Veterans for Peace has been working to end war and militarism since 1985. They are close allies and contributors to Popular Resistance and their members are consistently active in peace and justice movements throughout the nation, and often travel the world working to end war and stand with victims of militarism. They challenge US Empire and imperialism by exposing the true costs of war and the real reasons for the interventionist policy of the United States. These veterans served the nation after taking a pledge to protect the nation and its Constitution, they see their work with VFP as a “greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace.” They pledge nonviolence in their actions as they seek “to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices.”
This video by Inside Out Ptv focuses on members of VFP who have been arrested at the Vietnam War Memorial in New York City repeatedly in recent years. Their first arrest was at peacekeepers working in support of the Occupy movement when it was holding a General Assembly at the memorial to discuss political issues impacting the nation. Members have been arrested for the last two years on the anniversary of America’s longest war, the War in Afghanistan, to protest that war as well as to remember the war dead — not only US troops but people who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as native peoples killed in the war of Manifest Destiny — the roots of US Empire. Veterans and their allies have arrested while reading the names of those who have died and prosecuted for exercising their Constitutional Right to Assemble and exercise their Freedom of Speech. Another purpose of these protests is to protect those rights for future generations.