This petition was emailed to the Yale administration on December 10, 2021. To add your signature, please follow the instructions at tinyurl.com/YaleEndWarSign. Note that tinyurl.com/YaleEndWar redirects to this document.

Published: October 22, 2021 (last updated on Oct. 28)

End Support for Warmongers at Yale!

To the Administration of Yale University:

We’re writing as members of the Yale community who share a desire for our university to respect its commitment “to improving the world today and for future generations [...] through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community.” We came to Yale for its dedication to education and service, and we feel the need to speak out about the university’s conduct -- particularly its ongoing relationship with warmongers and American imperialism -- that severely undermines this dedication. Ever since it adopted the name of Elihu Yale, who made his wealth from the imperialist East India Company, Yale has welcomed powerful people who have helped commit mass atrocities into its faculty and administration. We call on the university to change this by ending its ongoing relationships with warmongers.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan has renewed public scrutiny of the global military-industrial complex and the War on Terror, which has directly killed more than 900,000 people and cost over $8 trillion while completely devastating countries. The recent resignation of Professor Beverly Gage from the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy -- a program with a $17.5 million endowment that enrolls about 20 students per year -- brings that public scrutiny even closer to home. Professor Gage resigned due to donor pressure to teach the program “the way Henry Kissinger would” and include Kissinger as an advisor (details about Kissinger’s approach to foreign policy in the endnote).1 Kissinger, though admired by many members of the American political elite, exemplifies all that is fundamentally wrong with the prevailing conception of “grand strategy”: the agency and precious lives of millions of people in foreign (primarily non-white majority) countries are disregarded for a chance at long-term hegemony for the most powerful country in the world. The devastation in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan are major examples of what practitioners celebrated by Yale, beyond Kissinger, have been deeply involved in (notable examples in the endnote).2

We believe that Yale’s ability to spread Lux et Veritas is hindered by its many associations with American imperialism. Accepting donor money with conditions that dictate what professors can teach is dangerous as a principle; it’s devastating when it means that warmongers like Kissinger advise curricula and shape the minds of tomorrow’s leaders. Furthermore, there’s a deep issue at Yale where credentialism often trumps humanitarianism. Just because certain individuals served in high-profile administrative roles doesn’t mean they should be teaching and celebrated at our university. Would it make sense for a former government-appointed member of a COVID-19 task force, who is known as a vehement vaccine skeptic, to develop public health curricula at Yale? Would it make sense for a popular biology writer who promulgated scientific racism to be an advisor at Yale? Of course not. Both of these scenarios are highly unlikely, but for some reason when it comes to foreign policy instruction, Yale seems to value the prestige of a position, or the fame of an individual, over a record that exemplifies care for human lives.

Of course, we support the open exchange and debate of ideas in the classroom. But we recognize that free expression on campus is actually set back when warmongers, whose work tends to deny the free expression of millions of vulnerable people around the world, are lauded rather than challenged by our university. The inconvenient truth is that, while military, intelligence, and defense industry officials have been responsible for drone strikes on civilians, arms sales to human rights violators, torture camps, nuclear proliferation, and other atrocities, there is very little accountability for such injustices since the US continues to evade international tribunals and offer effective impunity for its war crimes, unfazed by tragic consequences in other countries. We need to foster a campus wherein we truly cherish human life around the world. To do so requires refusing to promote warmongers who value power and profits for the elite to the detriment of humanity. There are three policies we urge Yale to immediately implement in order to begin disentangling the university from vicious American imperialism:

1. Prevent donor conditions on academic freedom. While recognizing that donors play a key part in funding university operations, it clearly erodes academic freedom for donors to condition what instructors can or cannot teach. This is especially necessary when the donors seek to establish programs promoting life-threatening ideologies. Yale shouldn’t be a dumping ground for harmful and dubious approaches of study just because wealthy donors would like to fund them. President Salovey is absolutely right to state that Yale’s foundational values are “free inquiry and academic freedom.” To fulfill those values, however, more concrete and public steps must be taken to prevent undue interference in the university’s core academic functions.

