----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Volk" <joevolk@fcnl.org>
To: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 3:46 PM
Subject: IRAQ: Next STEPs - Talk to Congress at Home on Memorial Day - FCNL
The U.S. Congress is now on record opposing permanent U.S. military
bases in Iraq. During the Memorial Day recess, please thank your
members of Congress for adopting the Iraq STEP proposal and ask them to
take the next step for peace in Iraq.
Thanks in large part to your work, Congress has determined the goal of
U.S. policy is to remove all bases and, ultimately, to leave Iraq.
Implicit in that U.S. policy declaration is a congressional call to
bring home all U.S. military troops. With your support and with the
leadership of Reps. Allen (ME-1) and Lee (CA-9) and Sen. Biden (DE),
FCNL's proposed Iraq STEP Resolution has been adopted by Congress.
Congress took its first step toward leaving Iraq. Now we need to help
Congress to take the next step to change the national debate from "How
does the U.S. win the war and then leave?" to "How can the U.S.
military withdrawal win peace and open the way for reconstruction and
for a growing stability for Iraqis?"
That's a tall order. Events in Iraq and changing public views of the
war at home are creating new opportunities to change. Members of
Congress may consider new directions for U.S. policy on Iraq. Last
year, FCNL's Sensible Transition to Enduring Peace or STEP resolution
was a non-starter with congressional staff. Persistent, popular
lobbying for STEP resolution - endorsed by more than 100 different
congregations and other organizations - moved Congress. One year
later, we're almost there.
Now we need to move to the next step.
We now call on Congress to enact new legislation that:
*Clearly states, again, that it is the policy of the U.S. to remove
all U.S. military troops and bases from Iraq;
*Outlines a plan to bring U.S. forces home before the end of this
administration; and;
*Fulfills U.S. moral and legal obligations to provide the resources
necessary for the reconstruction of Iraq through appropriate
multinational, national, and Iraqi agencies.
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-1) has introduced legislation (H.Con.Res. 348)
that states it is the "sense of the Congress" that the United States
should not maintain permanent military bases in Iraq, should not
attempt to control the flow of Iraqi oil, and should withdraw from Iraq
by September 2006. We believe this non-binding sense of the Congress
resolution will help to shift the national debate and persuade Congress
to take the next steps toward peace to Iraq. Details of the bill can be
found at http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/bills/?bill=8561626.
This week Congress goes home for the Memorial Day recess. This annual
commemoration of lives lost to war reminds us of our solemn obligation
to stop the killing and to find a path to peace. Read FCNL Senior
Fellow Dan Smith's analysis of the situation in Iraq as we approach
Memorial Day at http://www.fcnl.org/smith/memday_06.htm.
*Take Action Now*
The Memorial Day recess from May 27 to June 4 provides a good
opportunity to talk about the war in Iraq in your community. Here's
what you can do:
1. Please urge your representative to cosponsor Rep. Thompson's
legislation, H.Con.Res. 348, "establishing the conditions for a
successful U.S. withdrawal from Iraq." You can find a sample message
and contact your representative directly from FCNL's website at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8796866&type=CO
2. Attend a public event where your representative is speaking and
ask her or him to take a stand on Iraq by cosponsoring H.Con.Res. 348.
Visit your representative's website or call her or his office to find
out about ask about local events you might attend. You can find contact
information for your representative on FCNL's website through an
online congressional directory at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/directory/congdir.tt
*Find Out More*
Read an analysis of the Thompson legislation and companion legislation
in the Senate introduced by Sen. Harkin (IA) by visiting
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1868&issue_id=35
Read Rep. Thompson's statement when he introduced H.Con.Res. 348.
http://mikethompson.house.gov/newsroom/index.asp?ID=73&DocumentType=Front+Page+Story
_______________________________________
The Next Step for Iraq: Join FCNL's Iraq Campaign, http://www.fcnl.org/iraq/
Contact Congress and the Administration:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/
Order FCNL publications and "War is Not the Answer" campaign
bumper stickers and yard signs:
http://www.fcnl.org/pubs/
http://www.fcnl.org/forms/forms.php?type=bump
Contribute to FCNL:
http://www.fcnl.org/donate/
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________________________________________
Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795
fcnl@fcnl.org * http://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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