Marine Iraq War veteran to be deported Tuesday to El Salvador (Marine Times)
Marine Iraq War veteran to be deported Tuesday to El Salvador (Marine Times)
“…Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Jeff Merrick said that deporting the Marine veteran after he served his prison sentence was a second punishment after he already paid his debt to society.
It’s “a real injustice to allow a veteran to be deported just because he got in trouble with the law,” Merrick said. “He paid his dues, now he is getting a lifetime sentence to a country he knows nothing about.”
Merrick is a board member of Military Families Speak Out, an organization of military and veterans families calling for improving the treatment of veterans when returning from war.
Merrick compared Segovia-Benitez’s deportation with failures at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals around the country.
“It’s kind of like, ‘I’ll call you a hero until I have to pay something, once you’re out of the service I don’t care about you,'” Merrick said….”
Marine combat veteran who served in Iraq facing deportation to El Salvador (NBC News)
Marine combat veteran who served in Iraq facing deportation to El Salvador (NBC News)
“… His sister said that during his time in detention, Segovia Benitez has helped other detainees and is “really loved.”
“He’s very helpful and obviously cares about people,” she said.
Jeff Merrick, a retired master sergeant with the Air Force, said deporting veterans like Segovia Benitez after they served time was a “total disgrace.”
“They got into trouble, yes, they had issues, but they served their time, and instead of like other citizens, where they’re released back into the community, where they can have a life again, they’re committed to a life term of exile,” said Merrick, who is a board member with the group Military Families Speak Out.”
MFSO Position Statement on President Trump’s Immigration Policy
Military Families Speak Out supports the action of governors of 11 states in denouncing President Trump’s immigration policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border by pulling their National Guard troops from the border and announcing that they won’t be deploying any more of the state’s military or will recall troops already sent. The states include Colorado, Delaware,
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia. MFSO does not want our loved ones in the military to be part of enforcing this inhumane policy.
Military Families Speak Out is a national organization of families whose loved ones have served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. We urge the governors of the remaining states to take a similar action and withdraw or recall their state’s National Guard.
Univision KMEX News Video: Familias de militares se manifiestan en contra de la propuesta del presidente Trump de enviar más tropas a la guerra en Afganistán
Military Families Speak Out featured in La Opinion, the most widely read Spanish-language newspaper in the United States
Take Out Your iPhone!
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)
Peace Contingent at Teaneck, NJ’s Fourth of July Parade
Join Veterans, Military Families, and other area residents in the
Peace Contingent
Teaneck, NJ’s
4th 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.
MFSO Continues Work, Despite Uncertain Times
Military Families Speak Out members are concerned after the Presidential election. There is great uncertainty around a Trump presidency and what it will mean for military members, veterans, and their families.
Our nonpartisan group is concerned about the endless wars that the United States has involved our military. President Obama and numerous military officials have repeatedly stated there is no military solution in the Middle East and surrounding area, yet war has been the government’s main response. Military statements by President-Elect Trump are often vague, contradictory or unknown. A review of the individuals being considered for cabinet positions indicate an increased militaristic approach.
MFSO continues to call for: No U.S. military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and now Yemen. MFSO and the whole peace movement must stand strong against policies that call for more violence and war.
We call for continued efforts for diplomacy and humanitarian aid. In addition, we know that xenophobic rhetoric & hate speech only exacerbates the situation and sends a false message that we are at war with Islam, which in turn only leads to more hatred from civilians in the Middle East who are mostly Muslim. It also gives ISIS the propaganda they need to continue attracting more anti-American recruits.
We have so many concerns. We need to be bold. We are extending an invitation to all members to get re-involved in the work of MFSO and reach out to other like-minded military families. There are many ways to get involved. We need help from every member if we are to end these wars once and for all. Please reach out to other military families who are currently in the military – they need support and have a story to tell!
MFSO continues to call for quality health and mental health care for veterans and military families within the Veterans Administration. No privatization of the VA. We continue to demand education, jobs, housing, and other services for veterans. As always, we support the troops, want them home now and work hard to take care of them while abroad and when they return home. MFSO is a 501c3 non-profit and does not endorse any political candidate. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion or gender. Please consider a tax deductible donation at this time.