"Out Now!" Hits the Mainstream

["UFPJ Action Alerts" <listmaster at unitedforpeace.org>]

ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
===========================================
"OUT NOW" HITS THE MAINSTREAM: TIME TO UP THE PRESSURE
* Thank the 16 Democrats who have called for immediate withdrawal from Iraq
* Urge your member of Congress to join the call
* Write letters to your local media demanding that the troops come home now
(visit http://www.congress.org for Congressional contacts & media directory)
===========================================

On January 12, sixteen Democrats in the House of Representatives sent a
letter to President Bush calling on him to begin the immediate withdrawal
of U.S. troops from Iraq. (The letter and list of signers is included
below.)

This initiative is a clear reflection of the breadth of antiwar sentiment
across the country, and a sign that the demand to bring the troops home now
is gaining more and more mainstream support. The Congressional letter comes
at a pivotal moment when, according to the New York Times (January 10),
discussions of how the U.S. might disengage from Iraq are "bubbling up in
Congress, in the Pentagon and some days even in the White House."

The grassroots antiwar movement can make a real difference right now, if we
act quickly and decisively. See below for details on action steps you can
take today.

Every day brings news of more defections from Bush's "stay the course" policy:

* North Carolina Republican Rep. Howard Coble, head of the House
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, declared January 8
that "it's time for the U.S. to consider withdrawing." Noting a shift in
public opinion in his largely conservative district, Coble's office
announced that "letters, phone calls and messages that had been
overwhelmingly supportive of the war are now about even."

* Brent Scowcroft, National Security Adviser during Bush's father's
presidency, stated January 6 that the situation in Iraq now raised the
"fundamental question of whether we should get out now." At the same
Washington, D.C. insider event, former National Security Adviser under
President Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski, flatly declared, "I do not think we
can stay in Iraq in the fashion we're in now. If it cannot be changed
drastically, it should be terminated."

* The government of the Ukraine (which recently elected a "pro-Western"
leader) announced it was accelerating the full pullout of all its troops
from Iraq.

* The latest U.S. opinion polls indicate that a majority of the U.S. people
believe invading Iraq was wrong or not worth the price.

* Mel Gibson, a hero of many conservatives shocked many of his fans after
the People's Choice awards January 9 by declaring that he liked Michael
Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" and exclaimed: "What the hell are we doing in
Iraq? No one can explain to me in a reasonable manner that I can accept why
we're there, why we went there, and why we're still there."

Now, as the nation honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, is the time
to re-double our efforts. UFPJ encourages you to make sure that newspapers
large and small around the country are deluged with antiwar letters, and
that everyone in Washington, D.C. is flooded with antiwar calls, letters
and e-mails. Now is the time to call for an end to the war in Iraq and for
the troops to be brought home.

The overwhelming majority of the Iraqi people want the U.S. out. The
overwhelming majority of the world's people want to the U.S. out. If we can
do our part in mobilizing and activating millions of people here, success
is within our grasp.

"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through
continuous struggle." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

The Congressional letter to George Bush gives us an opportunity to
strengthen our grassroots cry for peace and up the pressure on Congress.
Sometime in the next month to six weeks the Bush Administration will be
asking Congress to approve additional funds for the war in Iraq to the tune
of $80 to $100 billion! Now is the time to start our work to halt this
deadly use of our tax dollars.

1) If you are represented by any of the signers of the letter to Bush be
sure to call their office and thank them for this initiative. We’ve listed
their phone numbers after their names below.

2) Ask your member of Congress to send a similar letter to the President
and to release it to the media. (Visit http://www.congress.org for contact
information.) Ask your member to condition any future funds for Iraq on an
explicit commitment to begin withdrawing the troops. Try to set up a
meeting with your representative, or their aides. For ideas on how to talk
about ending the occupation see the Institute for Policy Studies' “Ending
the U.S. War in Iraq: How to Bring the Troops Home and Internationalize the
Peace.” http://www.ips-dc.org/iraq/bringthetroops.htm

3) Send a letter to editor of your local newspaper – or several papers in
your region – voicing the demand to bring the troops home now. Use the
media directory at
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/ to find contact information
for newspapers in your area.

