Author name: davidswanson

In the photo above, World BEYOND War Board Member and Treasurer John Reuwer, a physician, at right, supports downwinders impacted by nuclear weapons testing, demanding restitution from the U.S. government that has experimented on and lied to people for decades. John commented:

“I often think the two reasons most otherwise good people support war is they don’t count all the costs, and they don’t know the alternatives to protecting freedom and self determination. Here are indigenous read more

I’m old enough to remember a video of a New York Times reporter who let slip that she’d been instructed never to say the president of the United States had lied, even if he (George W. Bush) was just blatantly lying. Not that she objected to the policy. It made perfect sense to her. Now I can’t find that video because the internet is so weighted down with accounts of Trump and Biden lying.

But I was quite pleasantly surprised when the only local daily here in Charlottesville, the read more

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty declares that NATO members will assist another member if attacked by “taking action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force.” But the UN Charter does not say anywhere that warmaking is authorized for whoever jumps in on the appropriate side.

The North Atlantic Treaty’s authors may have been aware that they were on dubious legal ground because they went on twice to claim otherwise, first adding the words “Any such armed attack and all read more

I fervently hope, dear reader, that you do not agree that every person in Israel deserves to die. But I know some of you do, and I hope to suggest a better way of looking at it. I know that you’re even more unlikely to agree with me that nobody ever anywhere “deserves to die.” But the closer you can get to agreeing with that, the better!

Have you heard people calling the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel a “success,” despite the perfectly predictable results piling up in mass graves? You read more

This year, 2024, World BEYOND War and WILPF Cameroon celebrate 10 years of building peace through nonviolent means. To mark this anniversary, this webinar was organised to share experiences of 10 years of anti-war activism and peacebuilding.

Is Large-Scale Violence Ever a Better Choice Than Nonviolent Action?

Arguing that war can never be justified was David Swanson, an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of World BEYOND War and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie. He hosts Talk World Radio. He is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and U.S. Peace Prize recipient.

Arguing that war can be justified was Jared Ball, a Professor of Communication and Africana Studies read more

May day! May day!

We raised young people to believe that genocide was wrong. We told them they had the right to free speech and assembly. We told them that lots of wars were somehow not genocidal (pay no attention to the millions of dark-skinned corpses behind the curtain, children) and that those wars even somehow mysteriously created those rights to free speech and assembly. Now those young people are being attacked by police, beaten up by judeonazi brownshirts, and unceremoniously suspended read more

NATO What You Need To Know

“An indispensable primer. It can save your life — indeed all of our lives…NATO is a clear and present danger to world peace, a war machine run amok.”

— Jeffrey D. Sachs

“Read this book to understand how NATO promotes a logic of domination, not equality, or justice or peace.”

—Clare Daly, MEP

Pre-order Now and get 15% off. Books will ship in May.

ABOUT THE BOOK

What is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? What role is played by its members and partners? Does the largest military alliance ever to exist serve the cause of peace or the causes of weapons sales and war mongering? Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the alliance, this sharp, concise account examines NATO’s origins, structure, and its goals at a time of mounting global tension.

NATO has remade itself repeatedly, as its read more

You may have heard that the U.S. Congress is finally doing the decent, moral, liberal, democratic, Democratic thing and aiding Ukraine.

You may believe, as pretty much everyone I ask tells me, that there was only one other choice available, namely “letting Putin win.”

You may agree with me that the Russian government and its leader — like every government I’ve ever heard of — have done horrendous things, that invading a country militarily is one of the worst things that can ever be done read more

NATO will be celebrating 75 years of itself — and plotting future wars and weapons sales — in Washington D.C. in July, and a lot of people are busy planning a counter-summit and rally to oppose NATO’s agenda.

For those who care about life on Earth, or who are upset by the horrors and risks of one of the current wars in Gaza or Ukraine, taking steps to move humanity away from the course plotted by the largest military alliance ever to exist may seem an obvious to-do-list item.

For those upset read more

I wonder if we can. I’m sitting in the airport in Bogotá, heading back to the U.S., with only the hassle of a universal criminal x-ray/strip search/eyeballs photographing routine, delayed flights, bad food, etc., while my friends in Colombia cannot simply go through that standard global-travel routine (as they can to visit much of the world) to visit the United States, having instead to apply for permission and wait months or years. Presumably the United States wants visitors, and would just read more

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, April 4, 2024

Remarks at Neutrality Congress, held April 4-6 2024 at Congress of the Republic of Colombia, Bógota, Colombia

NOT NEUTRALITY ON EVERYTHING

The brilliant and wonderful late U.S. historian Howard Zinn wrote that you cannot be neutral on a moving train. We all agree, I’m sure, that in the face of injustice, one should not be neutral, that silence and inaction are means of supporting those committing wrongs, that as was said by the late Dr. Martin read more

The City of Charlottesville, Virginia, has nudged the state of Virginia and the United States in the right direction for a long time.

Having lived in the city since 2005 and in the area much longer, I’ve seen and been part of some of it, including by supporting these resolutions passed by the City Council:

For Clean Elections (2012)

No War on Iran (2012 and 2020) — that first one was a U.S. first that inspired others.

No read more