2. Adhere to a standard for Yale affiliation that would disqualify those involved in war crimes. It’s necessary for an independent committee, adhering to a standard based on promoting the most fundamental human rights, to review Yale-affiliated appointments of individuals formerly or currently involved in military activities or in foreign policy decisions that have led to wars. Many of these powerful individuals have evaded accountability for far too long. Accordingly, Yale must try to openly assess whether those affiliated (or potentially to be) with the university were involved in wielding state power to directly and deliberately kill or harm people. Not doing so could allow for high-ranking officials who inflicted horrible violence abroad to receive tacit professional approval from an influential private university. Implementing the suggested standard would prevent warmongers like Kissinger -- whose championing of bombing campaigns and amoral support of geopolitical allies led to US attacks and policies which killed hundreds of thousands of civilians -- from formally influencing students at Yale.

3. Refuse to invest in defense contractors. While it’s not clear if the Yale Endowment currently invests in defense contractors, the university should adopt a policy of refusing to invest in them or in funds that include them. The top defense contractors spend millions of dollars each year to fund political campaigns and lobby politicians while their executives enjoy lavish salaries far from the atrocities they supply. Yale states that it addresses ethical responsibilities in its investment policy, and it mentions assault weapon retailers as a prohibited investment due to the need for an environment “free from gun violence and the fear of gun violence.” Similarly, we need an environment free from imperial violence and the fear of imperial violence, both of which are especially concerns for members of the Yale and New Haven communities originating from countries routinely bombed by the US. The colossal amount of weapons sold to the US military and to allied forces abroad not only depletes taxpayer revenue for beneficial social programs but has actually made the world more dangerous due to the immense amount of casualties and damage in the poorest countries on the planet (e.g., the crisis in Yemen exacerbated by bombs made by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon).

We hope these recommendations and more will swiftly be taken up by Yale -- as its “For Humanity” campaign launches -- in order to make our university a better and more peaceful place in service to the world.

Thank you.

1 A brief summary of Kissinger’s atrocious record as US national security advisor and secretary of state:

• As national security advisor in 1970, Kissinger immediately relayed (see New York Times reporting) an order from President Richard Nixon as such: “Anything that flies on anything that moves” (i.e., indiscriminate bombing in Cambodia). As many as 150,000 Cambodian civilians were killed by US bombs between 1970-73; the bombing campaign was kept secret to the American public and strengthened support for the Khmer Rouge, a brutal regime that committed the Cambodian genocide once in power (see work by the Yale Genocide Studies Program and History Professor Ben Kiernan).
• The Trial of Henry Kissinger (2001) by journalist Christopher Hitchens details Kissinger’s support for “deliberate mass killings of civilian populations in Indochina, collusion in mass murder and assassination in Bangladesh, the personal planning of the murder of General Schneider in Chile, involvement in a plan to murder Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus and the incitement and enabling of genocide in East Timor.”
• Here’s an interview on Democracy Now! (2015) with Yale History Professor Greg Grandin, author of Kissinger’s Shadow (2016), about Kissinger’s impact being glossed over: “I felt like that, to the large degree, [Kissinger’s] gotten away with it, right? He’s 92 years old, and there’s been a rehabilitation of Henry Kissinger and supposedly what he stands for, not just by the political right, but by the—across the political establishment.” In the interview, Professor Grandin agreed that Kissinger should be tried as a war criminal.
• Here’s an article in Salon (2015) by Omer Aziz (Yale Law ’17) reflecting on Kissinger’s status in the Ivy League: “Regardless of what one did while in power, regardless of how disreputable or immoral or even criminal one’s actions, the elite academy has been all too willing to embrace even the most dubious of former officials.”

2 As reported by the New York Times, the recently-appointed Grand Strategy advisors, besides Kissinger, are Stephen J. Hadley, a former national security advisor to President George W. Bush during the troop surge of the Iraq War, and Thomas H. Kean, a former governor of New Jersey. They were selected by donors Nicholas F. Brady, a former US Treasury secretary under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and Charles B. Johnson, a billionaire businessman and major Republican donor. The founders of the Grand Strategy program are History Professor John Lewis Gaddis, History Professor Paul Kennedy, and the late Charles Hill, a diplomat who also worked as a speechwriter for Kissinger and chief foreign policy advisor for Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 campaign.

Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister and leader during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was appointed a fellow at Yale in 2008. He taught a seminar about “the potential of religious faith to bring the world’s people together rather than drive them apart.” John Kerry, the former US secretary of state whose tenure included failed humanitarian policy in Syria and support for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, leads the Kerry Initiative for global leadership on campus. The Jackson Institute for Global Affairs has had multiple senior fellows who were leaders in the War on Terror. They most notably include generals Stan McChrystal and David Petraeus, both of whom led US forces in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan led to tens of thousands of civilian casualties, including the 27 people killed by the US on February 21, 2010, and the 9 children killed by the US on March 3, 2011.

Last updated: December 31, 2021

Signatures

Summary

Total number of signatures: 112

• Yale affiliates (current and former): 48

• Yale students: 18
• Yale alumni: 25
• Current Yale faculty members: 5
• Former Yale faculty members: 3

• Public supporters: 53
• Organizations: 11

The signatures are categorized as follows:

• Individuals (Yale affiliates)
• Individuals (public supporters)
• Organizations

Some Comments from Signatories

• “As the director of a grassroots global justice organization with an on-the-ground presence in Connecticut, I would hope that Yale University would uphold its stated commitments to academic freedom and integrity.” ~ Isaac Evans-Frantz; Action Corps director
• “Yale and other Ivy League schools have groomed the world’s most powerful political actors, many of whom have been responsible for or complicit in mass atrocities and human rights abuses, including Henry Kissinger, George W. and H. W. Bush, and the Dulles Brothers. Yale must grapple with this reality and dramatically alter the way it teaches, funds, and conceives of “global affairs.”” ~ Ryan Gittler-Muñiz; YC Political Science ’20
• “War only profits governments, corporations and politicians. Time to end senseless and useless warmongering and use the resources to better humanity!” ~ Brenda Lee Smith; retired veteran with Veterans for Peace
• “As a Mother of a sick Iraq War veteran I assure you that the military-industrial complex must be stopped. Only peace will save humanity.” ~ representative from Madres Contra la Guerra (Mothers Against the War)
• “You go Yalies! It is disgusting how the military pervades academia, and this campaign is a bold challenge to that. THANK YOU!” ~ representative from Baltimore, MD Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter Veterans For Peace
• “As an academic and U.S. citizen working to demilitarize our country, I strongly support this effort.” ~ Lucy Suchman; Professor Emerita, Lancaster University, UK
• “Yale’s obsession with profit and prestige is coming at the expense of human life now, as it emboldens the war criminals of today that a professorship awaits them after they’ve finished their time in government. It’s time to cut all ties.” ~ anonymous
• “Yale cannot live up to its professed values if it keeps putting profit over principles. Bringing light and truth into the world means refusing donations that seek to glorify war and empire, forgoing investments in defense and weapons manufacturers regardless of the potential profits, and taking active steps to repair past harms that Yale's policies have caused.” ~ Saqib Bhatti; Saybrook ’04
• “Wow. This action strikes me as so reasonable and appropriate - I’m ashamed it wasn’t addressed decades ago. Let’s not wait any longer.” ~ John Levin; Yale College, Class of 1983
• “It’s about time Yale took action on this travesty.” ~ Dale Kutnick; Morse ’72

Individuals (Yale affiliates)

