Veterans Bruce Gagnon and Elliott Adams on North Korea, Nuclear Weapons and US Expansion into Asia

Thanks to Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers of Clearing the FOG Radio for the following audio interview with Bruce Gagnon (Coordinator of the Global Network Against Nuclear Power and Weapons in Space) and Elliott Adams (past President of Veterans for Peace).

They speak about North Korea, Nuclear Weapons and US Expansion into Asia and Space - all major, interrelated topics that we ignore at our peril (and the world's).

Here is the link to the interview at the source, where you will also find links to a number of related articles:  http://clearingthefogradio.org/bruce-gagnon-and-elliott-adams-on-north-korea-nuclear-weapons-and-us-expansion-into-asia/    
    

Veterans Bruce Gagnon and Elliott Adams on North Korea, Nuclear Weapons and US Expansion into Asia by Clearingthefog on Mixcloud

Jeju Island: A Pawn in the Imperial Struggle

A truly heroic citizens' struggle continues on the tiny island of Jeju Island where the South Korean government is building a naval base that will serve as yet another outpost in the vast array of U.S. military bases around the world

This particular base is of particular note because it represents the massive shift in focus by the Pentagon to the Asian continent, and of course CHINA!!!  Just 500 miles off the Chinese mainland, a base at Jeju will give the U.S. a new choke point in the East China Sea to control China's strategic access to resources and commerce.

The base being constructed by the South Korean government will directly support U.S. ships - including Aegis missile defense destroyers, aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines.  The Commander,U.S. Naval Forces, Korea has specified design specifications to accommodate U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers.

Art meets protest on Jeju Island

With over 1000 military bases around the world (even the experts differ in the exact number), the last the U.S. needs right now is another one, especially one that will only inevitably ratchet up tensions between the U.S. and China in what could become the newest  clash of superpowers.

But beyond the talk of superpowers and their petty land and resource grabs, this is a story about people struggling to hold onto what is rightfully theirs.  To maintain a way of life.  To be left alone, and not be made pawns in the disinterest of empire. 

To call the struggle of the Jeju Islanders "heroic" is not hyperbole.

Father John Dear sums up the situation on Jeju in a single paragraph:

The base is being built near Gangjeong village. These heroic villagers have maintained an impressive public stand against nuclear weapons, U.S. imperialism, environmental destruction and basic injustice. They’ve been arrested, imprisoned and had their land and civil rights taken from them. Nonetheless, they keep at it. They are demonstrating one of the most brilliant instances of active, engaged nonviolence on the planet, but they have to: South Korea, at the request of the Pentagon, is about to destroy one of the world’s natural wonders.

The struggle to extricate Jeju Island from the jaws of militarism and empire is one that affects not only this small, peaceful island, but the entire world.

  Even as I write this post, President Obama is in Southeast Asia to ensure military and economic dominance thoughout the region.  Secretary of Defense Panetta confirmed last Friday that the U.S. will be increasing the numbers of military exercises in the Pacific in conjunction with Southeast Asian allies, and of course "devoting new funding to this goal."  And guess what huge country lies just North of all those Southeast Asian countries???

There are many ways people can support the people of Jeju Island.  Go to Save Jeju Now to learn more and get involved.  And - Check out the Save Jeju Island Facebook page.

Say NO to Empire!  Say YES to Peace!  Save Jeju Island!!!

SAVE JEJU ISLAND: Protest at Seattle Korean Consulate April 30th

POST UPDATE: Click this link to find out how the protest went, see photos, AND read the Korean Consul General's response : http://psnukefree.blogspot.com/2012/05/protest-at-seattle-korean-consulate-to.html

Please join South Korean artist and peace activist Gillchun Koh, Bruce Gagnon, and others on Monday, April 30, 2012 at 4:00 PM at the Seattle Korean Consulate in a protest against the construction of a new naval base on Jeju Island.

This naval base is unnecessary, a drain on our economy ($$$$$$$), will destabilize relations (both South Korean and U.S.) with China, and will put the people of Jeju Island at risk as a strategic target for China.

