MFSO Leader from West Virginia Loses Son To Suicide
We were extremely saddened to learn that Marcia Westbrook’s youngest son, Tyler, died by suicide Thursday morning. Tyler Milam Westbrook, a member of the Special Forces in the Army, was stationed at Ft. Carson, CO. Although we are always aware of the possibility of this happening to each one of us, this news has been devastating to all of us in Military Families Speak Out.
Marcia has been working steadily with the Steering Committee since our rebuild and also serves on the Rapid Response Team, the executive board of MFSO and has had three sons in the military since 9-11.
Cards and condolences to the family can be sent to Marcia Westbrook at:
814 Victoria Ave.
Williamstown, WV 26187
Tyler’s family will be greeting friends from noon until 8 p.m. Saturday, at the Marietta Chapel of Cawley & Peoples Funeral Home, 408 Front St., Marietta. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, at the Williamstown High School Gymnasium.
A complete obituary will be printed in Friday’s edition of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel, or may be viewed at www.cawleyandpeoples.com
MFSO Response on Additional Advisers Sent to Iraq
Military Families Speak Out is alarmed and angered over the recent announcement made by President Obama that he plans to send 450 more “advisers” to Iraq and is considering the building of more bases.
These additional advisors will not be used at Army HQ but will be attached to the lower level units actually advising during battles with ISIS. This is particularly disturbing to all of us because we know that this plan will bring our loved ones potentially closer to the battlefield. More unsettling is the recent comment made by Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter that the “administration would ‘revisit’ whether to send more US troops, or to broaden their role once ‘adequate’ Iraqi units are in combat.” (LA Times 6-18-15). This is a clear indication that President Obama is considering sending ground troops when the time is right. We should all be vigilant, speak out and oppose what appears to be a preparation for sending more troops. We can’t afford to wait until this announcement is made and must do all we can to let the administration know how senseless and frightening this possibility is to military families and to the people in Iraq as well.
“I realize there’s no guarantee my son won’t see combat and that scares me. I fear for my son’s life” – Rossana Cambron, Army Mom
Just last year, President Obama stated, “There is no military solution to a larger crisis in Iraq…” so why is it that the only response from the US involves the military? 3,100 troops have already been deployed to Iraq; US airstrikes and drone warfare continues in Iraq and Syria every day. $3.42 million is spent every hour for military actions against the Islamic State. After thousands of lives have been lost and billions of dollars spent, things have only worsened. ISIS has grown and gained more territory. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned the public last month that Iraqi troops lack the “will to fight”. The recent news that the Iraq military lost many Humvees, US tanks, machine guns to the Islamic State was disturbing and another example of how our military intervention has resulted in US weapons potentially being used against us. It seems obvious to all of us that sending 450 more advisors, a move the Pentagon opposes, will make little difference and will just be getting our military more deeply involved and can only result in creating that “slippery slope” situation we all fear, which will make it harder to extricate ourselves from, as history has proven.
Let’s not lose sight that this most recent plan is a dangerous move and a real threat not only to the men and women of our military, but to Iraq civilians who have suffered greatly as well.
“We oppose sending our loved ones back to Iraq, a place that we never should have occupied in the first place”, said one military mom from Massachusetts. “Military families have already sustained too many deaths, suicides, injuries, amputations and mental health issues. Sending additional troops back to Iraq will only result in more deaths and injuries for not only our families but also for thousands of innocent civilians. The people responsible for starting this unnecessary war have accepted no responsibility for the carnage and chaos it has created. How dare they continue to put the lives and limbs of our loved ones at risk again?
Call the White House 202-456-1111 or email and voice your concern now. Make sure to identify yourself as MFSO
Solutions to the situation in Iraq are not simple, but there are ways to address this challenge that do not include U.S. military action. Join MFSO and Veterans for Peace is demanding these actions:
- Stop the airstrikes. The Sunni leaders and militia, who President Obama acknowledges must be persuaded to break with ISIL, see the U.S. as acting as the air force for the Kurds and Shia against Sunnis. The driving force for the Sunni-ISIL alliance is the alienation of Sunnis from Baghdad by the recent U.S.-backed Iraqi governments. Bombing Sunnis will not help to mend this relationship.
