[pjw] NEWS: Social justice groups urge Governor to keep Oregon's Guard home

Fri Nov 8 15:29:40 EST 2019

[Iraq AG supporters:

  Sorry for the two bulk emails in one day; as noted below we wanted to
  get this out before Monday's Armistice Day memorials.

  These letters are on our website at
  http://www.pjw.info/guardhomeletter2019.html

  You can send your own note to Governor Brown at this website:
  https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/share-your-opinion.aspx

  Please share widely!]

November 8, 2019

From: Peace and Justicw Works

To: Governor Kate Brown

Re: enclosed letter about Keeping Oregon's Guard in Oregon

Governor Brown

Enclosed is the 2019 version of our letter asking you to keep Oregon's Guard in
Oregon. Peace and Justice Works (PJW) organized the effort this year to get this
information to you in advance of the 101st recognition of Armistice Day on Nov.
11. Whilie PJW was gathering over a dozen the signatures from organizations from
around the state, we came across some additional information to share:

This September 26 article from the Task and Purpose blog on military issues says
that the highest per capita suicide rate in the military is in the National
Guard.

  https://taskandpurpose.com/national-guard-pentagon-suicide-report

We also appreciate that your office declined to send National Guard troops to
police a protest event in Portland on August 17, per this Oregon Public
Broadcasting article from October 29.

https://www.opb.org/news/article/proud-boys-portland-rally-national-guard

We look forward to hearing back from your office about the attached letter.

Dan Handelman
secretary, Peace and Justice Works

--------------------------------

Peace and Justice Works
    PO Box 42456
    Portland, OR   97242
    (503) 236-3065 (call or text)
    pjw at pjw.info
    http://www.pjw.info

Governor Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, OR   97301-4047

November 8, 2019

To: Governor Kate Brown

Re: Deployment of Oregon National Guard

Governor Brown

A number of organizations sent you a letter in October, 2017 asking for you to
keep Oregon's National Guard from being deployed to undeclared war zones. In
2018, Peace and Justice Works followed up to that latter noting that you have
told President Trump that you do not intend to send the Guard to the border with
Mexico, even if called to do so. We, the undersigned, support this policy and
urge you to connect the misuse of our local military for xenophobic border
patrol and the ongoing and looming US wars. While President Trump has not yet
started any new wars, the existing wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia,
Libya, Syria (and to a very reduced extent, Pakistan) have continued under his
administration. There have been escalating tensions with Iran including
deployment of US forces to the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, and threats of
military action against Venezuela.*-1

Despite superficially aiming to wind down the war in Afghanistan, which entered
its 19th year on October 7, the administration's negotiations with the Taliban
were only going to lead to removing about half of the troops currently deployed
there.*-2

Peace groups in Oregon have been urging our Governors not to send the Guard
overseas for what appears to be unconstitutional combat since at least 2008. In
addition to the collective letter sent in 2017, we also sent a similar one in
2015, and PJW raised this question in a letter to candidates in July 2016.*-3

Many of the groups contacting you were also involved in the 2009 effort to Keep
Oregon's Guard in Oregon, hoping to prevent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan
under the then- and still-outdated Authorizations for Use of Military Force from
2001-2002. That campaign included the submission of over 7000 signatures from
all over the state urging the legislature to pass a resolution about keeping the
Guard home.

Oregonians still need to rely on Oregon's National Guard to fight wildfires,
conduct search and rescue missions, and handle unexpected events like the mass
influx of tourists to the 2017 eclipse. It is likely that natural disasters will
continue to multiply as climate change keeps threatening our planet.

Because the 2001 AUMF was specific to those responsible for what happened on
9/11, and the 2002 AUMF was about ousting the now-long-dead Saddam Hussein from
power, there is no authority for the US to maintain troops in any of the seven
countries listed above.

Once again, we hope to meet with your or your staff about this issue, and would
be encouraged to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Thank you,

Dan Handelman for
Peace and Justice Works (Portland, OR)

Leah Bolger for
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom-Corvallis

Dan Shea for
Veterans For Peace Chapter 72 (Portland)

Bart Bolger for
Veterans For Peace, Linus Pauling Chapter 132 (Corvallis)

Daniel Davis, President, for
Veterans for Peace, Rogue Valley Chapter 156

Albany Peace Seekers

Michael Carrigan for
   Community Alliance of Lane County

John Grueschow for
War Resisters League Portland Chapter

Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights

Metanoia Peace Community/18th Ave Peace House of Portland

Nathalie Paravicini, Co chair of state coordinating committee for
Pacific Green Party

Portland Peaceful Response Coalition

Recruiter Watch PDX

Malcolm Chaddock for
Individuals for Justice

Footnotes:

*1-US Navy "ready" for Venezuela mission, says a top commander, AFP 8/20/19
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2019/08/20/US-navy-ready-for-Venezuela-mission-says-a-top-commander.html

*2-Trump says US will maintain 8,600 troops in Afghanistan after major
withdrawal, USA Today 8/29/19
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/29/donald-trump-troop-presence-afghanistan-would-fall-8-600/2151508001/

*3- Ultimately five of the eight candidates/parties expressed philosophical or
outright support to keep Oregon's Guard stateside; the only candidates/parties
who did not reply were from the Republican, Democratic and Working Families
parties; respondents were from the Libertarian Party, Constitution Party.
http://www.pjw.info/guardletter2016.html