February 22, 2023
VFP Advisory Board member, Ray McGovern, was a CIA analyst under seven presidents, serving three of them with the early morning The President's Daily Brief. Ray suggests using Monday, February 27th as a day for VFP members to meet in or outside of Congressional members' offices around the US. We have 100 Senators each with multiple district offices and 435 members of the House of Representatives each with more than one home district office. Nationally, VFP members can make the day a call to bring sanity to resolve the war in Ukraine through diplomacy. As an organization, VFP condemns Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine (read the VFP Ukraine statement), and we seek an end to global militarism and the political ambitions and war profiting that benefit from military violence.
The mindset that pouring more gasoline on the fire is somehow going to resolve the war is not working. Ray, a Russian expert, suggests the 90th anniversary of the burning of the German parliament (Reichstag) on February 27th would be appropriate. The Nazis, then a minority, cynically exploited the burning of the Reichstag. The politicians of other parties simply caved. The German people, the German churches, fell silent. We know the results of that story; to mention just two: 6 million Jews exterminated; 26 million Soviets killed during WWII. Let us not, because of our inaction, allow a repeat of this history, or something even worse -- like nuclear war.
Each VFP Chapter can have a voice and can decide what signs and/or flyers and messages are needed for their Senator or Congressperson. 'Diplomacy, Not War' is the message.
For more info, please contact Jack Gilroy via email at jgilroy1955@gmail.com, or via phone (607) 239-9605.
Please share actions and photos with press@veteransforpeace.org.