Dennis Kucinich / Former Member, US Congress & Robert Naiman and Megan Iorio / Just Foreign Policy – 2014-12-02 14:28:37
Special to Environmentalists Against War
ACTION ALERT:
No to War, Hot or Cold, with Russia
Dennis Kucinich / Former Member, US Congress
(December 1, 2014) — US-Russia relations have deteriorated severely in the past decade and they are about to get worse, if the House passes H. Res. 758.
NATO encirclement, the US-backed coup in Ukraine, an attempt to use an agreement with the European Union to bring NATO into Ukraine at the Russian border, a US nuclear first-strike policy, are all policies which attempt to substitute force for diplomacy.
Russia’s response to the terror unleashed by Western-backed neo-nazis in Crimea and Odessa came after the local population appealed to Russia to protect them from the violence. Russia then agreed to Crimea joining the Russian Federation, a reaffirmation of an historic relationship.
The Western press begins its narrative on the Crimea situation with the annexation, but completely ignores the provocations by the West and other causal factors, which resulted in the annexation.
This distortion of reality is artificially creating an hysteria about Russian aggressiveness, another distortion which could pose an exceptionally dangerous situation for the world, if acted upon by other nations. The US Congress is responding to the distortions, not to the reality.
Similar distortions are developing now in the coverage of events in the eastern part of Ukraine, in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Tensions between Russia and the US are being fueled every day by players who would benefit financially from a resumption of the Cold War which, from 1948 to 1991 cost US taxpayers $20 TRILLION dollars (in 2014 dollars), an amount exceeding our $18 trillion National Debt.
With wars re-igniting in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Syria being a staging ground for an ongoing proxy war between the great powers, the US treasury is being drained for military adventures, our national debt is piling up, and we are demonstrably less safe.
Tomorrow the US House will debate and vote on H. Res. 758 which is tantamount to a ‘Declaration of Cold War’ against Russia, reciting a host of grievances, old and new, against Russia which represent complaints that Russia could well make against the US, given our nation’s most recent military actions: Violating territorial integrity, violations of international law, violations of nuclear arms agreements.
Congress’ solution? Restart the Cold War!
The resolution demands Russia to be isolated and for “the President, in consultation with Congress, to conduct a review of the force posture, readiness and responsibilities of United States Armed Forces and the forces of other members of NATO to determine if the contributions and actions of each are sufficient to meet the obligations of collective self-defense [my emphasis] under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, and to specify the measures needed to remedy any deficiencies….” In other words, ‘let’s get ready for war with Russia.’
This is exactly the type of saber-rattling which led to the initiation and escalation of the Cold War. It is time we demanded that the US employ diplomacy, not more military expenditures, in the quest for international order.
It is time the US stepped out of this expensive dialectic of conflict and seek to rebuild diplomatic relations with Russia and set aside the risky adventurism in the name of NATO.
If you agree, please contact your congressperson today, 202-224-3121, and ask them to vote against H. Res. 758.
Sincerely,
Dennis J. Kucinich
www.facebook.com/Dennis.kucinich
Dennis Kucinich is a former US Representative from Ohio and a two-time nominee for president in 200r and 2008.
Petition to Congress:
Don’t Kill Iran Talks With New Sanctions
Robert Naiman and Megan Iorio / Just Foreign Policy
(December 1, 2014) — The US and its European partners have agreed to extend the interim nuclear deal with Iran while continuing to work towards a comprehensive, permanent agreement. The extension of the interim deal means that Iran’s nuclear program will continue to be under tightened restrictions and closer international inspection.
Unfortunately, with the Republican takeover of the Senate, opponents of diplomacy are going to have more opportunities to try to derail the talks. Anti-diplomacy forces are already demanding that Congress enact new sanctions, even though new US sanctions would violate US commitments under the interim deal.
All that new sanctions legislation would do now is provoke Iranian hardliners and undermine voices in Iran who want to reconcile with the West — which is exactly what anti-diplomacy forces in the US want.
Urge your Representative and Senators to oppose efforts to kill the Iran talks with new sanctions by signing our petition at MoveOn.
Our petition is very simple. It simply says:
“Members of Congress should oppose efforts to kill talks with Iran with the imposition of new sanctions.”
Organizations that oppose diplomacy are already swarming Congress. Help us show Members of Congress that these organizations don’t represent America by signing and sharing our petition:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/Congress-dont-kill-Iran-talks
Thanks for all you do to help defend diplomacy and prevent war.
