|
|
|
August 7, 1936 - January 18, 2007 Rev. Lee Williamson shared these thoughts and memories at Frank’s memorial service. When Frank died we lost a strong and good friend, and we lost a champion for peace. I met Frank in 1982 when I joined with him and several other great folk to organize (and I use that term very, very loosely) an affinity group which we called Mustard Seed —— a term we took from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4: "The realm of God is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all plants/shrubs." (Mark 4:31-32a) Frank Beville —— in every way that I know, certainly as a champion for peace —— was far more than just a great plant. He was a giant tree —— a giant tree that was still growing. John Chamberlin said of Frank: "Frank was one of those guys who didn’t call attention to himself, but whenever I went to a vigil or a demonstration I always looked around to see if Frank was there —— and when he was (which was often) I just felt better." And Frank was always ready with a genuine and big hug … and if you needed to bend his ear, he listened as if that was the only thing in the world that mattered. Solid is a good word to use in connection with Frank. I can specifically remember times when some in the crowd or group at a vigil, or demonstration, or peace worship were getting unruly and Frank was always there to calm the situation —— to de-fuse it. Solid, steady, clear … dependable. I didn’t know, but learned from Sherry, that a story that Frank loved to tell —— and did tell over and over —— was of a time when he and I and lots of others were in a demonstration at the Federal Building in San Francisco. Usually when we did Civil Disobedience we never went limp when arrested. That day I was given no choice. Two big guys grabbed me from where I was sitting and dragged me into the building, across the floor, and tossed me into the elevator. Soon here came Frank, tossed in on top of me. Frank, seeing the treatment I received, did go limp that day to express solidarity with me and protest of such treatment by the arresting officers. I hadn’t thought about that moment for a long while. Now it will be one of those stories I’ll tell over and over to whomever will listen and even to some who wish I wouldn’t tell it —— again. That’s what we do —— tell our stories. It’s what we have. It’s who we are. And Frank had lots of stories. I wouldn’t even try to count the number of times that I have been with Frank in our mutual work for peace. I have no idea how many times Frank was out there as a peacemaker when I was not. But I do know this: when Frank Beville died we all lost a strong and good friend and the world lost a champion for peace. There is one more thing I know: when Frank died heaven’s spirit was enlarged greatly —— because Frank’s spirit is there.
==========================================================================
|
|
The Iraq Study Group, its real goals by Carolyn S. Scarr A campaign slogan some years back was "It’s the economy, stupid." In the push for a "surge" of US troops into Iraq, we are hearing a lot about how Bush’s push is flying in the face of the Iraq Study Group report which was enthusiastically applauded by some in the peace movement. Unfortunately a closer exam—ination leads to the conclusion that, with the exception of the recommedation to negotiate directly with Iran and Syria, the ISG report is a bait and switch operation. Some opening falsehoods & false impressions of the ISG report: "The Iraqi people have a democratically elected government" A government in which the US exercised a veto on their selection of Prime Minister can hardly be considered ruled by the people. A government which continues to "request" the presence of American troops when the vast majority of all the people want them out cannot be considered a democracy. "Iran should stem the flow of arms and training to Iraq , respect Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity" (ISG report, p.7) Obviously the initial invasion and occupation of Iraq was a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Since then the US respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq has been blatantly lacking and the US is arming and training the Iraqi military and death squads. We reported on that in detail, in the spring 2006 issue of Planted, "How the US is Making Iraq into a Third-World Country." The roots for the "push" instituted by the Bush administration this winter might be seen in the ISG report which states in the section Internal Approach: While this process is under way [increasing the number and quality of Iraqi Army brigades], and to facilitate it, the United States should significantly increase the number of U.S. military personnel, including combat troops, imbedded in and supporting Iraqi Army units. . . . By the first quarter of 2008, subject to unexpected developments in the security situation on the ground, all combat brigades not necessary for force protection could be out of Iraq. At that time, U.S. combat forces in Iraq could be deployed only in units embedded with Iraqi forces, in rapid-reaction and special operations teams, and in training, equipping, advising, force protection, and search and rescue. Intelligence and support efforts would continue. (ISG report, p.7) emphasis added No End in Sight Phyllis Bennis, leading scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, in her analysis of the ISG report states that "the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group (ISG) report . . . did not include a call to end the war at all. Rather, the report’s recommendations focus on transforming the U.S. occupation of Iraq into a long-term, sustainable, off-the-front-page occupation with a lower rate of U.S. casualties." Bennis also reports that "air support" will be a continued role of the U.S. military in Iraq. In my opinion, "air support" is likely to consist of level-the-city bombings, such as was done in Falluja, with the difference that Iraqi military will make up the ground forces for the follow-up attack on the villages and cities so targeted. Death Squads: Training and Advising The "training" likely to be offered to Iraqi troops can be seen in the training given to Latin American police and military at the Fort Benning School of the Americas, long known in Latin America as the "School of Assassins" where torture and civil repression have been the central features of the curriculum. With this in mind, EPI continues to call for an independent investigation of James Steele and Steve Casteel, whose infamous work in training death squads in El Salvador is almost certainly being repeated in Iraq. Reporter Dahr Jamail writes of the presence in Iraq of Steele in an "advisory" role. Christian Peacemaker Teams member Sheila Provincher reported from her observations in Baghdad:
