Events & Concerns

• Statement of the Atlanta Friends Meeting on the Illegal Use of U.S. Weapons by Israel - Adopted in Meeting for Business (7/16/06)
• First Lieut. Ehren Watada - Refused to deploy to Iraq with his unit because he believes the war there is illegal:
• ThankYouLt.org - Friends and Family of LT
• "I would sit in prison or die for that belief" - William Cole in The Honolulu Advertiser (7/8/06)
• Watada, the War and the Law - Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith in The Nation (7/10/06)
• Officer Faces Court-Martial for Refusing to Deploy to Iraq - John Kifner & Timothy Egan in The New York Times (7/23/06)
• QUIT: Quaker Initiative to End Torture - Our intentions are simple, torture must be stopped... especially when it's done with U.S. tax dollars in our name. We feel that educating ourselves is the first work and then choosing actions to oppose torture- both are spiritual responsibilities.
• Meet Sgt. Abe, the Honest Recruiter - Brochure from Quaker House, Fayetteville, NC
  "Sgt. Abe guides you through the enlistment agreement of the U.S. Armed Forces – pointing out many snares along the way, which most recruiters don't talk about." [Sources for more information]
• Leave My Child Alone! - Opposing the fact that Leave No Child Behind Act requires high schools to turn over student information to military recruiters
• Iraq Coalition Casualty Count - Breakdown of US, British and Iraqi deaths, from public sources
• AFSC on Iraq - American Friends Service Committee website on Iraq Concerns
  • AFSC Statement Urging Immediate Withdrawal
  • Questions and Answers about AFSC’s Position
• AFSC on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict - American Friends Service Committee
• FCNL on Iraq - Friends Committee on National Legislation
• Middle East Concerns - SEYM page on the Middle East and Islamic neighbors

Conscientious Objection/Refusal to Serve

• See the "Thought for Fourth Month" for Howard Brinton's reflection on whether or not to fight
• A Guide for Friends on Conscientious Objection to War - By Ben Richmond of Friends United Meeting
• Army Sergeant Refuses Return to Iraq - Army Sgt. Kevin Benderman's story of refusing to return to duty in Iraq, All Things Considered coverage
• Regaining My Humanity - Camilo Mejia writes about imprisonment for refusing to return to Iraq (2/17/05)
• NEW “Sir! No Sir!” - 2005 documentary: the suppressed story of the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam

Organizations

• Center on Conscience & War (CCW) - Former National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors (NISBCO)
• Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice - Non-profit organization of local groups promoting global peace by addressing environmental and social justice issues
• The GI Rights Hotline - A coalition of nonprofit, non-governmental organizations who provide information to members of the military about discharges, grievance and complaint procedures, and other civil rights
• Iraq Veterans Against the War - Vets from Operation Enduring Freedom & Operation Iraqi Freedom, committed to saving lives and ending the violence by immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces
• Progressive Secretary - Cooperative way to send emails on peace, ecology, civil rights and other issues to Congress, the President and other officials
• Training for Change - Founded on King's birthday in 1992, spreads the skills of democratic, nonviolent social change in hundreds of workshops for nonviolent activists around the world
• Quaker House - Working for Peace & GI Rights since 1969
• Wage Peace, Inc. - Jacksonville group for opposition to aggression or violence as government policy and public education on the global impact of US policies
• Women Against Military Madness - Nonviolent feminist organization that works in solidarity with others to create a system of social equality, self-determination and justice through education and empowerment of women.