Friends Committee on National Legislation – 2005-07-09 00:36:40

Today, the people of London have experienced what the people of Bagdad and many other Iraqi cities have been experiencing almost daily for more than a year: a brutal, violent attack on innocent civilians.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of London, today, as we continue to pray for the peoples of Iraq, Afghanistan, the Sudan, and elsewhere who daily face the continuing violence, horror, fear, and disruption of war and terror.

Yet, more war is not the answer to the London bombings. After more than three years of the US-led “war on terror” and two years of war in Iraq, the world is no safer, and in many respects it has become even more dangerous because of these wars to make the world safe from terror.

Today’s attacks in London, the undiminished violence in Iraq, and the intensified fighting in Afghanistan reveal how US war policies have fueled more violence and suffering.

Exacting an “eye for an eye” will only make everyone blind with hatred. Violence and suffering will only escalate and intensify from retaliation policies – especially in a world armed with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.

We call upon the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom to take the first, courageous steps to end the cycle of violence by exercising uncommon restraint in their response to the London bombings. Let the moral depravity of the attacks stand alone for the peoples of the world to condemn and unite against.

Do not compound the moral outrage of the mass killings in London with further US-UK military attacks that will put at risk still more innocent civilians and fuel further hatred. Those responsible must be held accountable under the rule of law.

We call upon President Bush and Congress to change course now to address the root causes of violent extremism and war, to pursue alternatives to war such as those suggested in the Smart Security legislation introduced by Representative Lynn Woolsey (CA), and to take political steps to reduce the level of violence in Iraq such as declaring that it is US policy to remove all US troops and military bases from Iraqi soil.

Act Now
On recess now, members of Congress who are visiting constituents in their home states this week need to hear that responding to these attacks in London with new violence is not the answer.

Contact the local offices of your members of Congress, let them know that you will support them if they have the courage to search for new approaches that can break the spiral of violence. Go to our web site, enter your zip code, and click on the picture of your members to get office phone numbers.

• Contact Congress and the Administration: http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/