4) Share this email widely. It is important that people across the country
know about this initiative and the growing momentum to bring the troops
home now.

5) Begin building for the global day of action to end the war on March 19.
The two-year anniversary of the Iraq invasion is approaching, and people
all over the world will be taking to the streets to call for the troops to
come home now. Start organizing a March 19 action in your community, and
list your event at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/events

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LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH FROM 16 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

January 12, 2005

The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We write to urge you to take immediate steps to begin the withdrawal of
U.S. forces from Iraq.

Although the initial invasion of Iraq may have occurred with minimal troop
deaths, the subsequent occupation of the country has been anything but
successful.  Already more than 1,300 American troops have lost their lives
since the war began on March 19, 2003.  At least 10,000 American troops
have been injured as well, and it is impossible to know exactly how many
thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed.  Despite the
enormity of the war’s casualties, the Iraqi insurgency continues to grow
stronger with every passing day.

Iraq is no closer to becoming a stable democracy today than it was two
years ago, as evidenced in recent weeks by the daily torrent of insurgent
attacks on American forces and Iraqi civilian leaders.  On January 4th,
insurgents assassinated Ali Haidari, the governor of the Iraqi province
that includes Baghdad.  Just as devastating to the prospect of democracy,
on December 30th, al-Jazeera satellite channel reported that all 700
electoral workers in Mosul quit their posts out of fear of being killed.
Two weeks later, on January 10th, the entire 13-member electoral commission
in the Anbar province, just west of Baghdad, resigned after being
threatened by insurgents.  If even Iraqi election officials fear for their
lives, how can we possibly expect Iraqi citizens to feel safe going to the
polls?  How can we continue to put our own troops in harm’s way, the
continued targets for Iraq’s thousands of malcontent insurgents?

It has become clear that the existence of more than 130,000 American troops
stationed on Iraqi soil is infuriating to the Iraqi people - especially
because Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction and did
not have a connection to the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 or to
the al Qaeda terrorist organization.  Indeed, the very presence of
Americans in Iraq is a rallying point for dissatisfied people in the Arab
world.  The events of the last two years have not only intensified the rage
of the extremist Muslim terrorists, they have also ignited civil
hostilities in Iraq that have made Americans and Iraqis substantially less
safe.  Therefore, by removing our troops from the country, we will remove
the main focus of the insurgents’ rage.

Again, while it may be logistically difficult to immediately remove every
American soldier, we urge you to take immediate action to begin the
withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.  This is the only way to truly support
our troops.  Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Representaives
Lynn Woolsey (CA-06) 202-225-5161
Danny Davis (IL-07) 202-225-5006
Lane Evans (IL-17) 202-225-5905
Sam Farr (CA-17) 202-225-2861
Raul Grijalva (AZ-07) 202-225-2435
Alcee Hastings (FL-23) 202-225-1313
Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) 202-225-6335
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02) 202-225-0773
Dennis Kucinich (OH-10) 202-225-5871
Barbara Lee (CA-09) 202-225-2661
John Lewis (GA-05) 202-225-3801
Jim McDermott (WA-07) 202-225-3106
Grace Napolitano (CA-38) 202-225-5256
Major Owens (NY-11) 202-225-6231
Jose Serrano (NY-16) 202-225-4361
Pete Stark (CA-13) 202-225-5065

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SUPPORT THE TROOPS - BRING THEM HOME NOW!
Three styles of car magnets available from
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/merchandise
===========================================
SATURDAY, MARCH 19: GLOBAL DAY OF PROTEST
ON THE TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR
* End the War * Bring the Troops Home Now * Rebuild Our Communities *
Visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org for more information and to endorse
===========================================
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email
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