The Strongest Action against Mr. Trump began here in Brattleboro in 2008.
Now (again) it is time for ACTIVE resistance to Mr. Trump. Brattleboro Common Sense (BCS) in common cause with people protesting nationwide and around the world, proposes this action, to block unlawful military orders from him; an emergency ordinance per Brattleboro charter article IV section 6AA, as follows.
The people of Brattleboro honor the courage and the sacrifices of our troops. We remind them that they took an oath of allegiance NOT to the president, but to the Constitution of the United States — the enduring doctrines of liberty and justice of our nation. We implore their vigilance “against all enemies, foreign or domestic”, and in accordance with the Nuremberg Principles we exhort them to refuse unlawful orders and to file charges against anyone giving an order to start a war of aggression or commit any war crime.
We recognize the courage such fidelity to duty requires. We pledge funds for the legal defense of any soldier who becomes the target of reprisal and is prosecuted for honoring the Constitution in this way, for such a hero will deserve the thanks of the nation and the world.
The selectboard and town manager shall therefore create:
• a fund to advertise the oath and ordinance, and
• a separate fund for legal defense,
each in the amount of $180,000 (one hundred eighty thousand dollars) to be withdrawn from the unassigned budget balance.
The Army officer’s oath of office is printed here in its entirety for reference.
I, _____ , having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.
BACKGROUND.
17 years ago.
“Moving Beyond the Election”
By SETH GITELL
The New York Sun | September 16, 2008,
BCS director Kurt Daims spoke at the Massachusetts School of Law on legal actions against illegal wars
“. . . Where the conference broke new ground was on the amount of time and discussion focused on getting members of the uniformed officers corps to come over to their side. . . .
“A Brattleboro, Vt., activist and author of a successful petition in his town calling for the arrest and indictment of Messrs. Bush and Cheney, Kurt Daims, addressed the audience: “We have been trying to tell Congress, ‘don’t fund the war.’ We’ve just got to go around them,” Mr. Daims, a panelist, said. “We don’t talk to the president … We don’t talk to Congress … We talk to the military and say ‘Hey, your oath is to the Constitution, not to the president.'”
“. . . Subsequent speakers spoke for and against the concept of anti-war activists bringing their message directly to members of the military.”
FIVE YEARS AGO
Preventing crimes by Donald Trump
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(Announcement January 7, 2020)
This past Thursday Brattleboro Common Sense (BCS) proposed a way to interrupt the chain of command for illegal orders to start a war against Iran. It was widely predicted that Mr. Trump would start a new war in order to distract people from his impeachment trial. Now two days later he has started the war by assassinating a general in Iran. This is a flagrant act of war and a violation of international law and U.S. law. Though not in peril of our lives like so many Iranians and dark-skinned people around the world, the American people are hostage to a maniac. But we cannot simply wait for his impeachment trial to remove him. Instead we must address this new emergency with forceful action to interrupt the chain of command through which Trump acts.
Trump doesn’t perpetrate all his crimes himself. Whether he’s putting immigrant children in cages or blasting innocent people to bits, he does it by giving orders. If people refuse his orders, as heroes have dared before, then Trump’s crimes will be stopped. So, we need to remind U.S. military officers that their oath is to the Constitution and not to the president, and that under the Nuremberg Principles they must not thoughtlessly follow illegal orders. And we need to honor them and start a legal defense fund for them, and we need to start an emergency ordinance to do this NOW.
● contact officers about their oath to the Constitution
● start legal defense fund
● create Justice Coordinator
Wars are more than ugly enough, with civilians who know nothing about the conflicts that envelop them and have no idea why fiery death falls on them from the sky, why they suffer for the conflicts between leaders of governments they don’t support, just as we don’t support this one. From such horrors conscience drives soldiers to madness. Let’s help our officers act on conscience now.
BCS volunteer Bruce Clauson (now director) proposed the ordinance to the Brattleboro selectboard yesterday evening. After outlining the proposal he suggested it be named for U.S. Major Hugh Thompson, who placed himself in the line of fire to end the massacre in the Vietnamese village of My Lai in 1968. Selectboard Chair Brandie Starr asked Mr. Clauson to submit the ordinance for inclusion in the boaord’s agenda. We believe the orientation of the new name is excellent and the project, with its moral support of military officers, simple enforceable mechanism and direct connection to the primary actor, is a potent initiative.
BACK TO THE PRESENT: BCS has streamlined the ordinance. And will announce it at the selectboard meeting Thursday (October 16), when people can comment. BCS will promote the ordinance independently while it moves through official channels. Contact BrattleboroCommonSense@gmail.com .
We believe the people are ready for the next step against Mr. Trump, and we urge compassion for his friends. But Resisting is, after all, not the end. Mr. Trump will be fine with our protest marches, like former Defense Secretary Haig, who remarked, “Let them march, as long as they pay their taxes.”.
It is fitting that we should confront a war-loving president this way, as we did with the Bush Indictment Resolution, which brought worldwide fame to Brattleboro in 2008, and other BCS proposals and versions of the ordinance. It’s sad that such proposals don’t go out of date. But BCS and Brattleboro people have gained experience. Many of us will recall the backlash that overwhelmed our town offices for days with death threats and threats to disrupt Vermont’s economy. We broke new ground, and we stood our ground. We must push on.
BRATTLEBORO COMMON SENSE
RESIST everywhere, and speak at the selectboard meeting Thursday 6:15
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