FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 4, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Missouri Flies Kites for Peace at Whiteman AFB, Calling Out Hypocrisy of "Freedom" After Bombing Iran
"Fly kites, not warplanes—from Missouri to Tehran, our skies should be filled with joy, not bombs."
WHITEMAN, MO — On the eve of Independence Day, CODEPINK Missouri activists gathered outside Whiteman AFB, home to the B-2 bombers used in the illegal airstrikes on Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities. The action highlighted the irony of celebrating "freedom" while the U.S. military destabilizes sovereign nations in unprovoked attacks.
The activists also called out Operation Midnight Hammer as a complete failure. The U.S. claimed the strikes would destroy Iran’s alleged nuclear program, but instead, the illegal airstrikes only destroyed diplomacy. Before the attack, Iran and the U.S. were negotiating a nuclear deal, similar to the one sabotaged by Trump in 2018. Now, with talks dead, Iran’s nuclear program can continue. Trump boasts of a "success," but in reality, only escalated tensions.
The costly $200M+ bombing run was not only a misuse of taxpayers' money but also bad for the planet. A single B-2 burns 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of fuel per hour, spewing massive carbon emissions. The Whiteman-based bombers flew for 37 straight hours, polluting the skies and releasing particles and gases that mess with air quality and even cloud formation, not to mention destroying the earth in Iran after dropping 14 30,000 lbs bombs. The U.S. military remains one of history’s worst climate offenders—military actions like this fuel global instability and worsen the climate crisis.
“Unlike the attempts to get Sec Hegseth to acknowledge that one of the pilots was a woman, true feminism means standing against all war, death, and killing,” explained a CODEPINK Missouri organizer. “War is not the answer -- we need diplomacy now,” they continued.
For more information, please contact CODEPINK Missouri at [email protected].
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