Be a part of this growing movement!
Veterans for Peace is a global organization of military veterans and allies dedicated to building a culture of peace by using our unique experiences as veterans. Our goal is to educate on the costs of wars in hopes that we may one day end war for good. We also recognize that we have an obligation to heal the wounds of war, not only among our fellow veterans but also the wounds that our war-making has affected around the globe. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide. There are two chapters in North Carolina, one based in Asheville #099 and one based in the Triangle Area #157. Please join our movement or just visit our national Veterans for Peace website for more information.
It’s time to stop misdirecting hundreds of billions of dollars away from domestic and human needs to pad unnecessary budget lines for endless wars, failed weapons and the Pentagon’s corporate handouts. Doing so will make our country stronger and more just.
Military spending should be reduced by at least $200 billion annually, freeing up $2 trillion or more over the next decade for domestic and human needs priorities. With those spending cuts, the Pentagon’s budget would remain more than enough to keep America safe at a level well above our nation’s post-World War II historical average.
The U.S. should never again go to war without congressional authorization, and Congress should not authorize military action without identifying revenue to pay for current and future costs, including taking care of injured veterans.
By adhering to our values and promoting international cooperation, we can prevent war, address the underlying causes of conflict and meet humanitarian imperatives.
- https://www.veteransforpeace.org/
- Local contact: ncveteransforpeace@gmail.com
Feature: Vicki Ryder
Vicki Ryder of Durham, North Carolina, is an associate member of the Eisenhower Chapter of Veterans For Peace, and the wife of a combat veteran of the American War on Vietnam. She wrote and recorded this music video back in 2010 “when I heard that the U.S. was sending 7,000 Marines and 46 warships to Costa Rica to fight a ‘war on drugs.’ I’m 68 years old, and my country’s been waging one war or another my whole life! Enough!”
Now 78, she says that “nothing’s changed…. We keep fighting unwinnable wars and squandering our resources just to line the pockets of the war profiteers while the people’s needs go unmet. This isn’t the world I had hoped we’d be leaving to our grandchildren.”