Plowshares
Newsletters have become less frequent as we rely more on e-mail communications. Over the past 10 months hundreds of you have been receiving updates on a variety of issues . Biggest among them has been the unfolding story of Sacred Earth and Space Plowshares II. The October 6, 2002 Plowshares action of Dominican Sisters Ardeth Platte, Jackie Hudson , and Carol Gilbert carried forward the central theme of our work of the past 16 years. In word and deed they put the issue of U.S. Space and Earth Domination in the public eye. The story was literally on the front page of countless newspapers , around the country and overseas. The issue was put in front of dozens of groups of peace activists and other interested parties by the Sisters themselves and by a host of others who have taken part in the campaign. Over the years there has been a tendency to paint the Space Domination issue as too complex or remote to grab the attention or stir the passions of the average person. Not any more. Through the various stages of this campaign the central issues have been made perfectly clear:
1. The U.S. government has a doctrine and policy of Space Domination, seeing it as vital to the maintenance of economic , political and military domination of the world’s 6 billion citizens.
2. Nuclear weapons such as the Minuteman III ICBMs under the command of the Air Force Space Command remain the supreme instrument of force in the U.S. arsenal. Thousands of 300 kiloton bombs (20 times the size of the Hiroshima bomb!) remain on alert, ready to bring on a man made Armageddon.
3. U.S. military policy regarding nuclear weapons and the military use of outer space mark the U.S. as an international outlaw nation. The substantial body of international and domestic law regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction makes this crystal clear. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and the various UN efforts to keep space for peaceful purposes and maintain it as a common heritage make a similar case in that area. The United States is the Rogue nation of outer space, blocking every attempt to strengthen and enforce these laws.
4. The Sisters acted first and foremost from a sense of moral outrage. That is what made them take the risks that got them the harsh sentences of years in federal prison and years more of supervised probation. Their moral position in no way negates the fact their actions are also backed by the law. That example is there for all of us to ponder and follow. What more can we do now that we know the name of this game? What else has been happening?
Bill Sulzman represented the Global Network in Australia the first week of October (2002) and came away very impressed by the Australian peace movement. The central event was a three day protest at the U.S. secret base at Pine Gap. This satellite download facility ties Australia into the U.S. war fighting and space domination machine. Bill has also done outreach work in Montana, North Dakota and Baltimore and has a trip to St. Louis planned in early October.
CPIS was heavily involved in several demonstrations aimed at stopping the rush to war against Iraq, including the statewide February event hosted in Colorado Springs.
Loring Wirbel has submitted articles outlining space/military issues to several publications including Electronic Engineering Times and the Covert Action Quarterly. He represented CPIS on a critical panel at The War Resisters League Conference held in Colorado Springs July 20 - 22. All of us were kept busy during the conference and the national committee meeting which followed. Mary Lynn Sheetz introduced a new Weapons of Mass Destruction T-shirt which has become a best seller. Contact us if you are interested.
On July 25 Sisters Ardeth, Carol and Jackie were sentenced by U.S. District Court judge Robert Blackburn, receiving respectively 41 months, 33 months, and 30 months. The turnout in front of the courthouse numbered at least 350. They had been convicted of two felonies in early April at a trial which transpired in the midst of pro war hysteria.
On July 26 more than 500 turned out to protest at each of the 49 nuclear missile silos in Colorado and at several more in neighboring Nebraska. The closing rally at the town hall in tiny Stoneham brought forth pledges of ongoing resistance to the weapons of mass destruction in our state.
After spending nearly 6 weeks in local Colorado jails Sisters Ardeth , Jackie and Carol were moved September 3 to Oklahoma City the last stop before their transfer to various federal prisons. They have filed notice of appeal but have not yet made a decision about appealing their convictions.
On July 29, after more than a year of delay, Mary Lynn Sheetz, Mary and Peter Sprunger-Froese and Bill Sulzman were acquitted at their trial for protesting Donald Rumsfeld’s speech at the 2002 graduation at the Air Force Academy. The Air Force had attempted to limit access to the public area outside Academy grounds but was rebuffed by the courts. Local attorney Greg Walta is to be thanked for this important precedent setting victory.
The challenge now is to build off the efforts of the past year.
Immediately in front of us is Keep Space for Peace week (OCT 4 - 11), a coordinated effort of the Global Network to have simultaneous actions around the globe to oppose U.S. Space Domination. And that time frame includes October 6, the one year anniversary date of the Sacred Earth and Space Plowshares II action at N-8. Time is short as we prepare to work with others on these challenges.
It has been a long time since we asked for contributions to support our work. We hope you can be generous at this time. A recent computer crash has led to unexpected expenses. We know this mailing goes to hundreds already doing their part for peace and justice. We applaud your efforts as we ask for support of our own. The computer crash resulted in the loss of some e-mail addresses. If you get this by regular mail but would rather receive it by e-mail please send us a note and we’ll get you back on that list.