1. Daud Shad; Berkeley ’21
2. Mehdi Baqri; Saybrook ’21
3. Abel Negussie; Silliman ’22
4. Aastha KC; Pauli Murray ’20
5. Stanley Heller; Branford ’69
6. Amal Altareb; Pierson ’22.5
7. Ramis J. Wadood; YLS ’21
8. Yasmin Abdella; Saybrook ’22
9. Aurelia Dochnal; Stiles ’23
10. Layla Maloof-Gaeta; B.A. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies ’23
11. Benjamin Dormus; Benjamin Franklin ’21
12. Emiliano Salomón; Pierson ’22
13. Rasmus Schlutter; Morse ’21
14. Ruqaiyah Damrah; Yale College ’23
15. Asghar Rastegar; Professor of Medicine (Emeritus)
16. Sam Brakarsh; Yale College, 2021
17. Fatima El-Tayeb; Professor of Ethnicity, Race, and Migration
18. Sebastian Quaade; Pierson ’21
19. Hasfa Fazl; Silliman ’25
20. Ryan Gittler-Muñiz; YC Political Science ’20
21. Pamela Banner; Silliman ’20
22. Cornel West; former professor at Yale
23. Aziz Ahmed Díaz; Branford ’25
24. Tavia Nyong’o; William Lampson Professor of American Studies
25. Moses Goren; Branford ’23
26. Jack Delaney; Pierson ’24
27. Abigail Maher; Timothy Dwight ’24
28. Melissa Wang; Trumbull ’23
29. Jerome W Haferd; YSOA ’10, Lecturer
30. Nadia Ahmad; Visiting Associate Professor
31. Melissa Russell; Yale School of Architecture ’19
32. Morton K Brussel; Yale class of 1951 (Silliman College)
33. Rashid Khalidi; Davenport, 1970
34. Stephen V. Kobasa; YDS ’72
35. William Leight; Silliman ’04
36. Victor Diego Armengol; YSM ’22
37. Khaled Abou El Fadl; Class of 1986 and former professor
38. Andrew Bilodeau; Morse ’21
39. Saqib Bhatti; Saybrook ’04
40. Roxanna Andrade; student
41. Jingxin Xu; Davenport ’23
42. Rachel Willis; Pierson ’23
43. John Levin; Yale College, Class of 1983
44. Ida Hellander; Berkeley ’84
45. Pamela Hovland; MFA ’93; Faculty, School of Art
46. Dale Kutnick; Morse ’72
47. Thomas Starr; Alum
48. Lawrence J. Freundlich; Morse ’72

Individuals (public supporters)

1. Jan Jan Maran
2. Chris Schweitzer; New Haven resident
3. Isaac Evans-Frantz; Action Corps director
4. Marceau Crespo de Nogueira; New Haven resident
5. Kira Traylor
6. Fereshteh Ganjavi; New Haven resident
7. Lisa Ling
8. Angela Castille
9. Josephine Girardin
10. Carla Hess
11. John Cooper; retired
12. Dorothy Hoobler; freelance writer
13. Erline Towner
14. Donna S. Davis; Woodstock, Illinois resident
15. Terry L. Wolfe
16. Brenda Lee Smith; retired veteran with Veterans for Peace
17. Chris Fogarty
18. Louise A Legun
19. Jamie Bryan
20. Sadiya Patel; SMU Human Rights Fellow 2019
21. Don Somsky
22. Sam Coleman, PhD; California State University Long Beach
23. Thomas Westheimer; citizen
24. Rita Butler; individual who investigates all the science
25. Steve Breyman
26. Paul Werst
27. Joshua Douglas Bettis; former US Army 07-13
28. Richard C. Dawson; Vietnam veteran
29. Norma Pezzini; Hamden resident
30. Linda Ray; retired nurse
31. Kelly Dougherty
32. Lori Stefano
33. Alan Batten; Veterans For Peace
34. Frances Goff; concerned retired assistant to University doctors
35. Erik Schnabel
36. John Rosenbaum; Marshall, MO
37. Mary V. Jones-Giampalo
38. David M Rosenbaum, M.D.; Emeritus; Univ of WA School of Medicine
39. Rose R Aranita; Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
40. Jan Boudart; Nuclear Energy Information Service
41. Tracey G. Loyd
42. Curtis Miller
43. Diana Maria Koeck
44. Colin Moran
45. Lucy Suchman; Professor Emerita, Lancaster University, UK
46. Len Yannielli; Member - New Haven Peace Council
47. Nancy J Eberg; Greater New Haven Peace Council
48. Alfred Marder; New Haven resident
49. Mary Patten; School of the Art Institute of Chicago
50. Kathy Kelly; Ban Killer Drones
51. Dr. Alexander Henrich
52. Francis F Panzarella; New Haven Energy Task Force / Fight the Hike
53. Paula Panzarella; New Haven resident, New Haven Energy Task Force / Fight the Hike

Organizations

1. International Rights Advocates
2. Amistad Catholic Worker
3. Yemeni Liberation Movement
4. About Face: Veterans Against the War
5. Twin Cities Nonviolent (founded by Reverend Harry J Bury, PhD)
6. Teaneck Peace and Justice Vigil
7. Madres Contra la Guerra (Mothers Against the War)
8. Baltimore, MD Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter, Veterans For Peace
9. CODEPINK Women for Peace
10. Veterans For Peace Linus Pauling Chapter 132
11. Greater New Haven Peace Council