Peace in The Era of Obama

Dr. Joseph Gerson, noted peace activist and director of Peace and Economic Security Programs for the American Friends Service Committee of New England, will speak at the Friends Meeting House, 120 Friend Street, Amesbury, at 7:00 pm on Thursday evening, January 14. He will talk about Peace in the Era of Obama. His presentation will be followed by a discussion of the issues with the audience. All are welcome. Admission is free.

 

Dr. Gerson has been active with peace and justice movements since the mid-1960s. He helped launch the Nuclear Freeze and US Middle East peace movements in the 1970s, anti-bases education and organization in the 1980s, and more recently United for Peace and Justice, the International Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases and the International Planning Group for Nuclear Abolition.

 

He continues to work closely with peace movements across the US and in Asia and Europe, and currently serves as convener of the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference International Planning Committee. He also serves on the American Friends Service Committee’s Afghanistan working group.

 

He is widely published. His most recent article, “Obama’s Afghan ‘Strategy’—Another American Tragedy,” was widely distributed in the US and internationally. He has edited and written four books about US foreign and military policies, most recently Empire and the Bomb: How the US Uses Nuclear Weapons to Dominate the World.

 

Dr. Gerson received his BSFS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and his PhD in Politics and International Security Studies from the Union Institute and College.

 

John Monroe, Director of the Peace Center, noted that in his talk, Dr. Gerson will discuss the implications of the recent decisions of the Obama government with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially in the light of the fact that President Obama has recently been awarded the Nobel Peace prize. He also noted that this seems especially relevant since the American Friends Service Committee, for which Dr. Gerson works, was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1947 for the work it did to help refugees during World War II.