The "Salvador Option" goes back to the early stages of the occupation of Iraq. Seymour Hersh wrote in a December, 2003, issue of the New Yorker about a program he referred to as the "Salvador Option" in which former members of Saddam’s dreaded Mukhabarat were to be trained by members of Israel’s elite death squads who disguise themselves as Arabs in order to conduct assassinations. This has been equated to the infamous Operation Phoenix which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20,000 mostly innocent South Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. On October 19, 2004, men dressed in new Iraqi Police uniforms kidnapped CARE director Margaret Hassan. It is my opinion that it was very likely that these kidnappers were part of the "Salvador option". The Iraqi Police are under the control of the Ministry of the Interior. Every Iraqi resistance group called for Margaret's release. Her work on behalf of the Iraqi people was widely known. No one would have benefited from her death except those seeking to discredit the resistance, and those who do not want the Iraqi people to have someone with international connections working for their benefit. We have to remember that death squads in Central America commonly targeted community leaders, teachers, health care workers, church workers who served the poor, and international supporters of the community. Remember it’s the oil. In her analysis of the Iraq Study Group report Phyllis Bennis states that: While the ISG is eager to have Iraqis take up security issues by themselves, they are not so quick to have Iraqis take charge of their economy or more importantly, the development of their massive oil reserves. The ISG team advocates for the sharing of oil revenues throughout the country, a departure from the current Iraqi constitution that states revenue from new oil fields goes to local provinces. If carried out, this reform would help lessen the pressure for division within the country. Following this sensible proposal is one much more radical–complete privatization of the oil industry, combined with foreign investment, and technical assistance by the U.S. government. This directly contradicts the ISG’s earlier recommendation that, "The President should restate that the U.S. does not seek to control Iraq’s oil" and guarantees that the U.S. and multinational corporations will be vying for control and power in Iraq for decades. Clearly this section of the report was heavily influenced by commission members James A. Baker III and Lawrence Eagleburger, who have sought access to Iraqi’s oil for most of their political careers, as well as by the longstanding consensus of U.S. corporate and government opinion about the importance and claimed legitimacy of maintaining U.S. control of Iraqi oil. To bring about the IGS privatization proposal, the Iraqi Parliament is being pushed to pass a new "hydrocarbon law". This law was drafted with the assistance of an American consultancy firm hired by the U.S. government, which had a representative working in the American embassy in Baghdad for several months. The draft of the law was vetted by the U.S. government and major oil companies and was shown to the International Monetary Fund before it was seen by the members of the Iraqi Parliament. In a recent article, Antonia Juhasz, author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time: The new oil law in Iraq...would transform Iraq’s currently nationalized oil system to one that is all but fully privatized and opened to foreign companies... U.S. oil companies and their fellows in the Bush administration may yet prove to be the ‘winners’ of the war in Iraq. Iraq’s national government will still ‘own’ its oil and run a national oil company; however, every function of the company will be privatized – thus forcing the national company to bear the risk, while the oil companies reap all the benefits: 30-year contracts, 75 percent of initial profits, and access to exploration, production and marketing of Iraq’s giant oil reserves. Since the "new" direction for Iraq is in fact the same old direction of ripping off Iraq’s oil resources by putting in power and maintaining in power collaborative rulers who will do business with U.S. corporations to the benefit of the corporations and the disadvantage of the people, it is clear why the "Salvador option" has clearly been in operation for several years.
|
|
by Doug Pritchard "We are having a demonstration tomorrow [6 January] but it is not a demonstration. It is a meeting-in front of the Ministry of the Interior. We will read out a letter about the Baker-Hamilton Report." This information was the gist of a message from an organizer of the above "meeting" to the CPT’s Iraq team in Suleimaniya, a city in the Kurdish region of northeastern Iraq. Kurds are upset about the USA’s Iraq Study Group (Baker-Hamilton) report. In mid-December, the organizers applied to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for permission to hold a demonstration protesting the Baker-Hamilton report. The KRG initially gave them permission, but on the day of the demonstration, told them that they had to postpone it for a week. On that date, the organizers learned that they could not hold the demonstration at all "because there were Americans around."
