Veterans For Peace Daniel Ellsberg Chapter 92, Seattle

Last Updated: June 23, 2025 by TPete Schoonmaker

Veterans For Peace Condemns U.S. Attack on Iran – Calls for Nationwide Protests

Veterans For Peace Condemns U.S. Attack on Iran – Calls for Nationwide Protests
June 22, 2025

Veterans For Peace condemns the unilateral, immoral, and criminal U.S. bombing on the sovereign nation of Iran. June 21, 2025 will be remembered as the day the U.S. once again chose war over diplomacy, unleashing consequences we may come to regret. The United States deliberately carried out an unprovoked attack on the sovereign nation of Iran in total violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the U.S. Constitution. This is not only a provocation—this is a moral failure.

The pretext of Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons is a familiar lie. Just like Iraq in 2003, we are being dragged into war based on deliberate deception. The aggressors in this reckless escalation are the United States and Israel. They have lit the fuse for a wider regional war, putting U.S. service members and countless civilians in immediate danger. As veterans who know the tragic cost and futility of war, we urge all people of conscience to reject this madness.

VETERANS FOR PEACE DEMANDS THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT:
Refrain from any further aggression against Iran
End U.S. Support for Genocide in Gaza
Stops Sending Weapons to Israel
Withdraw U.S. Troops and ICE from our Communities
TAKE TO THE STREETS! – We Call on Our Members, Friends and Allies to:
Join local and national protests against the US/Israeli war on Iran and genocide in Gaza
Flood Congress and the White House with calls to End the U.S. war on Iran
Tell your Senators and Representatives to support the War Powers Resolutions introduced in the Senate and the House, and call the White House to express your outrage (202-456-1111).
WE ADVISE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE MILITARY to:
Question unlawful and immoral orders
Seek legal advice from the GI Rights Hotline, 1-877-447-4487
Explore support resources through Veterans For Peace
Know that you are welcome to join Veterans For Peace
Peace at Home and Peace Abroad!
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2025/06/22/veterans-peace-condemns-us-attack-iran-calls-nationwide-prot

Last Updated: May 22, 2025 by TPete Schoonmaker

Tuesdays at the VA Hospital– SOVA!

Last Updated: March 18, 2025 by Marty Kunz

Rebuilding the Anti-Nuclear Weapons Movement Together Conference

SAVE THE DATES – April 11th & 12th 2025
Please register now at tinyurl.com/NoNukePNW, save the date, and
share with your group, friends, family, neighbors, etc.

Click for more conference info & tool kit

Last Updated: June 23, 2025 by TPete Schoonmaker

Veterans Condemn Israel’s U.S.-Backed Attack on Iran and the Deployment of the Military in U.S. Cities

Veterans Condemn Israel’s U.S.-Backed Attack on Iran and the Deployment of the Military in U.S. Cities
June 13, 2025

Veterans For Peace condemns Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran and its targeted assassinations of Iranian leaders. This could not have happened without the agreement and support of the U.S. government.

We call on the Trump administration to:
Hold back from any further participation in Israel’s war of aggression against Iran;
Demand that Israel cease its attack on Iran; and
Withhold military assistance and other aid from Israel as long as it is waging war on Iran and continuing its genocide against the Palestinian people.

Veterans For Peace is a 40-year-old organization with chapters in over 100 U.S. cities. Our mission statement calls on us to “expose the true costs of war,” and to “restrain our government from intervening, overtly or covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations.”

We are also protesting the alarming show of militarism in the U.S.:
1) President Trump’s $100 million military parade in Washington, DC,
2) The deployment of National Guard and Marines to suppress peaceful protests in defense of immigrant communities terrorized by inhumane ICE raids.

Veterans For Peace is calling for Peace at Home and Peace Abroad. We invite veterans, service members, military families and supporters to join us.
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2025/06/13/veterans-condemn-israels-us-backed-attack-iran-and-deploymen

Last Updated: June 22, 2025 by TPete Schoonmaker

Rally at the VA 5/24/25! Save Our VA!

Assemble 4800 Beacon Ave S to get signs, then proceed to the two entrances. City sidewalks only!

