Veterans for Peace

Our friend Ed Flaherty wrote the following letter which has been published in The Gazette, Dubuque Telegraph, and Storm Lake Times. It was signed by 27 members of Veterans For Peace #161 and is posted here with permission.

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Veterans For Peace is an organization of former soldiers and allies who know too well the costs of war – the obvious, visible wounds; the unseen wounds that curse us and our families for generations, and the cost to society of maintaining a military larger than the next seven nations combined. Bitter experience taught us that war is insanity and suffering. We call for an immediate cease-fire, release of prisoners and hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian aid for Gaza.

We oppose all targeting of civilians. We deplore Israel’s crushing response to the unjustifiable Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. We also recognize this breach of peace did not start on October 7. It has gone on for decades. Over $150 billion of our tax dollars have provided Israel unlimited weaponry, and diplomatic cover has allowed it to expand its occupation such that 17 years ago former President Jimmy Carter clearly labeled it apartheid.

Our government fans the flames beneath the pressure cooker of occupation and our taxes make us complicit. We should not be shocked at a violent response after Palestinian homes are destroyed to make way for Israeli “settlers” and Gaza is locked down, year after year, by a draconian air, sea and land blockade. This cycle of violence, coupled with the reality that war is an uncontrollable force with its own agency and purposes, results in the terrors we witness.

Neither side has a military path to victory. We support a ceasefire, release of prisoners and hostages from all sides, and unimpeded humanitarian aid to Gaza. Only a political process will dismantle the apartheid system, answer the grievances of the Palestinian people, create a democratic system that provides rights for all the people of Israel and Palestine, and finally bring lasting security and peace. Without that political process, the cycle of violence will magnify, dooming more generations of Israelis and Palestinians.

Put aside, for a moment, the hideous inhumanities dealt to Jews and Palestinians over the past days, weeks, years, and decades. Focus on the suffering of today, with over 30,000 Gazans killed, with 85% of the population displaced, with starvation and disease rampant. We must, as Pope Francis said on Dec. 25, deplore “the appalling harvest of innocent civilians.” Allow your human sensibilities to be outraged as US planes, bombs and shells, gifts from the US taxpayer to Israel, are being used to massacre civilians. Then proceed to do everything you can to end hate and wage peace here at home. A place to start is to go to whitehouse.gov, scroll to the bottom where it says “contact,” and send your message to President Biden.

Ed Flaherty, Iowa City

John Jadryev, Iowa City

David Hempel, Iowa City

Robert Mueller, Mt. Pleasant

Art Roche, Dubuque

Ross Porch, Iowa City

Mike Finley, Iowa City

John Ivens, Chrystal River, FL

Mary Martin, Boyce, VA

Louis DeGrazia, Iowa City

Kathy McGowan, Iowa City

David Quegg, Iowa City

Pamela Fitzgerald, Iowa City

Gordon Goldsmith, Iowa City

Jerry Bloomer, Burlington

Frank Potter, Dubuque

Patrick Cummings, Davenport

Dennis Bricker, Iowa City

Harold Frakes, Brighton

Robert Fischer, Decorah

David Martin, Iowa City

Jim Laughlin, West Branch

Sam Bakken, Iowa City

Pat Bowen, Iowa City

John Fyotek, Iowa City

Joe Michaud, Iowa City

Matt Erickson, Davenport