War Is A Crime & Brave New Films – 2010-07-27 01:13:10
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/54215
(July 26, 2010) — Here’s where the hypocrisy hits the highway. On July 1st, 162 congress members voted to require a withdrawal plan and end date for the occupation of Afghanistan, and 100 voted to fund only withdrawal, no continuation of war, while 25 voted to simply stop dumping any money into this war.
Now all of them must vote yes or no, probably on Tuesday, on whether to fund a major escalation of the war in Afghanistan. You won’t hear anyone mention it, but this $33 billion is to add 30,000 troops plus contractors to the war.
Can you want a withdrawal plan or to fund only withdrawal, and nonetheless vote to fund an escalation? The Queen told Alice: “Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” Congress members have been known to do eight.
90,000 new documents exposing the criminality of the war won’t change that (but see link to them below). What will change it is the threat of unelection.
The House will likely now vote on the Senate version of the war escalation supplemental. This will likely mean something quite unusual: a straightforward vote in which yes means yes more war, and no means no.
Whether we block the bill or not, we will now be able to identify clearly and unambiguously the war supporters and war opponents. They will need to be punished and rewarded while they’re home for August and at the polls in November. If the majority of Democrats vote against the war funds, we will be able to point out that opposition from the President’s own party. And the closer we come to defeating the bill the more we will have to build on as the peace movement joins with the labor and civil rights movements this fall.
Our message is simple:
Vote no on funding this escalation of war, regardless of whether it’s a procedural vote, and regardless of any good measures attached to it. If you vote yes, plan on getting a different job in January.
FCNL has a toll-free number to call your representative: 1-888-493-5443, or use the standard number (202) 224-3121.
Pull US Troops Out of Pakistan
The House is expected to debate and vote on Tuesday on a privileged resolution (HCR 301) introduced by Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul to remove US forces from Pakistan. The resolution directs the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove the United States Armed Forces from Pakistan. On this one we want to ask for Yes votes.
• Call Congress (202) 224-3121.
Resources
• Afghanistan war logs: Massive leak of secret files exposes truth of occupation
• Six Facts No War Supporter Knows
• Video of Congressman Kucinich discussing both of the votes described above: http://pdamerica.org
• David Swanson and Dennis Kucinich will be on Lila Garrett’s radio show on Monday.
Get resources from http://defundwar.org
What Happened in Albany, Cleveland, Las Vegas
This weekend, many of you attended the peace conference in Albany or the PDA conference in Cleveland, if you weren’t at the Netroots conference in Vegas. They can all be watched online for those who missed them:
National Peace Conference
PDA Conference
Netroots Nation
Resolutions passed at the National Peace Conference
will be posted ASAP at http://warisacrime.org
On August 28th the peace movement will join with the movements for jobs, economic justice, and civil rights to march in Detroit, Mich., and Washington, DC, to launch campaigns for Jobs, Justice, and Peace that will build to a massive March on Washington on October 2nd.
Mark your calendars and get ready!
The Truth About the Afghanistan War Has Leaked. Now We Must Act
Derrick Crowe, Robert Greenwald / Brave New Foundation
(July 25, 2010) — Wikileaks’ incredible new release of classified documents confirms what Rethink Afghanistan supporters already know: the Afghanistan War is a brutal disaster that’s not worth the cost. The only question is: what will you do about it?
• Sign our petition to the Democratic and Republican National Committees to tell them you vote, and you demand an end to this war.
In this crushing economic climate, Americans are fed up with a trillion-dollar war that’s not making us safer. But, that hasn’t stopped either major political party from supporting pro-war candidates or from voting for billions in new war spending. In the wake of the Wikileaks release of the “War Logs,” we’ve got to let our political parties know that we will hold them responsible for bringing this war to a close.
Learn more about the Wikileaks release of the “War Logs” and sign our petition to end the war.
Our new petition is simple: we’re letting both the DNC and the RNC know that we vote, and that if politicians want our support, they have to end this war.
We’ve got a real chance here to send a strong message to our politicians and to drive the media narrative on the war. Please sign our petition today.
