each other.
Every culture con-
demns murder, yet
killing in the name of
the State (and now in
the name of God) is
not only permitted but
has traditionally been glorified. Exhortations
to maintain peace are an almost inevitable part
of public and ceremonial events. Political can-
didates and public of-ficials promise peace on
every possible occasion, but war and mayhem
continue, always justified as necessary to
achieve noble goals: democracy, security, sta-
bility, regime change, nation building. War is
necessary, we are told, if we are to achieve
lasting peace!
An important inquiry into the causes of
war comes from psychologist Ralph Whites

Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center
Dec 07/Jan 08

55 Eckley Lane Walnut Creek CA 94596-6799 info@mtdpc.org
www.mtdpc.org
925-933-7850
PEACE GAZETTE
Nobody Wanted War. White describes cer-
tain factors that, by distorting one groups
view of another during con-flict, can lead to
a justification for violence:
Diabolical enemy-image The enemy is
bad and must be destroyed. The enemy is
perceived as externally aggressive and
internally suppressive. His institutions
and ideology are a cancer that must at
any cost be stopped from spreading; he
must be preempted before he attacks us.
Moral self-image Our way is good and
honorable and must be preserved. Our
enemies are not trustworthy; they are
preparing for aggression. Both parties
are convinced that God is on their side.
Virile self-image The essential thing is to
seem con-sistent, strong and firm. Our
enemies understand only strength. The
possibility of our use of force must al-
ways remain on the table.
Selective inattention Attention is focused
( Suppose, Continued on page 4)
A C T I O
A C T I O
A C T I O
A C T I O N
N
N
N




o f t h e
o f t h e
o f t h e
o f t h e M O N T
M O N T
M O N T
M O N T H
H
H
H




Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came?

By
Eric Anschutz


Happy Holidays, to one and all! Why feel sickened by
excessive display, imports of questionable origin, or rampag-
ing consumerism? As you gather for the holidays with fam-
ily and friends, discuss the option of giving green this year.
And while considering the greenest of green gifts, why not
give the gift of peace?
Remember when we were little and wanted to have
Christmas every day? Well, since the very essence of this
holiday season is peace on earth and giving joy to others,
what better way to ensure that the spirit of the season will last
year round than to give Peace.
Finally, dont forget to put the Peace Center on your
holiday gift list. Return your Year End Appeal form with as
generous a donation as possible to keep the good works roll-
ing well into the new year!

GIFTS OF PEACE THIS HOLIDAY
GIFTS OF PEACE THIS HOLIDAY
GIFTS OF PEACE THIS HOLIDAY
GIFTS OF PEACE THIS HOLIDAY
T-Shirts $15
Bracelets
$20
Calendars
$10
Postcards
10/$2.00
Order Form Page 9 PEACE GAZETTE Nov 07/Jan 08
Page 2
Mt. Diablo
Peace & Justice Center

The Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center
works to build a more peaceful and just
world through citizen involvement. To
this end, we work to eliminate nuclear
weapons; reduce militarism; heal the
causes of violence, such as racism and
injustice; and promote nonviolent
conflict resolution. We are a
c o m mu n i t y - b a s e d o r g a n i z a t i o n
focusing on education and action. The
Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center is a
501 c (3) non-profit, tax-deductible
o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Wont you join us?
Wont you join us?
Wont you join us?
Wont you join us?




FOUNDER:
FOUNDER:
FOUNDER:
FOUNDER: Andy Baltzo

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:



Mary Alice O'Connor

PEACE CENTER BOARD:
PEACE CENTER BOARD:
PEACE CENTER BOARD:
PEACE CENTER BOARD:
Ron Schmidt & Dave Johnson (Co-
Chairs), Claire Bainer, Michael Barnett,
Chris Coons, Jeff Day, Elicha
Gastalumendi, Charlie Hahn, Bob
Hanson, Beth Jersey, Bob Maxwell,
Jerry Okendo, Rick Sterling, Jamila
Stewart, Dennis Thomas, Stephen
Zendt

EDITOR:
EDITOR:
EDITOR:
EDITOR: Virginia Wheaton




MAILING COORDINATOR:
MAILING COORDINATOR:
MAILING COORDINATOR:
MAILING COORDINATOR:



