Northwest Regional Conference Inspires Delegates
By Tom Brookhart, Chapter 92
Each March VFP members in the Northwest convene to network,
inspire each other, generate ideas and make plans for the coming year. We gather in a regional conference, with a
different city hosting the event each year.
This year Seattle hosted the 5th Annual NW Regional VFP
Conference. The NW region encompasses
the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah and
is represented by 22 VFP Chapters.
The Seattle Conference featured home-cooked meals, free housing for out of town guests, four National VFP officials, two nationally renowned VFP keynote speakers, two very special guest speakers and 150 inspired delegates. To top it off, active duty Army Captain Paul Chappel, who has dedicated his life to finding a path to ending war, sent 170 copies of his new book Will War Ever End to the Conference to be sold as a fund raiser for the Conference and attending Chapters. The theme of this year's Conference was: Peace at the Crossroads: Where Do We Go From Here?
The Conference opened Friday evening with a dinner social followed by an Open Mic session where delegates voiced issues of concern, played folk music and sang, read poetry, etc. Muslim Army Chaplain Captain and VFP member James Yee (retired) of Guantanamo fame made a surprise guest appearance and, in a moving presentation, told his story.
Saturday morning started with a nourishing home-cooked breakfast, followed by a power-point slide presentation of NW VFP Chapters in action, produced by Conference Co-Director Gerri Haynes. This was followed by a unique presentation featuring VFP Executive Director Michael McPhearson and keynote speaker Ray McGovern. In the 80's and early 90's, Senior CIA Analyst McGovern gave daily intelligence briefings to Presidents Reagan and Bush, Sr. At the request of Conference organizers, McGovern agreed to demonstrate such a briefing. With Michael playing the role of the President, McGovern provided an intelligence analyst's insight into what is happening geo-politically in the world today. The briefing was informative and fun. McPhearson held his own with probing questions about McGovern's intelligence suggestions and observations. Afterward, delegates suggested McPhearson should run for U.S. President in 2012.
The core work of the Conference followed. There were two workshop sessions and three full-Conference forums. Each workshop session offered three options. Morning session A featured workshops on: 1. Countering the Ramp-up in Military Recruiting, 2. Effective Coalition Building and Lobbying and 3. Combating Sexual Abuse and Rape in the Military. Afternoon session B selections were: 1. Using Media/Arts to Promote VFP's Message and Image, 2. Understanding the Money Racket that Promotes War, and 3. Operation Sanctuary/Veterans Supporting GI Resisters.
A morning forum titled "Shifting the War from Iraq to Afghanistan: How Will VFP Respond?" commenced with Past VFP President Elliott Adams reading and commenting on the VFP Resolution on Afghanistan that was passed at the August Convention in Minneapolis. Adams emphasized the phrase: "A JUST war is just war." Next, IVAW Seattle Chapter President Chanan Suarezdiaz presented IVAW's Resolution in opposition to U.S. presence in Afghanistan and IVAW's "kick butt" plans to oppose the Obama Administration's military expansion in this area. Special guest speaker Tamim Ansary, native of Afghanistan, lecturer and author (West of Kabul, East of New York & Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes) related the history of Afghanistan and described why such a remote area has been repeatedly under conquest for thousands of years. Ansary touched on the diversity of the people of Afghanistan and the culture of the area. He stressed that cultural change, if left along, would make its own natural progress in Afghanistan as it does anywhere in the world. Ansary said forced change, as envisioned in Western elite circles today, will fail as it repeatedly has since the days of Alexander the Great.
The second forum, titled "Care of Returning Vets", was organized and moderated by VFP's Lt. Col. Jim James (retired). Guest speakers included the Director of the NW VA Deployment Health Clinic--Dr. Stephen Hunt, Julie Mock--National President of Veterans of Modern Warfare and VFP member Peggy Hotes who serves as a volunteer director of homeless camps in Seattle (under the umbrella of Seattle VFP Chapter 92.) Dr. Hunt asked delegates what they think is the most frequently thing seen today in the VA Deployment Center. The overwhelming answer: PTSD. Not so, said Dr. Hunt. The big factor today is muscular skeletal injuries. PTSD and brain injuries will show up later, said Dr. Hunt. Julie Mock focused on recent Congressional recognition of Gulf War Syndrome. Her group is reaching out nationally to veterans of Desert Storm to bring them in for diagnosis and treatment. Peggy Hotes talked about veterans in homeless camps and how we can help them.
