HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA – August 20, 2017 –  Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) members know the true costs of the war.  In response to President Trump’s upcoming Afghanistan policy announcement, we are prepared to hold demonstrations to protest any increase of “boots on the ground” in Afghanistan.  This will occur on the day following Trump’s official announcement in conjunction with simultaneous protests at Congressional offices by members of Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, and supporting organizations in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Long Beach, California.

Since the start of the war on Afghanistan, over 2400 American service members and many thousands of civilians have been killed according to icasualties.org. Countless others have been injured, lost to suicide, or suffer from invisible wounds such as Traumatic Brain Injury, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, along with drug and alcohol abuse. To many Americans these are just statistics, but these are our loved ones.

“The losses and injuries our families have already suffered from the ongoing wars in the Middle East have not been addressed and there is no end is in sight for them. We simply cannot ask our troops to make any more sacrifices than they already have,” says Military Families Speak Out National Coordinator, Pat Alviso, whose son was recently been deployed for the sixth time.

Our members know the long-term effects of military action as part of an unjust war.  We have members available for interviews nationwide to talk about how this will affect the lives of their loved ones and their families

When:  Tuesday, August 20th, at 4 PM

Address: Pacific Coast Highway and Main St. in Huntington Beach by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher’s office (101 Main Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648)

Media Contacts:

Pat Alviso  562-833-8035

Tim Kahlor  951-216-9620

Military Families Speak Out continues our demand that the military cease involvement in Afghanistan and bring all our troops home now! We call for the use of diplomacy.

Take Out Your iPhone!

By Paula Rogovin, MFSO, Bergen County NJ

When I spoke at the Cranford, NJ Peace Fair on August 6, I started by telling about my distress during my son’s two deployments to Iraq, my friend, John Fenton’s, distress when he watched his son’s head shrink before he died in the hospital after being struck by an IED in Iraq, my friends, Kevin and Joyce Lucey’ distress when their son, Jeffrey, hung himself after he was told to return to the VA for help after he dealt with his alcohol abuse, and my friend, Marcia Westbrook’s distress, when she received the call that her son in the Special Forces, Tyler, had died by suicide.

I asked people in the crowd, “Why did the U.S. intervene in Iraq?” People shouted, “Oil!” Then I asked people to take out their iphones and hold them up high. So, why is the U.S. involved in Afghanistan and why is President Trump considering sending 3,000-5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan? Several people shouted, “Minerals!” This was a Peace Fair and many of the people read recent articles in the news. Yup, President Trump is concerned that we hadn’t really secured the oil contracts in Iraq and the mineral rights in Afghanistan during the time of Cheney/Bush. Now, he’s talking about securing the mineral contracts in Afghanistan.

If you read excerpts from the articles below, you will see that there is lots of lithium – which used in iPhones and other devices. We know that it’s not OUR oil or OUR minerals. To sacrifice the lives and well-being of U.S. service members and their families for profit, for greed, is totally unacceptable!

I told the crowd at the Cranford Peace Fair that Military Families Speak Out says: NO military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan! Bring the troops home NOW!

The crowd agreed and shouted: Bring the troops home NOW!

Trump Finds Reason for the U.S. to Remain in Afghanistan: Minerals (New York Times). (By MARK LANDLER and JAMES RISENJULY 25, 2017
“The lure of Afghanistan as a war-torn Klondike is well established: In 2006, the George W. Bush administration conducted aerial surveys of the country to map its mineral resources. Under President Barack Obama, the Pentagon set up a task force to try to build a mining industry in Afghanistan — a challenge that was stymied by rampant corruption, as well as security problems and the lack of roads, bridges or railroads.

None of these hurdles has been removed in the last eight years, according to former officials, and some have worsened. They warn that the Trump administration is fooling itself if it believes that extracting minerals is a panacea for Afghanistan’s myriad ills…..

But for Mr. Trump, as a businessman, it is arguably the only appealing thing about Afghanistan. Officials said he viewed mining as a “win-win” that could boost that country’s economy, generate jobs for Americans and give the United States a valuable new beachhead in the market for rare-earth minerals, which has been all but monopolized by China….. Mr. Silver, the chemical executive, may head an effort to maximize the rights for American companies to extract these minerals, according to a senior official.”

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, March 25, 2017
“Here is part of the list: “gold, copper, lithium,uranium, iron ore, cobalt, natural gas and oil. Afghanistan’s resources could make it one of the richest mining regions in the world.

According to a joint report by the Pentagon, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and USAID, Afghanistan is now said to possess “previously unknown” and untapped mineral reserves, estimated authoritatively to be of the order of one trillion dollars (New York Times, U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan – NYTimes.com, June 14, 2010, See also BBC, 14 June 2010).
“The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys…..

“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said… “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”

The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.

“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines. (New York Times, op. cit.)
Afghanistan could become, according to The New York Times “the Saudi Arabia of lithium”. “Lithium is an increasingly vital resource, used in batteries for everything from mobile phones to laptops and key to the future of the electric car.” At present Chile, Australia, China and Argentina are the main suppliers of lithium to the world market. Bolivia and Chile are the countries with the largest known reserves of lithium. “The Pentagon has been conducting ground surveys in western Afghanistan. “Pentagon officials said that their initial analysis at one location in Ghazni province showed the potential for lithium deposits as large as those of Bolivia” (U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan – NYTimes.com, June 14, 2010, see also Lithium – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Psychologists James Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen were the architects of the CIA’s torture program. Now, in a groundbreaking lawsuit, three survivors and victims of the torture program are seeking to hold Mitchell and Jessen accountable.