- Stop sending troops to Iraq and stop sending more weapons that fuel the conflict killing more civilians and ignoring human rights violations committed by “allies.”
- Make diplomacy the number one priority. Since it is clear there is no military solution, the U.S. must seriously engage with everyone in the region, including Iran, who is needed to force the Iraqi government to be more inclusive with Sunni leaders. Without an inclusive government in Iraq there is no way to effectively confront ISIL.
- Initiate new diplomatic efforts in the United Nations. Use diplomatic and financial pressure to stop countries from financing and arming ISIL and other fighters in Syria. An arms embargo on all sides should be on the long-term agenda.
- Restart UN negotiations to end the civil war in Syria. Set aside preconceived demands and work to end the violence. Once that is achieved the people of Syria can begin to chart their destiny.
- Massively increase humanitarian efforts through the UN and any other means. Real and effective efforts to relieve the suffering of hundreds of thousands of refugees from war will go a long way in convincing people to break with ISIL. More U.S. bombings and killings will only confirm that the U.S. is the enemy of Islam.
Join Military Families Speak Out and Veterans for Peace in demanding real solutions for the crisis in Iraq and Syria. The entire proposal and concrete analysis can be found atwww.veteransforpeace.org
My Thoughts on Veterans Day AKA Armistice Day
I feel like a zombie. I don’t look dead or crave human brains for my next meal. I must look like my former self because people still recognize me …maybe just older and somewhat detached. I get up each day, do the usual things and go to sleep at night. Life goes on for everyone else and my anti-depressant dose is double what it used to be.
Everything appears normal on the outside, but a zombie resides inside of me. For the ??? time since 9/11 a pierce of my heart is deployed. I quit counting how many times my sons have been deployed. Such is the life of a triple Blue Star Mother.
“Sure I’m proud of their accomplishments”, I reply to well meaning people that ask about my sons. And, “Yes. They enlisted”, I answer those who are trying to make the point that they must want to be deployed. But those facts don’t matter a bit to a mother who is worried sick about her child’s life while he is deployed fighting in a war we know should never have happened in the first place .
Today, on the day we used to call Armistice Day, I will honor all my loved ones living and dead at the 11th hour, and pray that every military family finds peace. Tomorrow I will go back to being a zombie because others who are not carrying my load will go back to business as usual. I know many of my brothers and sisters in MFSO and other peace groups like Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War will continue doing the work needed to bring peace and I will have to let others carry my load while I am in the zombie mode where I need to stay until I know my son is home again and safe.
That is the way I roll. That is how others I know in Military Families Speak Out roll too. I am eternally grateful for the support from MFSO because they know what is in my heart. Thank you. I couldn’t make it without you.
Marcia Westbrook
Military Families Speak Out
West Virginia
Zero Troops in Afghanistan, Keep the Pressure On!!
Zero Troops in Afghanistan-Keep the Pressure On
This is an urgent appeal to all peace and justice organizations:
Please unite with Military Families Speak Out to stop the Bilateral Security Agreement from getting signed by Pres. Obama and the new president of Afghanistan. If signed, our troops could remain for another 10 years.
You can help by working with groups in your community to plan a special event (s) in the coming weeks that calls attention to SR 347* and the Zero Troops campaign** http://www.mfso.org Here are some ideas:
-
Teaneck NJ Peace Vigil Hold rallies and/or Special Vigils ( see mfso.org for signs, dimensions, logos etc.)
- Organize a special march or picket at a popular location- outside a shopping center, major traffic area or congressional office.
- Rent a bill board, bus stop sign or ask to leave a sign or flyer at friendly business, office or post a flyer where yard signs are in your neighborhood
- Do a Banner drop ( legal if held), hold a banner over a freeway over pass during rush hour
- Project an image on a wall in a high traffic area about Zero Troops in Afghanistan. A simple sign such as “Enough! Zero Troops in Afghanistan! mfso.org” says it all
- Host a postcard party. (Postcards are online at mfso.org and are pre- addressed to the White House) Download Postcard
- Do a special demonstration by making “Zero Troops in Afghanistan” letter signs and do the wave in a high traffic area. Each person holds up one letter. This project can usually be added to any local vigil and most are very happy to have more people there
- Plan a car procession with signs on cars and drive through a neighborhood or along a major boulevard.