3. it delays the previously agreed referendum on the status of Kirkuk [which Kurds think they would win];
|
|
by Jim Forsyth Jim is a member of the EPI board and an active member of the Demos Democratic Club in Hayward. We share his reflections which grow out of decades of work in the progressive community on a range of issues. We requested him to write on how we might view the results of the 2006 elections and how to influence the new Democratic majority to do something effective to end the U.S. war of occupation in Iraq and to reshape our country’s focus both at home and abroad. This is not to suggest that the Democrats are the only answer or the only party to work on. EPI remains as always completely non-partisan in its work. Any discussion of election strategy must take into account the dismal fact that less than one-third of the eligible voters bother to vote at all. Millions of us see no reason to vote, and by not voting cede power to a minority of usually white more affluent sectors of the population. This enables corporate ideologists, the so-called spinmeisters, to seek out those social issues which divide us and appeal to our baser feelings. They have seized control of the Republican party, and because of their immense wealth and control of the media wield considerable power in the Democratic party. Is the situation for peace and progressive activists then bleak? We have been reading and hearing the inspired speech by Dr Martin Luther King given at the Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967. After almost 40 years, his words still are relevant, which in itself is disheartening. But the function of a leader is to instill hope, no matter how great the odds are. And there is hope. It is to be found, as always, in struggle. There are many arenas of struggle and all of them are good and necessary. One is the Democratic Party. And hope is to be found in the 2006 election results, and the victory of many progressive anti-war candidates. George Lakoff, of the Rockridge Institute of Oakland had a some good comments, excerpts of which follow. (from www.commondreams.org-/views06) "Swing voters have both conservative and progressive world views in different areas of life and both are available for politics… They love the land…; many are progressive Christians who take Christianity to be about helping the poor and serving the needy..; many are civil libertarians..; and most care about their families." "Progressives say "we’re all in this together’ while conservatives say, ‘you’re on your own.’ It was running on these progressive values that won the election for the Democrats." "Success as a [Democratic] party depends on having a clear moral vision and carrying it out. To move to the right is to give up any claim to a consistent moral position at the heart of the party." So in order to break through the disillusion and cynicism of so many, to bring millions to accept their responsibility as voters, and to make the Democratic majority in the Capital follow through on its mandate, especially to bring the troops home from Iraq, will take renewed energy and activity. The real work starts now, after the election. Despite formidable opposition in the media and among the politicians, there is hope. The seductive siren song of Bush and Co., based on fear, greed and jingoism, is being exposed as a lie. There is a progressive current, glimpses of a "clear moral vision," present in the Democratic Party, the result of years of struggle, that can lead to a better future. We can hope that in another forty years we will appreciate Dr. King’s words without ruefully thinking that they are still relevant to our condition.
|
|
Sundays, 3:00 p.m. peace walk around Lake Merritt. Tuesdays, Noon - 1:00 p.m. Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street, oppose the continued war on Iraq, informational material given out. Wednesdays, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Castro Valley Peace & Justice Vigils, Castro Valley Blvd. & Redwood Rd. Thursdays, Noon - 1:00 p.m. San Francisco Federal Building. Thursdays, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Jackson, Mission, Foothill triangle, Hayward, Palestine focus. Wednesdays, noon in front of Boalt Hall on Bancroft Ave. on UC Berkeley campus. Teach-in against Torture. Fridays, Noon - 1:00 p.m. Women in Black Vigil, UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. Fridays, 5:30 - 7 p.m. corner of Mowry & Fremont, Fremont. Fridays, from 3:30 to 4:30 corner of Tiburon Blvd. and San Rafael Avenue, Tiburon. Rain cancels. Fridays - 4 to 5 pm corner of Miller Avenue and Camino Alto in Mill Valley. Fridays at 3pm -5pm at Camino Alto and E. Blithdale, Mill Valley. See ongoing local CD and street theater actions on p.7
|
|
There is an envelope included in each issue of Planted by the Waters. If each person who received Planted put a check into the envelope and mailed it to EPI/CALC, it would greatly improve our ability to do the work for justice and peace which we are called to do together. It doesn't have to be a lot. Every little bit counts. The envelope in the printed version of Planted is addressed to Ecumenical Peace Institute/Clergy and Laity
Concerned People reading this newsletter online are invited to send a check made out to EPI to the above address to help us in our work for justice and peace. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I/We want to help by being part of
the Peace and Justice Enclosed is my tax-deductible contribution of: ____$35 for annual membership ($10 for low-income subscribers) ___$10.00 ___$25.00 ___$35.00 ___ $50.00 ___ $100.00 ________(other) I will pledge $_______ monthly, $________quarterly Please make checks payable to E.P.I. Name_________________________________________ Address_______________________________________ City________________________ State____Zip ______ Phone_____________________email_______________
|
