October 7 statement

Afghanistan: 11 Years Too Many
Veterans Say Bring ‘Em Home, Keep ‘Em Home

Members of the VFP Direct Action Team are organizing a gathering beginning at 6 pm at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza in New York City Oct.

On this day and at this place, our demands will be straightforward:

  • Demand an end to the 11 year war in Afghanistan
  • Demand an end to all U.S. wars of aggression
  • Remember all those who have fallen and been wounded by war
  • Stand up for our right, and duty, to assemble and organize

This is not intended as a mass public gathering, where we expect or want thousands and are articulating all the many ramifications of corporate militarization, nor is it a public education project. This gathering at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Oct. 7 is intended as a very specific veteran-led direct action opposing war and any arbitrary use of force by the NYPD.

We are focusing on the direct, long-lasting and immediate effects of war–where and to whom it happens–death, destruction, permanent injury and trauma to those in the war zone, and our inalienable right to assemble to address those very specific grievances.

Veterans, especially those who have been directly affected by war, affirm our peaceful purpose:  Remember the fallen, get out of Afghanistan, end all wars and stand up for our right to assemble and organize.

October 7 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be a time to remember soulfully and with dignity those who have fallen in every rotten war America’s manipulative leaders have involved us in since the beginning.