- Host a speaker to talk about why we need to stop the Bilateral Security Agreement from being signed.
- Create a calling list of people who are willing to call your senator about supporting SR 347 in succession one right after the other or the White House on “We want zero troops in Afghanistan”. ( Armchair organizing works too!)*
- Host a ZTA Party. Show a film such as The Ground Truth or Thomas Young’s powerful movie “Body of War”. Pass out postcards
- Organize a ZTA work party to send Zeros or other symbols to the White House. Be creative
- Get someone from your group to interview people on the street and ask them, “So how many troops do you think should be left in Afghanistan?” You should get an overwhelming amount of answers like “Zero” or, “What? I thought that was over” etc.” All good. Post on youtube.
Whatever you do, make sure and post it on our website at mfso.org, YouTube, blog about it/ or send a press release. Hold a press conference before your event, facebook and freeway blog your action.(See press release at mfso.org). Draft Press Release at http://www.mfso.org To make this action spread nationwide, please call a friend in another state and ask if they will do an action on this week in solidarity.
Need help call/email MFSO at mfso@mfso.org 562-597-3980 or 562-833-8035
*SR237 http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-resolution/347
** Zero petition http://org.salsalabs.com/o/161/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15316
Zero Troops in Afghanistan
The American people overwhelmingly agree:
ZERO Troops in Afghanistan! Bring the War Dollars Home!
All of our troops can finally come home from Afghanistan in 2014, as promised, UNLESS the U.S. & Afghanistan governments sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). The U.S. government is practically begging the Afghanistan government to let the U.S. military remain in Afghanistan until at least 2024! The American people in overwhelming numbers say NO! Bring the troops home! Bring the war dollars home!
The two leading presidential candidates in the April 5 election have agreed to sign the BSA agreement, but WE THE PEOPLE know the decision allowing American troops to remain in Afghanistan should not belong to either the new Afghanistan President nor President Obama – it belongs to the American and Afghan people.
We must tell President Obama:
“THE CORRECT NUMBER OF TROOPS LEFT IN AFGHANISTAN IS ZERO!”
SPEAK OUT. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY
- Signing the on-line petition calling for ZERO Troops in Afghanistan!
- Asking your organization to co-sponsor this petition.
- Sharing the ZERO Troops in Afghanistan! petition on Facebook, twitter & other social media and “ comment, like and share”
- E-mailing this flyer to your contacts & circulate in your community. Ask others to help
- Download Flyer
- Calling or e-mailing President Obama: 202-456-1111.e-mail: www.whitehouse.gov/contact or tweet @BarackObama
Tell him: ZERO Troops in Afghanistan! All troops home in 2014. Don’t sign a Bilateral Security Agreement with Afghanistan. Bring the war dollars home! - Writing letters to newspapers or blogs and send postcards.
- Planning local vigils or other actions. Send pictures of actions to MFSO@MFSO.org.
Announcing Zero Troops Week of Action
Week of Action Photos and Reports
Help us deliver 50,000 petitions to the White House!
For more info and action ideas, go to: Peace Action (www.Peace-Action.org ) and Military Families Speak Out (www.MFSO.org) 562-833-8035
Sponsors: Peace Action (www.Peace-Action.org )*Military Families Speak Out (www.MFSO.org), Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace, US Labor Against the War, United for Peace and Justice * PeaceHome Campaigns * Progressive Democrats of America – End War & Occupation * Jobs Not War * Teaneck Peace Vigil/NJ* Indiana Peace and Justice * LA Resist * War is a Crime/David Swanson * Intercommunity J&P Ctr Cincinnati, Topanga Peace Alliance, LBA Peace Network, OC Peace Coalition, CODEPINK, Women of Color in the Global Strike, Margaret Prescod, Global Women’s Strike, Every Mother is a Working Mother Network, Queer Strike, US PROstitutes Collective, Pay Day Men’s Network.
