Obama is now President Elect of the nation and we are witness to the last days of the Bush Regime. But we are not only still at war we are in the throes of serious economic decline and a growing global environmental crisis.
The new political reality presents us with new opportunities to realize our goals. Yet nothing is for certain. Things have a way of staying the same, through many administrations and recurring congresses.
We can say, without exaggeration, that the public has repudiated the Bush regime’s economic and foreign policy, and Barak Obama’s platform is a departure from these policies. However, since the initiators and beneficiaries of those polices still have enormous influence we MUST gather all of our resources and all of the influence that we can muster and pressure the new Congress for an immediate change. This, of course, will keep the heat on Obama too.
With the end of the war in Iraq, though uncertain, ultimatley an eventuality. we must turn our attention to the larger problem of U.S. militarism writ large. As the map below shows, the U.S. has become a world-wide empire that we now know is too costly to support especially if we are to re-invest in our economy here at home.
Our Program:
Between now and the New Year, we will make as many congressional visits as possible. We NEED you to join us. We can visit incumbents, to influence pre-transition policy, but it is essential that we visit newly elected representatives and Senators as well as those retaining their seats. National organizations have the capacity to go to DC. But a visit to the district office is just as important. Go in groups of 2. Go in groups of 20. This will depend on your resources and who you can ally with locally. (We may be able to help you indentify local allies.) But it is most important that you go! Once you make your appointment, share it with us so we can keep track nationally. Go to: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/form.php?modin=154 We want the “buzz” to be that when the new congress is seated that they will have already gotten constituent visits with the same message:
The economy will not recover for most people without a major reordering of fiscal priorities. We will NOT enjoy green jobs (essential to tackle our collective environmental and energy threats) we will not have healthcare for all or 21st century education or rebuild our failing infrastructure so long as we spend so much on the military! The military budget cannot be sacrosanct any longer. The nation simply cannot afford it! That wars have cost billions in treasure and tens of thousands in lives on all sides has not made us more secure. We want ........
We need a new foreign policy to afford a new economy. Threats to our security need to be dealt with by reliable intelligence, diplomacy and real economic assistance. Our current course has isolated us in terms of international norms and our own constitution. Reducing military spending is the only rational solution.
We call for the following three point lobby agenda for SMART SECURIITY…
1. Begin the process of an immediate withdrawal of ALL U.S. forces and contractors from Iraq, concurrent with a new diplomatic surge to prepare for U.S. withdrawal allowing the Iraqi people the opportunity to decide their own future. The present Status of Forces Agreement is unacceptable clearly to the Iraqi people and to the American people. (This should include keeping the National Guard HOME to help keep us more secure.)
2. Redeployment to Afghanistan is merely moving the problem from one location to another. We would be repeating our mistakes. Instead we need to insist on a search for a multilateral regional effort at stabilization. The search for terrorists should be through international cooperation among justice and intelligence agencies and traditional police efforts.
3. To keep the conflict from spreading this should include unconditional, high-level talks with Iran to reduce tensions and prevent their acquisition of nuclear weapons. If we really want to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction it will require us to live up to our commitments under Article 6 of the Non-proliferation Treaty. Simply put, we want a multilateral approach to nuclear non-proliferation and ultimately, abolition. (An Obama position). No treaties should be decided WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE U.S. SENATE as a representative of the American people.
Fact sheets and talking points will be available on our web site
For fact sheets you can use, click here: http://citizenaccess.us/cpa/IraqandAfgahnCostsCFPA.pdf
and here: http://citizenaccess.us/cpa/NewInfoSheetCFPA.pdf
and here: http://citizenaccess.us/cpa/USEmpireCFPA.pdf
Check back periodically for updates.
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Tags: Democracy/Activism International Relations/UN Iraq War Mercenaries & Profiteering Nuclear Issues Peace & Peacemaking Sustainability/Future
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