Dear Supporter,

This month's e-newsletter reaches you on the third straight week of protests in Egypt. Read on for a statement from Peace Action's Board of Directors.

Help us to build the peace movement and grow Peace Action's membership - learn how from movement historian and national board member, Larry Wittner.

Finally, our own Judith LeBlanc breaks down the deficit, the war in Afghanistan, and the 2012 elections with a peek at Peace Action's plans for the coming year.

Humbly for Peace,

Kevin M. Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

Peace Action National Board of Directors Statement on Egypt

Whereas Peace Action’s new 5-year plan affirms the right of all persons to participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and

Whereas for many years, the U.S. government has undermined democracy in the region by supporting repressive authoritarian governments with military and economic aid, and

Whereas the peoples of the Middle East, as evidenced by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, are demanding respect for their rights and a voice in their own government,

Therefore. be it resolved that the national board of Peace Action expresses its support for the pro-democracy movement in the Middle East, and its condemnation of military and economic support for undemocratic regimes. We call on our members to bring this message to President Obama, and to their legislators.

Adopted February 6th, 2011 in Washington, D.C. Read More

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Let's Increase Peace Action's Membership

Peace Action does a great job of working for a peaceful world. But it could do an even better job if it had more members. After all, it takes members to talk to their neighbors, circulate petitions, write letters to the editor, pressure their legislators, take part in vigils and demonstrations, vote in elections, and participate in the numerous other activities that are necessary for a people’s movement.

So what can you do to help increase Peace Action’s membership? Read More

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It's not a Deficit Crisis, it's a Revenue Crisis: Move the Money!

By: Judith Le Blanc, National Field Organizer

January 17 marked the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower’s “military industrial complex” speech. As he left the White House, Ike warned the synthesis of the military and corporations in setting government policies would present a growing danger to democracy.

In 1953, at the beginning of his presidency, Ike gave a speech, not often quoted, in which he said, ““Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”

Ike’s predictions were not only true then, they define exactly where we are now. The economic crisis, high unemployment and cuts in human services compel us to organize grassroots support for even deeper cuts in the Pentagon budget. Read More

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2012 Elections and the Afghanistan War

By: Judith Le Blanc, National Field Organizer

President Obama was elected with broad support by those who opposed the war in Iraq. For many voters, his pledge to end the war was a key factor. Bob Woodward’s recent book, “Obama’s Wars,” documents the struggle within the administration over the direction of the Afghanistan war, and also details the president’s awareness of declining public support.

During the press conference on the release of the administration’s year-end review of the war, Secretary of State Clinton said the administration cannot govern based on opinion polls when a reporter reminded her of recent surveys showing declining support for the war.. Read More

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