Thank you to everyone who contributed to my diary two days ago gauging interest in a local protest action at the Pine Bluffs Redstone Arsenal, the only facility that currently produces and warehouses WP. Reception to the idea was
inspiring and I am committed to seeing this through.
More importantly, I now have the framework of a plan.
Please recommend this diary and give it the legs it needs to get the word out. The broad strokes are just below the fold.
On December 10th, international Human Rights Day, we will present two things to
the CO of the Pine Bluffs Arsenal. The first is
evidence that his facility is manufacturing weapons of mass destruction that are being used to kill, maim and mutilate innocent civilians in Iraq, today -- and that they have therefore been unwitting participants in war crimes. The second is a
petition, signed by as many Pine Bluffs residents and employees as humanly possible and citizens from all over the U.S. and the world, demanding that they cease production and shipments of WP immediately, until such time as they have legally binding assurances from President George W. Bush that white phosphorus will never again be deployed in a lethal capacity, anywhere, for any purpose.
They will have 30 days to comply. If by January 9th the facility has not ceased production, or obtained the assurances it needs from the White House, people of conscience will arrive in Arkansas by the thousands with news crews, documentarians, journalists, and humanitarians, and bring the attention of the world to this disgrace.
There is no reason the people of Pine Bluffs and the employees of the Arsenal should not want to do the right thing. They, moreso than even any of us, have been duped and hoodwinked and betrayed by this Administration and this Pentagon into believing that they are producing smokes and obscurants when in fact they are producing weapons that indiscriminately melt the flesh off of children.
We will hold people of authority to account. We will awaken a community to the bitter, poisonous fruits of its labor, and engage them in helping to heal the wounds they have seared into the flesh of our country, of our pride, of our patriotism, and of foreign innocents.
We cannot fail. The stakes are too high.
We need people. We need a web dev expert who can help with the site and petition. We need a point person on the ground in Pine Bluffs, or Little Rock. We need people to engage the mayor and other local leaders to apprise them of our plans and build critical alliances. Please consider giving of your time and effort; post to this diary and I will contact you individually.
I am out of pocket from tomorrow until 11/21, at which time I will re-engage in earnest and touch base with everyone who has responded.
Thank you very much for caring about this as much as I do.