Joseph Gerson: US Foreign Policy, Japan and Ramstein
In the following video acTVism Munich speaks with Joseph Gerson about US Foreign Policy, Japan and Ramstein. Gerson serves as the American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) disarmament coordinator, as director of programs in New England, and as director of the Peace and Economic Security Program. He has worked with AFSC since 1976. In 1947, AFSC was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
These questions and more will be addressed in the following video:
For the full interview transcript click here.
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Notable excerpts from the video:
Joseph Gerson on Obama’s visit to Hiroshima:
Well, it’s really quite complex. Many of us have been concerned that it may have Orwellian aspects. I wrote an article, in which I asked, what’s the best way to hide a trillion dollars worth of spending for nuclear weapons and new delivery systems, or to hide 7,000 nuclear weapons. Well, the best way is to go to Hiroshima, lay flowers and divert public attention.
Joseph Gerson on the role of Ramstein Air Force Base:
And so to understand NATO, which provides ultimately the basis for the US to have a Ramstein base. It was designed not only to contain the Soviet Union, which really was not a threat in 1949, but also to cap German militarism and to reinforce US control over Western Europe. And Ramstein has been a central pillar in all of this. So, on one hand, to understand this political and military function within Europe.
But then, as we know, Ramstein played a central role in the continuing war in Afghanistan, a war fought in violation of the UN Charter, and which has had devastating consequences for the people of Afghanistan. As you know, Ramstein is the center of AFRICON. And unknown to most people here in the United States, the US military is deeply active across Africa right now. In part it’s in response to Boko Haram, and Islamist terrorism. But at the same time it’s there to reinforce US access and control over the resources and markets of Africa, and to reinforce our competition with China for influence in Africa.
Joseph Gerson’s message to grassroots activists:
My most basic message is, I wish I could be there with you, to be a part of it. But short of that, I wish you courage, inspiration, I wish you fun, a willingness to be arrested is necessary, and I wish that it helps to build a movement.
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acTVism Munich plans to continue translating the event organized by the University of Arizona, “A Conversation to Privacy” that hosted Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald and Noam Chomsky. We Munich believe that privacy is a central ingredient to democracy and creating awareness on it on a global scale is of utmost important for the future of human freedom and liberty. We will also continue to translate an event organized by the New York Public Library (NYPL) that hosted Yanis Varoufakis and Noam Chomsky. This event took place on the 26th of April, 2016, and focused, amongst other issues, on the state of European democracy; the underlying problems confronting it and the solutions required for meaningful change.
Secondly, acTVism Munich will gain full access to the German government’s national press conference in Berlin in the fall of 2016. This will provide us an opportunity to pose critical questions directly to the German government which will foster awareness on a host of issues seldom discussed in the mainstream media. The attempt is to translate and synchronize the question and answers in English as well. We lack technical and financial resources to translate the events and press conference mentioned. Furthermore, we will only be able to attend the press conference once in 3 months due to the high costs of travelling and lodging.
Lastly, acTVism Munich received Edward Snowden’s confirmation about participating in a future event known as “Freedom & Democracy: Global Issues – Connecting the Dots”. This Event is planned for 15. January 2017 and plans to bring leading experts together to discuss the connections between various issues and reveal the system at work. We believe that we can only arrive at viable solutions by increasing public awareness of the principal and structural faults of our system. We lack the necessary financial and technical resources to execute the projects, trips and events mentioned above. Since we are a non-profit and independent media outlet that has a strict policy against accepting advertisements, government or corporate support – we depend only on you, the public. These projects depend only on you – please support us today by donating via PayPal or Bank transfer by clicking here!
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