WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #177, MAY 15, 2024.

WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #177, MAY 15, 2024.   Compiled by Dick Bennett.

Nakba Day May 15.     
Medea Benjamin and David Swanson.  NATO.
Daniele Ganser.  USA the Ruthless Empire. 

During the war approximately half of Palestine's population, 750,000 people were expelled from their homes.  By the end of the war, 78% of the total land area of the former Mandatory Palestine was controlled by Israel and at least 15,000 Palestinian Arabs had been killed.

Claims that this conflict began on October 7th of 2023 ignore the history of Palestine. Ignore the history of apartheid and occupation. This week we will screen a documentary on May 15th, and gather a protest on the 17th.

The screening of “1948: Creation and Catastophe” will be at the Library Vintage, 48 E Township, Fayetteville AR. The space is limited so we do ask that you RSVP to reserve a seat. 

https://forms.gle/Uurk7BCiJ8oSD5KX8

Also join us this Friday, May 17th at the Fayetteville Town Square 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm to protest the continuation of the Nakba happening in Gaza, the ongoing genocide. We encourage you to make signs or banners in support of this week’s message! We will speak until we are heard; we demand a permanent ceasefire in Palestine.

You can also join our phone bank, making daily calls to the senators and congresspeople of Arkansas, to keep the pressure on. We have a message group where we post daily scripts, track our calls, and keep up with the news on WhatsApp:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/H0JhIM8lVzCLgOFjCyJ02z
Friendsofpalestinenwa   5-14-24

MEDEA BENJAMIN and DAVID SWANSON.   NATO: What You Need To Know.  OR Books, 2024.180 pages.
“An indispensable primer. It can save your life — indeed all of our lives…NATO is a clear and present danger to world peace, a war machine run amok.”  — Jeffrey D. Sachs 

“Read this book to understand how NATO promotes a logic of domination, not equality, or justice or peace.”  —Clare Daly, MEP

PuPublisher’s Description
What is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? What role is played by its members and partners? Does the largest military alliance ever to exist serve the cause of peace or the causes of weapons sales and war mongering? Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the alliance, this sharp, concise account examines NATO's origins, structure, and its goals at a time of mounting global tension.

NATO has remade itself repeatedly, as its past purposes have disappeared. In the last 35 years it has been part of wars in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. It has played a major role in Ukraine, and supported warmaking by Israel. NATO is now expanding rapidly, both in geography and in scope, adding partners from Colombia to Mongolia to Australia, and claiming a role in policing, immigration, economics, public budgeting, scientific research, and environmental protection.

With pointed investigations of how NATO's decisions are made, the widely misunderstood question of the way it is funded, its relationship to international law, and the available alternatives to it, NATO: What You Need to Know is an indispensable primer on an organization that not only confronts expanding military conflict but, the authors contend, plays an active part in its escalation.

Daniele Ganser.  USA the Ruthless Empire.  Orig. pub. in German 2020.  English publication 2023, Skyhorse Publishing, Tr. Stephen Klyne. 

The book is unique particularly because its perspective is European, specifically German.  The author’s references are mainly from German sources, and many of the references are in German.  Second is the author’s Dedication:  “…to all the people who reject war, terror, torture, and war propaganda from the bottom of their hearts and who are committed to peace.”  The book is anti-war from its title to its Notes and Recommended Readings.  It offers a highly accessible peace perspective of the history of the United States, serving both as an introduction to High School and College students, as well as a review for knowledgeable citizens.  Throughout, this is a take-action textbook against US wars, warmakers, warmongers, warmaking, and all those complicit.

Chapter 1:  The USA Poses the Greatest Threat to World Peace.   Chap. 2: The USA Is an Oligarchy (the superrich run the empire).  Chap. 3: The American Indian Wars (destruction of the indigenous population).  Chap. 4: The Exploitation of Slaves (abduction of 12 million Africans).   Chap. 5 North America Is Not Enough (expansion east and west of continental US).  Etc. 16 chapters.  --Dick