<div><br></div>We are sending out the alert below today asking folks to contact their Reps to sign a bipartisan letter calling on President Obama to execute a significant drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan in July. <div>
<br></div><div>As it happens, Rep. Tim Johnson is one of the original signers of this letter. So, instead of asking him to sign it, you could thank him for signing it. </div><div><br></div><div>To make this easy, here an edited version of the sample letter text that you can paste into the sample letter window:</div>
<div><br></div><div>----</div><div><br></div><div><div>Thank you for signing the bipartisan Congressional letter being circulated by Reps. Barbara Lee and Walter Jones insisting that "the forthcoming reduction in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan must be significant and sizeable." </div>
<div><br></div><div>Insisting that the promised drawdown of troops be significant is the first step to ending the war. A significant drawdown of troops starting in July will save American and Afghan lives. </div><div><br>
</div><div>A significant drawdown of troops starting in July will save $10 billion in tax dollars annually for every 10,000 troops we withdraw, money that we need here at home.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition, a significant drawdown of U.S. troops will encourage the factions in Afghanistan to move forward with efforts towards a negotiated political resolution of the conflict.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Thank you for your leadership in efforts to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.</div><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Just Foreign Policy</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:info@justforeignpolicy.org">info@justforeignpolicy.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 1:08 PM<br>Subject: Make July Afghanistan Drawdown Significant: Get Your Rep to Sign Lee Letter<br>To: <a href="mailto:naiman.uiuc@gmail.com">naiman.uiuc@gmail.com</a><br><br><br>
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<div style="border-bottom:8px solid rgb(68, 68, 68);padding:12px"><p>Dear Dd,</p><div><div></div><div class="h5">
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<p style="margin-top:0em"><b>Urge your Representative to sign Rep. Barbara Lee's letter to President Obama calling for a significant July drawdown in Afghanistan.<br>
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<p style="margin:0em;text-align:center"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=C7cD8vEB6ah9Ld1ZAQeR1WPwRZ%2FidVTg" style="text-decoration:none;text-align:center" target="_blank"><img border="0px" alt="Take Action"></a></p>
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<p>In his State of the Union address in January, President Obama re-affirmed his promise to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July. [1] But there is a great division in Washington over whether this will be a significant withdrawal that leads towards getting the U.S. military out of Afghanistan, or a mere token withdrawal that essentially leaves the status quo in place. A bipartisan Congressional letter is urging President Obama to make the July drawdown significant, not token. <br>
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<b>Will you urge your Representative to sign this letter?</b> <br>
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<b><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=61eNfr2jyOEbrl2CPWmphWPwRZ%2FidVTg" target="_blank"><font color="red"><b>MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be</b></font> http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/leeletter</a></b> <br>
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The Pentagon has been pushing for this summer's promised drawdown of troops to be "limited" or even "token." But Members of Congress who want to end the war and bring the troops home have been pushing back. Two weeks ago, Reps. Barbara Lee and Mike Honda led a successful effort to get the Democratic National Committee to pass a resolution that concluded, "the Democratic Party supports prioritizing job creation and a swift withdrawal of U.S. armed forces and military contractors in Afghanistan which must include a significant and sizable reduction no later than July 2011." [2] Now Reps. Barbara Lee, Mike Honda, Jim McGovern, John Conyers and Lynn Woolsey, together with Republican Reps. Walter Jones, Ron Paul, Tim Johnson, and John Duncan, are circulating a letter to President Obama insisting that "the forthcoming reduction in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan must be significant and sizeable." <br>
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<b>Will you ask your Representative to sign Rep. Lee's letter?</b> <br>
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<b><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jouycWiTgaNlJ0ZnJxGRPmPwRZ%2FidVTg" target="_blank"><font color="red"><b>MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be</b></font> http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/leeletter</a></b> <br>
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Beginning a significant drawdown in July 2011 is the first step to ending the war. Fewer U.S. troops in Afghanistan will mean fewer U.S. soldiers being killed and fewer Afghan civilians being killed. Fewer U.S. troops in Afghanistan - at an estimated annual cost of $10 billion for every 10,000 troops - will mean less money being spent on war and more money available for human needs. And fewer U.S. troops in Afghanistan will mean more political space in Afghanistan for a negotiated political solution that ends the war, as Afghan President Karzai and others have argued. As Reuters reported on March 2: "Admitting that there was 'friction' with his Western allies over strategy in Afghanistan, Karzai said he had told his allies the military surge should be scaled back to permit negotiations. 'The military is less inclined to accept it (this argument). The political side, the civilian side, is more inclined to it,' he said." [3] <br>
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<b>Let's get started on ending the war. Urge your Representative to sign Rep. Barbara Lee's letter to President Obama.</b><br>
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<b><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QOhj85Blqfk2ujWErdPJwGPwRZ%2FidVTg" target="_blank"><font color="red"><b>MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be</b></font> http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/leeletter</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, Chelsea Mozen, Sarah Burns, Megan Iorio and Kate Gould<br>
Just Foreign Policy <br>
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References: <br>
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1. "Remarks by the President in State of Union Address," January 25, 2011, <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=f0CgrktGKiqcuVPtmfgTViFxR7GK3DE0" target="_blank"><font color="red"><b>MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be</b></font> http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/remarks-president-state-union-address</a><br>
2. "DNC Pressures Obama, Passes Resolution Endorsing Swift End To Afghanistan War," Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post, 02/26/11, <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=TpAEJw3ddAswGLprEKhXzGPwRZ%2FidVTg" target="_blank"><font color="red"><b>MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be</b></font> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/26/afghanistan_n_828710.html</a> <br>
3. "Afghans, Western Backers In Contact With Taliban: Karzai," Adrian Croft, Reuters, Wed Mar 2, 7:41 pm ET, <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=C%2Fe8IuBV5E%2FoBHAJiCLLk2PwRZ%2FidVTg" target="_blank"><font color="red"><b>MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be</b></font> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110303/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_karzai_1</a></p>
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<img width="1" height="1"></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Robert Naiman<br>Policy Director<br>Just Foreign Policy<br><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">www.justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><a href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a><br>
<br>Urge Congress to Support a Timetable for Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan<br><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern" target="_blank">http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/feingold-mcgovern</a><br>
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