Editor’s note: This commentary is by Richard Joseph, who is an artist, a member of the Stop the F-35 Coalition and a plaintiff in the F-35 lawsuit against the Air Force.
In a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. — Anonymous
[T]he truth revolution faces fierce opposition in Burlington. In fact, during the past four or five years, Burlington has been subjected to a concerted disinformation campaign touting the supposed benefits of basing the troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Burlington’s commercial airport. Lies have been told and repeated by F-35 basing proponents attempting to build public support. Now, in government documents released in conjunction with an ongoing lawsuit against the Air Force, some of the deceit has finally been exposed.
We were told Burlington is the best location for the F-35.
• But the truth revealed in government documents is that Burlington is the worst location from both an environmental and an operational perspective among the sites that were considered.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy said he’d “never put his finger on the scale” to convince the Air Force to select Burlington for the F-35 basing.
• But the truth as shown in the released documents is that Leahy coerced the Air Force to select Burlington.
We were told the basing selection process was fair and accurate.
• But Air Force charts clearly showed errors in the rating Burlington received.
When an orchestrated disinformation campaign by political and military leaders and their surrogates is deemed necessary in order to gain public support for a basing plan, something must be fundamentally wrong with the plan.
But the biggest lie of all was that the Vermont Air Guard mission and/or future was in jeopardy if Burlington was not selected to base the F-35. Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Peter Welch, Gov. Peter Shumlin, Mayor Miro Weinberger, Adjutant General Steven Cray and other political and Guard leaders all stated or wrote that the Vermont Guard needed the F-35 in order to remain in Vermont. The deceptions ranged from claims of the Air Guard losing a flying mission, to the Air Guard losing its entire mission, to the entire Guard (Air and Army) losing missions, to the Burlington International Airport future being in jeopardy if the F-35 did not come. Specifically,
• The Green Ribbon group, a mouthpiece of the Guard leadership, published 30-40 ads in local papers falsely claiming that the Guard needed saving.
• Numerous petitions were circulated with the title “Save the Guard.”
• Adjutant General Cray issued a press release saying jobs would be lost without the F-35.
• Gene Richards, aviation director at Burlington International Airport, stated at a Burlington City Council meeting that the commercial airport might suffer or even close if the F-35 did not come.
• As recently as August, Sanders stated in a letter that the F-35 was needed to keep the Guard.
The truth is that the future of the Air National Guard was never in jeopardy. The Air Force stated in its written legal documents and its oral testimony during the lawsuit that the Vermont Air National Guard’s (VTANG) flying mission would continue with or without the F-35. But this was not new information. The Air Force had stated this during the Environmental Impact Statement comment period in response to questions about the VTANG’s future mission. Even the federal judge in his Aug. 10 ruling mentioned it saying “… there is no evidence of a plan to close the base or to use it for purposes other than flying aircraft.” And “The Air Force has stated its commitment to fighter operations in Burlington even if the F-35 is based elsewhere.”
Certainly the VTANG leadership knew that. Certainly our congressional representatives knew that. It was stated in public records on numerous occasions.
When an orchestrated disinformation campaign by political and military leaders and their surrogates is deemed necessary in order to gain public support for a basing plan, something must be fundamentally wrong with the plan. That is the case here. F-35 operations will result in the cognitive impairment of many hundreds of minority and lower income children — a clear case of environmental racism — and will damage the cardiovascular health of both children and adults in the noise zone. Peer-reviewed studies by the World Health Organization, by Harvard, and others confirm these health effects. Thousands of homes including more than half of Winooski’s housing will be made unsuitable for residential use according to government standards. Densely populated neighborhoods will be exposed to heightened crash risk.
A destructive, unethical plan sold to the public by means of deceit is illegitimate. It is time for Vermont’s political-military culture of deception to be exposed for what it is. Continued local opposition to the F-35 basing will further that goal.
