ACTION ALERT: The Brink of War
(January 4, 2020) — This is really, really bad. Because of the actions of Donald Trump, we’re right now on the brink of a major war with Iran.
On Thursday, Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian military leader, who was killed in drone strikes at Baghdad airport — merely the latest escalation by a president who has taken one step after another down the path to war with Iran ever since he took office.
Now, we need to do what we do best: turn up the pressure to STOP a WAR. And we need you with us.
Since day one of his presidency, Donald Trump has pushed our country towards a war with Iran:
- He filled his cabinet with warmongers like Mike Pompeo,
- He pulled out of the historic and successful Iran nuclear deal, and
- He embarked on a “maximum pressure” campaign — sending thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East and imposing crippling economic sanctions on Iran.
We are where we are today because of Donald Trump.
War with Iran would be disastrous and wholly unnecessary. Military and diplomatic leaders have warned it could bring costs in both blood and resources greater than the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan combined. For those in the Middle East, the human suffering from decades of war would be immeasurable.
War is NOT the answer. Diplomacy is the only way out of this crisis, and Congress is our best chance to put up a giant roadblock to war.
Earlier this year, bipartisan majorities, backed by a massive grassroots push for peace, voted in both chambers of Congress to prevent exactly this kind of unilateral escalation. Pushback from Trump and his allies stopped us then, which is why we need to get even louder now.
If we don’t demand action, Congress will be content to shirk its responsibility. So let’s make them listen.
THE LETTER
Dear Senators and
Representatives:
President Trump’s assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian military leader, is just the latest unilateral action by this administration that has brought us to the brink of war with Iran.
War with Iran would fail to achieve any of its aims, launch an entire region headlong into deadly conflict, and unleash untold civilian suffering. The blood will be on our hands — unless we, as a country, and you, as our political leaders, have the strength to stop it now.
Congress is the only branch of government that has the constitutional power to decide where and whether to send U.S. forces into harm’s way. We urge you to act immediately to stop a catastrophic war with Iran.
We have long feared the actions of this White House — besieged by impeachment, party to multiple investigations and lawsuits, and entering an election year — would result in a catastrophic national security crisis. It is time to remind the president his powers have limits. Congress must act now and pull us back from the brink of war.
Thank you for working for peace,
Erica, Michael, Stephen, and the Win Without War team
