Fw: Mark the Iraq War Anniversary by Campaigning to Pressure the Senate

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie"
To: "Miriam Vieni"
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:54 PM
Subject: FCNL: Mark the Iraq War Anniversary by Campaigning to Pressure the
Senate

This weekend is a time when people across the country will be holding
vigils, teach-ins, and other events to commemorate the U.S. invasion of
Iraq and reaffirm that war is not the answer. But in Washington, most
members of Congress are unwilling to publicly support a declaration
that the U.S. intends to withdraw at some point. The Iraq anniversary
events provide an opportunity to build support for the campaign to
pressure the Senate. You can help by distributing the FCNL action alert
flier(http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/KBGCEKPVPP/ (*PDF)
urging the Senate to declare the U.S. has no imperial interests in
Iraq.

Two years after the invasion, the U.S. government has yet to make clear
what its long-term intentions for Iraq are. While some officials say
the military will eventually leave the country, the Pentagon is
building 14 "enduring" bases and Congress continues to vote for
billions in war funds.

FCNL friends and supporters have lobbied their congressional
representatives for weeks to attach an amendment to the Iraq
supplemental funding bill stating simply that "It is the policy of
the United States to withdraw all military troops and bases from
Iraq." No deadlines, no timetable, just a simple statement of
policy. In private, many members of Congress agree that such a
statement would be helpful, but few are willing to speak out publicly.

Thanks to your pressure and the work of many others, a bipartisan group
of members of Congress did delete language from the Iraq supplemental
that would have provided funds to build a new imperial embassy in
Baghdad. Another amendment added with bipartisan support called on the
Secretary of Defense to stipulate what criteria will determine when the
U.S. can begin withdrawing from Iraq. None of these amendments were a
clear statement that the U.S. has no long-term designs in Iraq, but
they are evidence that your efforts can shift the debate.

Now attention shifts to the Senate, with a vote expected on the Iraq
supplemental bill in early to mid-April. This bill presents a key
opportunity for senators to go on record supporting a policy of
withdrawing from Iraq.

ACTION
March 19-20, people across the country will be holding vigils,
teach-ins, and other events to commemorate the start of the war and to
call for peace. Download our action alert flier at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/KHSTEKPVPQ/ (*PDF) and take
copies to distribute at events. Help FCNL get the word to as many
people as possible, that senators must attach a resolution to the Iraq
war spending bill stating that the policy of the United States is to
"withdraw all military troops and bases from Iraq."

Go to http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/ADRTEKPVPR/ to read Col.
Dan Smith's perspective on the Second Anniversary of the Iraq
invasion.

The American Friends Service Committee www.afsc.org and United for
Peace and Justice www.unitedforpeace.org have extensive listings of
local and national events.

* To access PDF files you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader on
your computer. If you do not have this free program you can download it
from Adobe's web site at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/FPZREKPVPS/

_______________________________________

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

Contact Congress and the Administration:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/JPJDEKPVPU/

Order FCNL publications and "War is Not the Answer" campaign
bumper stickers and yard
signs:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/JZLBEKPVPV/
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/NKDMEKPVPW/

Contribute to FCNL:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/AQKTEKPVPX/

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________________________________________

Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795
fcnl@fcnl.org * http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/HJGCEKPURU/BQQEEKPVQA/
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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