The Houston Peace and Justice Center (HPJC) understands that President Obama will announce on December 1 that he will send thousands of more troops to Afghanistan. HPJC disagrees with that decision and will participate in a protest at 4:30 pm on December 1. The protest will be held on the Montrose Boulevard bridge that crosses the Southwest Freeway. Following the protest, members of the Houston Peace Community will gather at 6:30 pm at the Maryknoll House, 2360 Rice Boulevard, to watch President Obama’s speech and discuss future plans to protest the war. For information, contact Charhonda Willilams at 281-608-5615
HPJC believe that an escalation of troops will not achieve peace and stability in the region nor deter the threat of terrorism. In fact, it may exacerbate those problems. Peace can better be achieved by diplomacy and by addressing the injustices that exist in the region. Peace is impossible without justice.
War is never the answer. War destroys the lives of innocent people, teaches how to kill, throws into upheaval the lives of those who do the killing, and leaves behind a trail of resentment and hatred, making it all the more difficult to find a just solution to the very problems which provoked the war.
War is never the answer. War and militarism rob the United States of the financial resources it needs to provide health care for all people, lift people out of poverty, repair the nation’s infrastructure, improve its educational system, reduce crime and protect the environment.
War is never the answer. A “just war” is not possible in this day and age where disproportionate military responses are common and casualties are primarily innocent civilians.
War is driven by the huge inequities that exist in the world, by religious fundamentalism in the United States and other parts of the world, by the desire of the U.S. to control the energy resources of the world, and by the military-industrial complex in this nation which supports war because it is profitable business.
It is time for the American People to recognize war for what it is – a defeat for humanity which robs millions of people of peace and prosperity now and for generations to come.
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