Dear CCI Friends and Colleagues,

Today is the 60th anniversary of the assassination of a man who, understanding war, made a powerful and eloquent appeal for peace – perhaps the most powerful and eloquent appeal we have heard in our lifetimes.  Some say this speech is what led to his death and it may be that insisting on peace in a culture conditioned to be obsessed with war is … unsafe?  Nevertheless, let us have the courage to insist on peace.

The excerpt below is from John F. Kennedy’s June 10, 1963 speech given at American University in Washington D.C.  His words seem to carry even more weight today than they did three generations ago.  Would you agree?

Best wishes to all in this season for Thanksgiving.

In peace,

Pam, Krishen, Paula and Sharon

Center for Citizen Initiatives

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John F. Kennedy Presidential Library And Museum

Giving Thanks to the Peacemakers

November 22, 2023

Excerpt from a speech given by John F. Kennedy at American University, Washington D.C., June 10, 1963:
 

“I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived–yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.

What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children–not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women–not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.

I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all of the allied air forces in the Second World War. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn.

Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles–which can only destroy and never create–is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace.

I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war–and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.

Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament-and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must re-examine our own attitude–as individuals and as a Nation–for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward–by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.

First: Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable–that mankind is doomed–that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.

We need not accept that view. Our problems are man made–therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable–and we believe they can do it again.

I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of universal peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal.

Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace–based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions–on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace–no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process–a way of solving problems.

With such a peace, there will still be quarrels and conflicting interests, as there are within families and nations. World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor–it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors.

So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it.

[Continue to Entire Speech]

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Throughout the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, Professor Jeffrey Sachs has been a consistent voice of sanity, reason and deep empathy for the suffering of the people there.  Attached is his recent podcast analyzing the current situation.  

We realize how difficult it is to listen to all of the voices clamoring to be heard on the many topics of the day but we hope you can find the time for this one.   And as always, please let us know what you think.

The Center for Citizen Initiatives

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“Playing Risk”

November 8, 2023

By Jeffrey Sachs 

[Continue to Watch]

Dear CCI Friends,

If there is a bright light to be seen in the gathering dark clouds of war that hang over us, it shines out from those who speak for sanity, rationality and respect between nations. Is sanity, rationality and respect too much to ask of those who demand war?

The attached video features Garland Nixon speaking at the United Nations. His plea for peace is especially poignant as it comes not from a politician, an academic nor a media pundit but from one who can authentically speak for the people, the working class, who actually die fighting our wars to “promote democracy.” It is a short piece with a sharp point. We look forward to hearing your comments.

The Directors
The Center for Citizen Initiatives

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Garland Nixon at the UN

October 13, 2023

By Garland Nixon 

[Continue to Watch]

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Ambassador Charles Freeman, a distinguished US career service officer, recently wrote an important article on the lessons that we have learned from the Ukraine war. The article is quite compelling in its insights, and we felt it important to share it with you. The lessons apply not only to the US but also to NATO, Russia, and the EU. 

In lieu of us providing our comments on the article, we feel it best to forward it to you for your consideration. There are some important insights here that may be worthy of further reflection. 

Regards, 

Director CCI

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Chas W. Freeman, Jr.

The Many Lessons of the Ukraine War

September 26, 2023

By Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS, Ret.)    

I want to speak to you tonight about Ukraine – what has happened to it and why, how it is likely to emerge from the ordeal to which great power rivalry has subjected it; and what we can learn from this.  I do so with some trepidation and a warning to this audience.  My talk, like the conflict in Ukraine, is a long and complicated one.  It contradicts propaganda that has been very convincing.  My talk will offend anyone committed to the official narrative.  The way the American media have dealt with the Ukraine war brings to mind a comment by Mark Twain: “The researches of many commentators have already thrown much darkness on this subject, and it is probable that, if they continue, we shall soon know nothing at all about it.”

It is said that, in war, truth is the first casualty.  War is typically accompanied by a fog of official lies.  No such fog has ever been as thick as in the Ukraine war.  While many hundreds of thousands of people have fought and died in Ukraine, the propaganda machines in Brussels, Kyiv, London, Moscow, and Washington have worked overtime to ensure that we take passionate sides, believe what we want to believe, and condemn anyone who questions the narrative we have internalized.  No one not on the front lines has any real idea of what has been happening in this war.  What we know is only what our governments and other supporters of the war want us to know.  And they have developed the bad habit of inhaling their own propaganda, which guarantees delusional policies.

[Continue Reading]

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Patrick Lawrence continues his analysis of the overall situation, combining his knowledge of history with his keen observation of current events. Although at first glance, seemingly small events previously deemed “unnewsworthy” by the mainstream media may have been hard to connect, Patrick now presents a potential emerging trend taking shape and gaining momentum.

In addition to the lukewarm reception of Zelenskyy in Washington DC recently, there have been other indications of waning “Western” unity for continued support,

To quote,

“The mood elsewhere appears to be no brighter. That astonishing debacle in the Canadian Parliament—presenting an old  SS man as a hero because he fought the Soviets?—cannot have done Zelensky’s constituency in Canada any good. Across the pond there are signs of impatience as roughly eight million Ukrainian refugees settle in Europe, displaying little interest—and who can blame them?—in going home when the war is over. War or no, solidarity or no, the Poles have blocked imports of cheap Ukrainian wheat. There are signs of buyer’s remorse among the Finns a matter of months after their impulsive decision to join NATO. And now the Slovakians and their new leader’s alarming display of political and intellectual independence.” 

As always, we appreciate your thoughts and comments. We read all of them and although we may not respond, we are thankful for the time and consideration you give the subjects we select to share with you.

The Directors

Center for Citizen Initiatives

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SCHEERPOST

Patrick Lawrence: Depleted Ukrainium

October 5, 2023
What Comes After Failure?

By Patrick Lawrence 

You cannot name the last time you read anything about a parliamentary election in Slovakia, so I won’t bother asking. But you are reading about one this week, assuming you still follow mainstream media—if only to understand what you are supposed to think about one or another event, as against what has actually occurred. 

In results announced in Bratislava Sunday, a leftist party whose primary platform plank is opposition to the war in Ukraine won 23 percent of the vote. On Monday the Slovakian president, Zuzana Čaputová, formally asked Robert Fico, who leads the SMER party, to form a government. It looks like he will do so in a coalition with either Voice, a social-democratic party that took 15 percent of the vote, or with Progressive Slovakia, a liberal-centrist party that finished with 18 percent of the vote. 

Fico is an interesting figure. He has served as prime minister twice over the course of a decade, during which time he proved sufficiently European to bring Slovakia into the euro. To one or another extent, his likely coalition partners favor keeping Slovakia as a card-carrying member of the Western coalition supporting Ukraine. But they did not win the election: Fico did. And Fico is all business in his opposition to Slovakia’s support for the U.S. proxy war tearing Ukraine and its people to pieces. 

[Continue Reading]