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Fight Back. Resist. Stop the Bombings. Stop the Wars.

By VVAW National Office

From the National Office

Like a broken record, the Trump follies seem stuck in a groove, and the ruling classes are still dancing to that tune. We are as tired of this playlist as we're sure many of you are. It is hard to be positive while the constant barrage of lies, corruption, attacks on our liberties, and utter bullshit continues.

By the time you see this in print, the mid-term elections will be over. Will there be a big change in Congress? If so, will the Dems do anything better, or will they mire themselves (and us) in more stagnation? Or will they provide the leadership needed to turn us sharply away from the fascistic direction this country is heading?

If there isn't a change, what options remain for our decaying democracy and beleaguered military? Incompetence and corruption in civilian leadership are reducing the military's effectiveness and undermining the care veterans rely on. No matter who controls Congress, we must use our decades of experience fighting against the rich and their wars and demand justice on many fronts.

The current administration has made it clear over and over again that profit-making is primary. Not just profit, outright theft. Whether it's trying to steal the resources of other countries while waging war, destroying the nation's capital while defunding needed social services, or "Der Fuhrer" Trump diverting funds to pay tribute to himself by stamping his image and name on every possible surface. This clown show needs to end, and the head clown needs to be tossed off the stage.

The continued, pointless war with Iran needs to stop. We need a truthful accounting of what's happening in the growing disaster in the "overseas operation." An atmosphere of secrecy permeates the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gulf region. We bomb ships and shore installations with no accountability for ever-shifting goals. US bases have been destroyed, and the administration withholds the details. Iran is playing rope-a-dope with the US, while Trump/Hegseth deplete all our military stockpiles. Who benefits from this? Not the American public. Not the troops and veterans. Not the citizens being bombed. Once again, Trump will find a way to line his own pockets and the pockets of the Military-Industrial Complex, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard continues to weather the storm.

Meanwhile, Trump shrugs off concerns about US actions and support for Netanyahu's expansion of his war on Israel's neighbors, claiming the wars are "small potatoes." Trump also play acts at engaging with Putin for a resolution to his "special military operation" against Ukraine. Trump's government isn't even pretending to hold Putin accountable for the aggressive probes he is making against neighboring NATO countries. We do not think this is a mistake. Will the US do anything as the challenges to European borders increase? Trump keeps cozying up to Putin, so it's not at all certain the US would go to the aid of the people of Europe after another outright Russian incursion. European leaders only need to look at how Trump keeps Ukraine dancing on a string to imagine what their fate will be.

China is sitting back and watching Russia and the US spend billions on war and engage in stupid trade wars with our former allies. They are winning the economic war, picking up the pieces as the US disengages from long-established world markets. China is putting increasing military pressure on Taiwan and South Korea, while moving to take over as much of Asia as they can. As China makes these moves, longtime US allies Taiwan and South Korea will be left defenseless. The people of these countries won't be able to rely on an exhausted, depleted, and demoralized US Military.

Who suffers? The contrast of money for warfare and not the health and welfare of Americans has never been more stark. We've seen this game play out before and have devoted our lives to changing it. The contradictions of end-stage capitalism have never been more severe and harsh.

Often when the economy is in the shitter, we see the increase in the economic draft. Today's youths, with limited resources and options, are pressured into the armed services, believing the lies recruiters tell them. Once in, like us, they realize they are cattle. We are encouraged that recruitment numbers are going down, because they see the current wars as senseless and led by idiots more interested in GI testosterone levels. But beware the draft.

The treatment of those in the military has been plummeting to new lows. Trump and Hegseth disregard the mental health crises among Active Duty, Guard, and Reserves personnel. Tours in the Gulf have been extended into 2027. The trauma of being bombed at bases that lack adequate air defenses is downplayed because Trump declares our actions against the Iranian people are not a real war. We wonder what Pvt. Bonespurs knows about that. He even showed his true colors recently: the orange chicken, smuggled out in a food truck.

Secretary Hegseth is surrounding himself with sycophants rather than military and civilian leaders who have earned their places in the upper ranks. He has done this through an unprecedented ideological purge that favors a force filled with white males with specified levels of testosterone. His stated opposition to "woke" policies swings the needle 180 degrees, replacing the long-standing merit-based promotion systems with a litmus test for White Christian Nationalists. The Nazis proved that armed forces become weaker when their leaders remove their ability to think and respond individually as situations change. But hey, at least there will be no unwanted facial hair in sight. That's mission critical, isn't it?

Once the troops return from the current conflicts being waged, they will join us in struggling to access the care we were promised after our service. We have a conflicted history with the VA, but after years of challenging the system to live up to its promises, many of us now depend on it to maintain our health and quality of life. The damage our service caused, both physical and mental, is part of the cost of war. The VA must be maintained and improved, not outsourced to more Trump cronies whose only goal is to line their pockets while making it more difficult to demand adequate care from a diffused and privatized health care system. We support the efforts of National Nurses United, Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute, American Federation of Government Employees, About Face, Veterans For Peace, and others fighting against the outright destruction of the VA system.

Disrespect continues for veterans through the starvation of the VA while corporations reap the rewards. Major MAGA contributor Larry Ellison's company Oracle received a $10 billion no-bid contract in 2022 to modernize the VA's records. They have delivered a broken product, basically sabotaging the existing system. Now they are coming back for $17 billion more. Meanwhile, VA staff reductions and outsourcing to "community partners" continue.

The Administration and Pentagon are playing a shell game with taxpayer funds. Congress allowed the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" to take funds away from programs that enhance the health and welfare of Americans and then stand idly by while billions are wasted bombing Iranians and building ballrooms, triumphal arches, golf courses and more. The abuse of the National Guard continues. They'll be stationed in DC into 2029 with no concerns expressed about how much that will cost.

We think Trump's and Hegseth's destruction of the US military is a distinct threat to global stability. Some may cheer as our military capabilities deteriorate, but we've seen the world becoming less stable. The world isn't Star Trek. There is no federation to maintain a peaceful coexisting society. Aggressions will occur when imperialist nations see vacuums of power. We do not advocate abandoning Europe to Putin, Taiwan to China, Greenland to the US. We also emphatically do not support the Nazification of the military and its increasing focus on internal "enemies." We also fear ICE becoming Trump's SS.

What can we do? Organize. Participate in national demos. Connect with younger anti-war veterans. Find out who is helping the disenfranchised in your communities. Fight back. Resist. Stop ICE. Stop the bombings. Stop the wars.

Organize and confront public officials. Let's not give the Democratic Party a pass either. If voters manage to overturn the MAGA leeches in Congress, will the Dem Party step up and clean out this pernicious, fascist organization? Or will they, once again, start whining for "unity" with the right?

We will not be fooled again. We are older, slower, and frailer, and we have lost many comrades along the way. But we are not fools missing the signs of rising fascism! The fight for Veterans, peace, and justice that we have waged since 1967 is more important than ever.

Progressive change has never been easy, and we know the struggle will outlast us. Join in the fight for a more just world, because the rich will never concede power willingly.

Veterans Day in San Francisco, November 11, 1977.