Join Pledge members in a lobbying visit to Rep. Sarbanes' Towson office/U.S. troops quietly surge into Middle East

On the third Wednesday of the month, the Pledge of Resistance/Fund Our Communities-Baltimore visits Rep. John Sarbanes’ officeOn Wed., Jan. 18 at noon  the Pledge of Resistance will go to Rep. John Sarbanes’ office, 600 Baltimore Ave., Suite 303, Baltimore, MD 21204.  While inside, we will deliver a letter to urge the representative to pledge to vote against further funding of wars.  We will also let him know that he should sign on to the following legislation: HR 780, the Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act, HR 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, and HR 870, the Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act.  From 12:30 to 1 PM, we will demonstrate on Bosley Ave against U.S. wars in the Middle East. 

 

Please let Max know if you can go to Sarbanes’ office--410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.  

 

Progressive Democrats of America, CODEPINK and others are holding brownbag vigils outside (or inside) offices of members of the House of Representatives.  Brownbaggers are demanding commitments to vote against more money for war and for progressive legislation. Hands off Medicare! Hands off Medicaid! Hands off Social Security! END CORPORATE WELFARE! Go to http://tinyurl.com/brownbagvigil.

 

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/12/MNR11MOPB2.DTL

 

U.S. troops quietly surge into Middle East

David S. Cloud, Tribune Co.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Washington --

The Pentagon has quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats, U.S. officials said.

Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval for the deployments late last year after talks with the government in Baghdad broke down over keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, but the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear.

Officials said the deployments are not meant to suggest a buildup to war, but rather are intended as a quick-reaction and contingency force in case a military crisis erupts in the standoff with Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.

The Pentagon has stationed nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait, adding to a small contingent already there. The new units include two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit - a substantial increase in combat power after nearly a decade in which Kuwait chiefly served as a staging area for supplies and personnel heading to Iraq.

The Pentagon also has decided to keep two aircraft carriers and their strike groups in the region.

Earlier this week, the American carrier Carl Vinson joined the carrier Stennis in the Arabian Sea, giving commanders major naval and air assets in case Iran carries out its recent threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint in the Persian Gulf, where one-fifth of the world's oil shipments passes.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/13/MNR11MOPB2.DTL

This article appeared on page A - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle

© 2012 Hearst Communications Inc. | Pri

 

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

 

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs