Granny Peace Brigade

Close Guantanamo and all U.S. Military Bases on Foreign Soil.

On Veterans Day 2007 the Granny Peace Brigade launched an initiative to close Guantanamo and all U.S. military bases on foreign soil. The Brigade supports the International Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases formed in Quito, Ecuador, March 2007 and the Resolution of the Women’s International Democratic Federation at its 14th Congress, April 2007. The "No Bases Committee" has organized two Teach-ins and coordinates with the other groups working toward shutting down Guantanamo and abolishing U.S. bases. (See list on the right)

OUR THIRD TEACH-IN SAYS "NO"
TO U.S. MILITARIZATION OF LATIN AMERICA
& THE CARIBBEAN

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS -
Date: Sunday, November 9, 2008 2 to 5 p.m.
Place: Church of the Ascension 221 West 107th Street (just east of Broadway) New York City

Speakers include:
Maria Fernanda Espinosa, anthropologist, poet, former Foreign Minister and now the permanent Representative to the United Nations from the Republic of Ecuador
Greg Grandin, Professor of History at New York University and author most recently of Empire's Workshop: Latin America, The United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism
Ann Wright, Colonel (ret.), former diplomat who resigned from the State Department on March 18, 2003 to protest the pre-emptive strike on Iraq, and author of Dissent, Voices of Conscience

The event will be free and open to the public.

Teach-In AFRICOM
photos
4-minute YouTube video
On March 30th, 2008 the Granny Peace Brigade held the second in its series of Teach-Ins offering a careful look at the ever expanding empire of foreign military bases that the Pentagon maintains in 130 countries. Entitled Say "No" to AFRICOM the event was held in observance of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. AFRICOM, the Pentagon's plan for a regional U.S. military command of Africa, represents a violation of Dr. King's dream of peace, economic justice and racial harmony.

Four distinguished presenters participated in the forum held at the All Souls Unitarian Church and it was moderated by Granny Peace Brigade member Vinie Burrows, award-winning actor, writer and story-telling “griot.” In African tradition she offered a libation to honor Dr. King and then introduced the first speaker, Horace G. Campbell, professor of African American Studies, International Affairs and Political Science at Syracuse University.

Integrating a power-point presentation, Dr. Campbell provided the context in which to develop his arguments against AFRICOM, untangling knots and contradictions in US Africa policy, beginning with 1994 when President Clinton called Rwandan genocide "normal tribal violence" (he later apologized). Discussing genocide, Campbell cited the U.S.'s continuing diplomatic relations with Sudan despite Darfur. He sees the real "terrorism" in Africa as economic and colonial domination perpetrated by European nations for centuries and, more recently, by China and the U.S. That there is widespread resistance on the part of African nations to AFRICOM is "good news" despite the U.S. administration spin that the motivation for this new command is "aid."

The second speaker was Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy at the Institute for Policy Studies, in Washington, D.C. who then provided the background to AFRICOM, a creation of Donald Rumsfeld and established the day before his “resignation” in December 2006. AFRICOM stipulates that an African country seeking to engage in any way with the U.S. must do so exclusively through AFRICOM. The only country that would not be under the AFRICOM command would be Egypt, recipient of one billion dollars of U.S. foreign aid, second only to Israel.

A major motivation behind AFRICOM arises from US addiction to oil - 24% of U.S. oil imports currently come from Africa, compared with 12% in 2003. Besides oil, the African continent is a source for countless strategic resources including uranium and coltan (Colombo-tantalite ore used in cell phones). Other motives are a foreign policy determined to challenge China and to fight the “war on terrorism.” Identifying problems with the press, Ms. Woods reported that President Bush's recent seven day trip to Africa included four days in Tanzania where there were large daily protests against AFRICOM that were reported as Muslims rallying against Bush and not as Tanzanians rallying against AFRICOM. Ms. Woods ended her presentation with a call to remembrance of Dr. King asking us to declare eternal hostility to poverty, racism and militarism.

Frida Berrigan, senior program associate of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation, NYC, described the foreign “aid” currently given to African countries and exposed the insidious nature of the administration’s rhetoric. She underscored the Pentagon’s use of language and coded words that mask the true intent of AFRICOM. President Bush in his March trip to Africa spoke of AFRICOM as a “mission of mercy.” Ms. Berrigan named the various sites in Africa with a military presence – army, navy and air – in “contingency installations”, and provided examples of the military’s euphemisms such as "kinetic engagement" referring to killing. She cautioned the audience to beware of U.S. Administration's and media's language when referring to militarization.

Sonia Sanchez, poet, educator, author of sixteen books and member of the Philadelphia Granny Peace Brigade. brought her poet's voice of warning, pain and longing for peace. Her words united the content presented by the three previous speakers. She spoke of the need to engage with young people in an intergenerational collaboration and to do “pushups for peace” as a way of life. Sanchez called out names of people, alive and deceased interspersed with hxosa clicks, who committed their lives to peace and justice. She reminded us that Dr. King said that a riot is "the language of the unheard", and our task is "to learn how to make the unheard heard, without blowing themselves and the world up."

A brief question-answer period ensued resulting in some specific actions for participants at the Teach-In re the U.S. Administration. Dr. Campbell said that in relation to the Congo, there should be an apology for the murder of Patrice Lumumba. Lobbying Congressional representatives, the Black Congressional Caucus, and Donald Payne (Dem. NJ) chair of the House subcommittee on Africa were among the suggestions for action. The website: www.resistafricom.org/ was cited for information on Congressional resolutions.
- Nydia Leaf, Phyllis Cunningham, Caroline Chinlund

Report on November 11, 2007 Teach-In
Close Guantanamo and All U.S. Bases on Foreign Soil"
Photos
5-minute video of "Close Guantanamo"
GPB YouTube video channel

Help close down Guantanamo!
Join us by planning and taking action in your local community!
Share your ideas and actions via email.
Educate the public about the nearly 700+ U.S. military bases on foreign soil!

From Guantanamo to Outer Space

The US maintains foreign military bases in 130 countries.
The Pentagon keeps secret the precise number of bases but admits to737.
These comprise more than 95% of the world’s foreign military bases.
U.S. foreign bases operate beyond the control of the occupied nation. Killings, sexual assaults, pollution, drug use, are typical of crimes perpetrated against the local population.
On the Guantanamo base the U.S. has stripped hundreds of prisoners of habeas corpus, their right to petition a judge for a hearing.
Prisoners at Guantanamo may be transferred to other countries for indefinite detention, interrogation and torture (a policy called “extraordinary rendition”).
Bases are a growth industry. The federal budget for Fiscal Year 2008 allocates: 51% for the Military and 17% for Government Agencies - NASA, Energy, Homeland Security, etc. leaving 32% for Human Needs - Health, Education, Housing, Nutrition, Social Security, etc.
The Pentagon's budget for FY 2008 is nearly $1.2 trillion, in addition to the $400 billion costs of the Iraq and Afghan occupations.
Space is the Pentagon's final military frontier. The U.S. Space Command's Vision for 2020 seeks total domination "of the space dimension of military operations.”

Call your senators: 1-800-828-0498
Tell them to shut down Guantanamo and all our foreign military bases.

Sources: Pentagon Base Structure Report; Fellowship of Reconciliation; War Resisters League; Chalmers Johnson BLOWBACK; Karl Grossman WEAPONS IN SPACE