Sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action, Chicago Area Peace Action, Maryland Peace Action and Peace Action Wisconsin.
18 years after President Bush invaded Iraq, the worst foreign policy mistake in American history, the US remains at war in the Greater Middle East. America's war in Afghanistan is nearing the 20 year mark. Our illegal bombing and presence in Syria is extending civil war there. We continue to support the conflicts in Yemen and Libya, and station troops in Iraq and Somalia. Attempts to pacify and democratize the region through invasions, airstrikes, endless weapons sales, and crippling economic sanctions have failed for two decades. Presidents change but the endless wars continue.
Join a day of action March 20 to demand withdrawal of US troops, weapons, and bombs from Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and all Middle Eastern countries, and an end to sanctions and threats against Iran and Syria. We demand an immediate military budget cut of at least 25%, and we’ll discuss the Biden administration’s latest moves and our best pressure points. This End the Endless Wars webinar will be accompanied by an online petition, social media toolkit, and local actions. Register to attend!
We'll be joined by:
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (US Army – Ret.) is distinguished professor of government and public policy at the College of William and Mary. He was Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2002 to 2005, during the start of the Iraq War.
Kathy Kelly is an American peace activist, pacifist and author, one of the founding members of Voices in the Wilderness, and, until the campaign closed in 2020, a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. She has frequently visited Afghanistan, Iraq and many other countries affected by U.S. wars and occupations, and has often led nonviolent civil resistance actions.
Phyllis Bennis directs the New Internationalism Project at IPS, focusing on Middle East, U.S. wars and UN issues. She co-founded the the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, and now serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace. She has written and edited eleven books, including the just-published 7th updated edition of her popular Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, Before & After: US Foreign Policy and the War on Terror, and Challenging Empire: How People, Governments and the UN Defy U.S. Power.
Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian and journalist. He is the author of thirty books, including Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. He is the Chief Correspondent for Globetrotter and a Columnist for Frontline (India) and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books (New Delhi).
Danny Sjursen is a retired US Army officer, contributing editor at Antiwar.com, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, and director of the Eisenhower Media Network. He served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at West Point. He is the author of a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge and Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War, and cohosts the podcast Fortress on a Hill.
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge is a leader of the progressives in the Massachusetts State House and a longtime advocate of ending endless wars and cutting the Pentagon budget to support domestic needs. This year, he introduced a bill to divest state pension funds from companies that produce nuclear weapons.
Moderator: Kevin Martin, President, Peace Action and Peace Action Education Fund. Kevin’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Village Voice, The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, The Progressive, and Z magazine. He has has traveled abroad representing Peace Action and the U.S. peace movement on delegations and at conferences in Russia, Japan, China, Mexico and Britain.