Randy Forsberg, An Appreciation

Dr. Randall Caroline Forsberg was Director of the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies (IDDS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, newly designated Ann and Bernard Spitzer Professor of Political Science at the City College of New York, and Co-Founder of Global Action to Prevent War. From the outset of her productive career, she was an astonishingly effective, inspiring leader in the struggle to end war and armed violence – charismatic and empathetic in her wide appeal yet highly self-disciplined, analytical and dispassionate, searching with surprising success for the key to mobilizing action in the American political system.

From its beginning in 1968 with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Randy's remarkable career was imbued with SIPRI's principled approach of opposing war but analyzing it pragmatically. Randy was born July 23, 1945. She married while in Stockholm and had a daughter Katarina, with whom she had remained very close throughout her life.

Randy returned to the United States during the turmoil of the Vietnam War and the Cold War with the Soviet Union . Her knowledge of nuclear weapons, her empathy with the fears and pain of those touched by war, and her intellectual creativity rapidly made her a respected leader in the anti-nuclear movement. In 1979, she led the team that drafted the “Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race” which became the manifesto of the nationwide Nuclear Freeze Campaign, advocating a mutual freeze with the Soviet Union of the level of nuclear weapons and delivery systems; she spoke with passion at hundreds of meetings throughout the country, directly influencing the lives of thousands of people to work for peace, and she came to personify the freeze movement with its message of “Go No Further.” These meetings culminated in the giant June 12, 1982 rally in Central Park, New York City, still the largest political demonstration in American history and in a successful freeze resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives, the high-water mark of peace protests in the United States.

Realizing that the struggle for peace was an ongoing one, Randy founded the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies in 1980. Her first project was the Arms Control Reporter, a monthly journal that was the country's most lucid, informative guide to current arms control negotiations. Randy and a single devoted colleague kept it going for nearly 30 years, and the project now lives on in her spirit. At the Institute, Randy issued a series of professional manuals on the world's armed forces, including the annually updated IDDS Database of World Arms Holdings, Production and Trade. That publication was bought and closely studied by defense establishments throughout the world.

This exacting work was performed on a shoestring. Books like these are not moneymakers. Randy was a gifted fundraiser, but too engrossed in substance to be an energetic one. With her mother's full support, Randy mortgaged the family home to raise money for the Institute's daily operations and cut off her own salary and income. Katarina and friends pitched in to keep things moving in crisis after crisis. Randy applied her charisma and superlative teaching ability to recruit and to train college student interns with the knowledge and analytical skills to research the Institute's professional publications and to set the interns themselves on the path to a new career in arms control and defense analysis.

Randy at times had a legendary temper, which occasionally escaped control and revealed the intensity of the forces that impelled her to work for peace. Paradoxically, this quality only enhanced her authority and the respect paid her leadership.

Randy's other great talent was her ability to talk with government leaders, including President Clinton, as equals in terms they understood. Perhaps the high point of these activities was her discussions with Soviet President Gorbachev in 1988. Randy advanced ideas on conventional disarmament which Gorbachev later promoted in talks which led to the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), the largest disarmament agreement in history.

Randy was the founder of Global Action to Prevent War, calling on Saul Mendlovitz and Jonathan Dean to assist, but supplying the concept and the drive. Beginning in 1997, she gave the organization its name and pressed for establishment of a lasting structure. Randy worked day after day, word for word, sentence on sentence in hammering out the text of the Global Action Program Statement, the credo of Global Action, straining in each proposed measure to get the precise balance between aspiration and realism. Like us, Randy believed that, if the measures described in the Global Action Program Statement are carried out, this will fulfill the cautious, but triumphant culminating sentence of the statement, “At this point, we could reasonably say that war has been abolished.”

Randy passed away on the evening of October 19, 2007. We in Global Action believe that Randy Forsberg has, in her full life of leadership for peace, shown us a practical route to reach that goal. With many, many others, we are deeply grateful to her.

--Ambassador (ret.) Jonathan Dean

WORDS OF LOVE AND LOSS FROM RANDY FORSBERG'S COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS

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Randy was a lovely and loving person. She was calm, strong, committed, creative, compassionate and persistent. She was a leader with all the qualities that the world so badly needs now. She never ceased to struggle with courage for peace and disarmament. May the seeds of peace that she planted during her life continue to grow. May we be inspired by her life to reach beyond ourselves and do more to straighten out the sad and dangerous state of our country and build a better, more decent world.

