars in the Middle East, the expansive militarization of the African continent via AFRICOM, the burgeoning arms race devastating national treasuries, the bellicose language replacing diplomacy, the economic crises facing country after country, and the destruction of the global environment through war and unfettered exploitation, and their impact on public health, have all created crises that, unless checked by popular opposition, can lead to unimaginable catastrophe and war.

The International Conference Against US/NATO Military Bases in Dublin is the first of its kind, bringing together a diverse range of organizations from more than 40 countries.

Complete information about the Conference is available here.

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UFPJ’s National Briefing Call  on the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty

Monday, September 18, 2017
8:30 pm EDT/5:30 pm PDT

On December 22, 2016, President-elect Trump tweeted: “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes”.

On July 7, 2017, at the United Nations, the majority of the world’s countries adopted a historic treaty to prohibit the possession, development, testing, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons. The vote, by 122 to 1, unambiguously demonstrates that most of the world has indeed come to its senses regarding nuclear weapons. The treaty opens for signature on September 20 at United Nations headquarters in New York, during the High-Level Segment of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, where heads of state, foreign ministers and other representatives of governments are expected to publicly sign the treaty.  Fifty countries must sign and ratify the treaty for it to enter into force.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons represents the total repudiation of nuclear deterrence by most of the states that don’t possess or rely on nuclear weapons. But the US and the eight other nuclear-armed states boycotted the negotiations, along with Japan, Australia, South Korea and all but one of the 28 NATO member states (The Netherlands) – all countries under the US nuclear umbrella. In a joint statement following the vote, the US, France and the United Kingdom declared: “We do not intend to sign, ratify or ever become party to [the Treaty].” Meanwhile, nuclear tensions have risen to levels not seen for decades.

While the Ban Treaty negotiations were taking place in the United Nations, two floors up in the same building, in an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the United States was threatening military action against North Korea, in response to its July 4 missile test.

We must keep both realities – the promise of the Ban Treaty and growing dangers of nuclear war – fully in mind as we develop strategies to accomplish the urgent goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

What does the Ban Treaty mean in our sharply divided world? How can we best utilize it in the United States to stigmatize nuclear weapons and delegitimize the doctrine of nuclear deterrence? How can we move from prohibition to disarmament?

To join the call:

Dial in using:(712) 775 – 7035
Access code: 495518#

Presenters

Dr. John Burroughs is Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy in New York City, the UN Office of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms. He represents LCNP in Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review proceedings, the United Nations, and other international forums, including the 2017 UN negotiations on a nuclear ban treaty. His publications include contributor, “Unspeakable suffering – the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons” (2013), and author, “The Legality of Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons: A Guide to the Historic Opinion of the International Court of Justice” (1998). He has additionally published articles and op-eds in journals and newspapers including the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the World Policy Journal, and Newsday.

Jackie Cabasso is Executive Director of Western States Legal Foundation in Oakland, California. A leading voice for nuclear abolition, she has been involved in nuclear disarmament, peace and environmental advocacy locally, nationally and internationally for more than 35 years.  She was a “founding mother” of the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons in 1995. Since 2007, she has served as North American Coordinator for Mayors for Peace. She currently serves as National Co-convener for United for Peace and Justice. Jackie received the International Peace Bureau’s 2008 Sean MacBride Peace Award, and Agape Foundation’s 2009 Enduring Visionary Prize.

Watch a short interview with Jackie Cabasso at the United Nations on July 7, 2017, immediately following the historic vote on the Ban Treaty.

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