[Lnc-business] Email Ballot 2017-18: Unity Statement

[Joshua Katz]

I vote no.  I agree with (I do not think a sentence like this will be
written very often) the points raised by Ms. Mattson, Mr. Hayes, and Ms.
Harlos (and, by reference, Mr. Moulton).  To me, the most decisive points
are "economic expansion," espionage, and the assumption of re-purposing of
expenses, which I agree is not a mindset onto which we should sign.

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Joshua A. Katz


On Mon, Aug 28, 2017 at 2:06 AM, Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com> wrote:

> We have an electronic mail ballot.
>
>
> *Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by September 7, 2017 at 11:59:59pm
> Pacific time.*
> *Co-Sponsors:*  Vohra, Bittner, Harlos, Demarest
>
> *Motion:*  The Chair is authorized by the LNC to sign the following
> petition on behalf of the LNC:  http://noforeignbases.org/
>
> --------------------Resolution Text--------------------
>
> Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases
>
> Unity Statement
>
> We, the undersigned peace, justice and environmental organizations, and
> individuals, endorse the following Points of Unity and commit ourselves to
> working together by forming a Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military
> Bases, with the goal of raising public awareness and organizing non-violent
> mass resistance against U.S. foreign military bases.
>
> While we may have our differences on other issues, we all agree that U.S.
> foreign military bases are the principal instruments of imperial global
> domination and environmental damage through wars of aggression and
> occupation, and that the closure of U.S. foreign military bases is one of
> the first necessary steps toward a just, peaceful and sustainable world.
> Our belief in the urgency of this necessary step is based on the following
> facts:
>
> 1.  While we are opposed to all foreign military bases, we do recognize
> that the United States maintains the highest number of military bases
> outside its territory, estimated at almost 1000 (95% of all foreign
> military bases in the world). Presently, there are U.S. military bases in
> every Persian Gulf country except Iran.
>
> 2.  In addition, the United States has 19 Naval air carriers (and 15 more
> planned), each as part of a Carrier Strike Group, composed of roughly 7,500
> personnel, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft — each of which can
> be considered a floating military base.
>
> 3.  These bases are centers of aggressive military actions, threats of
> political and economic expansion, sabotage and espionage, and crimes
> against local populations. In addition, these military bases are the
> largest users of fossil fuel in the world, heavily contributing to
> environmental degradation.
>
> 4.  The annual cost of these bases to the American taxpayers is
> approximately $156 billion. The support of U.S. foreign military bases
> drains funds that can be used to fund human needs and enable our cities and
> States to provide necessary services for the people.
>
> 5.  This has made the U.S. a more militarized society and has led to
> increased tensions between the U.S. and the rest of the world. Stationed
> throughout the world, almost 1000 in number, U.S. foreign military bases
> are symbols of the ability of the United States to intrude in the lives of
> sovereign nations and peoples.
>
> 6.  Many individual national coalitions — for example, Okinawa, Italy,
> Jeju Island Korea, Diego Garcia, Cyprus, Greece, and Germany — are
> demanding closure of bases on their territory. The base that the U.S. has
> illegally occupied the longest, for over a century, is Guantánamo Bay,
> whose existence constitutes an imposition of the empire and a violation of
> International Law. Since 1959 the government and people of Cuba have
> demanded that the government of the U.S. return the Guantánamo territory to
> Cuba.
>
> U.S. foreign military bases are NOT in defense of U.S. national, or global
> security. They are the military expression of U.S. intrusion in the lives
> of sovereign countries on behalf of the dominant financial, political, and
> military interests of the ruling elite. Whether invited in or not by
> domestic interests that have agreed to be junior partners, no country, no
> peoples, no government, can claim to be able to make decisions totally in
> the interest of their people, with foreign troops on their soil
> representing interests antagonistic to the national purpose.
>
> We must all unite to actively oppose the existence of U.S. foreign
> military bases and call for their immediate closure. We invite all forces
> of peace, social and environmental justice to join us in our renewed effort
> to achieve this shared goal.
>
> ---------------End of Resolution Text---------------
>
> -Alicia
>
>
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>
>
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