David Krieger
President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Santa Barbara, California

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This is sad news indeed. I guess in Randy's passing away the community of peacebuilders has lost a pioneer. I am sure that we will pay the best tribute to her in continuing to connect and redress the pain on our planet by infusing it with a true celebration of Life. Jonathan's evocative and moving piece resonates for the spirit. It casts a warm light on a Life that took the road less travelled.

Meenakshi Gopinath
President, Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace
New Delhi, India

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It is with great sadness that I learned that Randy Forsberg passed away on October 19th. I first met Randy at the University of Lousiville in 1979 when she gave an incredibly stimulating speech to a large meeting sponsored by the Mobilization for Survival. Later, in 1981, when she chaired the large Nuclear Freeze meeting of U.S. nuclear disarmament NGOs at Georgetown University, I came to realize what an intelligent, powerful woman she was. As Ted Lentz used to say: "Nothing happens without a happener". Randy was a happener par excellence. When I learned that Randy had joined with Jonathan Dean and Saul Mendlovitz to form Global Action to Prevent War, I couldn't wait to sign up. Once I received the GAPW program statement and organizing materials, I was sure that Randy and her colleagues were, once again, providing the kind of guidance that is necessary if we are to truly have a livable world. We will miss her badly, but her guidance for peace and world order will always be with us.

Bill Wickersham
Adjunct Professor of Peace Studies, University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri

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What a loss to all of us who work for peace and justice. My entry into the world of working of peace was to volunteer for the Nuclear Weapons Freeze movement in Vancouver, British Columbia around 1976. I had heard a presentation about the Freeze and it just made so much sense to me I had to help make it happen. It was an idea that inspired me and millions of others. My volunteering led to learning more, volunteering more, and on and on. Part of the reason my family decided to move to Amherst was knowing it would be a supportive place for me to work for peace. In 1984, a friend and I organized "Freeze Voter '84" in our town and it turned out we had the highest % of any town in the US voting for candidates (Mondale, Ferraro) who would enact a Freeze.

Later, after I started EarthAction, Randy helped me write and edit several Action Kits about nuclear and conventional weapons. It was such a honor for me to be working with someone who I had admired from afar. She had the facts, and wanted to share them. I immediately recognized her positive genius when I learned about Global Action to Prevent War. The Global Action Plan presents a step-by-step way to create a world with less violence and war. All our work to turn this plan into reality will be a living tribute to Randy's life.

With deep gratitude for the work we all do to create a more just, peaceful and sustainable world,

Lois Barber
Earth Action
Amherst, Massachusetts

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I met Randy Forsberg when I was a graduate student at Columbia. When she founded the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies she put me on her Board, I think because she was aware that I was lobbying the League of Women Voters to get the LWV into an arms control study. I did three national mailings to every LWV in the country - and at the convention at which the LWV finally adopted a study I showed three short videotapes I had made with UN footage and footage based on the interviews I had had with US officials and Russians.

I have been representing Randy's Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies at the UN for more than thirty years. Randy spoke at the UN at the Special Session on Disarmament and many other times in panel discussions.

I think she felt poised to achieve even more than she had already when she became a professor at CCNY. It is a great loss to all of us that she is no longer with us. Her knowledge, her ability to articulate goals for the peace and disarmament community, will be very much missed.

Ann Hallan Lakhdhir
NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security
New York, New York

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I first met Randy here in San Francisco at a conference of the State of the World Forum, in 1997. She was here with Saul Mendlovitz and Jonathan Dean, and from them I learned about Global Action to Prevent War. I joined GAPW with them. Randy once sat with me and helped me compose a "One-pager"and a "Four-pager" about GAPW'. Her sister describes her well: "Around Randy, you felt like a complete and valuable person". When I read the email of her passing, I went out to walk around the block to keep from breaking into tears. (It didn't work.)

I will miss her very much.

Jim Adams
Global Action to Prevent War
San Francisco, California

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Randall Forsberg devoted her considerable intellectual gifts and a heart filled with passion to the service of others. Her years of scholarly endeavors, inspiring leadership, and simply hard work were never dedicated to herself. When one thinks of a person who lives like this one cannot but think of the highest human value - pure selfless love.

