Radical Peace Refusing War

"Captures such complexities and depths of human existence, even apart from the immediate message."  —Noam Chomsky, author, 9-11, Failed States, and Hegemony or Survival This symphony of voices—a loosely united network of war resisters, deserters, and peace activists in Afghanistan, Europe, Iraq, and North America—vividly recounts the actions they have personally taken to end war and create a peaceful society. Frustrated, angered, and even saddened by the juggernaut of aggression that creates more counter-violence at every turn, this assortment of contributors has moved beyond demonstrations and petitions into direct, often radical actions in defiance of the government’s laws to impede its capacity to wage war. Among the stories cited are those of a European peace group that assisted a soldier in escaping from military detention and then deserting; a U.S.-educated Iraqi who now works in Iran developing cheaper and smaller heat-seeking missiles to shoot down U.S. aircraft after U.S. soldiers brutalized his family; a granny for peace who found young allies in her struggle against military recruiting; a seminary student who, having been roughed up by U.S. military at a peace demonstration, became a military chaplain and subverts from within; and a man who expresses his resistance through the destruction of government property—most often by burning military vehicles. William T. Hathaway is a political journalist and a former Special Forces soldier turned peace activist whose articles have appeared in more than 40 publications, including Humanist, the Los Angeles Times, Midstream Magazine, and Synthesis/Regeneration. He is an adjunct professor of American studies at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, and the author of A World of Hurt, CD-Ring, and Summer Snow.   From Amazon: Judyth Baker 5.0 out of 5 stars Peace Is Possible in a World Consumed by the Military-Industrial Complex Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2010 William Hathaway tells of his horrific experiences in the Vietnam War, and how he had to overcome some of his own nightmares as a Special Forces soldier there. He also presents first-person accounts of the horrors of war that our country, once beloved by millions across the world, has inflicted upon Iraqi's and others who have had the misfortune to oppose or sand in the way of US monetary and political goals. When I read how soldiers kicked in the door of a literature professor's home, brutalizing the entire family and hauling off the professor and his son due to making a name mistake, with resultant torture that turned the son --educated in the US, and pro-American--into a terrorist, I wept. I have personally met many refugees from Iraq in the political asylum system in the EU, who had similar fates. I have seen kids in wheelchairs and without legs because of US bombs that "liberated" their country. Much dirty work is done by hiring out mercenaries, so that "American boys" aren't being numbered among the killed. Money is the root of all wars in the 21st century, creating, in its wake, intense hatred for America and for "democracy" --something our quasi-fascist nation hasn't really enjoyed for decades. Neither Democrats nor Republicans can fix the broken system, for only two parties (basically) makes it ever-so-easy to control who makes it to the top. As one commentator said, "They've all been to the woodshed, and that includes Obama." Meanwhile, many formerly peace-loving Muslims have become radicalized, polarized, and energized with hatred. What to do? Has anything really changed since the last Presidential election? Since John F. Kennedy was eliminated by a shadow government and its unelected heirs, the only 'change' we've seen is the dying of the American Dream and American culture. We totter on the verge of becoming a third-world nation. Violence, drugs, illegal immigration, corruption a every level, and the highest rate of imprisonment in any 'advanced' country on earth now characterize our America. Land of the free? Be brave, and make it so! We need to clean our own house before taking on the world. Hathaway presents some truly radical ideas to create more peace in the world. He delves into the mystical, one might say, yet balances it with practical, even stunning, ideas. radical ones. For example, select a house slated for foreclosure, and rally around the family in trouble. We have a government willing to pay banks big bucks to keep them solvent, while the banks continue to throw people out of their homes. A revolution without action is a revolution doomed to failure, but it doesn't have to be violent. Both Gandhi and martin Luther King taught us that lesson. Don't be afraid to consider new ways of thinking--and some that are very old--that might make a difference. Transcendental meditation has been 'dirtied up' by the media: have you ever gone past the hype and looked into it? I'm tempted, after reading this book. So--read the book. Use its ideas to help our country emerge from its present crisis, and help re-establish our moral compass. Dr. Ludwig Watzal 5.0 out of 5 stars Peace Aktivists against War Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2012 William T. Hathaway is a former Special Forces soldier who turned peace activist and became a political journalist and a university teacher in Germany. "I was in the Special Forces in Panama and Vietnam. I'd joined the Green Berets to write a book about war. During our search-and-destroy operations, I kept telling myself, `I'm just here gathering material for a novel.' But our deeds have consequences that affect us and others regardless of why we do them. I'm still dealing with the repercussions from my involvement, and my work in the military resistance movement is a way of atoning for it." (10) The book presents stories and interviews by 15 peace activists who try desperately to do something against the wars the United States government is waging in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of them is trying to throw sand in the wheels of aggressive undertakings by the different US governments. Most of the people involved in this peace project are considered "criminals" because they "violate that travesty of American freedom, the Patriot Act". (3) To protect the participants in this book project their names were anonymized. The stories told are shocking. "Larissa", a woman-soldier got physically abused by a male comrade. There were no consequences because she could not provide "evidence". An Iraqi woman by the name of "Merna al-Marjan" tells her family's story who was mistreated by soldiers who broke into there house in the middle of the night, ravaged the flat, took her brother and father with them and tortured the brother who finally joined the resistance and became a "terrorist". The West shouldn't be surprised that he faces severe resistance in Afghanistan and Iraq. The book ends with a dialog between the author and his Jewish friends who, after 40 years of marriage, wanted to get a divorce, because they were at odds with the policy of the Bush administration and the policy of the State of Israel! Thanks to Hathaway's sensitive counseling techniques they are still together. The forms of resistance presented in the book are all based on violating the law. Such a strategy can't succeed and turns all participants into criminals. No democrat can justify such actions. With such a strategy, this movement would go nowhere. Despite all that, the book is an unusual read. Dr. Ludwig Watzal works as a journalist and editor in Bonn, Germany. Political Science 240 pages, Trade Paper, 5.5 x 8.5 10 B/W Photos Distribution Rights: WOR $14.95 (CAN $16.95) 9780979988691 (0979988691)