Please read further to understand the important history of Jeju Island as well as the importance of stopping construction of this base.

History (The April 3 Massacre)

30,000 people murdered!!!  Jeju Island is known as the "Island of World Peace," a name that does not begin to tell the story of the Island's extensive history of conflict, occupation, repression and genocide. The most horrific episode in this history began in 1948 when the South Korean military and national police hunted down and slaughtered approximately 30,000 people. The U.S., which was the occupying power at the time, did nothing to stop what is now known as the April 3 massacre.

Why did the government do such a horrific thing? 1948 was a tumultuous time of establishing two governments in Korea. The people of Jeju Island rose up to protest the long-term division of the nation by boycotting the elections that were occurring in Seoul. For this they were branded as Communists, and the terror began.

For decades following the massacre, public discussion of the April 3 massacre was ruthlessly repressed. Following democratization, the slow and painful process of fact finding and truth telling began, and continues today. In 2003, South Korean President Noh Moo Hyun travelled to Jeju Island and officially apologized.

History Repeats Itself Today

Now, over 60 years after the April 3 massacre the people of Jeju Island are once again protesting. This time they are protesting the U.S. Missile Defense System and a provocative new naval base being built on their island. Why??? If you look at a map of Jeju Island, you can see that it lies about 500 kilometers West of China. This military base is intended to project force towards China and to provide a forward operating installation in the event of a military conflict between the U.S. and China.

For five years, South Korean activists have been protesting the plans for the new naval base on Jeju Island. During that time the response by the South Korean police and military has become more heavy-handed and brutal. Col. Anne Wright (former United States Army colonel and retired official of the U.S. State Department) reported that earlier this month "police broke arms of activists who had locked arms inside PCV pipes, beat up activists and threw them from kayaks."

A Global Context

(Excerpt from article by Noam Chomsky and Matthew Hoey: http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_opinion/498743.html)

The last thing the world needs is a military confrontation between the U.S. and China. On that dreaded eventuality, there is no need to elaborate. In terms of its implications, what is now taking place on Jeju island counts as one of the most critical struggles against a potentially devastating war in Asia, and the deeply-rooted institutional structures that are driving the world towards even more bitter conflict than is raging in all too many places today.

It is important to become aware of what is happening on Jeju Island and to find ways to help the residents to prevent this very dangerous and destructive project. The consequences of losing the struggle to prevent the base construction might impact not only Asia but the United States and the rest of the world as well. The project is naturally seen by China as a threat to its national security. At the very least, it is likely to trigger confrontation and an arms race between South Korea and China, with the U.S. almost inevitably drawn in.

The immediate threat is to Jeju Island civilians, whose home was recently described in a South Korean daily as “the spearhead of the country’s defense line,” a line recklessly located approximately 500km from China.

We need not speculate about how the U.S. would react were China doing something similar near its coast.

Join us on April 30^th

The situation on Jeju Island is important not only to its residents, but to us all!

This protest will send an important message to the South Korean government that is watching to see how the world reacts to the situation on Jeju Island.

Please join us in front of the South Korean Consulate at 4:00 PM on Monday, April 30th. We hope to have a massive turnout to send a strong message that we support efforts at diplomacy and peace and not continuing preparations for war.

I will post any updates on the protest (right up to the day of protest) at the Puget Sound Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Events page (www.psnukefree.org).

Please bring your nonviolent spirit, as well as protest signs (we ask that signs be nonviolent in nature and focus directly on the issues relating to Jeju Island). Learn more at the Save Jeju Island website (www.savejejuisland.org).

The Korean Consulate is located at 2033 6th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121 (between Lenora and Virginia). It is well-served by public transportation, and there is ample paid parking available on-street and in nearby parking lots.

I recently met Gillchun, and I am humbled by his deep commitment to peace and healing of Jeju Island.  Bruce Gagnon (Coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space) and I will stand in solidarity with him on April 30^th, sending a united message to the government of South Korea (and the U.S.).  I hope you will too.