Did Randall puruse titles and honors? Did Randall pursue recognition and wealth? Randall Forsberg pursued peace and security for the entire world. She never approached her service just for her family, her gender, her race, religion or community. This level of endeavor is justice in action.

Randall Forsberg looked ahead and worked knowing she was a step ahead. For this many did not appreciate her appropriately. Imagine if she had been in a position of state power, an appropriate position for her skills, knowledge and commitment. She chose to be in a position of inspiring leadership in the realm of ideas and activism that the world critically needs. Such an approach is based on doing that needs to be done, not because it will be recognized or visible immediately. This is real faith in action.

One hears so much nowadays about spirituality and values as the new and needed currency in public affairs. One can see how much the world needs to eliminate nuclear weapons and render the institution of war an unacceptable impractical vanity of the fearful, foolish and greedy. One can see that ending the institution of war is a majestic way of honoring peace.

Randall Forsberg demonstrated love, justice, faith, sacrifice, and honored peace in the highest. How precious is such a person? Let the source of such beautiful qualities enliven us to honor her legacy with our actions. Let our prayers reach that source with appreciation that we knew a truly good person who lived with truly good values, accomplished much and planted seeds which will surely bear more fruit in the future. May the mystery that gives all life bless her with unending love and peace. Amen.

Jonathan Granoff
President, Global Security Institute
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania

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The Middle Powers Initiative expresses its heartfelt condolences on the death of Randy Forsberg, an indomitable strategist and campaigner against nuclear weapons. Randy's leadership during the SANE/Freeze movements of the 1980s inspired a generation of abolition activists. Her writings, speeches and unstoppable passion to free the world of the ultimate evil made her a preeminent figure in the civil society movements that developed over the past quarter-century. Randy's work in instituting Global Action to Prevent War, integrating the work of
conflict prevention, peacekeeping and disarmament, showed her vision and hope that will guide generations yet to come. All who strive for peace owe a great debt of gratitude for the life of Randy Forsberg.

Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C.
Chairman, Middle Powers Initiative
Ottawa, Canada

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I remember her as a brave and eloquent lady for peace. My prayers are with
you.

Majid Tehranian
Director, Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research

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I would like to express my deepest appreciation for the great job Randy did to make the world a peaceful place. Also I would like to thank her from the bottom of my heart for all the support and inspiration.

I remember when I got to know about GAPW, about 8 years ago, and I sent an e-mail that she replied and even invited me to my first GAPW meeting in Newark. That changed my life in many ways and even helped me to find my own way in life which is to make the world a better place to live for everyone, just like Randy. That's why I am back in medical relief.

She was an unforgettable person.

Alejandro Soto Romero
Clinical Advisor on HIV/AIDS, Mozambique Mission of Health Alliance International
Mozambique

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Randy has been a key pillar of the global peace movement and a great inspiration to all of us. Her intellectual work was simply superior and her activism very exemplary. We salute you, Randy.

Walden Bello

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Randy was a very supportive thinker and activist of the Spanish peace movement in the 80s. She was also very supportive with me at that time, in my first steps in the field of peace and disarmament. I think that GAPW should do homage-initiative, for example a gathering of articles about her ideas, trajectory, and visions.
Regards to all, and thanks very much to her sister.

Mariano Aguirre
FRIDE
Madrid, Spain

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I have no words to express my feelings - Randy has been such an inspiration to so many of us here in Sweden. Love and greetings.

Bo Wirmark
Stockholm, Sweden

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I wish to state my gratitude for her work for peace and justice. She will be remembered in the lives of people who continue to live, dream, struggle for peace. Thanks.

Lester Edwin J. Ruiz
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean
Professor of Theology and Culture,New York Theological Seminary
New York, New York

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Randy,

Edith Ballantyne and I received your sisters email through WILPF networks just yesterday and want to make sure that you get our warm greetings, recognition and appreciation for the great work you have done to make this world a more peaceful and less radioactive place.

Your work is in our daily lives. A prominent shelf in the WILPF office features the Arms Control Reporter, a much used resource in our office since you began it, and as we turn our programme again to the military spending lens, we will be relying upon it more than ever.

Edith Ballantyne & Felicity Hill
WILPF, Geneva

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