<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">Pls forward widely. You can sign anonymously if you prefer. Strength in numbers.<div> --Jenifer</div><br>--- On <b>Thu, 11/18/10, Just Foreign Policy <i><info@justforeignpolicy.org></i></b> wrote:<br><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"><br><br><div id="yiv1654259437">
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<div style="border-bottom:8px solid rgb(68, 68, 68);padding:12px;"><p>Dear Jenifer,</p>
<div style="border:1px solid black;margin:0em 0.5em 0.5em;padding:0.5em;float:right;width:190px;text-align:center;">
<p style="margin-top:0em;"><b>Urge President Obama to make the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July 2011 significant and serious.<br>
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<p style="margin:0em;text-align:center;"><a rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration:none;text-align:center;" target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HgwHeiTpJV8geHj76%2F8GOMBDA51Mkj4z"><img border="0px" alt="Take Action" style="width:150px;" src="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/sites/default/files/take-action-1.jpg"></a></p>
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<p>Recent press reports by McClatchy [1] and the New York Times [2] have suggested that the Obama Administration intends to "publicly walk away from" President Obama's promise to begin drawing down U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July 2011 at the NATO summit this week. <br>
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<b>Sign our petition to President Obama, urging him to stick to his promise to begin drawing down troops in July 2011:</b> <br>
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<b><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7F%2FlcRj8CnEqmzuwfnvPwk2oG9SgACCp">http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/july2011</a></b> <br>
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The White House has responded to these reports by insisting that there has been no retreat from the President's promise. "The president has been crystal clear that we will begin drawing down troops in July of 2011. There is absolutely no change to that policy," the White House said. <br>
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But these press reports nonetheless suggest a shift that the White House has not disputed: away from Vice-President Biden's promise that "In July of 2011 you're going to see a whole lot of people moving out" [3] and Speaker Pelosi's statement that there would be a "serious drawdown" starting in the summer of 2011, [4] towards a more token withdrawal favored by the U.S. military. The New York Times described "a change in tone aimed at persuading the Afghans and the Taliban that there will be no significant American troop withdrawals next summer," [5] which contradicts the President's promise, certainly as it was portrayed by Vice-President Biden and Speaker Pelosi. <br>
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The Obama Administration must decide which version of the President's promise to keep: the meaningful version advocated by Vice-President Biden and Speaker Pelosi, involving "significant" and "serious" drawdown of troops, or the empty version favored by the U.S. military, involving a token withdrawal. <br>
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<b>Join us in urging President Obama to make the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July 2011 significant and serious.</b> <br>
<br>
<b><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=h40C%2F1nl9QT%2B5GhIItLCYsBDA51Mkj4z">http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/july2011</a></b> <br>
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Thank you for all you do to help bring about a just foreign policy, <br>
<br>
Robert Naiman, Sarah Burns, Megan Iorio and Chelsea Mozen<br>
Just Foreign Policy <br>
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References: <br>
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1. "Obama officials moving away from 2011 Afghan date," Nancy A. Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers, November 9, 2010<br>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Xss6BDC9Z76oPY7qXqwtUE2oG9SgACCp">http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/11/09/103468/obama-administration-moving-away.html</a><br>
2. "U.S. Tweaks Message on Troops in Afghanistan," Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, November 10, 2010<br>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=b%2FRKq03Jy8T7k2A7pnBIvMBDA51Mkj4z">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/world/asia/11military.html</a><br>
3. "Secrets From Inside the Obama War Room," Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, May 15, 2010<br>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Mn1NwRCw%2BLw3G7GfSrid2MBDA51Mkj4z">http://www.newsweek.com/2010/05/15/secrets-from-inside-the-obama-war-room.html</a><br>
4. "Pelosi: There Will Be 'A Serious Drawdown' From Afghanistan In July 2011," Sam Stein, Huffington Post, June 28, 2010<br>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=LMVwbhAvoM9Wo%2BEQla2MWMBDA51Mkj4z">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/pelosi-there-will-be-a-se_n_628130.html</a><br>
5. "U.S. Tweaks Message on Troops in Afghanistan," Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, November 10, 2010<br>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Z5tSBEXeQZmnZ7yNrbXbLMBDA51Mkj4z">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/world/asia/11military.html</a></p>
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