David Swanson to Speak on Ending All Wars
Teaneck Vigil Earns Honor for Antiwar Efforts
Teaneck vigil earns honor for antiwar efforts
TEANECK – Since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, local activists have gathered in Teaneck to call for an end to war. Once a month, the group would stand at the corner of Cedar Lane and Teaneck Road, with signs protesting the war and calling for peace.
In 2005, the Teaneck Peace Vigil moved to its present location just outside the Teaneck Armory, where it has gathered for more than 450 consecutive weeks.
Later this month, the vigil will be honored at New Jersey Peace Action’s annual dinner for its longstanding antiwar efforts.
Now sponsored by Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, Chapter 21-NJ and residents of Bergen County, vigil members stand on the corner every Wednesday afternoon, through snowstorms, rain and bitterly cold and extremely hot days.
The Teaneck Peace Vigil has worked closely with New Jersey Peace Action through the years, said Paula Rogovin, a Teaneck resident and one of the founders of the group. During the group’s larger vigils, Madelyn Hoffman, the executive director of New Jersey Peace Action, has come and spoken, and the groups have also walked together over the George Washington Bridge to participate in marches in New York City.
While she appreciates the honor, Rogovin said she wishes it were celebrating the end of the need for the vigil.
“I wish it was a joyous event honoring us and our work, but our vigil is going to continue until the War in Afghanistan is over and we’re at a point right now where we fear the war will be extended, so it’s kind of bittersweet,” she said.
Currently the vigil is working with several national groups on a campaign called “Zero Troops in Afghanistan,” to press for all troops to return home now.
Over the years, Rogovin said, she believes the vigil has made a difference by getting people to think and speak about wars that often do not get much press coverage and have not personally touched many lives.
“Only a small percentage of American families have a family member in the military, and the media does not cover these issues. They get pushed aside. We have called it to the attention of the public,” she said. “When we’re standing there on that corner every Wednesday, there are hundreds of people who drive by. Some wave, or call out the window in support, and what happens is the people in those cars and buses have conversations, and in many cases those conversations are continued at home.”
People who have participated in the vigil, some who never got involved in protests or demonstrations before, have gone on to participate in other antiwar efforts, joining Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out. Some have worked with the group Warrior Writers, a non-profit that helps veterans articulate their experiences or joined the Combat Paper Project, which makes paper from veterans’ uniforms, and then uses the paper for art and poetry.
One couple that has been a fixture at the weekly vigil is Mary and Henry Shoiket, 99 and 95 respectfully. They’ve been activists for decades and are at the corner each week no matter what the weather. This winter they could be seen standing in a foot of snow with Henry shouting his familiar chant into his bullhorn.
In a press release, Hoffman said the organization chose to honor the Teaneck vigil for its years of dedication to the antiwar campaign.
“The Teaneck Peace Vigil is not solely an antiwar vigil on a street corner,” she said. “It is a weekly reminder about the wars, which are largely not covered in the news. Over time, thousands of people have seen the vigil as they walked or went by in cars, buses, and trucks.”
The April 27 dinner will also feature Sharon Dolev, the founder and director of the Israeli Disarmament Movement, who is receiving the Dorothy Eldridge Peacemaker award. The Israeli Disarmament Movement supports a nuclear weapons ban, the establishment of a weapons of mass destruction free zone in the Middle East and backs the Arab Peace Initiative. Dolev has worked as the director of Greenpeace in Israel and as a disarmament campaigner. She will be speaking on the topic: “Cooling the Hot Spot: a Nuclear Weapons Free Middle East.”
Also being honored that evening is José Santiago, the former news director of WBAI, who will receive the Sylvia & Oscar Ackelsberg Peace Award for his longtime work to publicize the efforts of grass roots activists in New Jersey and New York.
Email: burrow@northjersey.com
The annual dinner will be held at the Regency House, 140 Route 23, North Pompton Plains. Reservations are required. Visit njpeaceaction.org or call 973 259 1126. Dinner tickets are $75.
– See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/community-news/clubs-and-service-organizations/vigil-earns-honor-for-antiwar-efforts-1.1001229#sthash.wrUHz4ib.R39K9guk.dpuf
MFSO joins womens day Rally in Los Angeles
MSFO Steering Committee chair Pat Alviso spoke at the rally.
Watch:
