Joanne Landy and Thomas Harrison / Campaign for Peace and Democracy – 2010-07-27 00:49:37
http://cpd@igc.org
(July 26, 2010) — US intervention in Afghanistan is facing increasing challenge, and this week’s dramatic Wikileaks revelations — the biggest US war expose since Dan Ellsberg’s Pentagon papers — make it all the more difficult for Congress to keep funding this horrific war. It is an important moment for all of us who want immediate withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to raise our voices.
It looks like there will be an up-and-down House vote this week on the Afghan war supplemental funding. The Senate has stripped the bill of all unrelated issues such as funding for teachers, so the meaning of the vote will be clear: there will be no excuses for voting “Yes” or abstaining (not that such excuses were ever legitimate.)
This is a crucial time to insist that your member of Congress vote NO on war funding! You can reach your representative through the Congressional switchboard 1-888-493-5443 toll-free.
If you use this number, it will add to the Friends Committee on National Legislation’s count of how many people called Congress against the war supplemental, so your call will be tallied in two places. (If by chance you don’t know who your member of Congress is, you can find out at the FCNL website:http://capwiz.com/fconl/directory/congdir.tt)
The Campaign for Peace and Democracy has joined with United for Peace and Justice, Peace Action, CODEPINK, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Peace and Justice Resource Center, Historians Against the War, Just Foreign Policy and Progressive Democrats of America in this effort to rally support for a “NO” vote. If you can, please send us a brief email at cpd@igc.org to let us know that you’ve made your call.
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. Our phone calls this week won’t turn the situation around overnight. It will take massive and sustained street demonstrations, civil disobedience, teach-ins around the country, and other mobilizations to accomplish that.
But a strong “NO” vote now will strengthen anti-war sentiment in and out of Congress, and will help build the mass anti-war demonstrations that are planned for October. The Campaign for Peace and Democracy is one of the co-sponsors of the demonstrations; we will be sending you details soon.
In peace and solidarity,
Joanne Landy and Thomas Harrison
Co-Directors, Campaign for Peace and Democracy
Campaign for Peace and Democracy
2790 Broadway, #12 | New York, NY 10025
