Statement by Veterans for Peace, January 10, 2023
Calls for an Immediate, Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza
Veterans For Peace unequivocally condemns the US/UK bombing in Yemen, which constitutes a dangerous widening of the war. Instead of pressing for a Ceasefire in Gaza, the Biden Administration is using its military forces to facilitate Israel’s genocide.
The Houthis have clearly stated that they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and that their Red Sea campaign will end when a Ceasefire is achieved in Gaza.
The US is an active participant in Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people — it is providing bombs, targeting assistance, and political cover, while it threatens nations who might come to the defense of the Palestinians. The US is now bombing multiple cities in Yemen and undoubtedly killing many Yemeni civilians in the process.
As detailed on Democracy Now, four consecutive US presidents have now bombed Yemen, including providing bombs and refueling Saudi Arabian planes that were attacking Yemen from 2014 until recently. Indiscriminate bombing and an illegal naval blockade have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Yemenis, primarily children. Just not on our TV and mobile phone screens.
US troops in Iraq and Syria and on ships in the Red Sea are sitting ducks — targets for the outraged resistance of those who are fed up with US and Israeli aggression. How many US troops have been wounded or even killed in the last three months? There is reason to believe that this information is being withheld by a Biden Administration that doesn’t want us to know the true costs of the dangerous game it is playing.
We call for the withdrawal of all US forces from the Middle East, particularly in light of Iraq’s demand that U.S. forces must finally depart from their country, and considering the ongoing illegal US military presence in Syria.
As veterans of too many US wars and interventions, we call on our brother and sister GI’s to find ways to disengage from illegal US wars and war crimes. We will support you in any ways that we can.
Veterans For Peace demands:
STOP US/UK BOMBING OF YEMEN!
BRING ALL OUR TROOPS HOME!
PERMANENT CEASEFIRE IN GAZA!
NO MORE US WEAPONS TO ISRAEL!
*Featured Image: A Yemeni inspects the rubble of a destroyed building following an air strike on a funeral ceremony in the capital of Sanaa on October 8, 2016. Photo: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images