Abolish NATO Now!

Dear Chapter 21 Members and Friends,

Not long ago somebody asked me what we'll do once the Iraqi situation is resolved. My reply was that ending the Iraq war is only the beginning. We would still have a tremendous task ahead of us like ending militarism in the U.S., promoting peace and justice, etc, etc.

One thing that was on my mind at that time was the NATO problem. To begin with, NATO was formed during the "Cold War" to check the alleged expansion of the Soviet Empire and counter the combined military might of the Warsaw Pact. As all of you know, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact are now relics on the junk heap of history. One would have thought that NATO would been on that same junk heap, but that was not the case. Instead, there's been a bipartisan effort by the U.S. Government to expand NATO into Eastern Europe and beyond, including former Soviet Republics like Georgia. Please note that the cost of this expansion is being paid for by U.S. taxpayers. In addition, Georgia was slated to become a NATO member in the very near future in return for supplying two thousand troops to Bush's war of aggression in Iraq.

The question I have is what would have happened if Georgia were already a NATO member? Would the United States be required to declare war on Russia? Would the Caucasus be the ignition point of a global conflagration like Bosnia was in the last century. I for one believe that expanding NATO into that part of world, or for that fact anywhere, makes the likelihood of a much larger war a very serious possibility. Therefore, I hope all of you will seriously consider adding the abolishment of NATO to your list of things to do as far as promoting peace and justice worldwide.

Peace, Justice and Solidarity,

Ken Dalton, President
Alan Reilly-Gene Glazer Chapter 021 Veterans For Peace, New Jersey
Life Member,Vietnam Veterans Against the War
EN2, U.S.N. 1970-74 USS Monticello LSD 35 USS Grand Canyon AR28