[IMC-NYC-Print] Statement on September 11 Attack

[War Resisters League]

New York, New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                  September 11, 2001

Statement on September 11 Attack

As we write, Manhattan feels under siege, with all bridges, tunnels, and 
subways closed, and tens of thousands of people walking slowly north from 
Lower Manhattan.  As we sit in our offices here at War Resisters League, 
our most immediate thoughts are of the hundreds if not thousands of New 
Yorkers who have lost their lives in the collapse of the World Trade 
Center.  The day is clear, the sky is blue, but vast clouds billow over the 
ruins where so many have died, including a great many rescue workers who 
were there when the final collapse occurred.

Of course we know that our friends and co-workers in Washington, D.C. have 
similar thoughts about the ordinary people who have been trapped in the 
parts of the Pentagon which were also struck by a jet.  And we think of the 
innocent passengers on the hi-jacked jets who were carried to their doom on 
this day.

We do not know at this time from what source the attack came.  We do know 
that Yasser Arafat has condemned the bombing.  We hesitate to make an 
extended analysis until more information is available but some things are 
clear.  For the Bush Administration to talk of spending hundreds of 
billions on Star Wars is clearly the sham it was from the beginning, when 
terrorism can so easily strike through more routine means.

We urge Congress and George Bush that whatever response or policy the U.S. 
develops it will be clear that this nation will no longer target civilians, 
or accept any policy by any nation which targets civilians.  This would 
mean an end to the sanctions against Iraq, which have caused the deaths of 
hundreds of thousands of civilians.  It would mean not only a condemnation 
of terrorism by Palestinians but also the policy of assassination against 
the Palestinian leadership by Israel, and the ruthless repression of the 
Palestinian population and the continuing occupation by Israel of the West 
Bank and Gaza.

The policies of militarism pursued by the United States have resulted in 
millions of deaths, from the historic tragedy of the Indochina war, through 
the funding of death squads in Central America and Colombia, to the 
sanctions and air strikes against Iraq.  This nation is the largest 
supplier of "conventional weapons" in the worldand those weapons fuel the 
starkest kind of terrorism from Indonesia to Africa.  The early policy 
support for armed resistance in Afghanistan resulted in the victory of the 
Talibanand the creation of Osama Bin Laden.

Other nations have also engaged in these policies.  We have, in years past, 
condemned the actions of the Russian government in areas such as Chechnya, 
the violence on both sides in the Middle East, and in the Balkans.  But our 
nation must take responsibility for its own actions. Up until now we have 
felt safe within our borders.  To wake on a clear day to find our largest 
city under siege reminds us that in a violent world, none are safe.

Let us seek an end of the militarism that has characterized this nation for 
decades.  Let us seek a world in which security is gained through 
disarmament, international cooperation, and social justice not through 
escalation and retaliation.  We condemn without reservation attacks such as 
those which occurred today, which strike at thousands of civiliansmay these 
profound tragedies remind us of the impact U.S. policies have had on other 
civilians in other lands.  We also condemn reflexive hostility against 
people of Arab descent living in this country and urge that Americans 
recall the part of our heritage that opposes bigotry in all forms.

We are one world.  We shall live in a state of fear and terror or we shall 
move toward a future in which we seek peaceful alternatives to violence, 
and a more just distribution of the world's resources.  As we mourn the 
many lives lost, our hearts call out for reconciliation, not revenge.

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This is not an official statement of the War Resisters League but was 
drafted immediately after the tragic events occurred.  Signed and issued by 
members of the staff and Executive Committee of War Resisters League at the 
national office, September 11, 2001.

Contact: David McReynolds, 212-674-7268
                Joanne Sheehan, 860-889-5337
                War Resisters League, 212-228-0450, wrl at igc.org