Making a Difference

We are together the intersection of like minded people needing peace that includes Veterans For Peace, Inc., Code Pink, Women’s International League For Peace & Freedom (WILPF), About Face, Black and Indigenous peoples generally.

October 9, 2024:  “President Air & Space Defense Systems” Sam Deneke has been asked to reach me through Linked.  His address is not in Tucson according to the Raytheon webpage:

 ( https://www.rtx.com/raytheon/who-we-are/leadership/sam-deneke ) 

but at 1000 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, VA.  Passing off Raytheon’s offensive weaponry development and distribution to a president in charge of Defense Systems is not overtly giving a response to the 7 statutes increasingly recognized as laws being broken by our U.S. governement.  We hope a “timely response” stating Raytheon’s official policy regarding these 7 statutes will be coming from President Deneke and Vice President/Director Farlow within the next week.  Time marches on.  Inaction is damning!

September 26, 2024, Vice President/Director John Farlow and I talked by phone.  Director. Farlow returned my 3 phone calls to him where messages were left.  Director Farlow had been traveling as his position in Raytheon is international.

                                                THE RESULTS

• The “hand delivered” VFP, Inc. letter to Director Farlow is to be given to Deputy Vice President Sam Deneke – an employee of Raytheon in Tucson.
• The letters (or ones similar to it) from Veterans For Peace, Inc. are acknowledged to have been delivered to Raytheon officials in Forth Wayne, Indiana and in McKinney, Texas.
• Director Farlow asked for and was sent the VFP Inc. letter (with a link to the letter on https://veteransforpeace.org ) to his specified email
• It is Director Farlow’s goal specifically for Raytheon to publish a policy statement addressing the 7 statutes detailed in the VFP, Inc. letter
• Director Farlow and Security Officer Jeremy Holt both reiterated the past nonviolent relationship between demonstrators at Raytheon’s entrances and Raytheon employees.
• We all hope for a published formal response in a timely manner from Raytheon that addresses the 7 statutes alleging the U.S. administration may be disobeying these statutes .

I am grateful for the people who are active in promoting peace through nonviolence making my efforts possible.  They include William (Pete) Peterson, Jim Driscoll, Nuclear Resister (Jack & Felice Cohen-Joppa), VFP Jon Miles Chapter 13, Tucson members, Paul Gattone (attorney), along with numerous other individuals.  Thank you!!

The following happened as a historical document showing how extremely difficult it is to reach Raytheon people in charge who can make the public’s concerns –  the laws of our own country – known to their corporation policy makers and help form corporation policy that abides by our own country’s laws.

Corporations routinely stall, ignore, and obstruct communication.  The story below is a documented case in point.
I attempted the delivery of a Veterans For Peace(VFP), Inc. letter (Ref 1) to an executive officer of Raytheon in Tucson September 5, 2024 after 9:30am.  My attempts for an invitation to deliver this letter started the week before.  The Raytheon website gave a “corporate office” address (Ref 2), phone number and email (Ref 3) and an internal request for contact/interview (Ref 4).  The opportunity to request delivery of this letter was given in the body of an internal Raytheon request as well as the corporatepr@rtx.com email (Ref 5).  Upon calling the “pr” phone number, a phone is not working message was given.  The emails sent to Raytheon internally and to the external email address have gone unanswered.  Four of our citizen awareness group went to the 1250 E. Aero Park Blvd. address expecting to deliver the letter to a Raytheon President of Missiles and Defense.  Upon entry, I identified myself as the local VFP Chapter President by name and purpose – to deliver the VFP letter written by VFP, Inc. President, Susan Schnall, and former  acting VFP Executive Officer, Mike Ferner,  to a Raytheon Administrator able to communicate the letter with fellow Raytheon officers.  I stated this action is a part of a nationwide campaign to deliver this detailed letter to armament suppliers to Israel operating from the United States.  The letter includes 7 statutes, including perhaps the most famous Leahy Law that concludes “we believe [these statutes] may have been violated by staff at the Department of State”.  The receptionist told us I was at “Raytheon’s welcoming center”.  The receptionist could not direct us to any administrative authority nor any other course of action.
We asked to see the receptionist’s supervisor.  A plain clothed person came out identifying himself as “security”(Ref 6).  We showed the security agent a Manila envelope and the enclosed letter.  The security agent said the “President Raytheon Missiles & Defense”(Ref 7) had retired.  He offered to give the letter to the V.P. / Director of Communications and Public Affairs(Ref 8) later that day.  I gave him my card with my name, phone number, email address and ZOOM address for our chapter meetings on the 2nd Monday each month(Ref 8).  He gave me the V.P.’s name and phone number (Ref 9) and the assurance he, the security agent, would request the Vice President to confirm his receipt of the letter and to communicate it to Mr. Jasper – the President of Raytheon living in Iowa.  There has been no response to me.  The phone number given that I called did not reach Raytheon.  Instead, a voice message hard to understand that did not seem to relate to Raytheon was frustrating.  Walking into Raytheon past the check point gate to deliver the letter personally to a Raytheon Executive Officer may be our next best action.  I hope Raytheon employees and security personnel will be more accommodating with this next attempt to simply communicate (with this letter) the possibility that Raytheon may be complicit in crimes against humanity.  It is my hope and prayer that the officers in Raytheon will read this letter with an open mind, with the realization that armaments sent to Israel are in fact being used against these 7 statutes.  Our request then is, how will Raytheon act to remedy the actions our United Sates are doing that may be against our own U.S. laws?  What is Raytheon’s position relative to these 7 statutes?  It is Raytheon’s responsibility as a corporation wanting to be just, to be moral, to follow existing statutes covered in this letter to give a position communicated to U.S. citizens.  We respectfully and earnestly look forward to a response to editor@veteransforpeace.org, to me cabissell@fastmail.fm , or better yet to the public at large.  Thank you.
REFERENCES AVAILABLE BY REQUEST BY AUTHOR – BY RESPONDING TO “CONTACT US” LEAVING YOUR NAME AND PHONE NUMBER.  REQUESTS MAY OR MAY NOT BE GRANTED WITH THE AUTHOR’S SOLE DISCRESION.

The United States Supreme Court ruled that “Corporations are people.“ Therefore, it is logical to view the United States as a person who needs to be held accountable. Unfortunately, immorality in the country via corporate greed and unashamedly increased military spending results in suffering that cannot continue.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VLYB3VuHEM-UfjvuOnMJdFzi3HNR738P/view     This Link – the letter – is used with permission from Veterans For Peace, Inc.

It is possible for our country to be found guilty of mass civilian killings. Our volunteer organization works to stop this. We are being tried as a country in the United Nations World Court.

People of current Israel are so conscious of the persecution of Jews by Nazis in WWII that they will do anything to keep that persecution from ever happening to them again.  That includes their using many persecution tactics used by the Nazis against Jews in WWII – against Palestinians now.”  Israel has extended WWII.  The Jews (aka Israel) are the perpetrators and by extension the U.S. is complicit.  We are complicit unless we act to right this wrong.  Contact your U.S. Senators and Representative.  Contact your local City Council.  Talk with your friends and neighbors!!!