[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Urgent: NY Times ad for "Let the Inspections Work"

[manni at snafu.de]

Forwarded Message:
> To: "Marianne Brun" <manni at snafu.de>
> From: "Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org" <moveon-help at list.moveon.org>
> Subject: Urgent: NY Times ad for "Let the Inspections Work"
> Date: 5 Dec 2002 22:04:42 -0000
> -----
> Dear MoveOn member,
> 
> Yesterday, we launched a petition asking President Bush to let the
> weapons inspections in Iraq work (see below for a copy of the
> message).  Little more than 24 hours later, over 70,000 of us have 
> signed on. It's an immense response -- one of our best days ever.
> 
> Given the success of the campaign, we'd like to amplify the message by
> taking out a full-page New York Times advertisement.  We have a shot 
at
> a slot this coming Monday -- if we can raise the money fast enough.  
> This is perfect timing, because the hawks' PR campaign gunning for 
war 
> will be launched on Sunday.
> 
> The Times is read by nearly 1.2 million people, including all the policy 
> makers -- placing an ad there can be a great way of reaching the right 
> people.  Groups including Physicians for Social Responsibility, the 
> National Organization for Women, Earth Action, Business Leaders for 
> Sensible Priorities, and the National Council of Churches will be 
signing 
> with us.  It'll look great.
> 
> The problem is that ads in the Times are pricey, and we run on a
> shoestring budget.  If we all pitch in a little, we can take over a 
> page in one of the biggest newspapers in the country.
> 
> The ad text is copied below -- it's the same as the letter from 
> yesterday.
> 
> We've found donors to match half of the ad's cost, which means 
> that your gift now is worth twice as much.  We have to raise about
> $28,000 by the end of the week.  We can do it if everyone chips in.  
> You can make your gift right now at:
> 
>    
https://www.moveon.org/nytad/?id=935-948648-LnTuhwGQq62.mK3cdph
glw
> 
> In the ad, we'll publish the number of signers on our petition.  In 
> order for that number to be as high as possible, we need your help -- 
> just forward the message below to your friends with a note about why 
> it's important to sign up.
> 
> Thank you for all of your help.  Together we will do everything 
> possible to bring the Iraq crisis to a peaceful resolution.
> 
> Sincerely,
> --Eli, Wes, Peter, Joan, and Carrie
>   MoveOn.org
>   December 5th, 2002
> 
> P.S. Here's the original message we sent yesterday:
> 
> __________________________
> 
> Dear MoveOn member,
> 
> Inspections in Iraq have started.  Most of us breathed a sigh of
> relief.  Unfortunately, it's become clear that the ultra-hawks in
> the Bush administration -- Cheney, Wolfowitz, Perle -- will not
> take yes for an answer.  While the rest of the world thinks Iraq
> has backed down, these men are beginning a massive public relations
> blitz for war.
> 
> With the possibility of a peaceful resolution to this crisis at hand,
> we cannot allow a few men to push the world to war.  Send a message
> to President Bush to let the inspections work at:
> 
>    http://www.moveon.org/winwithoutwar/
> 
> We'll compile your messages and present them to the Administration,
> including Secretary of State Powell, and to U.N. Secretary General
> Kofi Annan.
> 
> The good news is that the ultra-hawks face some serious opposition.
> Secretary of State Colin Powell and other members of the Bush
> Administration are willing to give diplomacy a chance, and the State
> Department's interpretation of the U.N. resolution is a lot more
> reasonable than the White House's interpretation.
> 
> But unless wiser heads prevail, this is what we should expect:
> (1) starting December 8th, members of the Bush administration will
> claim that Iraq is in material breach of the U.N. resolution, citing
> supposed omissions in the coming multi-hundred page report, based 
on
> undisclosed intelligence; (2) soon thereafter some "hot" incident,
> like anti-aircraft fire on U.S. patrols in the no-fly zone, will be
> used to solidify public support for war, and finally (3) the bombing
> campaign will begin.
> 
> This could all begin before Christmas -- another wonderful gift to
> the world from the Bush administration.
> 
> President Bush has agreed that war should be the very last resort.
> Let's hold him and his administration to those words:
> 
>    http://www.moveon.org/winwithoutwar/
> 
> Please sign on today.  We must support policy makers who will oppose
> these few extremists in the Bush White House who have been looking
> for an excuse for war from the very beginning.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> --Eli Pariser
>   International Campaigns Director
>   MoveOn.org
>   December 4th, 2002
> 
> P.S.  Here's the text of the message we will send with the list of
> compiled individual comments:
> 
> Dear Mr. President, 
> 
> On October 11, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution on Iraq 
> that authorizes you to use war as a last resort -- if and only if 
> diplomacy fails to accomplish the U.S.'s national goals.
> 
> In this context, we are deeply concerned by your Administration's 
> repeated attempts to frame Iraqi anti-aircraft fire within the 
> no-fly-zone as a material breach of the resolution.  As U.N. Secretary 
> General Kofi Annan and other U.N. diplomats have pointed out, the 
> resolution clearly excludes such events from its jurisdiction. 
> 
> We are also concerned that you have already found Iraq's response 
> "not encouraging" when the inspectors have been at work only for a 
> week and so far have not encountered Iraqi obstruction. 
> 
> The United States has made a commitment to approaching the danger 
> that Saddam Hussein poses through the international community.  The 
> resumption of the inspections regime is a triumph for the U.S., 
> international law and multilateralism.  But the United States will 
> lose all credibility with its allies if it appears that it will go to 
> war regardless of the inspections' success.  And by alienating and 
> infuriating allies through unilateral action, the U.S. could throw 
> the success of the campaign against terrorism into jeopardy. 
> 
> Mr. President, it appears that your administration is looking for an 
> excuse to go to war, when a peaceful and just solution may be at 
> hand.  We ask that you live up to your word and give diplomacy a 
> chance.
> 
> We can win without war. 
> 
> ________________
> 
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