ACTION ALERT:
Vote to End the 2002 AUMF this Week
Jon Rainwater / Peace Action
(March 20, 2023) — Yesterday marked a solemn memory –– the twenty-year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.
That tragic war, and the hundreds of thousands of casualties it is responsible for, was made possible with Congressional passage of the 2002 Authorization For the Use of Military Force (AUMF).
Now, more than twenty years later, Congress has a chance to end this disastrous war authorization… but they need to hear from you!
Recently, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee debated S. 316, a bill by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) to repeal the 2002 AUMF (and incidentally also the 1991 AUMF authorizing Bush Sr.’s war against Iraq). They passed the bill out of committee on a 13-8 vote.
The bill will be taken up soon on the Senate floor, which I’m hearing could happen as early as this week! Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Chip Roy (R-TX) are leading a similar charge in the House.
This is it –– the opportunity we need to take a giant step toward finally ending a justification for the last two decades of endless wars! A tidal wave of grassroots pressure is exactly what we need to push the Senate to pass the repeal and force the House to do the same.
Please take a few moments today to call your members of Congress and demand they support these necessary bills to end ongoing wars of choice!
Here’s all I need you to do:
- Dial the Capitol Hill switchboard at(202) 224-3121
- Ask for your Senators’/Representative’s office
- When connected, follow this script (but feel free to customize as you see fit):
My name is ________________ and I live in (your city). The recent 20th anniversary of the Iraq War is a pivotal reminder of the toll that war has taken on our country and innocent lives around the world.
This moment provides a perfect opportunity to repeal the outdated and unnecessary Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) that have given a green light to endless wars, without any formal declarations, for the past two decades.
I urge Senator/Representative______________ to support S.316 (in the Senate) / H.R.932 (in the House) and vote to finally repeal the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs.
I was in the streets with so many of you in 2003 vehemently protesting against the invasion of Iraq, and throughout the subsequent years as the lies used to justify the tragic war became so glaringly clear. I look forward to the bittersweet victory of seeing the authorizations for the war finally put to rest.
Thank you for joining me in this important step toward ending endless war.
Jon Rainwater is the Executive Director or Peace Action
