September, 23 2016, 01:15pm EDT
Petition Going to the Pentagon Calls for Closure of "War on Terror" Air Force Hub
A petition calling for closure of the U.S. overseas military base described as the hub for the "war on terror" -- the Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany -- is set for presentation at the Pentagon on Monday morning (Sept. 26).
A petition calling for closure of the U.S. overseas military base described as the hub for the "war on terror" -- the Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany -- is set for presentation at the Pentagon on Monday morning (Sept. 26).
The petition, signed by more than 20,000 people, will also be presented to the German government in Berlin.
"The Ramstein Air Base's crucial role in relaying signals for drone strikes is binding the United States and Germany in an unconscionable program for extrajudicial killings," the petition says. "That program receives major help from German intelligence agencies, which assist with drone targeting as they share surveillance data with the U.S. government."
Demonstrators who will present the petition are scheduled to gather at 9 a.m. on Monday near the top of the Metro subway escalators at the Pentagon stop (next to the bus bay).
While U.S. activists will present the petition at the Pentagon, it will also be presented in Berlin by German activists along with two American veterans of the "war on terror." They are Cian Westmoreland, a former Air Force technician who worked on the drone program in Afghanistan, and Matthew Hoh, a former Marine who was an officer in Iraq and became the highest-ranking State Department official to resign in protest of the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
In addition to the Ramstein base's crucial role in the U.S. global drone program, "Ramstein is also central to many other military aspects of the 'war on terror' that continues to have such profoundly negative consequences in many nations," the petition notes.
Addressed to President Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the U.S. Congress and the German parliament, the petition says: "While urgently calling for the de-escalation of conflicts and for serious negotiations, we support nonviolent movements in opposition to the Ramstein Air Base and other U.S. military bases around the globe. We urge you to take immediate steps to close the Ramstein Air Base and not replace its functions at any other location."
The petition includes thousands of individual comments written by signers from all over the world. The comments are posted online.
Initiated by RootsAction.org, the petition's partners include 20 other organizations, which are listed on the petition's webpage.
Background:
* Norman Solomon, The Nation: "The Most Important U.S. Air Force Base You've Never Heard Of"
* Jeremy Scahill,The Intercept: "Germany Is the Tell-Tale Heart of America's Drone War"
RootsAction is dedicated to galvanizing people who are committed to economic fairness, equal rights for all, civil liberties, environmental protection -- and defunding endless wars. We mobilize on these issues no matter whether Democrats or Republicans control Washington D.C.
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