Sheila Pedersen

CONTRIBUTORS:
CONTRIBUTORS:
CONTRIBUTORS:
CONTRIBUTORS: Eric Anschutz,
Joan Friedman, Michael Kocholwiec,
Virginia Wheaton and M.A.OConnor




WEBMASTERS:
WEBMASTERS:
WEBMASTERS:
WEBMASTERS:




Aiko Lee and Joan Friedman




PEACE GAZETTE
PEACE GAZETTE
PEACE GAZETTE
PEACE GAZETTE
E
E
E
E----mail:
mail:
mail:
mail:



peacegazette@yahoo.com

PEACE CENTER E
PEACE CENTER E
PEACE CENTER E
PEACE CENTER E----mail:
mail:
mail:
mail:



info@mtdpc.org

PEACE CENTER WEBSITE:
PEACE CENTER WEBSITE:
PEACE CENTER WEBSITE:
PEACE CENTER WEBSITE:
www.mtdpc.org


The views expressed herein are the
opinions of the writers and do not
necessarily speak for all members of the
Mt Diablo Peace and Justice Center.
This is a letter from A.. Diamond one of our members whose grandson
just returned from a tour in Iraq. You may remember that Brandon wrote us
from Iraq.

Dear Peace Gazette, This is our Brandon in the center at the very moment
he first came in contact with his two brothers, Ryan on the left and Shane on
the right. I felt it was a truly candid moment. Brandon came to his home-
base, at Ft. Lewis, Wash. on September 13th, his grandfather's birthday. He
still has until late December to complete his enlistment and so is still in Wash-
ington. He had a short leave of 4 days and was able to fly home.
An interesting aside: When the troops flew in, of course no one was able
to be at the airport. They bussed them to a field at Ft. Lewis and lined them
up to the side of what was a large gymnasium. The soldiers had to file in or-
derly to turn in their equipment and be accounted for, while the families stood
off at a distance impatiently. Our daughter, Brandon's Auntie Syl, spied him
in the crowd of soldiers and nudged Brandon's dad and said "There he is!"
Spontaneously, they yelled and ran out of the crowd, shouting 'BRANDON,
BRANDON!" Brandon saw them off in the distance and heard them shouting
his name. He broke rank and met them in the middle of the field where they
hugged and sobbed while the family crowd and the soldiers cheered and whis-
tled. It was a magical moment and a testimony to the triumph of so much love
and prayers. We know he is one among millions, but he is our "ARMY OF
ONE".
Peace, Diamond.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor
by Virginia Wheaton
Please submit your letters to the Peace Center Office or online at
peacegazette@yahoo.com
.

May all military families know this same joy in 2008!

Peace in the News!
Peace in the News!
Peace in the News!
Peace in the News!
Iran: The Next Invasion
may
well be the title of the latest foreign
policy directives coming out of the
White House. Members of Comgress
are lining up to support such an ac-
tion, including our own Rep
Tauscher, who has cited the
evidence that Iran is working on
WMD and is supportingguess
who?Al Qaeda in Iraq.. When will
they ever learn? Lets stop this war
before its begun! Start calling Con-
gress now. For inspiration, go to
http://www.lucasgray.com/video/
peacetrain.html
.

Firefighters
of New York City are par-
ticipating in a trial program, compli-
ments of the Department of Homeland
Security. Why? Their warrant-less access
to the homes of private citizens provides
the perfect opportunity for Big Brother
to snoop on unsuspecting Americans.
Will citizens of Arab-descent be sub-
jected to heightened scrutiny by emer-
gency personnel merely based on their
ethnicity, or will they be afraid to call for
help due to previous experiences of re-
pression? Lets leave our emergency
personnel free to respond to crises, not
focused on spying on the folks they are
supposed to be helping. PEACE GAZETTE Nov 07/Jan 08
Page 3
too, is a conspiracy theory. Thus, the
question of dismissing "conspiracy
theories" is moot. Unless we claim
that one person flew all four planes,
we have to choose among conspiracy
theories. Better yet, lets eliminate the
term conspiracy theories, which
tends to be prejudicial to rational dis-
course, and just call them questions.
A basic premise of the 9/11 Truth
movement is that there are so many
contradictory facts not covered by the
government and media stories about
9/11 that it becomes obvious that we
have not been told the truth. In fact,
there is disturb