info@afge3197.org

Last Updated: May 22, 2025 by TPete Schoonmaker

Save Our VA Talking Points

Fully staff the VA
• IG staffing reports have consistently shown severe shortages at all but a few Veterans Health
Administration (VHA) facilities since beginning in FY 2014. The VA Inspector General FY 24 report once
again reports severe staffing shortages (VA OIG 24-00803-222).
• Current plans are to cut 80,000 jobs with the status of 2,400 probationary staff still unclear.
o Many probationary staff are skilled staff on probation due to promotions in the last year.
o The 62,000 hires in 2024 were in response to the PACT Act and an increase of 6.5 million veterans
potentially eligible for VA care.
• Administrative and support staff are essential to care making appointments, cleaning patient and clinic
areas, feeding patients, etc… and patient care cannot continue without them.
Stop using VA care funds for private-sector care.
• Costs for VCCP have risen from $8 to $31 billion between 2014 and 2024, now consuming a third of the VA
medical services budget, with private-sector care funds increasing by 17% but VA funds by only 5% in 2024.
• When VCCP spending is over budget, VA care funds are used. There needs to be a separate budget bill for
VCCP care.
• There are no controls on cost and quality in the community-care program, unlike the VA which has internal
reviews and is systematically reviewed by the VA Inspector General.
• The Red Team Report lists ways to decrease VBA spending including eliminating unnecessary tests and
treatment and patients returning to VA care after ER visits among other measures.
Support VA research.
• Life-saving VA innovations include the development of technology to create artificial limbs that mimic
natural arms and legs, the nicotine patch, the cardiac pacemaker, the first successful liver transplant, the
CAT (or CT) scan, new drugs and treatments for diseases such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and
osteoporosis and more.
• The hiring freezes, contract cancellations, and federal employee firings are affecting research including
ending clinical trials. Even researchers on Without Compensation Appointments have been terminated.
Ninety-two percent of veterans receiving their care at the VA trust their care. Veterans want problems solved, not
for VA care to be lessened or ended.
HR 740/S 275, the Veterans”.Assuring.Critical.Care.Expansions.to.Support.Servicemembers.(ACCESS).Act.of.868❶
Vote no on this bill if provisions allowing veterans to choose private-sector care as their preference, a pilot program
allowing outpatient mental health care without a VA referral and allowing the private-sector to count telehealth
visits as meeting standards but the VA cannot are omitted from the bill.
VA facilities must be fully funded and staffed to really be offering veterans a choice.
For more information contact SOVA at sovamail@yahoo.com.
Detailed information on these topics can be found on the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute’s website:

Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute (VHPI).

Last Updated: March 22, 2025 by TPete Schoonmaker

Save Our VA Presentation!

Save Our VA Presentation here!

Listen to leaders from the Save Our Veterans Administration National Project talk about what is happening to the VA under Trump and Musk. They talk about the cuts to health care staff and programs, and the escalation of efforts to privatize Veterans Health Administration. This is from the March 2025 regular membership meeting held on March 8th.

Last Updated: March 18, 2025 by Marty Kunz

Documentary: What I Want You To Know

To mark the anniversary of the disastrous invasion of Iraq, Veterans For Peace presents a virtual screening of What I Want You To Know, an award-winning documentary produced by two veterans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The screening will be on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 4pm ET. Register for the free screening at bit.ly/whatiwantmovie

Military Families Speak Out and Servicemembers for Ceasefire are co-sponsors.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring:

Matt Hoh
Veteran, Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
Member, VFP Advisory Board

Travis Weiner
Veteran, Iraq War
Executive Producer, What I Want You To Know
Member, VFP

Catie Foertsch
Director, What I Want You To Know

And Special Guest Tom Morello
Guitarist, Singer/Songwriter
Member, VFP Advisory Board

Register for the free screening at bit.ly/whatiwantmovie

Please help VFP promote this important film, especially among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Some easy ways to help:

Print 10 copies to post wherever Iraq and Afghanistan veterans might see it: churches, bars, laundromats, VFW and Legion posts, union halls, grocery stores, community colleges, universities
Talk with people where you post it
Invite them to a screening party on March 15 with your friends and fellow activists
Don’t just forward it on email…talk with people and urge them to watch it
Go to VFP’s instagram and facebook channels and forward it to friends and activists https://www.instagram.com/veteransforpeace/ https://www.facebook.com/veteransforpeace

Many thanks!

Last Updated: January 16, 2025 by TPete Schoonmaker

MLK March: 2025 March and Rally Information

What: 2025 March and Rally
Where: Garfield High School 400 23rd Ave, Seattle 98122
Time:
11:00 am for Indoor Rally
12:30 pm March Starts
VFP will meet along 23rd Ave across from Jefferson st no later than 12:15– Look for our flags and banner!
https://www.seattlemlkcoalition.org/route

Last Updated: June 24, 2024 by TPete Schoonmaker

Cancel RIMPAC!

Veterans For Peace, Daniel Ellsberg Chapter92, Seattle endorses the Cancel RIMPAC campaign for the following reasons:

1– We agree that: ” …The US uses RIMPAC to strengthen the abilities of 26 of its allies’ militaries to wage wars of aggression around the world, as threats of war between major military powers continue to rise. Through weapons testing and war-making, defense contractors and fossil fuel corporations reap hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. Meanwhile, our tax dollars are spent on war and occupation not on the basic housing, food, employment and healthcare needs of our communities. The US military occupation of Hawai’i is a violation of native Hawaiian sovereignty. RIMPAC leads to environmental destruction, violence against women, and a gross neglect of the day to day needs of people all over the world by advancing US-led wars.”

— from “What is RIMPAC” on the campaign website (https://www.resistusledwarmovement.com/cancel-rimpac.html)

Our mission as Veterans For Peace is to:

1— Increase public awareness of the causes and costs of war

2– Restrain our governments from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations

3– Resist racism and repression in our home communities

4– Oppose the militarization of law enforcement

5– End the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons

6– Seek justice for veterans and victims of war

7– Abolish war as an instrument of national policy.

RIMPAC is on the wrong side of all of these.

The exercises themselves are addressed in # 1, 2, 5 and 7. The effects on the environment and people of weapons testing, pollution, military tourism and violation of local self-determination are addressed in # 3, 4 and 6.