The Bush administration has requested an additional $93 billion in supplemental funding for the war and occupation in Iraq (that would bring the total war spending for this year to more than $140 billion, and another $141 billion has been requested for 2008). In direct contradiction to the will of the people of this country as expressed during the November midterm elections, Bush and his cronies remain committed to the "stay the course" war they have carried out for nearly four years. They may use lots of fancy language, but their policy remains the same: refuse to follow the advice of top generals, ignore even the flawed recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, and defy the sentiment of the vast majority of the country. Instead, pour billions more of our tax dollars into the war and send in at least 21,500 more troops (and that could climb to as many as 48,000 once support personnel are factored in).
On Jan. 27th hundreds of thousands of people from at least 47 states gathered in Washington, DC, to send a clear, strong message to Congress: You have the power to end the war and bring the troops home, and we demand that you use it! In an unprecedented event, we literally encircled the Capitol building and grounds. We took the national sentiment expressed through the ballot box last November and brought that onto the streets of Washington -- as well as some 100 other cities and towns across the nation where solidarity actions were organized. And on Monday, Jan. 29th, at least 1,000 people had meetings with over 400 Congressional offices in what was one of the largest lobby days on any issue in recent memory.
As powerful and energizing as these actions were, we know our work is far from over. The fact that Bush has asked for these additional funds is the most dramatic, but certainly not the only, reminder of how much we still have to do. Just yesterday, for instance, the Republicans used procedural manuevers to block a vote on a non-binding resolution against the President's escalation of the Iraq war. Unbelievable -- even a non-binding resolution is short-circuited and stopped in its tracks!
Next Steps
In the coming weeks, Congress will be discussing and eventually voting on additional funding for the war. United for Peace and Justice has a clear position: Not One More Dime, Not One More Death -- it is time for Congress to use its power, cut the funding for the war, and begin funding the withdrawal of troops from Iraq!
We need to increase the pressure on Congress -- and there are lots of tools to use in this work:
- Get involved in the Occupation Project, a national campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience aimed at ending the U.S. war in and occupation of Iraq. The campaign begins with occupations at the offices of Representatives and Senators who refuse to pledge to vote against additional war funding.
- Sign and collect signatures on our petition to Congress: Click here to sign the petition online, and then forward it to everyone in your email address book. You can also download the petition and print it out to collect signatures in your community.
- Prepare now to keep the heat on your members of Congress when they will be on recess and in their home districts the week of Feb. 19th. Check the UFPJ website for information on pending legislation and where your member stands on the issues. Organize lobby visits, pickets or vigils in front of their offices, nonviolent civil disobedience ... whatever is appropriate in your local situation.
- Find out now what's being organized in your city or town around the 4th Anniversary of the war in mid-March. If nothing is planned yet, you can take leadership and start organizing an activity. Check our website in the coming weeks for event ideas and resources.
- Keep in touch with your local media outlets: Write letters to the editor, call into radio talk shows, try to get guest editorials or op-ed pieces published. Use the media as a vehicle to express your opposition to the war and to the request for more funding. Make it clear that you want your representatives in Congress to stand up to Bush, and that the first step is to vote against more funding for the war!
- While it is ridiculous that the 2008 presidential race is already in motion, we should use this as another forum for raising our voices. Quite a few of the presidential hopefuls are members of Congress, and we should be reminding them of their obligations as our elected representatives. It's noteworthy that several of them have already had to shift their positions on the war. No, none of them is calling for an immediate end to the war and for all of the troops to be brought home. But our work, our movement, is having an impact and we need to keep pushing them.
Finally, as we do this work to end the war in Iraq, we also need to work to prevent a possible escalation and expansion of the war into Iran. No one knows for sure what the Bush administration will do, but every day there are more indications that they want to take military action against Iran -- despite having no proof that Iran poses a threat to U.S. national security. If you think the war in Iraq is bad, what a disaster a war on Iran would be. In the coming weeks we will be sending you more information about Iran and what you can do to stop a new war. In the meantime, we urge you to incorporate opposition to a war against Iran into everything you are doing to end the war in Iraq.
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