Calling All Vets

Join the efforts of the Santa Barbara Veterans for Peace in opposing the use of war as an instrument of foreign policy. An exceptional meeting toward this goal will be held April 2 at 5 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building (112 W. Cabrillo Blvd.).

With the appointment of the most notorious hawks in history to key posts in the Trump administration, it is more urgent than ever to be prepared for war. John Bolton and Mike Pompeo have previously advocated for war as an instrument of foreign policy and likely will do so again. The wars they advocated still simmer. The reasons for going to war, which they acknowledged, proved false (Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction, for instance) while the unstated reasons for the wars in the Middle East (oil) have proven senseless as the U.S.A. is no longer dependent on the Middle East’s oil.

Violence by the U.S. military continues in many countries around the world, killing people both young and old. As a Veteran for Peace, I support any effort to reduce violence both here and around the world. Congratulations go to the young people and those who are supporting them as they march against gun violence. While school shootings are shocking and appalling, our leadership and its military are committing mass killings and also training our young people to be violent killers.

The military uses a first-person shooting game — America’s Army — as a successful recruiting tool that implies war is a game. This and similar war video games are very popular with high-school-age children, primarily boys. By sanitizing guns, war, and death, our own leadership and its military are contributing to the mass killings in our schools.