This Friday in federal court in Spokane, Washington, Mitchell and Jessen’s lawyers will argue that they can’t be held responsible for their actions. In an extraordinary legal filing, Mitchell and Jessen claim they aren’t legally responsible to the people hurt by their methods because they “simply did business with the CIA pursuant to their contracts.”

A key part of Mitchell and Jessen’s argument hinges on the claim that poison gas manufacturers weren’t held responsible by a British military tribunal for providing the Nazis with the gas because the Nazi government, not contractors, had final say on whether to use it. They argue that they are like a corporate gassing technician who was charged with and acquitted of assisting the Nazis because “even if [Mitchell and Jessen] played an integral part of the supply and use of” torture methods, they had no “influence” over the CIA’s decision to use them and can’t be accountable.

JOIN VETERANS FOR PEACE & MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT  (Chapter 110/ OC)

In a demonstration against another troop level  increase in Afghanistan

4:00 p.m. the day after the Trump Administration makes the announcement

PCH and Main St. in Huntington Beach by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher’s office

Please join veterans, military families and other peace groups that are opposed to the increase of troop levels in Afghanistan. Each new sitting president has increased troop levels and it’s time to “END THESE ESCALATIONS”

Join Veterans, Military Families, and other area residents in the

Peace Contingent

Teaneck, NJ’s

4^th of July Parade

Meet at 9 am

Queen Anne Road and Van Buren, just South of Cedar Lane

Rides are available during the parade.

We will have signs and banners.

Feel free to make your own with these themes:

Bring the troops and contractors home from Afghanistan NOW!

Take care of our troops and veterans when they get home!

Don’t send the NJ National Guard to Afghanistan. Keep them here in NJ for NJ!

Bring the War Dollars Home for Our Communities. Money for health care (education, jobs, housing) – not for war!

The Peace Contingent is sponsored by the Teaneck Peace Vigil, Military Families Speak Out, Bergen County, and Veterans For Peace, Chapter 21 NJ

For final details check the local newspaper.

The Steering Committee invites you to join us at the upcoming Veterans for Peace Convention in Chicago this August 10-13.  In addition to applying for a workshop, and tabling at the convention, we are planning a mixer for military families on Saturday at the convention. We hope you will join us for lunch so that you can meet and greet the new leadership in MFSO, give input into our organizations future and focus and learn more about MFSO and how MFSO can support you.

This year’s VFP theme is “Education not Militarization”. We are also seeking members who are willing to tell their story about how their loved one was recruited and share their thoughts on what information every parent or family member should know so their loved ones make informed choices about enlisting in the military. Please give us a call if you are interested.

We look forward to visiting with all of you who are able to make the convention this summer.

Veterans for Peace Convention Planners
Marcia Westbrook, Mother of 3 Sons and Gold Star Mother of Tyler Westbrook
Pat Alviso, Mother of active duty Marine
Tina Lopez, Army Aunt
Mary Hladky, Mother of Army veteran
Ed Garza, Veteran and Navy Uncle

MFSO National Leader and Steering Committee member Paula Rogovin will be part of the interviewing team during the CNN Town Hall with Ohio governor featuring former Republican presidential candidate John Kasich on Monday, April 24 at 10pm EST.

The town hall, which will be moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, will focus on President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, Kasich’s reflections on the 2016 campaign and his new book, “Two Paths, America Divided or United.”  Paula’s questions will focus on the current wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Don’t miss this live event at 10 p.m. ETon CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International, CNNgo, Westwood One Radio Network and on CNN Channel 116 on Sirius XM.

Introducing  the new MFSO Media Team!

Melissa Castaneda
Press Releases
mfso.melissa@gmail.com

Melissa Castaneda is a long-time MFSO member, community activist, campaign veteran, and outreach professional. While still in high school, she was a chosen as a Youth Columnist for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and wrote opinion columns about current events. As a Regional Partnership Specialist with the Census, she worked closely with and was trained by the Media Team. Melissa’s father and uncle served in the Vietnam War and her brother served in the Iraq War.

Tim Kahlor
Media Contact
tkahlor@outlook.com
951-216-9620

Tim Kahlor, a member of MFSO since 2006, is the father of Sgt Ryan Kahlor, who was wounded after serving two deployments in Iraq.  Tim is nationally recognized for his work on calling members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee and numerous members of Congress. His family’s story has been featured on TV, radio, and in the national and international media.  Tim’s goal has been putting a face on the horrors of war and bringing the battlefield home by talking about his son’s struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).   A tireless advocate for veteran’s care, he contributed to the first “Caregivers Guide for Military Families dealing with Traumatic Brain Injuries”.

ATTENTION:  The MFSO Media Team needs your feedback on how the current events in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Iraq are impacting your family members that have loved ones currently serving in the military or are veterans of post-911 wars.  Please send us statements, so we can include them in future press releases.   

Send an e-mail Tim Kahlor at tkahlor@outlook.com with:

1.  Your Name, location, and relationship to the military

2.   Statement on a current event and how it has or will impact your family’s life and your loved one who is currently or has served in the military.   (Please do not include your military members name, unless they agree to it)

3.  You may also include statements on other military issues that are important to you.

* Remember that facts are what wins the argument, but emotion is what gets people to listen to the facts, so speak from the heart.

Media Contacts Needed! If you know someone in the media or have been interviewed by the media, please send us the story and their contact information.

If you are ever interviewed by any form of media, please remember to always tell them you are a member of Military Families Speak Out  (MFSO).