Peace,

Leonard

POST UPDATE: Click this link to find out how the protest went, see photos, AND read the Korean Consul General's response : http://psnukefree.blogspot.com/2012/05/protest-at-seattle-korean-consulate-to.html

No More Military Bases, or Stop The Empire; I Want to Get Off!

Friends,

As I contemplate the pending anniversary of the birth of one of the great peacemakers of our time, Martin Luther King Jr., I find myself replaying portions of his powerful speeches and sermons in my head.  From racism to materialism to militarism (the three evils), Dr. King spoke truth to power in such a deep and compelling way that he raised the spirits of countless members of the downtrodden masses while simultaneously striking fear and hatred into the stony hearts of racists and militarists.  He warned us of the folly of our actions, but gave us hope that we might conquer these three evils, if only we would not lose sight of the core value of love and its associated nonviolence.  Of course, it was more complex than that, but that is the heart of it.

Today, nearly 42 years after Dr. King's death, we are still struggling to learn the hard lessons of love and nonviolence.  If U.S. military spending is any indicator, we have certainly not learned any lessons.  Based on government figures, the U.S. has (based fiscal year 2003) 6000 military bases in the U.S. and protectorates, and 702 bases overseas in roughly 130 countries.  This doesn't even begin to count U.S. bases in Iraq, Afghanistan and a number of other countries; one well researched article cited the probable total of overseas bases as closer to 1000.

Perhaps 7000 military bases wouldn't be such a big deal if people in the U.S. weren't staggering under the crushing weight of a crippled economy, failing educational system, a health care system that is causing far more deaths each month than terrorists have wrought, and the list goes on...  But we, the U.S. taxpayers, are shelling out well over 50% of our tax dollars to keep this military leviathan operating, even while our nation's infrastructure (both physical and human) crumbles.

But wait - What's this???  The U.S. wants to build another base???  The U.S. Navy is planning to build a base on Jeju Island (known as the Island of Peace), South Korea (roughly 500 miles south of the Korean Peninsula).  According to Bruce Gagnon, the "US will be jointly using the Navy base with the South Korean Navy as a port to deploy Aegis ships that will be used to help surround the coast of China and to give the US the capability to choke off China's ability to import 80% of its oil through the Malaka Straight that flows right off Jeju Island."  Hmm... Gunboats without the diplomacy?

Besides the serious environmental effects of construction and operation of the base on the island and surrounding waters (and sensitive coral reefs), Gagnon believes that the base would be a "provocative, dangerous base that makes Jeju Island a target. It makes the island of peace, not an island of peace, but an island of power projection for the US empire… Especially a place that sees itself as a tourist destination to have a military base that would clearly be a target for the Chinese." 

Dr. King once said that, "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."  It is time to stop the military madness that is dragging our nation towards economic and spiritual collapse.  We cannot afford the (economic, diplomatic, and spiritual) costs of this ever expanding empire.

SAY NO to more military bases.  SAY NO to the Navy's plan for Jeju Island.  Bruce Gagnon has tirelessly worked to support the people of Jeju Island who are resisting the plan to build the new base.

Bruce Gagnon has written an APPEAL TO STOP NAVY BASE CONSTRUCTION ON JEJU ISLAND, SOUTH KOREA.  Here is the text:

We, the undersigned global organizations and individuals, call upon the South Korean and US governments to cancel all plans to build a Navy base on Jeju Island. The base will destroy coral reefs that have been listed as world heritage environmental sites by the UNESCO and will destroy the fishing and way of life of the people.

The deployment of naval Aegis destroyers, outfitted with missile defense systems, will be used to surround and provoke China and will make Jeju Island a prime target.

Jeju is called the peace island and must remain free of provocative military bases.

Please send an email stating your support for the appeal - with your name, city, state, and organization (if any) - to globalnet@mindspring.com.

Get your family, friends and co-workers to sign on as well.  What better way to honor Dr. King's memory and help the people of Jeju Island, than by resisting militarism.  We choose PEACE.

 

Leonard