The final forum of the day featured key National VFP officials Michael McPhearson, Board President Mike Ferner, Vice President Leah Bolger and Past President Elliott Adams. The title of the forum was: VFP Today and Tomorrow: Are we accomplishing our Mission and Purpose?
After delegates were hosted to a delicious dinner, the Conference doors were opened to the public for a musical performance by the Seattle Peace Chorus and keynote address by VFP's Dr. David Korten, visionary and author--The Great Turning, The Post-Corporate World, When Corporations Rule and World and his new book Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth. Korten minced no words in labeling our economic system a pyramid scheme. He declared Wall Street a complete failure that cannot be fixed. Wall Street makes money out of nothing and calls it wealth, said Korten. Instead of an economic system with its emphasis on creating "phantom wealth" designed to steal from Main Street and give to those with most of the money, Korten called for a new economic system based on producing "real wealth". Real wealth is measured in terms of how it contributes to quality of life for all people, said Korten.
Sunday morning started with yet another hearty, delicious breakfast, followed by a keynote address by VFP's Ray McGovern. Ray talked about the Bush/Cheney regime's deceit and compromise of the CIA to force the U.S. into the Iraq war. He stressed the need to hold these criminals accountable. At the conclusion of his informative and highly entertaining presentation, McGovern noted that people listen to him not because of his twenty-year history as a Senior CIA Analyst or his former close proximity to the power centers of government . Rather they listen to him most when they learn that he is a veteran, he said. Ray noted this to tell the Conference delegates that people listen to veterans because we have a unique and essential voice. We in VFP have a responsibility to use this voice to promote peace, admonished McGovern. Following McGovern, National VFP officials closed the Conference by sharing feedback on where we go from here.
In the post-Conference evaluations, 100% of the delegates stated that the Conference met or exceeded their expectations. Tribute goes to seven core planners in the Seattle Chapter who worked eight months as a team to meticulously plan the Conference. Five NW Chapters were involved in forum and workshop topic selections. During the Conference, thirty volunteers - many from other peace and justice groups - provided free housing, planned and served five delicious meals, set up and took down the venues and added their spirit to the success of the gathering. Ben and Jerry's once again (as at the 2006 VFP National Convention in Seattle) provided free ice cream for the delegates. Conference attendees, some who traveled many miles to attend the event, brought a special spirit to this year's gathering.
Special thanks goes to the VFP officials and speakers who participated and shared their leadership and ideas, and to the twenty workshop and forum presenters. Logistically, the registration fee--$30--was kept low to encourage attendance; many scholarships we given to IVAW and cash strapped VFP members. The Conference broke even financially, thanks in large part to lowered honorarium fees by the keynote and special guest speakers and to extra scholarship and financial donations by attending delegates and by NW Chapters.
Hopefully the Conference inspired delegates to return to their home Chapters and follow Ray McGovern's call to action.
In an interesting post-Conference note, Leah Bolger and Michael McPhearson read Captain Paul Chappel's book and subsequently wrote to Chappel. Captain Chappel is prematurely back from his second tour of Middle East duty and is being given a medical discharge. He has joined VFP and is eager to work with us to promote peace. He plans to settle in Sante Fe, which happens to be National Board Treasurer Ken Mayer's Chapter. Paul plans to donate some of the royalties from his forthcoming book on peace to VFP.
VIDEOS
Ray McGovern - Talk by Ray McGovern, 27-year Veteran of the CIA and co-founder of Veteran
Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) speaking at the Veterans for Peace
Northwest Regional Conference March 8, 2009 in Kirkland, WA.
David Korten: Agenda for a New Economy
Counter Recruiting - Workshop titled "Countering the Ramp Up in Military Recruiting" held
March 7, 2009 at the Veterans for Peace Northwest Regional Conference in
Kirkland, WA. Speakers include Mike Dedrick, Bill Maier, and Rebecca Michaelson.
Shifting the War from Iraq to Afghanistan - Forum titled "Shifting the War from Iraq to Afghanistan: How Will VFP Respond?" held March 7, 2009 at the Veterans for Peace Northwest Regional Conference in Kirkland, WA. Speakers include VFP National Board Member Elliott Adams, President of the Seattle Chapter of IVAW Chanan Suarezdiaz and Afghan-American author Tamim Ansary.
Mock Presidential Briefing with Ray McGovern - This week Indymedia presents a mock presidential briefing, which was conducted recently at the Vets For Peace Northwest Regional Conference. Ray McGovern plays himself (a CIA intelligence officer) while Michael McPhearson, national Executive Director of Veterans For Peace plays President Obama.
OPEN MIC SESSION: