[Peace-discuss] Fwd: FCNL: Urge Congress to Question War (2/20/03)

Fri Feb 21 11:53:50 CST 2003

>Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:05:51 -0500 (EST)
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>Subject: FCNL: Urge Congress to Question War (2/20/03)
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>FCNL LEGISLATIVE ACTION MESSAGE - (2/20/03)
>
>The following action items from the Friends Committee on National
>Legislation (FCNL) focus on federal policy issues currently before Congress
>or the Administration.
>
>THE WORLD IS QUESTIONING WAR, CONGRESS SHOULD TOO:  This past weekend,
>millions of people in 150 cities worldwide gathered publicly to demonstrate
>their opposition to war on Iraq.  The global demonstrations were historic
>for their international scope, size, and coordination.  They came just a day
>after UN weapons inspectors reported to the Security Council on progress in
>the work to disarm Iraq peacefully, and the majority of Council members
>responded with statements of support for continuing the inspections.  This
>past Tuesday and Wednesday, February 18-19, the Security Council held an
>open meeting in which over 50 more countries spoke.  The message from the
>international community is clear: War is not the answer.
>
>Unfortunately, the Administration appears to be "shrugging off"
>international opinion and instead is bullying the Security Council and U.S.
>allies into supporting - or at least acquiescing to - military action, and
>persisting in the rush to war.
>
>Many members of Congress are raising serious questions about the
>Administration's war plans and speaking out in opposition to a U.S.-led
>military invasion.  In the coming week, Rep.  Sherrod Brown (OH) will
>introduce a resolution requiring the President to appear before a joint
>session of Congress prior to taking military action to report publicly on
>some of the troubling, unanswered questions about a potential war on Iraq.
>
>ACTION:  Call or write your members of Congress.  Ask your representative to
>cosponsor the Brown resolution when it is introduced in the House next week.
>To view the text of the resolution, click here:
>http://www.fcnl.org/issues/int/sup/iraq_resolution220-03.htm. Urge your
>senators to support companion legislation in the Senate.  Ask your members
>to join the millions of people around the world who are questioning the
>Administration's war and supporting peaceful disarmament in Iraq.
>
>COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IS EASY: It is easy to send
>email or faxes. Start with the sample letter posted in our Legislative
>Action Center, personalize the language, then email or fax your message
>directly from our site. You can also print it out and mail it. To view the
>sample letter, click on the link below, then enter your zip code and click
><Go> in the <Take Action Now> box. Here is the link:
>http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=1475756&type=CO
>
>SPECIAL ADDITIONAL ACTION!  Participate in the Virtual March on Washington
>being organized by the Win Without War coalition for Wednesday, February 26.
>Watch for FCNL's special action alert on the Virtual March early next week
>or find more information at http://www.moveon.org/winwithoutwar/.
>
>The time for preventing an expanded war on Iraq is very short.  We need as
>many voices - in Congress and at the community level - conveying the
>message: War is not the answer.  New FCNL documents are available for use in
>your communication with your members of Congress at
>http://www.fcnl.org/issues/int/sup/iraq_war_costs.htm  and
>http://www.fcnl.org/issues/int/sup/iraq_10_qstns.htm, and go to
>http://www.fcnl.org/iraq_bumstker_info.php to order bumper stickers and to
>http://www.fcnl.org/iraq_yardsign_info.php to order yard signs. Please pass
>this message on to others and reach out to new groups in your local
>organizing efforts.
>
>BACKGROUND: The February 15-16 global demonstrations against war were an
>historic outpouring of democratic participation and political activism.  The
>following day, an opinion piece by Patrick E. Tyler in the New York Times
>declared that the scope of the demonstrations illustrated that "there may
>still be two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world public
>opinion."  Unfortunately, President Bush "shrugged off" the protests.  He
>responded to demonstrators in the U.S. by saying that people were certainly
>"allowed" to express their views, but that he would act in the interest of
>national security.  In doing so, he ignored the serious risks to national
>and global security involved in war and the basic democratic relationship
>between the U.S. government and its citizens.  The government cannot "allow"
>free speech or the right to assemble and petition because these rights are
>held by the people, not by the Administration.
>
>The worldwide public demonstrations mirrored widespread opposition to U.S.
>war plans among governments, including U.S. allies.  In their February 14
>report to the Security Council, UN weapons inspectors noted significant
>points of progress and new cooperation from Iraq on substantive issues.
>They outlined a number of remaining questions which they planned to address
>through further investigation, and asked for further cooperation from Iraq
>and support from other governments.  The inspectors reported that no weapons
>of mass destruction had been found in Iraq, and they specifically questioned
>a number of the claims made in Secretary of State Powell's February 5 report
>to the Council.  The majority of Security Council members responded with
>statements of support for continuing the inspections process.  France made
>an eloquent statement in support of "disarmament through peace."  Despite
>the majority opposition on the Council to halting the inspections process
>and pursuing war, the U.S. and UK are expected to introduce a new resolution
>in the coming days.  Whether the Security Council authorizes military action
>or not, the U.S. has asserted its intention to invade and occupy Iraq.
>
>New legislation is expected to be introduced by Rep. Sherrod Brown (OH)
>early next week.  It will require the President to appear before a joint
>session of Congress and report on a number of troubling, unanswered
>questions related to a potential U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.
>Companion legislation may be introduced in the Senate.  This initiative is
>designed to complicate and slow the Administration's rush to war by raising
>the congressional and public debate on the potential costs and consequences
>of a U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.  A list of other active
>legislation that seeks to slow the Administration's rush to war can be found
>on FCNL's website at http://www.fcnl.org/issues/int/sup/iraq_legislation.htm
>.
>
>THANK YOU CONFERENCE CALL PARTICIPANTS!  Thanks to all of you who
>participated in the FCNL conference call last Sunday evening. We were
>fortunate to have as a speaker Rep. Jim McDermott from Washington, a career
>doctor who served in the Navy and the foreign service.  He visited Iraq in
>1991 and this past fall.  Rep. McDermott encouraged everyone to keep up the
>pressure on Congress, to remind members that they have an obligation to
>stand up and take responsibility, and to make sure the Administration is
>aware that millions of people in the U.S. are opposed to this war.  Many of
>you joined with your neighbors around speaker phones. For any of you who
>could not get connected to the call, we sincerely apologize.
>
>
>CONTACTING LEGISLATORS
>
>Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 800-839-5276
>
>Sen. ________
>U.S. Senate
>Washington, DC 20510
>
>Rep. ________
>U.S. House of Representatives
>Washington, DC 20515
>
>Information on your members is available on FCNL's web site:
>http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq
>
>CONTACTING THE ADMINISTRATION
>
>White House Comment Desk: 202-456-1111
>FAX: 202-456-2461
>E-MAIL: president at whitehouse.gov
>WEB PAGE: http://www.whitehouse.gov
>
>President George W. Bush
>The White House
>Washington, DC 20500
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