The environmental footprint of war

The following is an abridged speech given by Judith Le Blanc, a Native American activist and organising coordinator for the US peace group United for Peace and Justice (UPJ). Le Blanc is touring Australia to campaign against the 2009 Talisman Sabre joint US-Australian military war games focusing on a Peace Convergence Weekend on July 10-12, at Rockhampton, central Queensland. She was speaking at a July 7 forum in Brisbane.

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The single largest consumer of fuel in the world is the US military. The only way forward for international peace is to end US demand for world domination. A first step would be to close the more than 700 US military bases around the globe, including 40 in Australia.

Powerful interests are opposed to changing US foreign policy. However, strong counter-forces have developed since the launching of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The peace movement played a significant role in the last US presidential election. But the challenge now is to change from an essentially defensive position over the past eight years, to the need to put forward what we really want.

The struggle against the Iraq war did not win a decisive victory, but did win majority opposition to the war. The window is cracked open, but there will not be the possibility for a new advance on foreign policy without a mass movement.

Confronted with the war in Afghanistan, the Obama administration has launched a policy of escalation. But the impact of the international economic crisis is a big obstacle to the war. We in the UPJ are optimistic about the possibility of changing US foreign policy, but we need strong international solidarity to win.

[For more information on the Peace Convergence Weekend, visit www.peaceconvergence.com.]

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