Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/steve-clemens/page/5/)
I'm a resident of Minneapolis and a peace and social justice activist. I'm a member of the Community of St. Martin and serve on the Boards of Pax Christi Twin Cities Area and the Iraqi/American Reconciliation Project (IARP). I also served as a member of the MN Peace Team during the RNC in 2008. I was part of the Iraq Peace Team in December 2002 and traveled to Afghanistan in March 2011 to plant trees for peace with the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers.
The President announced two weeks ago that the war in Iraq is over. The TV cameras showed the convoy of military trucks driving out of Iraq into Kuwait. All US Troops are now out of Iraq – well, except for several hundred which remain in the Kurdish north who will continue to train Iraqi military and police. Continue Reading
It was in conversation with the Iraqi doctors visiting from Najaf that I inquired about Muqtada al-Sadr and the role he and his militias might play in Iraq after the U.S. uniformed troops leave by the end of this year. [Note: we leave behind close to 6,000 mercenary “contractors” – mostly ex-military personnel hired at enormous cost to provide “security” for U.S. Continue Reading
It was in conversation with the Iraqi doctors visiting from Najaf that I inquired about Muqtada al-Sadr and the role he and his militias might play in Iraq after the U.S. uniformed troops leave by the end of this year. [Note: we leave behind close to 6,000 mercenary “contractors” – mostly ex-military personnel hired at enormous cost to provide “security” for U.S. Continue Reading
I sat across the table from my new friend, Dr. Ali, an Iraqi Radiologist who was visiting Minneapolis as part of the Sister City delegation from Najaf, Iraq. Continue Reading
Usually when I risk arrest in an action of nonviolent civil disobedience I try to only carry the bare essentials: my drivers license/ID and possibly some cash if I will try to make bail. I even remove my wedding ring if I’m expecting to end up in jail. Continue Reading
When I first signed up to come to Washington and return to the White House, I thought to myself: wasn’t it just a year and a half ago that I told Christine that I’m getting too old to spend another night in jail? Continue Reading
Rose Berger from Sojourners Magazine spoke to the hundreds of us gathered in Lafayette Park just before we processed to the fence surrounding the White House. She mentioned the irony of building a monument to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by the powerful political forces who disregarded or dismissed his message during his lifetime – we only honor him after he is safely dead. Continue Reading
Over the past 40+ years, most of my attempts at peacemaking, my efforts for justice, my acts of conscience have been derivative; I’ve followed the lead and inspiration of others, content to be a “ [nonviolent] foot soldier for justice”.
Hakim, the founder and mentor of the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers (AYPV), lives very simply. He attended a Christian boarding school as a youth but didn’t see the faith put into practice. He has read both Gandhi and Noam Chomsky and their ideas and values permeate much of his life. Continue Reading
The conversation actually began the afternoon before. The seven of us who traveled to the Panjshir Valley had hurried back so we could attend a session on transitional justice followed by a meal at the home of our speaker. Continue Reading