It's good to see military families protesting against U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. I hope more intellectually honest, humane and compassionate people also do the same thing.
http://www.sanfernandosun.com/sanfernsun/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4581&Itemid=2
Written by Andres Chavez, Sun Staff Reporter
Thursday, 03 December 2009
President Obama's address to the nation Tuesday night calling for an increase in the number of U.S. troops committed to the war in Afghanistan found no sympathy among one group of military families. The 4,000 member organization, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is opposed to any expansion of the war and wants the troops brought home now.
Founded in 2002 by Charley Richardson and Nancy Lessin, whose son served with the Marines in Iraq and as a military contractor in Afghanistan, MFSO is composed of families with loved ones who serve or served in the military over the last eight years, and who are speaking out to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the largest organization of military families speaking out against the wars in U.S. history.
In an open letter sent to President Obama before Tuesday's address, Richardson and Lessin stated, "The more we bring bombs and guns into Afghanistan, the more civilian casualties there are and the more our troops are seen as occupiers rather than liberators. Please do not be the one to dash our hope for an end to these wars; for the swift and safe return of our troops; and for a new foreign policy that truly respects the lives of our service members who volunteer to put themselves in harm's way, as well as the lives of children, women and men of other countries who are caught in the crossfire."
Local MFSO member Pat Alviso said she wasn't surprised by Obama's decision to send more troops because he had made his feelings about Afghanistan clear during the campaign. But she points out that "More than 60% of the American people think this war is lost. He's got a big job ahead of him if he things he's going to convince anybody that this war is justified."
Alviso has always been very peace oriented, so she was "very devastated" when her then 18 year old son passed on going to college and joined the Marine Corpd instead. At first, Alviso hoped that the Marines would be a passing phase for her son, but he made the Corps his career. He's now 32 and has two children.
When the war started, Alviso was torn between her anti-war sentiments and the fact that her son was a marine. "Because he was in the military I bought into the old line of thinking that you can't say anything. But my son knew how I felt at the time. When he left for this first deployment he said, 'Just don't use my picture' so we've come to that agreement still," she said.
In 2005 Alviso saw Cindy Sheehan on TV camped outside then President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas and thought, "I have to help this woman." She flew to Crawford thinking she'd be alone only to discover there were hundreds of like minded people there.
She networked with other military families opposed to the war and so her activism began. She was later arrested and fined for participating in a demonstration in Washington D.C. To date, she's been arrested three times and fully expects to be arrested again in the future.
The arrests didn't bother her but Alviso was worried that her actions might get her son into trouble and how he felt. "After his first deployment, he'd come back saying things I was so happy to be here. 'Mom, I know you love us and I know you support us,'" she said.
Military Families Speak Out, like a lot of other organizations, does send the troops "care packages" and will aid returning veterans and their families in finding counseling and other needed services. But MFSO members feel the best way to support the troops is to end the war.
Alviso says that many soldiers, moms on the street and families who have lost loved ones in the war are grateful and she and the other members of MFSO are taking a stand. "We are in a position that we have to speak out because we never get a moment of peace, we're always knowing that as long as we turn the other way and let this war continue then we are helping cause the problem," she said.
The way to end the war, Alviso feels, is through the ballot box. "(If) people want to keep their jobs in Congress and the Office of the President, then we need to get out of this war now and bring our troops home so we can start taking care of them."
If anyone has someone in the military and wants suport or counseling, contact Military Families Speak out at mfso.org or call (562) 833- 8035.
http://www.sanfernandosun.com/sanfernsun/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4581&Itemid=2
Written by Andres Chavez, Sun Staff Reporter
Thursday, 03 December 2009
President Obama's address to the nation Tuesday night calling for an increase in the number of U.S. troops committed to the war in Afghanistan found no sympathy among one group of military families. The 4,000 member organization, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is opposed to any expansion of the war and wants the troops brought home now.
Founded in 2002 by Charley Richardson and Nancy Lessin, whose son served with the Marines in Iraq and as a military contractor in Afghanistan, MFSO is composed of families with loved ones who serve or served in the military over the last eight years, and who are speaking out to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the largest organization of military families speaking out against the wars in U.S. history.
In an open letter sent to President Obama before Tuesday's address, Richardson and Lessin stated, "The more we bring bombs and guns into Afghanistan, the more civilian casualties there are and the more our troops are seen as occupiers rather than liberators. Please do not be the one to dash our hope for an end to these wars; for the swift and safe return of our troops; and for a new foreign policy that truly respects the lives of our service members who volunteer to put themselves in harm's way, as well as the lives of children, women and men of other countries who are caught in the crossfire."
Local MFSO member Pat Alviso said she wasn't surprised by Obama's decision to send more troops because he had made his feelings about Afghanistan clear during the campaign. But she points out that "More than 60% of the American people think this war is lost. He's got a big job ahead of him if he things he's going to convince anybody that this war is justified."
Alviso has always been very peace oriented, so she was "very devastated" when her then 18 year old son passed on going to college and joined the Marine Corpd instead. At first, Alviso hoped that the Marines would be a passing phase for her son, but he made the Corps his career. He's now 32 and has two children.
When the war started, Alviso was torn between her anti-war sentiments and the fact that her son was a marine. "Because he was in the military I bought into the old line of thinking that you can't say anything. But my son knew how I felt at the time. When he left for this first deployment he said, 'Just don't use my picture' so we've come to that agreement still," she said.
In 2005 Alviso saw Cindy Sheehan on TV camped outside then President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas and thought, "I have to help this woman." She flew to Crawford thinking she'd be alone only to discover there were hundreds of like minded people there.
She networked with other military families opposed to the war and so her activism began. She was later arrested and fined for participating in a demonstration in Washington D.C. To date, she's been arrested three times and fully expects to be arrested again in the future.
The arrests didn't bother her but Alviso was worried that her actions might get her son into trouble and how he felt. "After his first deployment, he'd come back saying things I was so happy to be here. 'Mom, I know you love us and I know you support us,'" she said.
Military Families Speak Out, like a lot of other organizations, does send the troops "care packages" and will aid returning veterans and their families in finding counseling and other needed services. But MFSO members feel the best way to support the troops is to end the war.
Alviso says that many soldiers, moms on the street and families who have lost loved ones in the war are grateful and she and the other members of MFSO are taking a stand. "We are in a position that we have to speak out because we never get a moment of peace, we're always knowing that as long as we turn the other way and let this war continue then we are helping cause the problem," she said.
The way to end the war, Alviso feels, is through the ballot box. "(If) people want to keep their jobs in Congress and the Office of the President, then we need to get out of this war now and bring our troops home so we can start taking care of them."
If anyone has someone in the military and wants suport or counseling, contact Military Families Speak out at mfso.org or call (562) 833- 8035.
