Military families welcome end of U.S. war in Afghanistan

ABC News: Outreach Program with Veterans, Military Families Welcome Service Members Home from Afghanistan

LA Times Letters to the Editor – April 1, 2021

“To the editor: How were we able to sustain 20 years of war? Multiple troop deployments and a spineless Congress that hid behind the AUMF. Throughout three presidential administrations, Congress has failed in one of its most sacred duties — to protect this country and the lives of our troops.

After I once complained about my son’s sixth deployment, someone thoughtlessly responded: “Well, he wanted to go, didn’t he?” Yes, and the truth is that he and most of his other buddies would agree to redeploy as often as they were asked to, regardless of their physical and mental state. That is what they were trained to do. But the founders never meant for one man, the president, to have complete authority to send these troops to war. They wisely gave Congress the power to authorize and fund war to limit the president’s power.

We don’t need the AUMF to protect us. Just get rid of it.

Pat Alviso, Long Beach

DU fact sheet

Again, we are in a very precarious position in the Middle East.

MFSO believes that every effort should be made to resolve this issue with no military intervention.  We need to bring all our troops home and utilize diplomacy to solve any conflicts with Iran.  We strongly oppose the presence of our military troops in the area, which only serves to increase tension   If Iraq wants the U.S. to leave their country, we should honor that request.

It is clear, with the release of the Afghanistan Papers last month, that our government has no truth, accountability, or strategy in conflict zones. We perpetuate violence, confusion and chaos.

Our presence in Iraq only deepens the suffering of the ordinary citizens and do nothing to make peace with those governments. 

We call upon President Trump and Congress to deflate this aggressive posturing and bring our troops home now.

Excerpts from the speech given by Mary Hladky, MFSO Steering Committee Member, on May 20th in Jefferson City, MO at a Poor People’s Campaign protest of militarism. Soon after Hladky
issued this critique, she and 16 others blocked a
street, were arrested, and were released.

I am Mary Hladky. My son, Ryan, was an Army
Infantry Officer. During his deployment in
Afghanistan, the troops experienced some of the
highest death and injury rates of the war.
Today I want to talk to you about the war economy
and the incalculable harm this obsession does to all
Americans, and especially soldiers.

War drains the treasury of money. The Costs of
War Project at Brown University says US wars over
the past 16 years have cost $5.6 trillion. Our
officials justify this spending in the name of
national security. There is little left, it seems, for the
welfare of the people.

These same officials defend these massive expenses
as part of “supporting the troops”. But supporting our
troops should mean bringing them home and
taking care of them when they return.

How are we supporting the troops when many
military families need public assistance such as
food stamps to make ends meet, while defense
contractors rake in record profits?

There are 3 million veterans of the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan. These soldiers have seen more
combat than veterans of any other wars. Many have
experienced moral injury – a violation of a person’s
moral values, core beliefs. The shame, guilt, and
torturous remorse that becomes moral injury often
results in suicide.

How are we supporting our troops when 20
veterans, from all wars, die by suicide every day?
Today, here and across the country, and all over
the world, our voices declare our work for a more
peaceful world, the hope of a movement; to realize
that true security is not measured by the size of our
military, but the welfare of our people.

Just before the arrest of Mary Hladky, Michael
McPhearson, and other activists
Photo by Bennette Dibben, PeaceWorks