[Peace-discuss] back-pressure against a "surge"

[Robert Naiman]

Win Without War is appealing for an emergency response around the
country the day after Bush's speech, which is expected Wednesday, so
the actions would be Thursday.

www.americasaysno.org

http://www.winwithoutwarus.org/

Pelosi did something good yesterday. She suggested that Dems might
block funding for the escalation. She was immediately undercut by
Biden (who suggested that might be unconstitutional[!!]) and Hoyer.

Boyle and some other legal scholars are arguing that under the War
Powers Act Bush needs explicit authorization for an escalation, which
this would be.


On 1/8/07, Stuart Levy <slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu> wrote:
> Barbara Kessel, Karen Medina and I were talking after tonight's
> AWARE meeting, among other things about the not-quite-yet-proposed
> surge/escalation in troops to Iraq, a notion to which the Democrats
> seem to be softening day by day.
>
> We wonder whether the countless leaks before the official announcement
> are intended as trial balloons, to test just how far they can push
> the Congress and the population, i.e. us.  Or, they might aim to soften
> us up: if some leaks called for 25000 new troops, won't we be relieved
> when the "official" version only calls for 15000?
>
> So what can we do?  The Administration won't listen but the newly
> elected Congress may.  We need to let our representatives know
> emphatically that dumping more soldiers into Iraq is not something
> for which we can wait passively while the administration cooks up a
> justification, but something that's simply unacceptable.  That we expect
> them to find creative solutions to ending this war (like the one
> Carl mentioned at tonight's meeting, of rescinding the original
> authorization on the grounds that the reasons given for it do not apply).
> That if they stand up to the Pres., we'll back them up.  Whatever.
>
> These are the same kinds of things that many people wrote eloquently
> on Postcards for Peace.  But we can't let the pressure up.
>
> Barbara suggests telephoning as the quickest way to get
> our Senators' and Representative's attention -- and time matters now.
>
>    Stuart
>
>
> (P.S. And I want to nag Joe Biden for saying that the Senate had
> no power to restrain the President's conduct of the war.  He needs to
> talk to Sen. Durbin, who last Thursday on All Things Considered noted
> two approaches for doing just that.)
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