Vietnam Veteran and Friend Allen Nelson passed away this year, the cause was bone cancer, possibly from his exposure to Agent Orange during the war against the Vietnamese people. He was a marine during the Vietnam War, and what he saw changed him, as war changed me, as war changes us all. My name is Ash Woolson, I am a veteran of the Iraq war. I am president of a chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War though I consider myself an Iraq Veteran Against ALL War. This June my family and I recently attended Allen Nelson’s memorial service in Ishikawa, Japan.
After years of struggling with the demons that haunt soldiers after war, Allen Nelson devoted himself to peace activism and started to talk with the people of Okinawa about the occupation of American forces in Japan, specifically on the islands of Okinawa. Speaking about the occupation of American forces on Okinawa is something that Mr. Nelson knew intimately; he had trained for years on the islands and had seen the American military’s brutal treatment of the Okinawan people first hand. Over a course of 16 years Allen Nelson went from speaking about Okinawa to also speaking about “the pacifist constitution,” Article Nine of the Japanese Constitution, and the global importance of Article Nine. In Japan “Allen Nelson” became synonymous with Article Nine and the push to end the American occupation of Japan.
Article Nine in the Japanese constitution reads like this, “Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. (2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.(Law Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/law/help/JapanArticle9.pdf )” This part of the Japanese constitution has kept Japan from being involved in war since WW2, during which an estimated 20 million Asians were killed by the Japanese military. Japan also suffered severe firebombing of its major metropolitan areas and nuclear bombs were dropped on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States, killing 2.5 million Japanese.
How Article Nine was established in the Japanese constitution is subject to a lot of debate, but I believe that any controversy draws attention from the gem of peaceful legislation that Article Nine truly is. When Article Nine was drafted, the world was still reeling from the painful aftermath of WW2 and willing to try something new. It was this moment of clarity that Article Nine was birthed, and a militaristic nation was born again into a peaceful nation, one that hasn’t committed a single act of war for over 60 years.
But now the United States is pressuring Japan to remove this particular part of its constitution.
The Article Nine debate started when former Deputy U.S. Secretary of state, Richard Armitage said in a special report that,”Japan’s prohibition against collective self-defense is a constraint on alliance cooperation. Lifting this prohibition would allow for closer and more efficient security cooperation.(Armitage report http://www.ndu.edu/ndu/sr_japan.html )” Basically it insists that Japan needs to remove Article Nine from it’s constitution to fulfill it’s obligation to the United States for cooperative security. Removing Article Nine would, in a sense, make Japan’s Self Defense Force (similar in intention to the American National Guard) a reserve component of the United States military. The U.S. influence over Japanese politicians has become abundantly clear with the former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda following President Bush’s policies until his approval rating in Japan was worse than Bush’s and he was shamed into resignation. Now Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso seems to be following the same fate with an approval rating for his cabinet at 23.9 percent (http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/aso-cabinets-approval-rating-recovers-to-234-kyodo-poll ).
My experiences in Iraq piqued my interest in Article Nine as well. What I saw during that year in 2003 changed my idea of what the purpose of war is. During my time I saw how the Iraqi people were losing because of the occupation. We systematically called all Iraqi nationals by the term “Haji” just like we called the Japanese “Japs” during WW2 and the Japanese in turn called Americans “Kitchukubayay” which translates to “white devil.” The intention of these terms is to separate the people that are killed and the idea that they are also humans.
When I returned from the war I also saw how the soldiers that were fighting the war were also losing, for example one third of the homeless in American are veterans, and the majority of veterans returning from war suffer PTSD; 17 veterans are committing suicide everyday, which is twice the average of non-veterans.
Like Allen Nelson, I’ve been traveling to Japan to encourage the Japanese people to hold on to Article Nine. In the spring of 2008, I walked 1000 miles from Hiroshima to Makuhari Japan, bringing awareness to the importance of Article Nine. During the peacewalk I learned more about myself, and what my dream of peace is. This is when I changed from being a veteran against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to a veteran against all wars.
After I saw that everyone involved in war loses I asked myself, “What is the purpose of war if everyone loses?” I thought about this question far too long, because when I realized the answer I saw how truly simple it was. The people don’t win during war, but the corporations that are involved in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are seeing massive payouts. It occurred to me that was was started for greed, and the more I look into this, the more I see that it is correct, war is inexplicable connected to greed of some kind or another. Leaders get to control more people and land, or get wealthier; all while the people die and suffer.
I remember my first grade teacher telling me to stop hitting another kid on the playground at recess, her reason was simple: she said in her Midwestern accent “violence doesn’t solve anything.” Every child is taught this, why do the majority of people believe that it is OK or inevitable that one country will slap another country? Mahatma Gandhi said that the same rules apply to personal relationships as countries and their relationships. How much longer are we going to accept the same mistakes as natural?
So many wars have been started under the idea that it will bring peace, but war cannot bring peace. If it was possible to bring peace through war, we would be living in a peaceful world today.
I am using this soap box to announce a peacewalk initiated by veterans and welcome to all, next summer from Allen Nelsons hometown Bronx, NY. To Washington DC. The peacewalk will encourage the discussion of a pacifist amendment into the constitution of the United States. This conversation needs to be addressed. As many of us know, one half of our taxes are going to the military, it has become clear that the militaries aggressive behavior is not creating a safer place for Americans or any peoples. Walkers all ages are encouraged to join for as long as they want to walk. Some meals and stay places will be provided. For more information please refer to the website http://thepeacewalk.com. I will be updating this site with information on how to participate and contribute to the peacewalk next summer. My email is ashkyrie@gmail.com, please let me know if you have any questions.
Filed under: Article 9, IVAW on July 18th, 2009 | No Comments »
