Visit Ben Cardin's office/Have you called your Senators? Fund Diplomacy, Not War!

Friends,

 

Members of the Pledge of Resistance intend to continue its lobbying campaign against the funding of the imperial wars.  Join us at Sen. Ben Cardin’s Baltimore office, 17^th Floor, 100 S. Charles St. on Wednesday, May 20 at 4:30 PM.  From 5 to 5:30 PM, we will do an antiwar demo outside on Charles St.  To get inside the building, you must have a picture I.D.  Join us.

 

Kagiso,

 

Max

Call Your Senator Today: Our Voices Make A Difference

As early as tomorrow, the U.S. Senate will be voting on a $92 billion Supplemental bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senators need to hear from their constituents that this war-funding bill is unacceptable!

Congressional Switchboard Number: 1-800-517-5696

Last week, the House of Representatives passed its own War Supplemental bill of $97 billion. In the lead-up to the vote, it was widely assumed that there would be no real significant opposition. But because peace groups worked together on this, 60 members of the House voted 'No', of which 51 constituted an antiwar voice. This opposition was widely reported and attracted attention to opposition to Obama's Af-Pak policies.

And before voting to approve the War Supplemental, the House added conditions that:

• Reaffirm the ban on permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq;
• Ban permanent U.S. military bases in Afghanistan; and 
• Support President Obama's due dates for withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by December 31, 2011

We still have a long way to go, but with strong opposition from the grassroots we can bring an end to the two wars. So please join with peace organizations from around the country to let your Senators know that while we support funding for the safe withdrawal of troops, and for diplomacy, economic assistance, and humanitarian aid, we oppose more money for war. 

Below are key talking points for your calls:

• At a time of economic crisis and multiplying domestic needs, the 2009 War Supplemental is an appalling waste of our resources.
• The Supplemental funds the increase of troops to Afghanistan, escalating the war rather than ending it.
• The Supplemental places no restrictions on U.S. bombings in either Afghanistan or Pakistan, despite the disproportionate harm to civilians.
• The Supplemental maintains a high level of U.S. troops in Iraq for the duration of FY 2009.

Voting will come soon, so please call now and forward this message to your friends and family. Call the Congressional switchboard at 1-800-517-5696 and let your Senator know that you reject another 'blank check' for war!

For more background, click here for the full text of the Senate bill and here for more on the House War Supplemental. You can also read a powerful letter to the editor in the New York Times that argues against the current U.S. war strategy in Afghanistan. And as always, we highly recommend you take a look at the local costs of the war in Afghanistan at the National Priorities Project.
 

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