<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div>I have no idea if we can get Rodney Davis to vote against this. He's never done a single thing I ever asked him to do on war and peace, even when it was bipartisan. </div><div><br></div><div>But, it's plausible that this could be different. There are a bunch of Republicans who agree that it's insane to transfer MANPADS into the theater of a civil war. That's how we got the House to vote against transferring MANPADS into Syria. There was a Republican majority in the House at the time. </div><div><br></div><div>Rodney Davis' direct line is 202.225.2371.</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div>Also, please report your call and vote in the poll at Daily Kos. There are a bunch of Democrats who support Engel on this, because they would support any weapon being sent to Ukraine. We need to organize countervailing force. </div><div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <strong class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">Just Foreign Policy</strong> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:info@justforeignpolicy.org">info@justforeignpolicy.org</a>></span><br>Date: Tue, Jun 18, 2019 at 11:10 AM<br>Subject: Don't let Eliot Engel transfer MANPADS to Ukraine!<br>To: <<a href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a>><br></div><br><br>
<div>
<div class="gmail-m_-8465695864976255026wrapper" align="center">
<div class="gmail-m_-8465695864976255026header"><a href="http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=gWM%2BdmjgEJ7CIb9DsYerwHKefp560WLI" target="_blank"><img alt="Just Foreign Policy" src="https://org.salsalabs.com/o/1439/images/JFPlogo-long.png"></a></div>
<div class="gmail-m_-8465695864976255026content" align="left"><div style="width:190px;float:right;border:1px solid black;margin:0em 1em 1em;padding:1em;text-align:center" class="gmail-m_-8465695864976255026action-box"><b>Urge your Rep. to vote NO on Engel's amendment to transfer dangerous MANPADS to Ukraine, threatening Americans on civilian aircraft.<br>
<br>
</b><b>Call your Rep. at 202-225-3121 and urge them to vote NO. <br>
<br>
</b><b>Report your call in the comments below <a href="http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=JaL0LjCHUBw6uTTaMK%2F7h0BLE3XC0mL%2F" target="_blank">this piece at Daily Kos</a>. </b></div>
<p></p>
<p>Dear Robert,<span style="color:rgb(54,49,53)"><br>
</span></p>
<p>As early as this afternoon, a floor vote is expected in the House on Eliot Engel’s push to send MANPADS to Ukraine.</p>
<p>Engel has introduced an amendment to the Defense Appropriation which would strip language prohibiting the transfer of MANPADS to Ukraine.</p>
<p>MANPADS are shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. They can be used to shoot down civilian aircraft. They are easy to move around and transfer to other actors. The “MP” stands for “man-portable.” Once these weapons are transferred to the theater of a civil war, they could go anywhere. That’s what happened to U.S. weapons in Syria in the past, that’s what happened to U.S. weapons in Ukraine in the past. That’s why the House voted to prohibit the transfer of MANPADS to non-state actors in Syria. Transferring MANPADS to the theater of a civil war is asking for blowback.</p>
<p>People used to say that John McCain “never met a war he didn’t like.” That’s who Eliot Engel is. Engel voted for the Iraq war. Engel voted against the Iran deal. Engel voted to keep sending cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen even after Obama stopped doing so. Engel led the House to vote for the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran that led to the current “Iran crisis.”</p>
<p>The chief reason that Eliot Engel isn’t as notorious as such warmongers as John McCain or Joe Lieberman or Joe Biden is that Eliot Engel is in the House, and House warmongers aren’t as notorious as Senate warmongers. But as chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel is occupying the same slot in the House that Joe Biden occupied in the Senate when Joe Biden led the Senate to vote for the Iraq war, even though Joe Biden knew the case for war was a fraud just as Dick Durbin did, as Durbin revealed on the Senate floor in 2007, explaining why Durbin voted against the Iraq war.</p>
<p>Engel is wielding his power as committee chair for more war all the time, not chiefly by how he votes, but by his control over what gets voted on. The House isn’t voting on ending the transfer of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for use in their war in Yemen. How come? Because Eliot Engel won’t allow the House to vote.</p>
<p>So today, today, today, we have a rare, blue moon, Halley’s Comet, Christmas-in-July world-historical opportunity to rebuke Eliot Engel’s warmongering.</p>
<p><strong style="box-sizing:border-box">Call your Representative at 202-225-3121.</strong> When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like: <strong style="box-sizing:border-box">“I urge you to vote NO on the Engel amendment to transfer MANPADS to Ukraine. Transfer of these weapons would threaten Americans flying in civilian aircraft.”</strong></p>
<p>When you’ve made your call, <b>please report it in the comments below </b><a href="http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=n01k%2Bs1VrpB15RfjlTJeskBLE3XC0mL%2F" target="_blank"><b>this post at Daily Kos</b></a>, to encourage others to call.</p>
<p>And <b>please vote in the <a href="http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=YRsrzWb1HFcdekX7JxEf3UBLE3XC0mL%2F" target="_blank">poll</a></b> - it's already attracted some haters. </p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(54,49,53)"><br>
Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just, </span></p>
<div></div>
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.5em 0px 0px"><font color="#363135"><span>Sarah Burns, Hassan El-Tayyab, and Robert Naiman<br>
Just Foreign Policy</span></font></p>
<p><b>If you think our work is important, please make a donation to support it.</b><b><br>
</b><a href="http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Lb8YhEaqEAxhz73dbH6cRUBLE3XC0mL%2F" target="_blank">http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/donate</a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center"></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p></div>
<div class="gmail-m_-8465695864976255026footer">
<p><a href="http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=27Nm%2FbyFzSNVOhgmen3XV0BLE3XC0mL%2F" target="_blank"><img alt="Please support our work. Donate for a Just Foreign Policy" src="http://org.salsalabs.com/o/1439/images/unnamed-2.jpg" width="150" height="54"></a></p>
<p>© 2019 Just Foreign Policy</p>
<p><br></p></div></div><div style="text-align:center"></div></div>
<img width="1" height="1" src="http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/TrackImage?key=4390480448"><u></u></div></div></div>