Iowa Air Guard Cautioned

"It was with a profound sense of shame," wrote Des Moines Catholic Worker Mike Sprong in the community newsletter Via Pacis this fall, "that we opened the July 30 issue of The Des Moines Register to see Governor Tom Vilsack perched in the cockpit of an Iowa Air Guard F-16 warplane, praising the Guard's upcoming mission to enforce the 'no fly zone' over northern Iraq."

So a few days later, Sprong and fellow Catholic Workers Ed Bloomer and Brian Terrell entered the headquarters of the 132nd Fighter Wing at Des Moines International Airport to deliver a "Caution and Appeal" to the commander and personnel regarding the illicit nature of their participation in the bombing campaign. The three were arrested by base security and turned over to city police, who released them without charges.

Their "Caution and Appeal" was also sent to the Governor, who referred to, but was later unable to cite, what in fact does not exist: a U.N. resolution authorizing the creation and enforcement by bombs of a 'no fly zone' in Iraq. As it happened, Iowa Air Guard pilots destroyed a mosque and injured several civilians during their tour of duty.

For more information, contact the Des Moines Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 4551, Des Moines, IA 50306.