Fw: Iraq Campaign Builds Momentum After Lobby Days

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie"
To: "Miriam Vieni"
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 1:07 PM
Subject: FCNL: Iraq Campaign Builds Momentum After Lobby Days

IRAQ CAMPAIGN BUILDS MOMENTUM AFTER LOBBY DAYS

Last week delegations of concerned citizens across the country stepped
up the pressure on Congress to declare that the U.S. should have no
imperial ambitions in Iraq by taking that message directly to the state
and district offices of their senators and representatives.

Many thanks to the hundreds of people who are participating in the FCNL
Interfaith Lobby Days on Iraq and to the many other national
organizations that participated in this campaign. Grassroots lobby
visits will be continuing throughout the next month. Among the meetings
that have already taken place:

* In Peoria, Illinois, an interfaith delegation met with Congressman
Ray LaHood
* In Lansing, Michigan, the Red Cedar Friends Meeting organized an
interfaith delegation that met with key staff working for their member
of Congress
* In Columbus, North Carolina, members of a local retirement community
questioned an aide to their member of Congress about the war in Iraq
and pressed for a clarification of policy
* In Boston, Massachusetts, a state representative helped Beacon Hill
Friends House set up a meeting with the senior foreign policy staff for
Senator John Kerry

Meetings took place in senators' and representatives' home offices in
Arkansas, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan,
North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington. More more meetings are being
planned in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Participants in the FCNL network have also flooded congressional
offices with thousands of messages over the last month urging our
elected representatives to declare that the U.S. has no imperial
ambitions in Iraq. Specifically, FCNL is calling on members of Congress
to attach a resolution to the President's request for supplemental
funding for the war in Iraq that states clearly: "It is the policy
of the United States to withdraw all military troops and bases from
Iraq." No deadlines, no timetables, just a simple statement of
policy.

NEXT STEPS:

1. Urge Congress to declare the U.S. has no imperial ambitions in Iraq.
Many members of Congress are still unwilling to take even this first
step to define U.S. policy toward Iraq. The President's request for
$61 billion in supplemental funding for the war in Iraq (which is part
of a larger $81.9 billion supplemental funding bill) is now being
debated in the House of Representatives. In the coming weeks, FCNL will
be encouraging concerned citizens to contact their representatives and
urge them to attach a resolution to the Iraq war spending bill that
states that the policy of the United States is to "withdraw all
military troops and bases from Iraq."

2. Participate in events to mark second anniversary of the U.S.
invasion. Hundreds of local communities around the United States are
planning events to mark the second anniversary of the launch of the
U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 19. Tens of thousands of people around
the country will be organizing vigils and other events to raise their
voices for peace. Part of our work should be to channel some of that
creative energy into effective pressure on Congress. Many of these
groups have calendars on their web sites that list local activities.

______________________________________

The Next Step for Iraq: Join FCNL's Iraq Campaign,
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/JZHBEHVWQC/IECEEHVZCV/

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bumper stickers and yard
signs:
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________________________________________

Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795
fcnl@fcnl.org * www.fcnl.org
phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
We seek a society with equity and justice for all
We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
We seek an earth restored.
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