Star-Ledger columnist Paul Mulshine and Maplewood Mayor Fred Profeta spoke at the event sponsored by the Seton Hall Students for Individual Liberty (SHUSIL), the Seton Hall College Democrats and South Mountain Peace Action.

Click for photos ::1 ::2 ::3 ::4

To read the report click here

A Call to End the War in Iraq on its 5th Anniversary. Sponsored by MoveOn.org and South Mountain Peace Action.
Click for photos of the event: Part 1 and Part 2.

The welcome table at Maplewood Memorial Library, where South Mountain Peace Action launched two petitions on Be About Peace Day.
Click for Program :: Photos-1 :: Photos-2 :: Photos-3 :: Photos-4 :: Photos-5 :: Photos-6
:: Op-Ed :: Proclamations :: Petitions

South Mountain Peace Action is sponsoring a film series that will focus on themes of Israeli-Palestinian peace. The series will be inaugurated on Saturday April 9th at 7:30 pm at the Ethical Culture Society, 516 Prospect Street, Maplewood.
Maplewood filmmaker Shlomi Ben Yair will introduce his film short, “Heaven is Waiting,” which is a prequel to a feature film “A Seed of Hope” that will be produced in Israel. The Israeli Jewish characters are played by Palestinian actors and the Palestinians are played by Israeli Jewish actors.
Admission is free, donations appreciated.
Click for the New Jersey Jewish News article on the April 9th screening.
Upcoming screenings will be posted soon.
For further informtion write judi@beaboutpeace.com or call 973-763-9493.

Click here

to see the conference.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011
7:30 to 9:00 pm
Maplewood Memorial Library
51 Baker Street, Maplewood NJ

“How to End the $800 billion War in Afghanistan”
Speaker: Matthew Hoh
The Foreign Service officer in Afghanistan who resigned in protest in 2009.
Mr. Hoh also served in Iraq as a captain in the US Marine Corps and as a Defense Department official.
He is currently director of the Afghanistan Study Group in Washington DC.
“The US should by no means abandon Afghanistan, but it is time to abandon the current strategy that is not working. Trying to pacify Afghanistan by force of arms will not work.”

Directions
Sponsored by
SOUTH MOUNTAIN PEACE ACTION
Free and open to the public.
All points of view are welcome.
Download file for PDF flyer.

A Citizens’ Proposal for Peace in Afghanistan
South Mountain Peace Action supports the following steps to improve the prospects for peace in Afghanistan and enable our troops to come home as soon as possible.
1. A Presidential Timetable for Withdrawal of US Troops
President Obama should issue a plan to carry out a timetable for the safe, orderly and expeditious redeployment of US armed forces from Afghanistan, as called for by House Resolution 5015 by Rep. James McGovern and by Senate Resolution S3197 by Senator Russ Feingold.
We urge consideration of the following steps, recommended by military and civilian experts, to improve the prospects for improved security, development and human rights, as we redeploy our troops from Afghanistan:
2. Redefine Our Mission in Afghanistan
The US should rebrand its mission in Afghanistan to carrying out the United Nations mandates which call for military and civilian assistance to help the Afghan people improve their security, rebuild their country and protect human rights, especially for women. The current emphasis on our mission as “defeating” Al Qaeda suggests a military victory, which virtually everyone, including General Petraeus, agrees is impossible.

3. Avoid Civilian Casualties and Minimize Military Casualties
The US should strengthen its policy of avoiding civilian casualties by stopping drone attacks which Colonel David Kilcullen says victimize innocents and are counterproductive and which the ACLU says are violations of US Constitution and international law. We should also prioritize military actions to minimize our military casualties as well as civilian casualties. Securing urban areas instead of attacking Taliban strongholds, is a priority suggested by Gilles Dorronsoro of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
4. Press Pakistan to End its Safe Haven and Weapons Flow to the Taliban
The US should continue to press Pakistan to eliminate the safe haven, the flow of weapons and any other form of support for the Taliban from its territory.
5. Negotiate With the Taliban but Require Acceptance of Human Rights, Especially for Women
The US should support Afghan Government efforts to negotiate with the Taliban on reconciliation and reintegration, but this should be conditioned on respect for basic human rights, especially for women, as recommended by Human Rights Watch in its July 2010 report on Afghanistan. Negotiations with the Taliban on power-sharing, as proposed by Gilles Dorronsoro, also protecting human rights, especially for women, should also be considered.
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For additional background information on the War in Afghanistan, click the following links:
Who Are the Taliban Today? Q&A with Gilles Dorronsoro
Women Today in Taliban-Controlled Areas: Human Rights Watch Report July 2010
US Casualties and Cost of the War in Afghanistan
Opinion Polls of Afghans and Americans
Letter of Resignation of Captain Matthew Hoh

US Economic Assistance to Afghanistan
US Goals in Afghanistan Are Similar to Soviets in 1980s

How the US supported the rise of extreme Islamic groups
in Afghanistan, including Al Qaeda and the Taliban
Origins of the Taliban
Taliban Violence: Murder, Mutilation and Terror
Taliban Decrees on Women and Culture in 1996.

Taliban Destruction of Buddha Monuments in 2001;
Carnage and Treachery in Afghan Civil War 1997-98
Taliban Regroups After US Invades in 2001