[Peace-discuss] Fwd: {Spam?} FCNL: STOP THE RUSH TO WAR

Thu Jan 30 16:48:20 CST 2003

>Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 17:08:23 -0500 (EST)
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>Subject: {Spam?} FCNL: STOP THE RUSH TO WAR
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>FCNL LEGISLATIVE ACTION MESSAGE - January 30, 2003
>
>The following action items from the Friends Committee on National
>Legislation (FCNL) focus on federal policy issues currently before Congress
>or the Administration.
>
>TOPICS: STOP THE RUSH TO WAR
>                 OPPOSE WAR PLANS FOR USING NUCLEAR WEAPONS AGAINST IRAQ
>
>PLEASE SEND THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS.  CONGRESS NEEDS TO HEAR THE ANTI-WAR
>VOICES LOUD AND CLEAR THIS WEEK.
>
>STOP THE RUSH TO WAR.  Sens. Kennedy (MA) and Byrd (WV) last night
>introduced a resolution, S. Res. 32, that calls on the President to give the
>UN weapons inspectors more time to complete their mission and to come back
>to Congress for a vote before proceeding with the war in Iraq.
>
>
>ACTION:  Time is short.  Please call, email, or fax your senators today.
>Urge them to support S. Res. 32.  Urge them to support bringing the
>resolution to the floor for a vote.  Let them know that you oppose war with
>Iraq.  Iraq does not pose an imminent threat to the U.S. or its neighbors,
>and it can be safely and effectively disarmed through the UN without war.
>The U.S. should not attack another country preemptively, and certainly not
>without a full congressional debate and formal declaration of war.
>
>MAKE LETTER WRITING EASIER: It's 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=1322171&type=CO
>
>OPPOSE WAR PLANS FOR USING NUCLEAR WEAPONS AGAINST IRAQ: On Jan. 26, the Los
>Angeles Times reported that military planners at the U.S. Strategic Command
>in Omaha, NE, and at the Pentagon are creating target lists for the possible
>use of nuclear weapons in Iraq.  Although military officials consider such a
>strike unlikely, reportedly, Pentagon planners are considering options for
>using nuclear weapons, including the so-called "bunker-buster" nuclear
>weapon, which is designed to destroy deeply buried targets.  Administration
>officials have refused to rule out any military option should the U.S. or
>any of its allies be attacked by a chemical or biological weapon.  White
>House Chief of Staff Andrew Card commented on the report on a Sunday (Jan.
>26) morning news program, saying, "I'm not going to put anything on or off
>the table."
>
>ACTION: Please contact your members of Congress.  Urge them to call on
>President Bush to renounce the use of nuclear weapons.  These weapons must
>never be used again.  Even contemplating the use of nuclear weapons against
>Iraq will have dire consequences for international security.  In doing so,
>the U.S. is dangerously and provocatively lowering the international
>threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and encouraging nuclear
>proliferation.
>
>MAKE LETTER WRITING EASIER: It's 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=1322196&type=CO
>
>BACKGROUND:  For the past fifty years, U.S. Presidents have correctly
>differentiated between nuclear and conventional weapons.  Since nuclear
>weapons are so devastating, they would only be used if the U.S. were
>attacked with nuclear weapons by another nuclear state.  President Truman
>went so far as to place the U.S. nuclear arsenal under the jurisdiction of
>the Atomic Energy Commission, rather than the Pentagon, to separate nuclear
>weapons from the conventional war-fighting arsenal.
>
>Making plans for a preemptive or retaliatory nuclear attack on Iraq-a
>non-nuclear state-would constitute a dramatic and dangerous change in U.S.
>nuclear force doctrine.  It means war planners are treating nuclear weapons
>as just another kind of weapon in their war-fighting arsenal.
>
>Through a series of policy documents from the Pentagon and the White
>House-"Nuclear Posture Review," "National Security Strategy," and most
>recently, "National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction"-the Bush
>Administration has outlined a new security doctrine for the U.S.,
>emphasizing preemptive strikes and the offensive use of nuclear weapons.
>Instead of strengthening international law and arms control agreements, the
>Bush Administration is showing its contempt for international law and
>established norms of international relations.  According to William Arkin, a
>military analyst  for the Los Angeles Times, "It re-writes the ground rules
>of nuclear combat in the name of fighting terrorism."
>
>The fact that the U.S. has created "target packages" against nuclear states
>such as Russia and China is well known, but to create detailed target
>packages against non-nuclear countries or to preempt a chemical or
>biological weapon attack is unprecedented.  Since 1978, the United States
>has pledged not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states
>that are members of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), except if
>attacked by such a state that is allied with a state possessing nuclear
>weapons.  If the Bush Administration continues to threaten nuclear attack,
>or worse, decides to use nuclear weapons, the threshold will be
>significantly lowered and could quickly spin out of control.  What would
>happen if states like India and Pakistan decide to follow the lead of the
>U.S. and lower their threshold?  Or India and China?  Or North Korea and
>Japan (which are not currently nuclear weapons states, but they are on the
>threshold)?
>
>The dangers of this type of policy are clear.  By threatening first-strike
>nuclear attack, the Bush Administration magnifies its reputation as a
>dominating unilateralist.  Threatening with nuclear weapons strains our
>relationships with our allies and increases sympathy for terrorists.  This
>policy also has the potential to undermine nonproliferation efforts.  There
>are contradictions inherent in the use of nuclear weapons to eliminate
>weapons of mass destruction.  Instead of leading to disarmament, threatening
>states with nuclear weapons tells non-nuclear states that nuclear weapons
>are necessary to deter a U.S. attack.
>
>The problem with nuclear threats is that one day, for the sake of
>maintaining the credibility of its nuclear deterrent, U.S. officials might
>feel that they have to demonstrate their willingness to actually employ
>nuclear weapons.  The use of a nuclear weapon would cause a global disaster,
>pitting the rest of the world against the U.S.  If such an attack should
>occur, according to Sen. Ed Kennedy (MA), "our nation, long a beacon of
>hope, would overnight be seen as a symbol of death, destruction and
>aggression" (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 29, 2003).
>
>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?command=congdi
>r
>
>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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>We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
>We seek a society with equity and justice for all
>We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
>We seek an earth restored...